We will never be adequately prepared for the coming of the Savior unless and until we feel in our bones that there is something we need to be saved from. If we don’t require salvation, then Jesus devolves, very quickly, into one wise man among many, one more spiritual teacher in a long line of similar figures across space and time.
We live in a strange age. It’s an age marked by contention, strife and factionalism. This is true in the Church and in the realm of politics. It’s not just that we disagree. It’s that we don’t trust “the other side,” and actually hate each other to a degree not seen in modern U.S. history. And American Catholicism hasn’t been exempted from this trend, either. You’ve got uncharitable pro-Francis and anti-Francis Catholics bashing each other, and uncharitable pro-
Trump and anti-Trump Catholics bashing each other.