Both TV shows have many fans and lots of publicity, but it is their basic premise that has piqued my interest. These programs have found a way to give people their voice and share it with millions, if not billions, of others around the world. The people on these shows express themselves in the voices they have been given to enrich the musical world.
During the month of August, the Church celebrated several voices that have spoken with great power in her history. They are the “rock stars” in our Church today – St. Dominic, St. Alphonsus of Ligouri, St. Rose of Lima, St. Edith Stein, St. Maximilian Kolbe. All of these holy people shared their voices with the whole world so that God’s Word could be heard in all of its glory. They believed what they preached and they lived as they spoke. Behind their words were their actions, and within their actions was the Word.
For each of them, it was all about being a witness, a witness to God’s saving acts in our everyday lives. It should still be like that today. If we do not use our voices to proclaim these acts to others, how can others grow in their faith? So, as we reflect on the lives of these holy men and women, we can ask ourselves, “What kind of witness am I?”
Sister Pat is a member of the RENEW staff, a Dominican Sister, and loves working with Young Adults as the program manager of Theology on Tap.