 The City Without Walls Hundreds of years ago, the cities of old Greece had high walls built around them. The walls were made of stone and there were iron gates at the various roads that led into the city. Soldiers guarded the walls and gates of the cities at all times. I suppose you were wondering why walls were built around the cities of Greece. The people built walls around their cities to protect themselves from their enemies. In those days, there were many wars and in time of war, the walls made it hard for enemies to enter the cities. The walls blocked the enemies every time. So a very high wall around a city was always very important. Here's something that may surprise you. Do you know that there was one city in Greece that had no walls around it? Yes, that's true. The city of Sparta had no walls around it. The city of Sparta had no gates, no soldiers guarding the city. Sparta stood alone, the only city in Greece without walls. Now the king of Sparta was a very fine king. He was neither proud nor hard, but he was kind and generous and his people loved him. The king was good to his people and he tried to be their friend. He tried too to be friendly with his neighbors. So what do you think the king did? One day, the king of Sparta invited the kings of neighboring cities to come and visit him. Of course, when the people of Sparta heard that strange kings were coming to their city, they prepared a grand welcome. Yes, there was a parade, a big parade with soldiers, flags, and music. As the kings rode through the city, the people of Sparta waved and cheered. The visiting kings were quite surprised at the welcome they received. When the visiting kings reached the palace, the king of Sparta was very kind to his guests. He had prepared a grand feast, but just before the visiting kings sat down at table, one of the visitors asked a question. King of Sparta, he asked, why do you have no walls to protect your city? The king of Sparta smiled. He waved his hand and led the visiting kings to a window. The king pointed to thousands of his people who were gathered in the courtyard. These are my walls, said the king of Sparta. My people are my walls. Yes, the people of Sparta were the walls of the city. The people of Sparta loved their king, and every person in that city was a soldier. Every person was a soldier ready at any time to defend the city and protect the king. A soldier ready to fight for his king, a soldier ready to die for his king. No wonder that the city of Sparta had no walls, Sparta needed no walls. Sparta needed no walls. The people were the walls of the city. Boys and girls, this afternoon many of you will receive the sacrament of confirmation. You will receive the Holy Ghost. God will come to you and he will strengthen you in your faith. This afternoon you will become members of Christ's army. This afternoon you will become soldiers of Jesus Christ. As a soldier you must be loyal to Christ, your king. You must obey him and you must serve him well. You must be ready at all times to protect Christ, to defend Christ from his enemies. You must be ready to fight for Christ. Yes, die for Christ. Like the king of Sparta, Christ has no walls. In the future, you will be Christ's walls and Christ will depend upon you to protect him. When people talk about Christ, you must defend him. When people break Christ's laws, you must correct them. By your life and your good example, you must show the world that you believe in Christ, that you love Christ, that you are one of Christ's soldiers. Now don't get the idea that just because you are going to be a soldier, you will have to be fighting all the time. The best way to be a soldier of Christ is to live well by saying your prayers, keeping God's laws, and receiving the sacraments often. By doing these things, you will prove to Christ that you are loyal to him, that you love him. Of course, there will be times when you will have to defend Christ. You won't have to defend Christ with your fists. Oh no, very often, a kind word or a good deed will protect Christ from his enemies. Children, you know what is right. Don't be afraid to do right at all times. You know what Christ wants and what he expects you to do. At times, it may be hard, but a good soldier never runs away from his duty. It's an honor to be a soldier of Christ. Don't ever be a traitor. Be a good soldier at all times. Be loyal to Jesus Christ.