What Are Great Men?

It seems that in the world today people have lost the notion of what makes men great. Therefore, they have the wrong idea of what truly great men are. Although one finds men that are presented as being great, these men do not possess values that are truly so.

Movie actors and actresses are considered to be great. They are among the highest paid people because their movies are promoted and watched by everyone. An autograph from a famous movie star is an almost priceless treasure. Professional sports athletes are also considered to be deities. Baseball cards are a proof of this. People would pay hundreds of dollars just for a single card of a famous player. Just recently a football stadium had to replace its turf because of a game that damaged it. The turf was cut into pieces, put into boxes and sold to football fans who were eager to buy it! Especially among the youth, rock stars are admired as great models. How many youths are influenced by their music, their way of living, and their manner of dress and speech? These are the people who are considered to be great by the majority of men.

To understand what great men really are, one must know that God made every man to reflect a part of Him and to reach a certain degree of sanctity. Men that are truly great are those that fulfill God's plan for them. To fulfill this plan, however, the forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil will try to dissuade them from doing God's will. Consequently, what famous actor, athlete, or rock star promotes love of God, virtue, or morality? To the contrary, their lives and actions promote immorality, crime, and ultimately hatred of God. Countless movies that are shown contain scenes that are contrary to the Law of God. The personal lives of many famous actors, athletes, and rock stars are scandalous, giving their admirers bad example. Immorality and crime are promoted by rock groups in their music. These men possess neither virtues nor values that can make them really great before God and men.

What men, therefore, can be considered as great? If it is true that a man is only great in the measure that he fulfills what God wants of him, saints are those who can be genuinely called great. Saints are those men who practiced virtue to a heroic degree. For example, St. John Bosco. When still very young he knew what God wanted of him. He knew that God wanted him to become a priest and to do apostolate with boys. Although he knew what to aim for, the path was full of thorns and obstructions. His first great difficulty was to obtain the means to be educated for the priesthood. He was just a poor peasant boy, but he advanced, putting his confidence in the Blessed Mother and using every means possible to attain his goal. He would work as the carpenter's helper, the cobbler's helper, the inn keeper's helper and he would do any job he could find in order to keep his studies going. When he was already an old man and his institutions were growing and prospering, he had to bear very great sufferings. Among them the greatest was the dislike the Archbishop of Turin had for him and his work. This unjust animosity led the archbishop to try to obstruct his endeavors and to even close down some of his institutions. St. John Bosco, however, took everything with much patience and respect, but never relenting in his determination to fulfill God's will. For him, what truly mattered was the glory of God and the salvation of souls. He was aware of what God wanted of him and although he met with innumerable hardships, he persevered heroically, putting his trust in Mary, Help of Christians.

People of today constantly flee from the reality that great men are only those who accomplish things that bring much suffering. They lie to themselves in thinking that movie actors, athletes, and rock stars are great people. Of course, it is easy to be in accordance with our fallen nature and with our bad tendencies. However, men that are truly great are those who are determined to accomplish God's will no matter what obstacles they may face.

Michael Gorre
School year 1996-'97