If someone were to ask you, “Why should I be Catholic? Or, what is Catholicism?” What would you say? If you were asked right there on the spot and had two seconds to respond to a complete random stranger, what would you say to pique their interest? Or to get them interested enough to keep asking questions and doing more research. Explaining the faith should not be difficult. Why? Because we simply talk about the one who saved us from death. We share with them the greatest love story ever told. We want to introduce them to a person we are absolutely infatuated with, because He has gifted us with a gift that is infinite.
As Catholics and disciples of the Lord, we should all be prepared to have an answer to questions like this. We must be ready to share the great news of salvation. Think of this entry as a personal invitation to join Fr. Brian and me as we deepen our understanding of the one we love, God. Every Tuesday evening, beginning October 6th, we will be having a Catechesis series called Credo. This series will help all of us understand more about who God is (the Creed), why we worship Him the way we do (the sacraments), the importance of communal life (morality), and our own spiritual lives (prayer).
Our faith is not just an academic course. It’s infinitely more than that. We teach catechesis and religious ed to children because it is important for them to have a good moral foundation for living their lives, but if a child thinks that Catholicism is just another subject to be learned like math and science, then we have failed. Our faith cannot be reduced to a series of intellectual thoughts and ideas to be mastered or fully comprehended. It is actually the exact opposite. God is a mystery. His saving work in Jesus Christ is a mystery. How the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and how God dwells in us is a mystery.
As disciples of Christ, we are not Sherlock Holmes trying to figure out what makes God tick. We do not try to confine God to a box and conduct experiments on Him in order to fully comprehend Him. Rather, we look at His mysteries of love with awe and wonder at His mercy and goodness. We approach the faith with an eager longing to always want more from this infinite spring of wisdom.
Our intellectual truths of the faith are supposed to lead us to one thing, and one thing only: an encounter. This encounter with love itself is the sole purpose and reason why we are able to respond to the invitation which Christ extends to all of us, just as He did to His disciples two thousand years ago: “Follow me.” The more we know about the one who extends the invitation, the more likely we are to respond with a yes and keep following Him. Where does this invitation lead? Straight to Calvary. Eventually, we will all have to face our own Calvary. But this Calvary does not have to be scary. There is a reason why Jesus says “Do not be afraid” so often: because without the source of love and wisdom, it feels as if we are alone. However, if we remember exactly who God is and what He has done for you and me, we embrace our cross and desire to always be with Him, no matter where He leads us.
Join us as we begin to learn more about this tremendous and majestic love story that leads to the greatest adventure any person can embark on.