A few days ago, I was invited to dinner at a family’s home. During the conversation, I mentioned a quote from Saint Teresa that seemed obvious to me:  “The world is burning.” I was surprised to discover I was the only one at the table sharing it. The teenagers present, about 15 years old, didn’t understand what fire I was talking about. For them, the world is as it always is: with the usual problems they remember from their short lives. Some adults, on the other hand, argued that things are better than ever: better quality of life, more technology, more consumer goods… What fire are we talking about?

This relativistic vision, which identifies happiness with material well-being, overlooks a key fact: the profound illness of the contemporary soul. Because yes, if Saint Teresa were alive today, she would repeat that phrase.  The world is burning. Not as a condemnation, but as a sociological diagnosis. These are some symptoms that any honest sociologist would recognize:

Bad wishes

We live off fleeting pleasures and constant stimuli that leave us feeling empty, like those generated by addictions. Or we pursue successes that, although more noble, expire just the same. Everything must be constantly updated to continue feeling valuable. It’s never enough.

Degraded relationship and love

We’re no longer just talking about broken marriages, but about the absence of stable bonds. Sporadic relationships, social media following as a substitute for real friendship, rampant individualism… all of this points to an inner poverty that prevents us from sharing something truly valuable with others.

Loss of significance

Emmanuel Todd calls it  “zero Christianity” : faith, which was the soul of Western civilization, has disappeared from public debate. Without reference to the transcendent, everything becomes unstructured. There is no hierarchy of values, no sense of pleasure or pain. We live focused on what is useful, on what suits us, like animals.

Generalized sadness

Our times are marked by diseases of the soul: depression, anxiety, burnout. Especially among young people. And yes, there are more psychologists, more psychiatrists, more therapies… but less sense.

In response to this, Saint Teresa added another unforgettable phrase:  “These are difficult times that require strong friends of God .” Just as Saint Josemaría affirmed: the world’s crises are crises of saints. And this phrase can be read in two ways:

• Crises are due to the absence of saints.
• Crises are an opportunity for saints to emerge.

History repeats itself… every five centuries

Over the centuries, as Christian life has slackened, spiritual reforms have emerged that have revitalized it. In the 6th century, Saint Benedict and monasticism. In the 11th, the Cistercians. In the 16th, the Trappists. Every five centuries, a new fire.

Today, five centuries later, perhaps we don’t so much need a new reformer of monasticism as a reawakened of lay holiness. Saints in the world. Saints on the street. Saints with T-shirts and cell phones.

Holy laymen: the great pending reform

May the day come when we celebrate Saint Lucy, influencer, Saint Louis, pilot, and Saint Monica, soccer player, in the missal. Because the great reform of our time is not to flee the world, but to sanctify it from within.

As McIntyre said:  “We’re waiting for a new Saint Benedict.” But perhaps what we’re waiting for is a silent army of lay saints. Not to opine, condemn, or be frightened by the world, like commentators. But to live coherently, love authentically, pray deeply.

Because in every reform in history, there were saints who didn’t set out to change anything… except themselves. And God did the rest.

Yes, the world is burning. But this is not a time to lament. It is a time for holiness. A time for strong friends of God.