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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