One of the primary symbols of our faith is Jesus on the cross - a truly counter-cultural image of victory.

St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:27, "Now, you then are the body of Christ and each one of you a member of it." he was talking to every baptized Catholic. Too often, we think of the Church as a 3rd person pronoun - a they, a them. The reality is the Church is a 1st person pronoun - a we, an us.

If we are not teaching are children to pray, we cannot lament the fact that they have no faith. If we are not sending our children to Catholic schools, we cannot be upset that Catholic schools are closing. If we are not actively preparing for and participating in Mass, we should not complain that our liturgies are not vibrant.

The path to building a stronger Church is not an easy one. It will not gratify us all the time. It will not always parallel societal trends. But no one ever said faith was supposed to do any of those things. All we need to do is look to the example that started it all to see that. One of the primary symbols of our faith is Jesus on the cross - a truly counter-cultural image of victory. As Mother Teresa would remind us, Jesus never called us to be successful, He called us to be faithful.

Gods gift to us is our potential and what we do with it is our gift to God. Each of us is unique, each of us is willed, each of us is necessary, and each of us can make a differencein the context of this Churchin the context of this world.

To my brother and sister Catholics who are reading this, we are at a crossroads so let us walk forward with faith in Jesus Christ and faith in each other. Let us stand up and count ourselves Catholics, without qualification, embarrassment or excuse. Let us celebrate that which unites us and let us work lovingly and respectfully to resolve that which divides us. Let us go forth to love and serve the world and let the numbers speak for themselves. And let us always trust in Jesus' final promise to us, "I am with you always, until the end of time." (Matt 28:20)