Recently, a friend and I were caught up in discussion about the temptation of many Christians to dismiss cities as hotbeds of degeneracy, cesspools of Satan, and wretched hives of scum and villainy. (That last one’s from Star Wars!) It would be much better, in many minds, to retreat into the country, and avoid such worldly wiles completely. Needless to say, cities are imperfect places. To turn a phrase uttered by St Paul, one might say that where people increased, sin abounded all the more. However, as is perhaps obvious by this point, I think we might be too quick to write off cities as hopeless. As my dear friend rightly pointed out, Christians who do just that are often unaware of the excellent work done there by our brothers and sisters—not to mention that historically it was in cities that the Christian message was first spread. In fact, is not the New Jerusalem to be a city itself?

One might look at the earlier days of Christianity—whether it be the early Church or in the middle ages—as some sort of glorious age of virtue, when sin was chastised and the Word of God was the law. Unfortunately, such a time has never existed. If one believes that cities scorn Christianity now (which, to be fair, they do in some ways), one would do well to visit the Catacombs in Rome, full of martyrs to the Faith, who paid the ultimate price for their cities scorn, and gave testimony to their Faith in Christ. Indeed, what price they had to pay is nothing in comparison to what’s being asked of us who are fortunate enough to live in western nations.

Let us consider the example set by some of the saints: St John Bosco, St Philip Neri, and St Francis de Sales—some of my absolute favourites. I wondered what it was that they all had in common, which I think is well-attributed to St Philip by Fr Jonathan Robinson of the Oratory, which I do believe can be attributed to the other two just as well:

[Philip] is convinced that there is a a universal call to holiness.

Fr Jonathan Robinson, In No Strange Land

This contention appears to be shared not by each of these “urban saints”, but also the Apostles themselves, who did their preaching in cities where they could encounter the masses. I have yet to read, for instance, St Paul’s epistle to the Italian Countryside. To quote what St Paul actually wrote:

Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

Romans 5:20

Is it not necessary, therefore, that there ought to be an abundance of grace in these places that are perhaps overtly sinful? Not that preaching in a city is meant for everyone, but I hope the point is well-made that there is no reason to abandon these areas. Quite the opposite, in fact: if we truly feel that cities are hopeless, then hope must be brought to them!

Part of the Christian missionary identity, I feel, is in understanding how to approach not only those who have not heard the Word, but those who are inimical to it. For that, we have all of Church history to help guide us. Was St Philip’s Florence, for instance, any more a city of Angels than today’s LA? Perhaps not as much as you might think. Did the Rome of St Peter’s day laugh at Christianity any less than Toronto, let’s say, might today?

What I hope this emphasises is just how extensive the universal call to holiness is, even to those who may be radically opposed to Christianity. There is, after all, “joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) That is to say, God reaches out to all of us, and has a much greater presence in our everyday lives—believer and non-believer alike—than perhaps we give Him credit for.

I offer these words for three reasons: for one, to comfort those who may be feeling discouraged in their urban home; secondly, to warn us against the dangers of fleeing; and lastly, to encourage others to grow in their missionary identity, irrespective of our own vocation, so that we as a Church may bring about this city of God. In the words of St Philip:

We must seek Christ where Christ is not, that is, in crosses and tribulations in which truly He is not now, but we shall find Him in glory by this road.

The Maxims and Counsels of St Philip Neri, November 30