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| To Be an AoM is to be TOUGH! |
| Today our world is full of cowards. Most people do not want to endure the hardships on the path of virtue. Many would like to become saints but when asked to sacrifice their personal desires in order to obey God’s Will, they shrink back. They want to become saints the easy way. But there is no easy way to become a saint. The road to heaven is narrow, thorn-ridden… TOUGH. And when the going is tough, only the tough can get going.
Most people today have a “softness of soul” – they cannot endure the tedium of prolonged good actions. This softness of soul is a vice. It is a sin. And its name is inconstancy. Many would begin doing good but because of the emotional fatigue connected with doing good, they abandon it. Worse, fearing the difficulties of virtue, others would not even dare to begin doing good. Instead of standing fast in the face of difficulties because of the greater good that he will gain through virtuous action, the “soft man” gives in to his passions, forgets about virtue, and seeks pleasure in actions which are not so emotionally strenuous. The soft man is a weakling: a spineless, emasculated drifter. Our society, which advocates comfort and convenience at all cost, saps our moral courage such that cowardice and inconstancy have become a way of life. We see parents practicing abortion and contraception because they do not want to endure the hardships of childrearing. We see couples divorcing because they do not want to endure the difficulties of married life. We see young people committing fornication because they do not want to endure the tedium of self-restraint. We see parents hiring nannies and tutors because they do not want to bear the prolonged task of personally watching over their own children. We see parents turning a blind eye on the faults and vices of their children because they do not want to face the emotional difficulties of disciplining their own children. We see teenagers rebelling against their parents and teachers because they do not want to suffer the discipline and character training needed for their formation. It all boils down to that softness of soul, that lack of willingness or readiness to suffer for the sake of goodness, not even for the sake of duty. Cowards fear commitment. They do not want to be obliged to practice virtue at all cost. The Apostles of Mary League is no place for cowards. For to be an AoM, one must pledge to be a zealous apostle at all times and in all places no matter if one were alone beleaguered by negative peer pressure from all sides. An Apostle must be consistent in word and in deed, living what he preaches. If he preaches moral values but does not follow his own advice, he is a fake, and nobody would believe him. Inconsistency and inconstancy must not be observed in an Apostle. The Apostle must be brave, ready to die nobly, gloriously, for the love of God. Fortitude is the shield of every Apostle. In the face of fear, faith or chastity or any virtue will fail unless supported by the strong arm of fortitude. Fortitude is the bulwark and the safeguard of all the virtues. Unless the youth is brave, and can endure patiently the difficulties on the path of virtue, that youth can never be ready for adulthood. He can never be ready to commit himself to marriage or parenthood or to religious life. A coward can never be truly free to follow the path God has designed for him. Go bravely, placidly. Be tough. Because the going is tough. And gets tougher. The journey with the Crucified Christ begins with courage. Go, brave Apostles! Let us go that we may die with Him. Viva Cristo Rey! |