I have been involved in ministry for over 20 years now, either in education or music, and both directly and indirectly. Even when I was in discernment over the Catholic Church in my early 20’s, people regularly directed their attacks of the Church at me and because I knew too much to not reply having a strong background in apologetics, my accidental ministry was sharing the good news.
It became clear to me from an early age that far too many Catholics don’t evangelize and live their faith outside of Sunday Mass enough for people to see Jesus at work in their lives. So many people including Catholics themselves are confused about the Gospel message that even the tiniest signs of Christianity is absent from our present culture. At least when I was growing up in the 90’s, nearly everyone went to church on Sundays, the “oh my God” phrase wasn't common among practicing Christians, public schools respected basic Christian observances (i.e Sunday service, Holy Week), and you could always tell a Christian family out to eat when they said grace before meals.
Today, tolerance has replaced morality with such phrases as “Be kind” and “Don’t rub your religion off on me” (which translates to “if you can’t agree with me, you’re a bigot” or other name slanders). And Catholics don’t mind as long as they can go to church on Sundays, at least that’s what I thought until Covid-19 hit the U.S. and Sunday Mass was closed to the public and most Catholics didn’t mind or miss it in person which essentially means they didn’t believe in the Real Presence or even that Catholicism is remotely different from Protestantism.
How did we get here? Slowly moving towards an ecumenical approach to religion? Should we celebrate our similarities? Of course! Should we not in turn celebrate the things that make us unique? Of course! Should we move away from religion altogether because it’s passé and antiquated? That’s what mainstream culture believes. Should Catholics accept this as the best approach towards true progress in society? Is this the solution to the world’s problems?
Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” If Catholics really believed this, why would they ever consider any other alternative guide? We must raise up our High Priest, Jesus Christ, to the forefront of our lives. Jesus is King. Jesus is victorious over sin and death, He is the Lamb upon the throne, He is the Alpha and the Omega. Who else can lift us higher?