Memorial of St. Josaphat, bishop & martyr
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
What are we to think about the decline of faith in our times? Among the young, among our families, our relatives, friends, and the population in general?
Is it really a loss of faith or is it misplaced faith? Human beings require some belief if they are to live. I don’t have statistical evidence for it, but the rise in interest in witchcraft and other such phenomena and superstition clearly tells me that people put their faith in such things.
At the root of this is the absence of the willingness for conversion of heart which faith in Jesus calls for. It is well expressed by St. John Henry Newman who lays the blame at an unwillingness to know one’s self as needy:
“Can we content ourselves with such an unreal faith in Christ, as in no sufficient measure includes self-abasement, or thankfulness, or the desire or effort to be holy? For how can we feel our need of his help, or our dependence on him, or our debt to him, or the nature of his gift to us, unless we know ourselves?…. This is why many in this age (and in every age) become infidels, heretics, schismatics, disloyal despisers of the Church. They cast off the form of truth, because it never has been to them more than a form. They endure not, because they never have tasted that the Lord is gracious; and they never have had experience of his power and love, because they have never known their own weakness and need.”
Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections