In 1974, Archbishop Fulton Sheen declared, "We are at the end of Christendom. Not of Christianity, not of the Church, but of Christendom." For the Church today, the fading of Christendom is an hour of testing, calling us to recover for our age the apostolic mindset and the bright hope of those first Christians of the Cenacle.
An imaginative vision forms the basis of action for societies and individuals alike, and the human imagination allows us to carry an entire world within our minds.
When a society’s imaginative vision is founded on Christianity, the Church utilizes a Christendom mode of engagement; otherwise, an Apostolic mode pertains.
We must take stock of our present time and devise engagement strategies for our current Apostolic age, lest we continue to bear a Christendom mentality and utilize Christendom approaches.
In order to direct the Apostolic impulse, we must clarify the principles and attitudes of engagement proper to our age.
Conversion of vision is no easy task: it requires a dual recognition of one's current vision and the greater vision to which one is called.