Scandal, Scandal Everywhere

Does anyone else feel like Satan is really attacking the Church hard the past few weeks?  And I don’t just mean his normal tactics; I’m talking huge attacks.  He’s shaking things up close to the foundation and doing major damage in the hearts and minds of many wayward Catholics around the world.  It seems like everywhere I look, every article that gets sent to me and every post about the Church on Facebook… it’s all slander, and scandal.  In the past day, I read about 12 Catholic priests in South America coming out in favor of ‘gay rights’, about a former Lutheran pastor (married, with 6 children) becoming a Catholic priest and about the controversial statements made by Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna, Austria.  These stories don’t shake my faith, but they spark doubt and confusion in the minds of many.

For those who don’t believe in Satan (the Prince of Lies), he exists.  You don’t have to believe in him in order for him to exist.  Actually, the more you don’t believe in him, the less you acknowledge his presence, the more work he can do in your life.  He’s attacking the Church now, I believe, because people’s faith is weak and moral relativism is at an all-time high.  Being aware of where you stand is essential in fighting Satan.

What are we to do about these attacks?  How can one man, a guy like me, do anything to ‘right wrongs’ in the Church?  How can I make a large enough impact to justify doing even one small thing?  The answer starts at home.  You MUST be living as an authentic disciple of Christ.  If you are married, you must be encouraging your wife to do the same.  If you have children, you must raise them in the faith.  This is not a faith of ‘pick-and-choose’… your faith must be solid and unwaivering.  Our faith isn’t individual to us.  It is universal, to the entire Church.  That prevents us from thinking we can make decisions of faith and morals on our own.  If you’re living the faith at home, it translates into living it in the workplace, during leisure time and on vacation (at least it should.)  If we live authentic lives for Christ, others will see and will want the joy that we have.  This may seem too simplistic for some, but the truth of the matter is that arguing with people about scandals in the Church rarely allows for conversion, and only distances their desire for God.

With all of the scandals hitting the news lately, I encourage all of us to pray heartily for the Church.  It is times such as these that we must remain faithful and firm in our resolution to defend against evil.

TrueMan up!

7 Days of Virtue; Day 5 – Faith

Think of virtues like your muscles.  You work your muscles out so that they can perform for you when needed.  Virtue is the same way.  You practice, work on the virtue and then, when the time comes, the virtue is there and ready.

Day 5 of the 7 Day Journey through the Virtues: DAY 5 – FAITH.

Faith, simply put, is a relational trust in God.  Trust is an incredible part to faith.  Trusting in the unseen is difficult, but an amazing experience when you allow yourself to do so.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that faith is the intellectual assent to God’s revelation (intellect) and a personal adherence to God (entrusting one’s self to God) (will).  Therefore, faith is the intellect plus the will.  Thinking and doing.

Intellect allows us to think about faith.  There are a few vices that can get in our way, however… 

1. Unbelief – either by ignorance (no knowledge) or by opposition (choice not to believe).
2. Heresy – a choice to disagree with what Christ taught.
3. Doubt – a lack of understanding.
4. Blasphemy – making jokes about God, the Church, etc.

In relation to the will, our actions allow us to believe. 

Faith is an incredible thing, and an amazing gift to possess.  For some, it’s difficult to really believe, to really let go of the pieces of life that we can control.  When you get to the point of being virtuously faithful, it will change your world.  All of us, as with all virtues, can gain the virtue of faith, meaning that we have the habit of being faithful (trusting) and that faith comes to us 1. easily 2. joyfully 3. promptly and 4. consistently.  Practice and Grace… that’s what gets us to all the virtues. 

Man up!