We are told from the prophet Jeremiah: “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.”
In his 1997 book “Salt of the Earth” Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, stated: “Maybe we are facing a new and different kind of epoch in the church's history, where Christianity will again be characterized more by the mustard seed, where it will exist in small, seemingly insignificant groups that nonetheless live an intense struggle against evil and bring good into the world -- that let God in."
He also touched on this in 1969 by stating: “And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. It may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but it will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.”
These words of Pope Benedict XVI harken back to the prophet Jeremiah. There are some in the world today who paint an image of doom and gloom when it pertains to the Church. They claim that the Church needs to be relevant with the times if it is to grow and be meaningful to society. As GS Chesterton put it: “We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. What we want is a religion that is right where we are wrong. We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world.”
Pope Benedict XVI nor the prophet Jeremiah proclaims a message of doom and gloom, but one of hope. There is hope because from the true flame of faith the Church, though small, will begin to grow through fervent believers who have the flame of faith. If the early Church conformed to the norms of society where would she be today? The martyrs believed so fervently that they were willing to lay down their life in defense of the Gospel.
The Church is not a social club, but is a way of life. Our reward is not in the here and now, but in the life which is to come. The prophet Jeremiah documents how from the remnant shall flow a great multitude. Likewise, within the Church will growth spring forth from those who have the true flame of faith. The key to growth is not saying what people want to here, but to continually challenge them towards something greater.
Therefore, let us all be challenged towards the Lord. Let us dare to be more like Him within this life. Let us be found receptive of the gift of the sacraments which He gives. Not the ones we agree with, but all of them including the sacrament of Confession. Let us come to know Christ our Lord, to proclaim Him with our lips, and to live out the teachings of the Church that have been handed onto us through His apostles.
