A little time in Kosovo

At just the point in time when you get tired of hearing people complain about the USCCB and the non-stop griping from some in the Catholic blogosphere, there comes a story which makes your heart leap for joy. I found one of those rare pearls this morning. It seems the Catholics in Kosovo are able to come out of hiding after centuries of life in the shadows. The men appeared to be good Muslims during the day (the women were hidden at home, I guess), but the families were Christian in private. I found this story this morning, and smiled at the joy of whole families being able to throw off the mantle of this “fake” Islam and be able to actually build a church and publicly be who they truly are.

I also smiled at the consternation of the Imam when he said

“No human brain can understand how a church should be build in the middle of 13 Muslim villages.”

I can answer that question! It’s because they weren’t really Muslim villages. The problem with converting by the sword is that you force obedience but don’t win hearts.

What joy there was in the statement of Beke Bytyci when he crossed himself upon entering the new church and said to the reporter, “I will be baptized next week.”

I can’t put into words the joy I feel for these people, these secret Christians, now able to stop pretending and live Truth. How beautiful that they were able to keep the Church alive through hundreds of years of oppression ready to spring free in an instant.

It makes one wonder about the whiners and complainers here in America. Would they be capable of such a feat? Would their faith be enough to sustain their families in Christ through generations? I wonder. If the misdeeds of a few bishops can rattle them, if a boring priest can keep them out of the pews, if bad music can keep them away then perhaps they need to make a pilgrimage to Kosovo. To Kosovo, where the people pray and work for a church and would be happy with a silly bishop and a boring priest and bad music as long as the Eucharist sat in the tabernacle and they could worship in public and declare to all that Jesus Christ is Lord without fear of reprisal….Perhaps we all need a little time in Kosovo to remind us what’s really important.

May God bless the people of Kosovo. Amen.