Living Your Faith, Openly

Suppose there was a show-and-tell assignment at a school and a student decides to talk about his Bible. Should this student be allowed to share with the rest of the class his faith in God and what the Bible teaches?

For some of us it’s an easy answer: of course he should. Still, there are many that are under the impression that God should be kept out of our schools completely, even if it means telling a student that he cannot express his faith openly during an assignment that invites sharing about something personal.

It turns out that there is nothing prohibiting a student from talking about his faith in school, at least not in my local school district. Similarly, a student cannot be prohibited from expressing his faith, such as saying grace before consuming a meal in the school cafeteria.

I asked around about this recently and there was no definite consensus on whether students should be allowed to speak about their faith in school. To me, this is beyond an overwhelming answer to the affirmative. I see this as a result of decades of trying to push God out of the public.

You see, for many, practicing your faith has been relegated to something you do privately and, dare I say, secretively. Yet, that’s not how the Apostles lived. They clearly lived their faith out in the open, even going as far as praying for more boldness:

This is what the Apostles prayed after being arrested for proclaiming the Gospel. They were arrested and interrogated. Yet they remained undeterred in their mission. Are we willing to express our faith publicly no matter the consequences? It’s a question worth asking as it seems that the contemporary culture seems rather interested in continuing to push God out of every aspect of public life. What then do we teach our children?

I admit, even I feel shy at times doing the Sign of the Cross as I say grace before eating a meal at work. But it is vitally important that we live our lives in faith openly and boldly. Perhaps simply doing the Sign of the Cross is a bold act for someone who is shy and reserved. Perhaps being bold is not shying away from talking about Jesus to someone who would benefit from hearing the Good News.

What would we do if one day our religion was outlawed? Is it really that far-fetched? Some would scoff at this idea but it is very much worth considering. We have seen evidence that government agencies will target Catholics. We have even seen churches burnt down in acts of arson and even an attempted massacre at a First Communion mass. In other parts of the world there are Christians being martyred today.

Are we willing to live our Faith openly and boldly, like the Apostles? We must pray that the Holy Spirit strengthens us and grants us the graces necessary to live unafraid and be open about our faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s also teach our children that they have every right to express their faith and be joyful that they do so. Let us pray for boldness.

God bless you.