Reflections of Caritas

“If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him.” – 2 Timothy 2:11-12 

In the 1995 film Braveheart, the Scottish warrior and main character William Wallace poetically rouses his countrymen to arms with the phrase, “Every man dies, not every man really lives.” It is a beautiful, pithy line, and it captures a quintessential truth: You won’t be truly alive unless you live for something greater than yourself.

So, we must take up the “shield of faith” and the “sword of the Spirit” and fight with Christ against those who do violence to the innocent and oppress the weak (Eph. 6:16-17). True love demands nothing less.

At the risk of spoiling the rest of the movie, I’ll simply say that the compatriots of William Wallace follow him into several battles of rebellion against the tyrannical King of England. Not all of them survive. But, whether in life or in death, Wallace and his men are united, because of the cause they share. 

I think this is a good analogy for our life in Christ. Just as the Scots were willing to follow William Wallace to their deaths for the sake of freedom, so too must we be willing to fight and die with Christ in the battle for holiness and justice. 

Now, to be clear, I am not endorsing any kind of violence. I am simply stating that unless we are willing to fight – and even die – with Christ, we cannot live with Him. Unless we are willing to take up the banner of truth and goodness along with Christ and contend against the forces of evil, we cannot share in His glory. We cannot be His disciples unless we join Him on the field of battle. 

Some may insist that this language of combat is un-Christian. Let me remind you of the spiritual warfare that St. Paul advocates in his letter to the Ephesians; “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil . . . stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace” (6:11, 13-15). 

This imagery of battle is not meant to be alarmist or incendiary, but rather to emphasize the truth:  We are at war against Evil. Poverty, injustice, addiction, and moral degradation are all around us. As the Letter to the Ephesians goes on to state, “Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (6:12). 

So, we must take up the “shield of faith” and the “sword of the Spirit” and fight with Christ against those who do violence to the innocent and oppress the weak (Eph. 6:16-17). True love demands nothing less.