Building Up The Body Of Christ

…he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,

others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,

for building up the Body of Christ,

until we all attain to the unity of faith

and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood

to the extent of the full stature of Christ,

so that we may no longer be infants,

tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching

arising from human trickery,

from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.

Rather, living the truth in love,

we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,

from whom the whole Body,

joined and held together by every supporting ligament,

with the proper functioning of each part,

brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4: 11-16

And This Joy Endures

Christian joy…springs from this certainty: God is close, he is with me, he is with us, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as a friend and faithful spouse. And this joy endures, even in trials, in suffering itself. It does not remain only on the surface; it dwells in the depths of the person who entrusts himself to God and trusts in him.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words during Advent a few years ago, at a time when the Church was preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ. The reality of the Incarnation brings nothing but joy to a Christian—a blinding and beautiful joy. And the love and mercy which God made Man poured out during his life here on earth and which He pours down from Heaven everyday, makes this joy everlasting.

Why is it, then, that the Mystical Body of Christ is getting smaller in different parts of the world? Take for example, the Church in Latin America. According to a report in July, Catholics made up almost 92 percent of Brazil’s population. Those numbers went down to 74 percent in 2000, and then 64.6 percent in 2010. Countries all over the Latin American continent are seeing a similar decline, and scholars predict that this trend will continue.

Numbers aren’t everything, and they certainly don’t give the Catholic community any reason to lose hope. This decline in the number of faithful Catholics is disconcerting, though. Why is this contagious Christian joy, this joy that endures, losing ground?