Today is the second day of Lent. After going through the Ash Wendesday Mass, it's now time to decide on a theme, and go with it for the duration of the 40 days.
In talking with a great friend of mine, and discussing my issues with my faith and religion, he suggested that I select the theme of Back to the Roots... get back to the roots of my faith, and see if I can find what I'm looking for there. I thought that was a fabulous idea, so that's what I'm going to do.. Begin at the beginning.
Bereshit, there was nothing...... Perfect- that's exactly where I am at. In the great black nothingness.. but it's everything..rather Buddhist if you think about it.. Ok now what.
What are the fundamentals? What is the most basic of being a Catholic? The cornerstone?
I open the floor up to everyone..
2 months ago
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So what is at the cornerstone of being a Catholic...
All I can offer are my own thoughts, I'm not sure if they exactly follow the straight-and-narrow of doctrine, but its what I believe, and so here it is...
To me its the example of Jesus's dying on the cross, knowing that an omnipotent and omniscient deity loved his children enough to let himself be killed by them in order to save them is the ultimate example of love through self-sacrifice and humility. It is those virtues I strive to live up to, to love others and to think of them before thinking of myself. My faith in Catholicism has given me insights into these concepts in a way no other has. In believing this, I see how He takes an active role in our lives to guide us and if you look closely you can see His hand in everything.
Because of this Catholicism speaks to me in such a way that it has given me awareness of, however faintly, the existence of the divine will from which flows all of creation. In perceiving this I see the world as beautiful and wondrous in a way that ordinary language finds difficult to express. In reading the words of the many saints, mystics, and ordinary people the Church has produced over the 2,000 years of its existence it appears I'm not alone in this.
There are other religions and belief systems in the world, and I will continue to enjoy studying them and admiring them for the lessons and perspectives they provide. But due to the reasons above I feel that Catholicism is the way for me. Jesus's sacrifice proves that Divinity is love, and since Divinity is the heart of creation, it is then logical to believe that love is also the heart of creation and that He wants us to share in that.
Its a question that deserves a lot of thought, a lot more than the few words I've typed here, so we should be glad Lent is forty days long, to have enough time to dig a little deeper into this question and find more answers. In fact, just as I finish typing this other chains of thought related to the subject have come to mind, but for now I'll just wait to hear what you have to say next.
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