The first reading for today, from Colossians, set the tone for my reflection. It states that if we persevere in our faith, then we can be with God in Heaven someday. If we keep on the firm and stable ground of faith, and not venture into the swamp of evil deeds, we have a chance for ultimate glory when our days on Earth are done. God won’t give up on us. However, are we going to give up on God?
Catholicism Around the Globe
The Gospel is being preached around the globe, and hopefully it continues. We try to do our part, with your help, here at GVM. There are about 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today. Some regions of the Catholic world have growth, while others decline. One of the largest “religions” today is “former Catholic”, which saddens me. Some countries, like China, ban religion. Other countries ban certain religions, and it is usually Christ-based religions that get banned. Here in the United States, the mainstream media and the internet and the “thought leaders” tell us to abandon our faith. They tell us that there is no absolute truth, and this philosophy is called “relativism”. That means that whatever we happen to believe is true. It’s dead wrong, but prevalent today.
Where did they go?
How were we convinced that we should give up on God and organized religion? In America, there used to be many more religious folks. Catholic schools and churches were packed, and there was more “goodness” in society. There was the expectation that we would stick up for each other, and team up against bullies, instead of becoming bullies. We tended to care for each other more.
What changed? My opinion is that we now think that we humans are in charge. We can watch any movie any time of day or night. Secondly, we can order any item, and have it delivered tomorrow. We can get a weather forecast for our exact location. It’s common to downvote anyone, treat them badly online with no repercussions, and generally become callous. We are always right. We all get a trophy. This is not putting our Faith in God and persevering on the firm stable ground of Faith.
The gospel from Luke also points out a reason why people may fall from their faith. Hypocrisy of leaders, like the Pharisees, turns people off. Enforcing some rules, not enforcing others, and ignoring God’s commandments sets the wrong tone. Religious folks need to have higher standards for ourselves and those around us, and we need to try to achieve those standards as best we can. We won’t be perfect, but we need to try hard.
Possible Solutions
After the doom and gloom of the above paragraphs, I need to come back around to possible solutions. We shouldn’t be fooled or distracted by people telling us to not practice our faith or live holy lives.
Deep inside, we know that the best way is God’s way. We know that doing good is better than evil. We know that letting evil happen, and ignoring it, is the wrong approach. Do you want to guide your lives by what you read on the internet rumor boards, or what you read about in the Bible, in the lives of the saints, or in papal teachings? God is waiting for us to join Him, as that’s what we’re built for. He won’t give up on us, so please don’t give up on God.
P.S. Trying to get more of the Holy Spirit into our church and into our lives will be the subject of another reflection later!! Jesus left Earth but sent us the Holy Spirit to use abundantly.
