The other day I came across some words of St. John Henry Newman. They are from lectures he delivered in 1837, but they sound like he was talking today.
“The whole course of Christianity from the first,” he said, “is but one series of troubles and disorders. Every century is like every other, and to those who live in it seems worse than all times before it.”
He added: “Religion seems ever expiring, schisms dominant, the light of truth dim, its adherents scattered. The cause of Christ is ever in its last agony, as though it were but a question of time whether it fails finally this day or another.”
Newman’s point was that believers are always tempted to despair about the state of the Church and the state of the world, to think they are living in the worst of times, that the forces in the society and culture are too strong, that the faith is in danger of fading away.
It is true: the Church in every age confronts trials, scandals, and persecutions. In every age, there is the need for renewal and greater fidelity to Christ. Our time is no different.
But the saints know and we know: The victory has already been won. Jesus conquered evil and death and he promised that the gates of the netherworld will never prevail against his Church.
The Church’s liturgical year ends soon, and on that final Sunday we celebrate the victory of “Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.”
It’s good to remember this as our country concludes another divisive election season that has left many bitter and angry.
Several years ago, after another divisive election, I wrote that no matter who is president, Jesus Christ is still our king. That’s still true.
As Catholics, as the Church, we serve Jesus. He alone defines our mission. That mission doesn’t change: We’re here to proclaim the Gospel, save souls, and build God’s kingdom.
Again during this year’s campaigns, it became even more obvious to me how important the Church’s mission is at this moment in our nation’s history.
Our deepest problems cannot be solved by politics. Underlying our political debates are issues that are spiritual, moral, and existential.
People are dissatisfied, especially young people. They’re anxious and insecure about the direction the world is heading.
They sense that there’s something wrong with our way of life, that there must be something more than consumption, competition, and seeking pleasure.
They are looking for meaning, for a sense of “roots,” for real community and relationships that will last. They might not put it this way, but they’re also looking for moral direction, for someone they can trust to show them how they should live and what they should live for.
People need Jesus, and they need his Church.
From the first, Jesus said to his followers: “You will be my witnesses.” Now is the hour for our witness.
We know the Gospel’s power; we know how Jesus can transform a person’s life. We know that because he has done it in our lives.
So we must be the ones to show our neighbors that life can be good; that love, joy, and beauty are possible if we follow Jesus and his path for our lives.
People need to hear the good news that their life is sacred, that it has dignity and purpose.
We are not just organisms or machines, as our society would have it. We are children of God, created in his image, made with bodies and souls and the will to love; each of us is given a destiny to share in God’s own divine life.
This is the truth that can set people free. And there’s no telling what our society could become if more people came to live from that truth.
We need to be witnesses to what Jesus taught: that God gives us freedom, not to do what we want, but to do what is right; that character matters and virtue matters; that we can lead holy lives through moral discipline and the grace of God.
Newman wrote: “Not to despond, not to be dismayed, not to be anxious, at the troubles which encompass us. They have ever been; they ever shall be; they are our portion.”
He quoted the psalm: “The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly. But yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier.”
This is the Lord we serve. And in this moment, he is telling us again not to be troubled, but to believe; and to live and share what we believe with joy and hope.
Pray for me and I will pray for you.
And let us ask our Blessed Mother Mary to watch over our country.
