Legatus New Evangelization

Editor PATRICK NOVECOSKY writes that the culture war is a spiritual battle for souls . . .

Patrick Novecosky

by Patrick Novecosky

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re at war. We’re at war with radical Islam and we’re in the midst of a fierce culture war — a war of ideas over the best way to live.

What this all means, when you get right down to it, is that we are in a war for souls. The devil knows his time is shorter now than it’s ever been, so he’s hard at work trying to distract us from the reality of Christ’s victory on Calvary. Satan’s first trick is to convince people that God isn’t real. When that lie takes root, his Culture of Death spreads like wildfire.

The chair of the Democratic National Committee recently said that killing a seven-pound baby in utero is not only okay, it’s an expression of “personal liberty.” The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 18% of patient deaths in Belgium come from either lethal injection/assisted suicide or from being put into a deep coma and left to die. Nearly half of the euthanasia deaths in that country are not reported. And throughout the Western world, the fundamental building block of society — marriage and the family — is facing a full-frontal assault from secularists and the gay lobby.

It seems to me that Legatus was founded 28 years ago for a time such as this — the era of the New Evangelization. With 87 chapters and well over 5,000 leaders, Legatus is a small but powerful army of business and cultural leaders who are tasked with turning back the tide of secularism by learning, living and spreading the Catholic faith in their businesses, their families, and their communities.

The men and women of Legatus are born leaders — Type A personalities. As leaders being formed in the faith, Legates are a force for positive change in the world. By living our Catholicism courageously, we ourselves are changed to become more like Christ. The joy that comes from our prayer and deep friendship with the Lord — despite our own sufferings and the Culture of Death pressing in around us — is transformative. We are called to radiate that joy, which is infinitely attractive.

In fact, Pope Francis told young people at World Youth Day in Rio last year that joy is essential to winning the culture for Christ. “Evangelization in our time will only take place as the result of contagious joy,” he said.

We live in an illogical age where the best-reasoned theological arguments are not likely to sway people, but joyful Catholicism has a great chance of moving mountains and winning disciples to Jesus Christ. After all, the Church exists to evangelize and so do we!

PATRICK NOVECOSKY is Legatus magazine’s editor-in-chief.