What it means to be Catholic is changing. What we might call cultural Catholicism — I am a Catholic because my family is Catholic — is waning. Whole generations of young people are abandoning the faith they were raised in. (This is not just a Catholic thing, by the way, but across all religious denominations.) The Archdiocese of Chicago is responding to this reality by seeking to create a new culture — a culture of evangelization. Instead of just having the faith for oneself we are to heed the word of Jesus as addressed to each one of us. Jesus said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” This is daunting for many Catholics — it is not something we feel equipped to do. The example of the apostles shows that from the beginning it has been ordinary people who have brought the faith to others. Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed. What the Holy Spirit can do with the likes of us is amazing as well.
