The Indifferent, the Sympathetic, and the Testimonies…

I’ve gotten into the habit of pondering the “church folk”—as Jaques Maritain’s would say—and comparing the various types of baptized men and women. There are many different kinds, surely, but three main ones stand out: the indifferent, the sympathetic and the testimonies.

The first group is quite large. At a distance, no one would imagine that these people have once been immersed in the waters of Christian Baptism. Their day-to-day life is that of a pagan: eat, sleep, work. They do not go to church, don’t say prayers at home, or react to the media’s war against religion. If the central tower played Ave-Maria before a marvelous sunset backdrop, they would hardly pay notice. They are indifferent…

The second group is also composed of a large number of members. These always show up joyfully at Sunday mass. They feel right at home singing the religious hymns and song at the top of their lungs. And in fact, they are in celebration. If it were up to them, the sign of peace would last fifteen minutes each. Triduums and novenas always count on their presence. Whenever there is a kirmess or bazar fair, there they are among smiles and pastels. They never miss a procession. They line up for the Saint Cristopher Rally. It is also true that they rarely ever read the Holy Book, that nice big book sitting face-open on the living room bookshelf to Psalm 90, to scare off the devil. They do not participate in bible circles due to an absolute lack of time. Albeit, it does coincide with the evening novela, which is just unforgivable. Taking part in a spiritual retreat, in your dreams! Then again, they sure are sympathetic…

The third group is much reduced in size indeed. But they do exist. Yes, the testimonies, whose life is a gospel on a clean slate. It is not uncommon for their way of living to draw strange looks and interrogations to themselves, even criticism and discrimination.

As was the case of my friend Tonio from Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, who abandoned his profession to found the Jesus Menino Community, where he has taken in over one hundred mentally and physically deficient children, all adopted by him under legal obligation.

Another testimony of the third group could be my “son” Paulo Simonetti—or “Big Paul”—whom if we went looking for could find either in the favela, among trash collectors, or in a maximum security prison singing and preaching the Gospel to the inmates. I remember when he got engaged and, the very next day, quit his job at the bank in order to have more free time to spread the Gospel.

It is still the case for hundreds of youths—young men and women—who have left their families, jobs and colleges to adhere to the Comunidade Aliança de Misericórdia, where they dedicate themselves to caring for orphans, the elderly, drug addicts, prostitutes and other individuals the system has abandoned. There are also groups who visit the hospitals to console the sick, pray alongside with them and, if nothing else, always bring a word of hope.

Of course, the vocation which they have heard and embraced tends to have practical consequences: a simple sober life of sacrifice and renunciation. They understand right away that it is impossible to follow Jesus without embracing the cross. And so they do.

As long as the third group exists, there will be no shortage of those who give testimony to how Jesus Crist resuscitated in truth…