By Francis X. Maier, The Catholic Thing - The last days of December are always a time for reflection; an opportunity to make sense of the past, take stock of the present, and set a course for the future. As Benedict XVI once noted, Christians are now the most persecuted religious community in the world. If we Christians who still have the blessings of religious freedom sleep, then the world our grandchildren inherit will be a world increasingly without the Cross, and without the truth.