Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Sam Traut and the Call to Christian Life in a Darkened World


Author: Ryan LaPlante
Date: 6/27/2015

      My friends, these recent days have been painful for all of us as Catholics, especially for those who have had the privilege of knowing Samuel Traut. We have suffered the loss of a dear friend and leader, a man who inspired us and brought such joy into our lives. His death by a shocking act of malice comes upon us during a time of increased turbulence, violence, and confusion in our community and in our nation.
     Things seem quite dark and the absence of light weighs upon our hearts. What can we do in the midst of such personal sorrow and societal decay? How can we possibly overcome this onslaught of the forces of despair and hatred?
     For the answer to this difficult question, we need look no further than the example of Sam himself. Here is a man who strove to live Christian virtue in all aspects of his life. He knew that this was the best way to effect change in a world so lost.
     The most basic and necessary thing that Sam did to impact people so deeply was that he let everyone know that he was a Christian. In John 13:35, Christ tells us, “The mark by which all men will know you for my disciples will be the love you bear one another.” Sam was kind and charitable to all. Whether it was those he worked with, went to school with, or that he had just met, he treated people like every single person meant something to him. He always came to help if somebody needed assistance moving to a new place or if there was a fundraiser that needed staffing. If he saw that someone was struggling with something, he would see what he could do to help them. Many times, I would be sitting in the student lounge at the Newman Center trying to muddle through my homework and Sam would be passing by. He would stop and check in to see if he could help me. Even if he didn’t quite know how to solve a problem, he did his very best to get me on the right track. He was the sort of man that didn’t have to tell you that he was a Christian. You could just figure it out by watching him live.
     Sam was also humble. One of the things I remember the most about him was that he was always asking questions. Not in a pestering, casually curious sort of way, but in a way that sought valuable knowledge. He asked people about themselves so that he could know them better. He asked about problems to see if he could lend a hand. If anyone stated an opinion, he’d ask about it to try to understand it. He wasn’t dull or slow to pick things up. On the contrary, I considered him one of the smartest men I knew. He simply had the attitude that there wasn’t a single person that he couldn’t learn from.
     In his humility, he lived with a confidence that came from within, from a consistent life of prayer that was open to the Will of the Father. Sam knew he wasn’t perfect. But he accepted himself and trusted the ability of God to form him. The level of excellence we saw from Sam came because he simply let God make him into the person that he was meant to be. He allowed the Lord to express his love for the world through him. Being docile to the creative power of the Father shaped Sam into who he was and is.
     With all his gentleness and kindness, Sam was no pushover. He was a man of action. He strove to respond to the needs of the Church and his neighbor. If there was need to defend his faith, he did it. He stood in front of the abortion clinic praying and giving witness to the dignity of human life. He participated in the campaign to pass pro-life legislation in the State of North Dakota. He led a bible study, courageously seeking out men with whom to share the Gospel of Christ. The last few weeks of his life were spent in Peru trying to help win souls for Jesus. He was strong and dedicated in all of these things.
      It wasn’t just in his relationships and spirituality that Sam lived the Gospel. He worked hard in college. He worked hard at his job. He was a man you could depend on. Who could fail to admire this? For him, there was no separation between his life of faith and his temporal duties. Sam realized the eternal value and dignity of good work and the importance of using one’s talents to their full extent. This was because the ideal of Christian manhood was the code he sought to live by.
     Though he exemplified great virtue, Sam was no prude. He was a real guy who enjoyed having a good time as much as anybody I ever met. Goofing off and practical jokes were trademarks of his. From Bison football games to Newman Center dances, Sam enjoyed the heck out of a party. Nobody was out on the floor swing dancing more than he was. He did his best to make sure everybody else was having a good time too. He’d go out for a drink with you any night of the week if he was free. He valued the life that God gave him and used it to live a life of joy.
     As Sam lived like Christ, so he died like Him. His last act was to give a thirsty man a drink, only to suffer a violent attack. At that moment, he made it his mission to perform a work of mercy for a man who neither knew nor appreciated him and he died at the hands of this person. Christ, who made it his mission to work his mercy upon mankind, died at the hands of those who neither knew nor appreciated Him. What a remarkable parallel! Christ’s body was destroyed by violence in an apparent defeat. Yet it was by this very act that He achieved his supreme victory over sin and death. The death and loss of Sam may seem like crushing blow stricken upon our community of faith. However, he died victorious in charity. Just as his Savior did on Easter morning, Samuel Traut will rise upon the Last Day, with his body and soul again united in glory.
     It is such a tremendous gift for us to have witnessed such an exemplary life! It seems that in the observation of the life of this man, we have been handed a solution for the ills of our day.
     A person could go on and on about the qualities of Samuel Traut. However, my main point here is that, although the world was deteriorating all around him, Sam refused to be pulled down by it. He lived on the same planet and in the same broken society as we do. Yet, in simply affecting the people around him, he worked to raise the lowly state of our culture to a new level of Godliness.
     To me, Sam embodies what the world, for a large part, is missing. As people who hold dear the truths revealed by God, we may wonder how our society could have gone so far astray. We often look to politicians, the media, and pop culture as places to land the blame. We lament that our government lacks integrity and continually makes decisions that usurp the legislative branch. We wish for leaders in high places who will speak out and act against the perils of our time. However, what our world needs is holiness in the ordinary, everyday person. The ordinary person must spread the light of Christ in this darkening world.
     Yes, friends, we mourn the loss of a remarkable person whom we love. However, let it steel our resolve to live as Christians. Let us be examples of virtue. Let us joyfully heed the call of the Almighty to rise, rise above the hatred and indifference in our world! If we do this, we shall be as victorious as Samuel Traut and the One Whom he calls Lord.

Ryan is Senior at NDSU: College of Engineering 

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