Following Christ and trying to live in his image... sounds simple. In reality it is a very hard thing to do. It really is easier just to go to a cool musical production every now and then.
Many people forget the value of Apostolic succession. The catholic church is the church founded by Christ and handed to Peter. Every other christian religion is an offshoot of Catholicism.
Having taught Catechism myself I have been shocked by the watered down curriculums taught in many parishes to children. It is tragic when people are not taught the beauty of catholic tradition. Are some of the words of the new missal challenging sure...but they are beautiful in their meaning. A Tale of Two Cities is harder to read than Harry Potter but which is better literature?
Merely acknowledging the eucharist as the body and blood of Christ is not enough. Spending much time discerning the beauty of this great gift both through study and prayer is required. Only through a humble and prayerful approach can the magnitude of it’s redeeming power even be begun to be understood. The eucharist is not the only sacrament that is not understood. How many catholics understand the value of going to a priest for confession?
Catholicism is hard to put into practice and not for those without courage who only seek feel good platitudes. Reforming catholic catechism starting with parents prior to the baptism of their own children is the only answer.
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
I used to describe it as the "money" quote from Jerry Maguire: "show me the money". Now that reference is too aged, so I describe it in 3 words: It's Never Enough.
Those 3 words apply to everything we do, whether in our church, our marriage, our friendships, our work, etc.
To me, God speaks to us in a loving way to do our best, to never quit.
I remind my students that it's not easy to be a Catholic...it's hard work. It's not enough to merely go to Mass once a week, or to give up something during Lent...it's never enough.
Speaking to your post, I love teaching the Old Testament, because it's at the heart of our traditions. How can one appreciate our faith without knowing the important men and women of the Old Testament?
For example, a sizable percentage of the First Readings are from the Book of Isaiah. Why? What makes him so important? That's just one of the lessons we teach during the year.
Well stated Longfellow! We, each of us, must take the light of Christ into our Hearts to beat back the darkness of evil. We are his Body on earth.
Our Father comes to us by appealing to our intellect. We must be voracious in our hunger to pray more, learn more, give more and evangelize more.
BE BOLD, BE CATHOLIC!
“Many people forget the value of Apostolic succession.”
Extra-Biblical.