3 minute read
The Fight Fernando Martinez
Fernando Martinez
The Fight for the Kingdom of Heaven
As a student at San Diego State University there was an activist culture on campus that was constantly voicing out the evils of long-lived western ideals such as, capitalism, pro-life, patriarchy, genders, oppressive laws, and the evil founding fathers of our country. Their ideas were often very compelling as many of these activists present sophisticated arguments that have large amount of academic backing.
Subsequently, this has caused a huge growth in these groups as they are able to easily influence younger and underdeveloped students. It is evidently clear to me that this is something we shouldn’t ignore or belittle especially if our call as Catholics is to propagate the kingdom of heaven.
This fight for the kingdom of heaven is what truly gives meaning to our lives. To understand the depths of scripture and live them out is ultimate freedom. However, there has been a great recruitment of pathological ideas that have been exponentially growing through our western society and the targets have been young adults passing through the University system. I was fortunate enough to have great mentors through my high school years that allowed me to remain grounded in the truths of the gospel when confronted by the activist groups. Nevertheless, each one of these encounters was very challenging due to academic approach they took. I soon found myself incapable of defending my faith and values. I began to feel a wave of fear and doubt festering through my body and mind. I asked myself, “how is it that I am unable to stand my ground, defend my values and fight for what I know to be true?”
That awareness sparked something in me that initiated an intense prayer life and a desire for wisdom. I by no means consider myself wise, smart, or knowledgeable; nevertheless, I've felt this itch in my soul that I must speak what God has revealed to me. Gallup, an American analytics company, conducted a study of church membership across a 20-year period and the result showed that there has been a 20% decrease in church attendance since 1999. (Link)
It is my belief that this 20% decrease in attendance is a byproduct of well-articulated arguments that foster a rebellious spirit against Godly principles. There has been a great recruitment of souls through the medium of distorted ideology preached by academics in universities. Yet, the fight for the kingdom of heaven remains the same. That is, to speak the truths that are revealed to you by God and to embrace the cross when the mob wants to crucify you for doing so.
In the book of Sirach 2: 1- 9 God speaks to us clearly saying that when we serve the Lord, we shall prepare ourselves for trials, stay near the Lord, accept whatever happens to us in time of humiliation and to put our trust in God that he is faithful. Therefore, besides working towards my professional goals, I also attempt to serve the Lord by speaking the truths of the gospel through whatever medium God makes available, in this case, Built on the Rock.
My message to the youth is to start locally, make yourself better, search for truth so the truth can set you free, discipline yourself and become valuable, then serve your family and community and humanity as a whole.
Raquel Silva
