God is not bound by trends. They mean nothing to Him. And thus, while we certainly don’t want to be unaware of them, they should mean more or less nothing to us. The Spirit of God is power. We are not orphans. The mission of the Church is not dependent on our own strength, our own wisdom, or our own initiative. It is the Father’s desire that His creation be rescued and renewed. That’s what Jesus began with His death and resurrection. That’s what the Church continues until that glorious day of the King’s return. 

In listening to Jesus, in watching Him interact with people, and above all in His freely laying down His life for each one of us on the cross, the enemy is exposed as a deceiver and God is revealed to be a good Father, whom we can trust. Jesus repeats in many ways that He only does what He sees the Father do, and only says what He hears the Father say. Over 180 times He speaks explicitly of His Father in the Gospels. The Father is the Lord’s “one homily.”

Our lack of unity in the Catholic Church is a scandal. Our lack of unity as Christians is a scandal. As a result of the division that exists within us as disciples of Jesus, those “sheep” who are living the nightmare that is life apart from God are hindered from knowing that God sent His Son out of love for us all, and hindered from knowing their true identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. As such they are easy prey for the one Jesus calls “the thief,” who comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. 

“See how they love one another,” was the cry of the pagans in the Roman Empire as they observed the life of the early Church. How can I live so as to help ensure that my own community looks like Luke’s description of the early Church? How can we all live so as to transform our communities so that the world says about us what the Roman Empire said about those first Christians?