“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. The most important thing is my faith.”
These words from Charlie Kirk are maybe some of the most profound words a man of his age could share to a global audience for what was the driving force behind his life. Of all the videos I watched and social media I followed of Charlie Kirk, this was the only one that really stayed with me after he was murdered on September 10, 2025. Deep down this is what many Christians think and want to believe about themselves, they just haven’t found a way to say it like Charlie did.
One year later we come to celebrate his life and the impact he had on the next generation of young people around the world. I think it is no coincidence that we celebrate it one day before the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the tragedy that shaped my generation.
Both dates led to a revival of people searching for answers in a world that just experienced violence and evil like never before. People trying to understand why a terrible event could happen to good people. Instinctively, people knew there was a building close by, with a cross on top, that they could go and sit or kneel, cross the hands and raise their eyes to heaven with a plea for mercy.
This reaction does not happen without it being bred into the fabric of a society. Such was the posture of the people of this nation for the previous 250 years and was foundational to how this country was formed. As John Adams made famous: our constitution was made for a moral and religious people; it is wholly inadequate for the people.
The main difference I see with the revival after Charlie’s assassination is that the people of all ages, in particular the younger generations, are searching for truth and they are finding it in tradition. Whether that tradition is what Charlie did by defending American values and exceptionalism or by learning about the Father who made them in His image and likeness. The simple fact remains, the Truth wants to be found and it starts with one Man, Jesus Christ. There has never been a point in my lifetime where evil is so clearly on display. Do not despair but overcome evil by doing good.
In carrying on with the message that Charlie left us, we can find encouragement from St. Peter (1 Peter 3:15): “be always ready to give a reason for that hope which is in you.” You have been given a set of talents for which to build the kingdom. Use them to do as much good as you can while you are on this earth. It is through adversity that God tests you so you may grow in virtue. One man can make a difference. RIP Charlie Kirk.
