Three Statements About the Catholic Church

It is very important to remember that the Roman Catholic Church does have a history and a tradition that extends over two thousand years. It is very important to acknowledge the Jewish roots of the Roman Catholic Church. It is very important to proclaim that the Roman Catholic Church is the original and first Christian church. These three statements help create a starting ground when looking at the church, when thinking about the church. These three sentences will hopefully inspire other thoughts about the majesty and beauty of being Catholic, of the Catholic experience.

Writing is difficult; being Catholic is difficult. Writing about the Catholic experience is often challenging. Thinking about being Catholic is easy. Talking about being Catholic is easy. Saying the right thing at the right time about Catholic life is difficult.

What is the strength of the Catholic Church? What does the Catholic Church do? The Catholic Church does one thing very well. It creates and maintains and encourages prayer. Prayer is the main currency of the church. There are prayers for all hours of the day, prepares before, during, and after Mass. All actions as Christians begin with prayer, simple prayer. All actions of Christians begin with simple attempts to praise God, to offer thanks to God, to request assistance from God. Learning to pray is learning to communicate with God.

Communicating with God is essential for each Christian. There is a need to listen for God’s call. There is a need to reach out to God with the good and bad, happiness and sorrow, love and indifference as it occurs in daily life. Being Catholic involves a continual invitation to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to live a life based upon social justice that reflects the Beatitudes and the teachings of Jesus Christ. That continual invitation reminds the faithful to return to Mass each week, to serve on committees in their parishes. That continual invitation leads some of the faithful to a life of vocations. That continual invitation can lead each Catholic to a closer, deeper more personal relationship with God.

It is necessary to remember that each Christian is asked to be a loving servant of the Lord. This is often a difficult request. The Catholic Church provides many examples of how to become a loving servant of God both living and dead. It is very important that each Christian try to become a loving servant of God. The attempt is important for development as a Christian, for a richer understanding of God, of the individual’s relationship with God, of the individual’s relationship with their faith community. Learning how to love and how to forgive are two of the essential tenets of being Christian. To discover them require prayer and trial and error. Christian forgiveness and Christian love are difficult without God’s grace and guidance.

It is very important that each Christian develop a coherent starting point or point of reference for their Christian life. Prayer is essential. Christian forgiveness and Christian love are important.

The life of each Roman Catholic by nature of baptism allows and creates the opportunity for evangelization. Each word spoken, each action taken can be a vehicle for sharing the Good News, a vehicle for New Evangelization of family, friends, colleagues. Each day, each moment is the opportunity to present, to share the mercy, charity, and grace of God.

New Evangelization asks each Christian to remember the past, the love and sacrifices of God and to apply that to the present with our actions and thoughts. New Evangelization is alive and necessary for the faithful and the Church.