The Catholic Faith is based upon the Crucifix, the Cross with Our Lord nailed to it.
We are called to pick up our crosses on a daily basis, be present
with them, and we all have many, we should make use of them,
and not waste any, because they are fundamental and necessary
for our hope of salvation.
I remember a married couple of extreme modernists
(supposedly Catholics, but protestants in all but the technicalities),
when we spoke about crosses,
the man said, almost regrettably that he had never really had any,
his wife then said; yes you did, remember that time when you were
young and your mother said/did something that hurt you....
His wife was the bullish domineering type, and he was so spiritually
(and emotionally!) asleep, that he couldn't even see that he was
married to a cross...
We are not just talking about big tragedies and illness,
our daily life are full of crosses; anything difficult, unfair, painful,
testing, annoying, boring, sadness, loneliness, being forgotten,
feeling useless, monotony, mental fatigue; they are all crosses.
Being fully present, accepting the things the way they are, offering
them up to God, is what we are meant to do.
Sometimes solutions emerges, but the principal thing is being present
with it, not to revolt, resist or avoid.
Because we are thus being purified and strengthened in those fires.
Our faith is not one where there is separation between internal and
external, between prayer life, observance of obligations, and the rest
of our life.
The Catholic Faith, to prove that it is authentic and true, integrates
everything in us, what we say is what we do.
It is not about ticking boxes, it is not even first and foremost about
exterior acts of love, what comes first is our own sanctification, our
focus has to be on ourselves, in order that we continually convert our
sinful nature to the nature of God, who is ALL Holy.
This is the object; to become holy. The external acts of love flows from
there.
Self awareness: what am I thinking, what am I saying, what am
I doing, what am I not doing that I ought to be doing...
Frequent Confession is necessary. it is not a pleasure,
but necessary.
Sometimes priests at Mass reminds the congregation just before
Holy Communion, of the necessity of being in a state of grace in
order to present ourselves for it, to receive worthily,
in other words, free from mortal sin. (Having confessed them)
Given that the 7 main mortal sins are Pride, Envy, Anger, Greed,
Gluttony, Laziness and Lust, you would imagine that the queue for
Confession would be the same length as the queue for Holy Communion,
but this is sadly not the case.
Receiving Holy Communion unworthily is not only a waste of time, it
contributes to, and reinforces the deception in those who receives in
this manner, they "eat their own condemnation"; they mock God, it
stagnates them in the spiritual journey.
Even if the requirements have been publicly announced by the priest,
and respected at that particular Mass, they go ahead receiving at
subsequent Masses if the priest does not make a clear announcement
of it every time, which reveals a complete ignorance of not only the
Mass, but of the faith in general.
No, it is not about technicalities; external signs, they obtain nothing
unless your heart, your mind and your willpower is involved and
integrated.
Some time back I made an acquaintance with a woman, a daily
Mass goer, apparently very religious and involved in the parish.
We went for a coffee together and she kept saying to me:
"well there are some things that just cannot be forgiven!"
I felt that she really wanted to tell me something, so I made sure not
to ask, but the irony of her praying the Our Father publicly at Mass
every day, where we ask the Father to forgive us all our own sins, as
we forgive all those who have sinned against us, because this is the way
Our Father operates.
If we hold grudges against anyone at all, no matter how well founded
and understandable they are, we are not free to be redeemed by Him.
And if we have as much as an ounce of hate in our hearts, we will not
be allowed into heaven.
The Catholic Faith is not just to be believed, it must be lived, integrated
bodily and mentally, acted out in our lives, embodied.
The protestants have an empty cross as their symbol, no Jesus, they claim
that it is sufficient to just believe in order to be saved, and the communion
at their religious service is purely symbolic.
Well, I ask you, who wants a symbolic God?
At Catholic Mass God is Really and Fully Present, Alive,
in Holy Communion, it truly is the Body and Blood of
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
For anyone who truly seeks God, it shouldn't be difficult to
choose.