This video, produced by getoutthebox.org, struck me as simple and impressively creative. It goes to the heart of the matter asking, “What would happen if we decided to revolutionize our generation?” What would happen if we traded in selfishness and took up a radical life for Christ?

Change always begins with a reality check, “What type of world are we living in?” “It’s always about me, me, me…” isn’t just what our parents used to tell us. It is, as the video says, “the prevailing message of our time.” Yet we, as the young generation, have an option: go with the flow or swim upstream.

An option for Christ, especially today, is plainly a “sign of contradiction”. However, far from the idea of a “rebel without a cause”, our revolution is one of love (Check out Benedict XVI’s speech to the Lebanon youth). It’s time for us, each one, every day, to make a choice for Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFfN6r53vIY&hd=1

I liked the examples the video offered about glorifying the Lord with all that we do, with our work and our talents. Still, as Catholics, I think we must go further. A choice for Christ is one that involves our entire being: our thoughts, our feelings, our desires, our fears, our work, our relationships, etc… Conversion’s touch must transform the world, beginning with our own interior.

Living Radically for Christ

Perhaps, then, instead of the word trader (although it’s catchy in the video) I would use the word “apostle.” A few reasons why:

– An apostle is someone who has had a deep and personal encounter with the Lord himself.

– An apostle is someone who has been “sent”, sent by a Man who has given His life to prove His friendship and love. His or her life is continually marked by the reality that without Christ “we can do nothing” (Jn 15, 5).

– An apostle knows that he/she is part of a group of apostles, that is, the Church. A deep love for Christ translates into a deep love for His Church. It is there in the Church that the apostles learn from the greatest teachers: Holy Mary, all the saints, and the Magisterium.

Obviously, there’s a lot more to be said. Nevertheless, that’s what the Catechism is for (and it explains it much better than I can).