I didn't sign up for this!

I can't help but be amused by the occasional outburst of righteous anger from well meaning Catholics who get worked up over attacks against the Faith (author included). From the Da Vinci Code, to Piss Christ, to TV in general, it is true that attacks come from all sides. And indeed at a certain level the anger is legitimate.

But friends kindly remember three things. First that it has always been this way, if not worse. Second, as Christians we signed up for this. Finally, we have already won the fight.

As for the first thing whenever I see such attacks I try to remind myself what it must have been like for the first Christians whenever a new Emperor mounted the throne. Odds are it went something like this:

Christian 1: "We have a new emperor."
Christian 2: "Wonder if he will continue the current policy of feeding us to the lions?"
1: "Maybe he's a progressive and will simply behead us?"
Etc. It could be a lot worse than it is now. It WAS a lot worse for those who came before us.

Second, our King warned us about this. He didn't promise life would be a cakewalk after we chose to follow Him. Jesus died on the cross, and before then told us we must do the same. We should be thankful that our burden is so light.

Finally, We need to remember that we have already won. Christ conquered death, folks! Who is Dan Brown compared to the King of the Universe? Instead of being "OUTRAGED!!1!11!", we should be saying to folks like Dan Brown, "That's really the best you can do, huh." The victory of God is inevitable. Our job, first and foremost, is to preach that Good News.