Faith Moves Mountains

Last Monday we witnessed one of the largest demonstrations of faith on the American continent: the Procession of the Divina Pastora. Millions of people attended this massive event as a sign of faith in God and in his Most Holy Mother, under her title of the Divine Shepherdess. God has granted the Venezuelan people many miracles through the intercession of Our Mother, and every January 14 the people thank her, with their visit, their sacrifice and so on, for that motherly love that is always there to encourage us, to help us in our needs, to protect us from all evil…

There is no doubt that Venezuelans’ faith is very great. And I am convinced that the top places we always win on the lists of the happiest countries in the world (despite the problems we face) are owed to our great faith, because we know that God and the Virgin are with us and that the future to come will always be better than the days gone by.

Taking advantage of this wonderful demonstration of Venezuelan faith (one of many that give us strength, hope, joy and the desire to keep striving to be Christians and good children of God and of His Holy Church), today I want to comment on a point made by the president of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference (CEV), Archbishop Diego Padrón, at the opening session of the CEV’s 99th Ordinary Assembly. It is worth Venezuelan Catholics reading his full address carefully and reflecting on some very important points about the responsibility of being Catholic. The full document is available at: http://www.cev.org.ve/noticias\_det.php?id=3796

Archbishop Padrón begins by speaking about how important this year will be for Catholics, as our Holy Church celebrates the Year of Faith on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. He recalls that Paul VI, when he convened a Year of Faith, hoped the whole Church would become fully aware of its faith in order to revive it, purify it, strengthen it and profess it, and that Benedict XVI, though he does not say so explicitly in his Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, has the same aim.

One has to understand that being Catholic and living the Catholic faith goes far beyond attending a Marian procession. Faith must go hand in hand with an exemplary integrity of life, striving at every moment to acquire the human and Christian virtues. That requires knowing our Faith and not settling for a “simple faith,” because the better we know the path Jesus Christ left us to be happy, the more we will live happily as true Christians, even though the Christian path is not at all easy. For this we have our Holy Catholic Church, which helps us in this mission through the sacraments and doctrine.

Archbishop Padrón notes that the country’s religious landscape suffers from the same weakening of faith as other Latin American countries (even though Venezuela sees huge gatherings of prayer in churches and public places): of every 100 children, 80 are baptized, fewer than 50 make their First Communion, fewer than 15 are confirmed, and even fewer persevere as “practicing” Catholics (judging by the scant attendance at Sunday Mass). This situation, he says, obliges pastors, bishops, priests and all other pastoral workers not to settle for isolated, occasional activities, but to structure and, above all, coordinate pastoral plans whose core is a combination of reality and the Gospel that leads to the growth of the Christian faith and its impact on our society.

Archbishop Padrón explains the urgency of catechesis, not only for children but for adults. And he also points out that today the protagonists of this renewal are lay people, as monks and religious orders were in other times. So now you know: we have a great challenge ahead. We must work tirelessly at teaching and spreading the Good News. We have the duty (because it was Christ himself who asked it of us) to take his Word to every corner of the earth, with Love, with understanding, with solidarity… knowing that it depends on each one of us that firm and sure foundations are laid in Venezuela, so that when God moves the mountains we may remain united and at Peace to build the Venezuela many of us are dreaming of: a Venezuela rooted in Truth, where Justice and Peace will shine for everyone and forever.