The prophet Isaiah, writing in 721BC assures the people in the face of the Assyrian army. “A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.” The threat was averted and Jerusalem was saved. Several generations later the prophet Jeremiah warns the people about the approaching Babylonian army. He doesn’t get a hearing because the people would quote back to him the assurances of Isaiah. Jeremiah couldn’t get them to understand that they were at a new moment. Something analogous is happening in the Church today. We felt we had built on a rock foundation of saying prayer and making the sacraments which would suffice in keeping the faith alive. But even the most casual observation demonstrates that we are at a new moment, that what we have traditionally done is not enough to assure the continuance of the faith. In our time it is simply not enough to be a good Catholic. We must be, to use Pope Francis’ term, missionary disciples. We must be willing to share our faith, to talk about what Jesus means in our lives, to live in a way that makes others say, “I want what you have.”
