Last week, the Islamic season of Ramadan concluded.
I am consciously aware of the Islamic festivals because I live in the Australian suburb with, according to the 2011 Census, the highest proportion of Muslims in the country.
During Ramadan, my local community is noticeably different because the way the Islamic community structure their work and their lives revolves around their periods of prayer and fasting.
A Changing Community with Religious Practice
As an example, many of the local businesses have amended trading hours. Many of the cafes and restaurants do not open during the lunchtime period and instead open later in the evening and earlier in the morning to accommodate times when the Ramadan fast is broken, and pretty much all of them offer some type of iftar meal special promotion. The supermarkets are stocked with boxes and boxes of fresh dates (the food traditionally eaten first each day to break the fast), and traffic congestion is at its peak around prayer times.
Comprising only 25.5% of our population, the Muslim community is by no means a majority in my small, western Sydney suburb, yet their religious observance during this month especially has a visible impact on the entire suburb. During Ramadan, it is easier for even Catholics like me to adapt to the Ramadan schedule in some respects.
Some people might find this problematic, and an example of the “Australian” identity being overtaken by Islam. I am sure that those who attended last week’s “Reclaim Australia” rallies would subscribe to this.
Contrarily, I think it is deeply impressive. During Ramadan, I get to see with my own eyes how a quarter of the population actively living out their faith can have a transformative effect on its local community. Even if I don’t share their faith, I have to admire their commitment.
The Challenge to Catholics
However, I also find it deeply challenging. The proportion of Muslims in my area is about equal to the proportion of Catholics in Australia (Catholics comprise 25.29% of the Australian population according to the same 2011 Census.)
This means that we could have the same transformative effect on our communities.
If Australian Catholics were practising our faith with the same zeal as our Islamic brothers and sisters, Sundays would be noticeably different. People would expect increased traffic around Mass times, and stores may even be closed.
I’m not sure the push for the redefinition of marriage would be so seemingly unstoppable if the 25.29% of the Australian population who ticked the “Catholic” box on the 2011 Census supported the traditional definition of marriage.
Nor would we have as difficult a time explaining to people that marriage is between a man and a woman because it is ordered towards children if the 25.29% of Australians who were Catholic adhered to the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception.
Other areas of marriage and family life would be much more resistant to prevailing social trends, there would be much more respect and safety for human life in its most vulnerable stages and we would have the capacity to change the conversation around, and the care offered to, refugees and asylum seekers, the poor and the isolated.
The Only Thing Stopping Us is Us
I heard a talk given recently where I was reminded why this is not happening. The speaker said that the only thing that limits the power of an omnipotent God is our “no”.
This is an incredibly confronting idea, but it is also incredibly true.
The only thing that is stopping the Catholic population in Australia from having a dramatic influence on our culture is the Catholic population in Australia.
This is not a reason for dismay, but a reason for great hope.
It means that the changes we seek in the world around us rest firmly within our hand (well, our hand placed inside the hand of the Lord.)
We can so often get weighed down by the increasing secularisation of our culture. We can think that we are powerless against the evil or the indifference of our world. We can be tempted to despair.
But what I have seen in my area over the last few weeks is evidence that you don’t need more than 50% of the population to dramatically affect the culture.
Be the Change
Us Catholics know this better than anyone. Our Church spread through the efforts of 12 very ordinary men. And the great history of Catholicism shows us the transformative effect Catholics have on our communities. In the time since Christ, hospitals and care facilities have abounded, great institutions of learning as well as small, regional schools have been built and staffed, and Churches have long been places of refuge and assistance for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
The great saints have shown us that one person relying on the Holy Spirit constitutes a majority.
At this present moment, our culture is desperately in need of transformation by Catholic saints. I can’t remember a time in my life where I have felt we needed them more.
This is a good thing because God is faithful.
At this very moment, He is calling and equipping people to transform the world.
And I don’t want to alarm you, but if you’re a person who took the time to read the entirety of this piece, I’m pretty sure that you’re one of those He is calling and equipping. I’m praying for you. Pray for me too!
This article was originally printed in the Catholic Weekly, and is reposted here with permission.
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