Church Growth



CHURCH GROWTH

Mario D’Couto

            In his book, “The Faith of our Fathers,” Cardinal James Gibbons gives us a beautiful insight about the growth of the Church. He compares the growth of a Church to the growth of a tender sapling. When we first plant it, we water it and soften the clay about its roots. But when it takes deep root we leave it to the care of nature’s laws. In like manner, when Christ first planted His Church, He nourished its infancy by a miraculous agency but when it grew to be a tree of fair proportion, He left it to be governed by the general laws of His Providence.

            It is truly amazing to think how the Church has grown. Despite all the ups and downs, the Church has indeed grown to great heights. This is a clear sign to show that this is the work of the Lord and not some human intervention. Currently, with all the mess that the Church is facing, it could be a moment of trial, but I firmly believe that the Church will come out even stronger from this crisis. Our Lord has clearly stated in the Gospels, “You are Peter, and, on this rock, I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Sometimes, it seems as though the number of people coming to Church are decreasing or the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life is on the decline and while there is no doubt about that, we should keep in mind that if the primitive Church had begun with calculating statistics of their numbers with regard to the whole world, they would never have begun preaching the word of God since they were so few. Very many times we encounter a fatalistic attitude when faced with the powerful and all-pervasive culture of secularism of modern-day life. The first Christians had to face a similar reality in the culture of the decadent Roman Empire. But their belief in the Lord’s message was greater than the social pressures from that culture. So, they continued to preach and give witness to their beliefs and today we see the results.

            Let us therefore with faith and confidence in our Blessed Lord and His Holy Mother, never give up and keep fighting the good fight with all our might. Let us not forget that our commitment is to God. Hence despite the turmoil that the Church is going through because of certain individuals, we should hold steadfast and keep going ahead. Those responsible for what they have done to the Church are answerable to God and will certainly be penalised for it but that should not be an excuse for us to give up on our faith. May the good Lord continue to bless us in all our endeavours for His greater glory.

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