TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (4 of 10)

My Catholic Faith is a way of life that stresses my constant need to be vigilant in the face of the false promises of fulfillment. From the time of my Baptism (September 29, 1940) at the Old Cathedral in Vincennes, Indiana, God accepted me as an adopted son (daughter). For the remainder of my life, I need daily conversion (conversion morae) and capacitas dei (Christ must increase), as my way to the truth which leads to life (not of this world, although I use it as a base). Obviously, a baby does not have either the capability or the capacity to know what is going on. God entrusts mom and dad to nourish the body and now the soul by informing (mentally) what is necessary to get to Heaven. If I don’t grow in grace and enlightenment with mom and dad caring for my spiritual needs until I reach the age of reason (for me, it was 55). Self-awareness is key to a proper perspective where I consciously and freely ask God to be the center of my life, rather than other stuff in the world.

TO BE CATHOLIC MEANS THAT IT IS NOT AN EASY RELIGION TO PRACTICE AS CHRIST PROPOSED IT

As I got older, and this is probably unique to me, I was religious (mentally) but did not grow in my daily appreciation of how important it is to place myself in the presence of Jesus in the upper room of my inner self and ask the Holy Spirit to overshadow me with the mantle of grace. I learned that once I realized what was going on, I would struggle (and continue to do so) mightily each day to ward off the encroachment of original sin and its allure to know Jesus off of my center. Catholicism has the cross for its symbol for a reason, and it means I must TRY to know, love, and serve God in this life and be happy with God in the next. (Baltimore Catechism, Question 6)

Jesus knew that and gave us (in each age) His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist so that He is with us, in us, to be mediator with the Father and an Advocate (along with the Holy Spirit) to help walk the way of the cross, unique to each of us. When we slip and fail (many times), Christ left His real presence in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), so we could feel that renewal in our very depths and know that Christ makes all things new.

• Being Catholic means carrying my personal cross of disbelief.
• Being Catholic means God sets the boundaries as proscribed by the Church in terms of behaviors that lead to change and those leading to oblivion.
• Being Catholic means the young (not age related) in the Faith must not only know God (St. Thomas Aquinas says you must know God before you love God), but also do what Jesus taught us– to love one another as He has loved us.
• Being Catholic means I am certainly not better than anyone else, but rather, in humility, try to convert my own unruly impulses of the earth to those Christ came to show us. (Philippians 2:5-12)
• I have had people in my long, storied lifetime who tell me Catholicism doesn’t allow my humanity to express its true self because it doesn’t condone physical or mental pleasure of any kind. I reply that God, through Christ, set boundaries on our behavior that do not depend on my liking it or not.
• Catholic means I consciously and freely accept the boundaries set forth by God and fulfilled by Christ as the way, what is true or not, leading to a life that leads me to fulfill my humanity.
• Being Catholic means I must also be crowned with thorns, have my back bruised and beaten by the seduction that the world, my own cross throughout my lifetime, ending with my death, but also my resurrection. If you want a country club Christianity, look elsewhere.

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