Wearing A Cross Is Not Enough

Tack draws here on Augustine, who observed that many people call themselves Christians while living in a way that gives no evidence of it. The difficulty, Augustine suggests, is not that they sin – all Christians sin. It is that they have stopped trying: they no longer confront their sins and shortcomings and, more troublingly, no longer cry out for forgiveness.

Father Tack argues that for anyone who commits to living the Christian life, the greatest obstacle is not hostility from outside the faith but the resistance of those within it who wear the name without bearing the weight – and who turn on sincere believers out of fear of being found out.

"There is nothing easier than to wear a gold or silver cross around your neck, to have it as a pendant. I know many people who do that, but it doesn't make them Christians. In the same way, a collar or a reverend does not make a man a priest."

So what is to be done? Is it possible to lead an authentically Christian life today?

"It can be done", Father Tack reflects, "but it cannot be done alone and in isolation. We need each other. We need the strength of the Christian community. Above all, we need the strength and courage that comes from prayer and from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Alone, we will not be able to overcome so many of the obstacles we encounter all around us. But with God, all things are possible!"

Father Tack is careful to add that Jesus never promised that following him would be easy. He promised only that he himself would be the way for those willing to walk it.

This text was originally published on DoKostola.sk, a Slovak Catholic website.

Štefan Chrappa is a Slovak author, broadcaster and cultural journalist. A former literary studies lecturer at Comenius University and long-time Slovak Radio editor and presenter, he has written some 20 books and received the Fra Angelico award for contributions to Catholic culture.