Over the years many people have asked me what being Catholic is all about. Usually, the folks who ask believe the answer to be, "the rules." A structured faith, what a concept...
The answer, in my opinion, is contained in three very simple words: Faith, Love, and Hope.
As Catholics, we are called to be faithful. To believe in the Lord, and to trust in his plan. We are called to accept his will before ours, and trust that he will lead us wherever we should go, whenever we should be there.
As Catholics, we are called to love. We are called to imitate, as best as our human condition will allow, the Love that Christ showed us. To love our neighbor as ourself, and to love the Lord above all things.
As Catholics, we are called to be hopeful. We hope that one day we will be face to face with the Lord. We hope that all those who went before us await our arrival in paradise. We hope for better things in the Lord.
Most Christians who read these words will agree with them. Unfortunately, too many Christians, many Catholics included, treat their faith as a fearful thing. Nothing torks me like listening to a Christian propogate the faith using fear as a motivator. It sounds something like this, "If you want to avoid the flames of hell, you'll accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!"
Fear has no place amongst Faith, Love, and Hope.
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The only thing I take more seriously than the safety of the traveling public is St. Louis Cardinal Baseball.
1 comment:
"Fear" has become such a multivalent word in American society that speaking of it has, in turn, become a difficult proposition. Clearly the "fear" in 18th-century Jonathan Edwards preaching is far different from, say, what is being advertised in the film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
I like where you're going with this line of thought, especially in light of the post from a few days ago. St. Augustine has a famous meditation concerning when fear is overridden by love. To paraphrase: even if there were no hell--even if there were no punishments for my sins, and I had no fear of hell whatsoever, and I could do whatever I wished without consequence--I still wouldn't sin, Lord, because I love you so much that I would never deliberately hurt you.
Now that's love, the kind of self-giving love that makes fear more or less irrelevant.
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