I believe there is a Christian groundswell happening. My first signs might have been the extraordinary corporations and business founders that are publicly faithful to their Christian beliefs. After Tom Monaghan, devoted Catholic and founder of Domino’s Pizza, sold his pizza chain, he founded Ave Maria University, to renew Catholic Higher Education. Chick-fil-A, one of the most popular fast food chains, is bold in its stance to close Sundays. Their Corporate Purpose is, “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.” Hobby Lobby, one of the nation’s most popular crafts stores, is also closed on Sunday and lists their first corporate commitment to be, “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”

A year or so ago, we started seeing the He Gets Us commercials about Jesus. The sponsors are a coalition of people with a variety of lived experiences that have been, “inspired and transformed by the story of Jesus and want to invite you to explore it, too.” Angels Studios and The Chosen are transforming entertainment to teach and evangelize. Did you see the Hallow Catholic prayer app commercials on Election Night? Forty-five percent of their users are not Catholic. They are boldly proclaiming their prayer and Pro-life messages. Two very successful Catholic businessmen felt called to use their corporate experience to help parishes run more successfully. They founded Amazing Parish and thousands of pastors and their teams, including ours here at SLOT/SH, are applying what they learned to make their own parishes amazing.

There were fifty-five million Catholics in Indianapolis for five days praising and worshipping Jesus in the Eucharist and calling on the Holy Spirit to renew our faith and transform our nation. Political leaders and the media might be beating down on us with non-Christian messages, but I believe that average Americans aren’t accepting it. Bishop Barron reminded us that we, as the laity, need to use our own “panache and energy and intelligence and enthusiasm” to go out in the secular world and set it on fire. April 17, 2033, Easter Sunday, will be the two thousandth anniversary of Jesus’ Resurrection. US Bishops are planning the next Eucharistic Congress that year and many Christian organizations are working towards goals for that date. Let us all unite our individual experience, talent, and panache to this groundswell.

Scripture: Read Romans 12:4-8. What stands out?

Call to Action: Pray about how you can use your position to influence your communities and professions. Then do it.