Isaiah 9:7

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

It takes faith to have hope.  There is something daunting about the vast deserts of time that stretch out before us.  Simply looking at ourselves, we can lose our nerve about the Christian faith.  We can start to look at it as “another western religion” — one that will eventually fade away as Egyptian religion did after a lifespan twice that of Christianity’s.  We can start to fear that, in the end, our Church is merely a cultural phenomenon that has enjoyed an unusually good run of luck.  Unless, that is, we stop listening to the Spirit of the Age and start listening to the Spirit of Truth.  When we do, we discover the Faith is not merely lucky: it is eternal.  And it is eternal because God is.  He will, quite literally, always be here.  Therefore His government and peace will continue to grow forever.  Even the things that seem to defeat Him (like the Cross) will only add to His glory.

By Mark Shea

Mark P. Shea is a Catholic author, blogger, and speaker.