During WWII, Robert Woodruff declared, “We will see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs.”

When the war ended in 1945 he went on to say that, in his lifetime, he wanted everyone in the world to have a taste of Coke with complete conviction that he would do and did it.

God calls and sends us to bring His good news to the world by making the world better because of what we say and do. This Sunday’s Gospel begins where last Sunday’s left off: Jesus was shaken by the rejection of his people to the point that he could work no miracle.

Jesus spoke about rejection, how we deal with it if we’re trying to live as God would have us live. Jesus does not give in to self-doubt, or pity. He moved on, increasing the number of messengers.

The Twelve are told not to let anything hold them back from preaching the message of the need for repentance. If they face rejection, they are not to beat their heads against a wall, just move on and don’t waste time.

Keep in mind that it’s not about you, but what God is doing through you.

It was because of their troubles and pains that people came to Jesus. He cured their diseases and healed their troubled spirits. It was when he called for radical change in their lifestyle that people turned away from him. “And they took offense at him.”

When Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist, it was not simply a cute lost-and-found plot. When you read the book, you find that it is not merely a happy tale of a young orphan who is discovered by his grandfather. It is a story that rubs the face of an entire society in its own callousness and brutality to the poor and those least able to care for themselves. The Industrial Revolution was happening and Dickens unceasingly pointed out its injustices. Without let up, he refused to let his nation rest on accomplishment, and he constantly revealed things most wanted left hidden. His words brought discomfort because they called people to see what no one wanted to see.

Into a world beset by secularism, relativism, and individualism, we are to speak the truth.

Cardinal Edouard Gagnon described a conversation he had with John Paul II: “The Holy Father told me, ‘Error makes its way because truth is not taught. We must teach the truth ... not attacking the ones who teach errors because that would never end — they are too numerous. We have to teach the truth.’ He told me truth has a grace attached to it. Anytime we speak the truth ... an internal grace of God ... accompanies that truth. The truth may not immediately enter in the mind and heart of those to whom we talk, but the grace of God is there and at the time they need it, God will open their heart and they will accept it. He said, error does not have grace accompanying it.”

Keep in mind that Truth, with a capital T, is a person, Jesus Christ. Christ is not some lawyer or community organizer. He is God.

Cardinal Avery Dulles described three foundational principles: “That there is a God; that He has made a full and final revelation of himself in Jesus Christ; and that the Catholic Church is the authorized custodian and teacher of this body of revealed truth.”

The Catholic faith is not a set of doctrines. It is a lived encounter with Christ, who lives in, and teaches through, the Church.