Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won’t last forever. We must take it or leave it. – C.S. Lewis
Thursday, July 15, 2010
On being Catholic
Leaving aside for the moment the difficulties, what joys do you associate with your Catholic faith? Why?
Joys...there are many. Prior to Marriage, moving and children, I worked in the Catholic Church. Work camps, mission trips, young people, elders, teachers, seminarians, priests, nuns, co-workers, peers, the poor, the sick,...I have found joy in them all. I had the ability to go to several World Youth Days. Both Denver and Manila leave indelible marks of joy on my soul. Denver: the joy of so many young Catholics together to celebrate Mass was moving. Manila: Joy was everywhere but especially in the people, young and old welcoming so many people to celebrate the Eucharist with them...powerful!
It is these joys that keep me coming back week after week to go to church here. God has blessed me in so many ways. I need to come and say Thank You, give Him my struggles and let Him turn them into something awesome.
I can not say enough about the peace and joy of receiving the Eucharist and going to confession. Being Catholic, I feel I am one of the 'sheep' that knows His voice. I feel there is a purity to the Catholic faith being the church established by Christ. The truth we pass on—and the truths we speak today to address the moral challenges of our times—are derived from the perfect word of God and the natural and moral law, what we call the "deposit of faith." The faith and morals of the Church, then, are not supposed to be up for grabs; they are not subject to a democratic process whereby they are fashioned according to the whims of a particular generation, or rejected altogether. The church is where I find true peace and serenity. In these times we are living in, I find it to be a place of refuge and strength.
Joys...there are many. Prior to Marriage, moving and children, I worked in the Catholic Church. Work camps, mission trips, young people, elders, teachers, seminarians, priests, nuns, co-workers, peers, the poor, the sick,...I have found joy in them all. I had the ability to go to several World Youth Days. Both Denver and Manila leave indelible marks of joy on my soul. Denver: the joy of so many young Catholics together to celebrate Mass was moving. Manila: Joy was everywhere but especially in the people, young and old welcoming so many people to celebrate the Eucharist with them...powerful!
ReplyDeleteIt is these joys that keep me coming back week after week to go to church here. God has blessed me in so many ways. I need to come and say Thank You, give Him my struggles and let Him turn them into something awesome.
What a beautiful testimony. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI can not say enough about the peace and joy of receiving the Eucharist and going to confession. Being Catholic, I feel I am one of the 'sheep' that knows His voice. I feel there is a purity to the Catholic faith being the church established by Christ. The truth we pass on—and the truths we speak today to address the moral challenges of our times—are derived from the perfect word of God and the natural and moral law, what we call the "deposit of faith." The faith and morals of the Church, then, are not supposed to be up for grabs; they are not subject to a democratic process whereby they are fashioned according to the whims of a particular generation, or rejected altogether.
ReplyDeleteThe church is where I find true peace and serenity. In these times we are living in, I find it to be a place of refuge and strength.
Amen, St. Gemma.
ReplyDelete