Words of Wisdom from Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Opposite St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York is a giant statue of Atlas, bending and groaning and grunting under the weight of the world. That is modern man! “The world is too much with him, late and soon.” The world is too heavy for him and man is breaking under it, trying like a silly child to carry it alone, without any help or grace or faith from God.
The other image I see is that of the God-Man on Good Friday, carrying a Cross, taking upon Himself the burden of others and proving that sacrifice for sin, selflessness and love of God and neighbor alone, can remake the world.
No one will get out of this world without carrying some burden. Atlas will never get out from under that world; the Man Who carried the Cross will get out from under it, for it leads to Resurrection and a crown in Life Eternal. This is the choice before us: either try to revolutionize the world and break under it or revolutionize ourselves and remake the world.
(excerpt from Our Grounds for Hope)
Reflection on the Archbishop’s Words by Father Andrew Apostoli
I am well aware of the statue of Atlas that Archbishop Sheen refers to in his meditation. I go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City frequently for Mass and other celebrations. The statue of Atlas is placed directly across Fifth Avenue from the main door in the front of the Cathedral. You cannot miss seeing it as you emerge from that doorway. It is said that the statue was deliberately placed there as a rejection of Jesus and of any sense of dependence on God and His providence to run the world. Atlas, trying to hold up the world by himself, is a fitting symbol of modern secular man’s attempts to run the world without God.
For all their boasting, those who believe that secular man can control his own destiny ought to open their eyes, look at the world situation honestly and, if necessary, watch the 7:00 p.m. news! G. K. Chesterton, the famous Catholic author, once said regarding Baptism that you may be able to argue that pouring a little bit of water on someone’s head is not going to do a lot of good for that person or for the world, but you can’t deny the fact that mankind needs a lot of help with its many problems. The secular person either does not recognize or is unwilling to recognize that many of the problems of our modern society are caused by man’s inhumanity to man: war, violence, greed, disrespect of life, distortion and destruction of family unity to name just a few. Left to himself with his limited human knowledge and resources, man is pulled down by the forces of selfishness within and around him. To be pulled up, man needs the strength and wisdom of One above him. Because Jesus has conquered death and risen to new life, He alone can pull man up.
The Archbishop ends his meditation with a tremendous contrast. He said we have to make an enormous choice. If we choose to join the secularists and try to “revolutionize the world,” we will be crushed under its weight. We see this in the sad aftermath of some of the greatest dictatorships and totalitarian ways of life that thought they could “run the world” on their own in the 20th century: Communism, Nazism and Fascism. These brought only suffering, war and inhuman degradation to millions and millions of people. On the other hand, if we choose to follow Jesus, knowing we cannot do it on our own, but also knowing we can do all things in Him Who strengthens us, we need never be afraid. We can transform the world into what Pope John Paul II calls the “civilization of love.” It can begin with each one of us doing even one act of kindness for a brother or sister in need, or saying a prayer for someone who is in need of strength or encouragement. Mother Teresa of Calcutta would even say, “Peace begins with a smile.” We all can certainly do that much. In all these ways and countless others like them, we can light one candle rather than curse the darkness! After all, Jesus, our Risen Lord, is the Light of the World that has conquered the kingdom of darkness.
(Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR is the Vice-Postulator of the Cause for Canonization of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Please visit our website!)
