living the faith

"[14] How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things![16] But all do not obey the gospel. For Isaias saith: Lord, who hath believed our report? [17] Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ. [18] But I say: Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world. [19] But I say: Hath not Israel known? First, Moses saith: I will provoke you to jealousy by that which is not a nation; by a foolish nation I will anger you. [20] But Isaias is bold, and saith: I was found by them that did not seek me: I appeared openly to them that asked not after me." Romans 10:16-20 Douay-Rheims Translation.

  I realize that it's been a bit since I last posted; however, do not fear, my absence is ended.  Not that you would fear that, it just amuses me to say that.  Anyway, hope all six of you have had a good week.  Today is the last entry for the posts inspired by the retreat, well, kind of.  That's for a different time though.  I seem to be rambling more than normal today, whoops.

  Okay, so some thing really gets under my skin sometimes, the whole concept of, "I'm a Catholic (if you choose, insert other denomination of someone you know who does this), I live my faith and I'm better than you."  I haven't actually encountered anybody that explicitly says this, but I have encountered people who, by their words, actions, and attitudes in general, announce this loudly.  I think to myself, "So, why are you acting like a complete jerk?" I think part of it goes back to disregarding verse 17, "Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ." In a way, they act like they are responsible for their faith; as if before the person ever heard, they had faith.  That doesn't work though because what do you have faith in if you haven't heard?  Besides, how are you going to effectively spread the Good News? "Yes, you can be as arrogant as I am when you start learning about and living your faith."  The odds are you turn off many more people than you attract to the Gospel.

 However, the opposite is also not good.  We should not be living a.) completely compartmentalized so that people are surprised when they find out we're Catholic; b.) be afraid to talk about our faith with people and their faith and what they think and feel.  How are others supposed to know the greatness, generosity, and charity of God if we don't live in His truth?  This goes back to "[14] How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!"  Once we know, believe, and have faith, we are responsible for spreading the Gospel.  We're also responsible for obeying the Gospel as verse 16 implies.  

There are some people that I have encountered that are great examples: they're not arrogant, yet they live their faith in a genuine manner.  If you want some names, I can point you to them.  I really think that this is what truly attracts people; and there, hopefully, aren't many people that are either of the extremes.  I do think there are more that lean one way or the other, but living moderation in this is not easy, I'm working on it.  Sometimes it's more successful than other times.  In a way, it's living understanding that while faith is man's response to Grace (a gift from God), faith itself is a gift to us in a sense as well.  We are all responsible for cultivating our faith, nurturing it, and helping others when they have doubts as well; but if God did not give us Graces and act in the world in many different ways, what would the point of having faith be?  So, as I was on retreat, this is the last prayer inspired on the retreat.  Again, it's simple, you can use it freely if you want, but I won't be offended if you don't.  

Most gracious and loving God,

We thank you for the gift of your grace.

It is because of this gift that

We are able to respond.

Truly, it is only right that 

We make our response one

of utmost love and faith.

We praise you and adore, O God.

In your name we pray.

Amen