Last week I mentioned the precipitous drop in Mass attendance in the Diocese of Rockford and throughout the world.  In our country only 1 in 5 people is going to church on a mostly regular basis.  I lamented that since Vatican II in 1965, a slow spiritual decay has taken place and a crisis of discipleship now exists.  Simply put:  the faith is not being passed on to succeeding generation.

In addition to this malaise in the faith, our societal/cultural mores have begun to collapse creating deep tensions and mistrust in the underpinnings of our society, namely the areas of government, education and the family.  A moral relativism now subsumes a great number of people and our accompanying institutions which can no longer be relied upon as confidently as in the past.  What  was strong, good, true and holy in the past has been upended by an agenda for change that seeks uncertainty, a rejection of moral absolutes, flexible mores and a lack of trust in God contributing to a disregard of holy and uplifting ideals.

Let me be clear.  Vatican II is not the culprit.  That being said, an over-eager rush to change our fundamental beliefs and doctrinal teachings under the guise of liberation is.  Many a priest (and too many bishops) have too often taught falsely our Catholic faith, genuinely perverting the teaching of our Church using Vatican II as the bludgeon, and misrepresenting the fundamental foundations of our Catholic Church and Jesus Christ to push for a “New Church” open to “new teachings” that frees us from the past and all the heavy restrictions that that entailed. 

The crisis of discipleship has at its very heart confusion, uncertainty, apathy, doubt, mistrust and a lack of genuine charity (meant in its broadest sense).  The crisis we face is simple:  we cannot pass on what we have not ourselves caught and we cannot give to others what we have yet to more deeply possess.  There are answers to this crisis:  we must define and then live true discipleship, embrace our Savior Jesus Christ in a new relationship of true repentance and submission, bend our knees to the Holy Spirit for direction and focus, and trust the One True God who never lies and means what He says.

But, how convicted will we be?  How courageous will we be?  Do we want to change and make a difference?  Do we want to reclaim the faith and pass it on?