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?
