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[source]: Catholic Exchange
[url]: https://catholicexchange.com/christs-call-to-young-men-rebuilding-the-three-necessary-societies/
Husbands, love your wives, wives love your husbands, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her—because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church. (Cf. Eph. 5:25, 30-32)
This great mystery is Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, leaving His Father in heaven and His mother on earth to unite Himself to His Bride, the Church, in the Eucharist—body, blood, soul, and divinity. Make no mistake about it, when all the smoke and fog clears, the great desire of the human heart to love and be loved, and to enter into marriage, point directly to the Eucharist and Christ's desire to be one flesh with us.
Marriage and the family, thus united to Christ and the Church, form two of the three "necessary societies" (that is, societies necessary for human happiness). From this foundation, you are called to "go out and labor in the vineyard," to go out and build a culture of truth, love, life, and liberty. Polity (politics, the state, or civil society), an aspect of this "going out," is the third necessary society. This is your Christian Inheritance.
All throughout, Christ calls you to become one with Him, forging you into men of courage, purpose, and unshakable faith. So while living in these societies, you are called to stand as warriors for Christ, rebuilding the crumbling foundations of a decaying civilization into one rooted in truth, love, and liberty.
The concept of "homeland" comes to mind soon after the concept of "family," for they go hand in hand. As you experience social bonding that extends beyond the family, you also begin to share in responsibility for the common good of that society. The social bond fosters further development of that social love into something more often called "love of country" (Cf. Pope John Paul II, Dilecti Amici, No. 11).
Families, societies, and countries unite in a shared culture and a shared history. If the family is the first teacher, then, in some sense, you are also taught by the tribe, people, or nation with which you are linked through the unity of culture, language, and history.
Here we turn to the parable of the talents—the talents which we receive from the Creator through our parents and families, and also through the national community to which we belong. In regard to this inheritance, we cannot maintain a passive attitude, still less a defeatist one.
Today, there's a sense of urgency to use your talents to accept this spiritual inheritance, to confirm it, maintain it, increase it, and share it with your brothers and sisters. For you know, even in your own families, that too many of our young people are taken up in the present culture of death. In a world that mocks marriage, profanes the sacred, and erodes just governance, you are summoned to "go out and labor in the vineyard" (cf. Mt 20:1-16), wielding the strength of Christ to rebuild what has been torn down.
The three necessary societies as framed by Pope Leo XIII are all under siege. Today the culture of death—abortion, pornography, gender ideologies, and the disintegration of the family—targets your generation with ruthless precision. It seduces you with instant gratification, isolates you in digital echo chambers, and undermines your vocation to be husbands, fathers, and leaders.
John Paul II challenged young people to lead a "revolution of conscience," calling you to live with integrity, defend human dignity, and embrace true freedom by rejecting sin—especially the sins of lust, pride, and apathy that ensnare so many. Lust reduces love to self-gratification. Pride blinds you to your need for God. Apathy surrenders the battlefield without a fight.
This is a war between the culture of life and the culture of death. It's a battle of good versus evil, truth versus lies, and sacrificial love versus self-indulgence. No politician or movement will ride in on a white horse to save the day. The root problem isn't climate change, economic strife, or even societal decay—it's sin. And the solution lies in your heart, united to Christ in the Eucharist.
You, young men, are the heroes of this fight. As St. Catherine of Siena declared, "Become who you are, and you will set the world on fire."
The Eucharist is your strength, young men. In it, Christ offers Himself to the Father for your salvation, inviting you to share in His sacrifice. Every time you receive the Eucharist, you are fortified to fight the battles of your heart—whether it's resisting temptation, standing up for truth at work, or preparing to lead a family with fidelity.
So, young men, fight for your family, homeland, and polity—the three necessary societies—as Christ calls you to, leaning on His strength provided to us in the Eucharist and His example of unending sacrificial love.