There is much uncertainty in our society today.
I think it is that way because of the many ideologies that continually surface. They promise things that just can’t be delivered or they overlook some of the more fundamental questions of life.
Questions that humanity generally seeks; questions such as ‘who am I’, ‘why am I here’, and ‘what is my purpose’?
The Church’s View of the World
Confronting this uncertainty, the Catholic Church gives witness to its very particular view of the world.
For me, it is a worldview that just makes plain old sense.
It leads people to wholeness and helps them discover the truth about themselves. At the heart of everything is a person who loves each and every one of us. A love so unconditional that it is unfathomable.
That person is Jesus Christ.
When we speak about the Catholic Church we are not speaking, therefore, of ideologies that are based on ideas, theories or opinions. that sound good and entertain us for a while, or provide some sort of rationalized system of thought: we are speaking of a literal encounter with a living and real person.
The Church made me new!
That’s why I am Catholic today: through the Church I encounter the living God who alone has the power to save us and make us like himself, who knows and calls each and everyone of us by name, and who is able to reveal to us the truth about himself and consequently, ourselves.
There is no uncertainty in him for he is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).
Please don’t misunderstand me: yes, I was raised a Catholic, but there was also a time when I turned my back on the Church as well.
That was a particularly dark path that I walked and it ended in brokenness, despair, loneliness and depression. But it was through the Church that I found my way back to wholeness, healing, redemption and salvation.
It was through the Church that I was made anew.
I need the Church and I need Jesus.
It would be like a fish saying to the ocean, ‘I don’t need you anymore. I’m fine on my own.’
It is through the Church that I now know that I have a universal family made up of countless brothers and sisters. It is through the Church that I met my wife (we met at Mass!) and because of the love and mercy of the Lord we have been blessed with nine children (7 girls and 2 boys).
It is through the Church’s teachings teachings and sacraments that we are nourished and fed.
That is why I am Catholic today. We all do.
Here are 3 things that the Church needs now:
- More of the Holy Spirit: A new outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will wake people from their slumber into the realisation of who the Lord is, who they are and what they are called to be
- More encounters with the Lord Jesus: A realisation that the Church is, above all else, about an encounter, an actual meeting, with the Lord Jesus, in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit
- More Missionary Disciples: People who are so on fire with the love of God and filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit that they will want to tell everyone about it and do so accompanied by signs and wonders.
How has the Church made you new? Why are you Catholic today?
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