Every chapter of life has its own challenges. They are hard to overcome and force us to go beyond our comfort zone. We often kick and scream when we are faced with them. They are life-changing, for better or worse, and we have all learned valuable lessons from them. While they are not always nicely packaged and easy to accept, they can be full of grace when we are open to learning and growing where we have been planted. This takes personal effort because the spiritual life requires that we grow instead of remaining stagnant in our lives of faith.
First, let us recognize that too many of us have stopped growing in our understanding of the faith when we “graduated” from religious education classes. Therefore, our understanding of Catholic teachings is probably very rudimentary and basic. Not all of us can recall what was taught, plus not all of us paid much attention in class to retain the important information. Also, I would like to bring up the typical stereotype of Catholics not reading, learning, and trying to pray with Sacred Scriptures. If we look at the level of complacency and understanding that a “typical” Catholic might have, we can immediately recognize the lack of true potential in what we can do to appreciate the immense richness of our faith.
As Catholics, we believe in BOTH the Sacred Scriptures and Holy Tradition. We believe in the magisterium of the Church and her authentic interpretation of the Scriptures throughout the ages. We venerate and value the holy lives of the saints and their teachings as ways to supplement and enrich our journey of faith. We are formed and transformed each and every day with a life of prayer and worship because we are being nourished with both the Eucharist and a life of prayer.
Of course, I recognize that there are so many wonderful and holy people who do not have the opportunity to delve into studies of faith. As a matter of fact, I have been inspired, taught, and touched by many humble people who have a very simple faith. They were my teachers of faith, not simply with academic qualities and or accreditations but with true lessons that are taught by their own life examples that are grounded in true living of faith, hope, and love. Those invaluable pieces of wisdom humbled me because they were genuine and heartfelt. I treasure the times spent with living and humble saints who live out their call of holiness with simplicity and purity of heart.
Nonetheless, for those of us who have the opportunity to deepen our faith, we need to make personal, intentional, and spiritual efforts to study, learn, pray, discern, and grow in our understanding of the Sacred Scriptures and the Church’s teachings. I have seen so many people who misinterpret the Bible and what the Church teaches because they rely on themselves instead of taking the time to learn the real reason the Bridesmaid of Christ has taught throughout the ages. I always found myself loving my faith more, especially after reading what the Saints, Church Fathers, and genuine spiritual masters wrote, taught, and handed on to guide us on our spiritual journey.
As a matter of fact, the Second Vatican Council taught us, through her dogmatic constitution on the Church, “Lumen Gentium,” that we are called to be the light of the world. Through the grace of God, we enrich this world with our own life of faith and its practice of theological and moral virtues. The gifts given to each and every one of us are not for us alone but to benefit the Church in her renewal and mission in this more secular and lost world.
By living our theocentric vocation and purpose-filled life, we are able to be more grateful for the gifts endowed to us by the Almighty for the sake of others. When we recognize each other as gifts in our very own selves, we are able to embrace, respect, and be grateful for one another instead of objectifying, manipulating, or treating them as means to our own benefit. When we recognize the eternal truth and beauty that have been endowed by the Lord for the sake of our liberation from the enslavement of this world and the good of others, we are able to console, assist, and genuinely give ourselves to those who are around us, helping each other along the pilgrimage of life. As collaborators and stewards in the Lord‘s vineyard, we are called to be mindful of our brothers and sisters who are around us as well. We answer to a higher calling and standard as a personal way to respond to His command to use our gifts and blessings to seek the greater good and needs of the world at large.
When we know our eternal purpose and mission, we can use what we have in all genuine humility and limitations to help one another along the way. If we are able to will the good of the other person as a brother or sister in Christ, we are able to love them in all of their gifts and failures, hence able to treasure and respect them as they are, instead of what they should be for us alone. When our faith is grounded in the truth to love, treasure, and collaborate with our Creator to make this world better, we become more humble, patient, respectful, and loving because we are to love one another as truly made in His image and likeness instead of being treated as objects, products, or means. When we love and give ourselves wholly and completely, our self-worth becomes holistically grounded in the transcendental, eternal, and everlasting, hence being in touch, awakened, aware, and sensitive to the power and working of the Holy Spirit in our midst.
This is who we are, I believe. Perhaps some are gifted with eloquent speech and preaching, but for many of us, we preach by our very own lives. I believe that we preach louder with life than with words! If we truly live what we believe and give testimony to our faith with what we profess, we will definitely change the world with genuine, personal, and caring respect, dialogue, and evangelization. If we truly believe and put our hope in His everlasting love and faithfulness, we can and will choose to love and serve, trust and open ourselves up to others with genuine charity even when it seems so easy to close up, push others away, and isolate ourselves.
Perhaps we will never change others… Perhaps we will continue to be hurt by others and bear the hard pains of our past hurts and struggles… Perhaps things will never be as we would like… Perhaps our lives will continue to be imperfect, messy, and constant struggles at times, but we choose to move on with genuine faith, hope, and love because we believe that God will give us sufficient grace to overcome the challenges that are all around us. It is truly freeing to live with little but have a lot, not in humanistic quantity but in His qualitative love because the simplicity and purity of heart allow us to receive the necessary strength and love of God even at times we do not know or are able to see what goods can come out of the present trials, hardships, challenges, or storms of life.
Therefore, we should not make excuses to not grow and mature in faith. We should not be complacent and get stuck in the past but forget the present opportunities to personally take on the call to discipleship, study from the richness of the Church’s perennial wisdom, and live a life of prayerful reflection and discernment. If we do not know who we are and take deep root, this world and its lies will uproot us, and the trials of life will leave us all battered. But let us not be discouraged because the Saints went through similar (if not harder) challenges and persevered because they knew who they were!
As a matter of fact, spiritual masters have taught us to be grateful and deepen ourselves in good times so that we have the strength to withstand the trials, hardships, and storms of life when they come. Like a strong tree, we can only stand strong when we are deeply rooted, drawing from the depth, richness, and immense nourishment that comes from a life of worship and prayer. Therefore, let us not lose heart and choose to personally, creatively, and strongly grow where we have been planted so we can be witnesses of His loving grace to the lost and secularistic world that does not know what it is missing in Christ Jesus yet! Even in our hardest days and darkest trials, let us remember how we respond and live according to the truth will help us radiate Him and emulate His love in how we rise above and overcome all daily obstacles and life’s trials. We cannot control what or how things might happen around us, but we can offer, unite, and transform them into opportunities to grow in genuine faith, hope, and love.