You’re Catholic. Fine! List a few words you associate with your being Catholic. You would probably list, among others: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Mama Mary, Holy Mass, Sacraments, Bible, Church, Pope, Bishops, Priests, Nuns, Rosary, Novenas, Christmas, Holy Week, Guardian Angels, Saints, Poor Souls in Purgatory, Fasting and Abstinence, Charitable Works. Good enough, and you may have more in your list!
As you know, a lot of Filipinos today take their Catholic faith for granted. Perhaps, it is because their faith has been handed down to them “on a silver platter,” as it were. In our country, many have grown up in Catholic families and communities. There has always been the presence of the Church, influencing their lives and society. Throughout the year, in many cities, towns and villages, there are the fiestas of patron saints; important events are most often celebrated with the Holy Mass or, at least, the blessing of a priest.
On one hand, it’s wonderful to grow up in a Catholic environment, but, on the other hand, it’s tempting not to take our faith seriously. We have not worked for it, even suffered for it. It is true that faith is a gift of God! However, we have to do our part to nurture it, maturing in our faith in the process. I guess this has been the problem in the countries of the West. They have been Christian for centuries, even for two thousand years. Now, with the onslaught of secularization, that is, a way of thinking and living that ignores the place of God in one’s life, many Catholics and other Christians have abandoned their faith. All the while, they presupposed they had faith or that they took it for granted. Now, without deep roots and maturity, their faith just got blown by the winds of secularization. Filipinos who have visited Spain are shocked by the indifference of Spaniards to their rich Catholic heritage, noting that Spain gave us the faith centuries ago. A very secularized country today where contraception, abortion, divorce and even same-sex marriage are all acceptable, Spain needs our prayers and sacrifices!
There are Catholics too who have gone over to fundamentalism. This is a way of thinking and living that emphasizes the immediate experience or satisfaction for one’s faith. Fundamentalism centers on easy-to-grasp teachings, literal understanding of the Bible and not much moral implications of one’s faith. It’s like the taste for the “instant” (instant coffee, instant noodles) or the “easy” (easy to learn math, English grammar without tears, do it yourself carpentry, etc.). These Catholics find their faith “complicated,” “boring,” with so many “requirements,” so they go over to fundamentalist sects and other non-Catholic fellowships. For these groups, it’s simple: “Accept Jesus as your personal Saviour! Period.” They have forgotten the other words of Jesus: “Not those who say, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father in heaven.” And, it’s not easy to do the will of God. It’s hard work! They have also forgotten the importance of charity towards one’s neighbour as always taught by Jesus in his parables, especially the Parable of the Last Judgement. And again, this is not easy. Sometimes, it’s even repulsive to one’s weakened nature!
Fundamentalist groups have little regard for history. Understandably, they are like the mushrooms that sprout during the rainy season and are gone when the season is over. They choose then to overlook their historical origin and that of the Catholic Church. It is only the Catholic Church that can trace its roots to Christ who founded her two thousand years ago. Consequently, without denying that truth can also be found in these groups and that they also have means of salvation, only in the Catholic Church is found the fullness of the truth and all the means of salvation!
If you’re a serious and concerned Catholic, you won’t take your faith for granted, veering away from the temptations of secularization or fundamentalism. You’ll value your Catholic faith, study it deeper and, most important of all, practise your faith in your daily life. Let’s have a fresh study of the Catholic faith, and that’s the purpose of this section on the Catholic faith. It’s a catechism. We shall base our study, not on the opinions of some theologians be they famous ones, but on the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” (CCC), the current, official catechism of the Church and the “Catechism for Filipino Catholics” (CFC), the adapted catechism in the Philippine context, approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and by the Vatican itself.
As you know, a lot of Filipinos today take their Catholic faith for granted. Perhaps, it is because their faith has been handed down to them “on a silver platter,” as it were. In our country, many have grown up in Catholic families and communities. There has always been the presence of the Church, influencing their lives and society. Throughout the year, in many cities, towns and villages, there are the fiestas of patron saints; important events are most often celebrated with the Holy Mass or, at least, the blessing of a priest.
On one hand, it’s wonderful to grow up in a Catholic environment, but, on the other hand, it’s tempting not to take our faith seriously. We have not worked for it, even suffered for it. It is true that faith is a gift of God! However, we have to do our part to nurture it, maturing in our faith in the process. I guess this has been the problem in the countries of the West. They have been Christian for centuries, even for two thousand years. Now, with the onslaught of secularization, that is, a way of thinking and living that ignores the place of God in one’s life, many Catholics and other Christians have abandoned their faith. All the while, they presupposed they had faith or that they took it for granted. Now, without deep roots and maturity, their faith just got blown by the winds of secularization. Filipinos who have visited Spain are shocked by the indifference of Spaniards to their rich Catholic heritage, noting that Spain gave us the faith centuries ago. A very secularized country today where contraception, abortion, divorce and even same-sex marriage are all acceptable, Spain needs our prayers and sacrifices!
There are Catholics too who have gone over to fundamentalism. This is a way of thinking and living that emphasizes the immediate experience or satisfaction for one’s faith. Fundamentalism centers on easy-to-grasp teachings, literal understanding of the Bible and not much moral implications of one’s faith. It’s like the taste for the “instant” (instant coffee, instant noodles) or the “easy” (easy to learn math, English grammar without tears, do it yourself carpentry, etc.). These Catholics find their faith “complicated,” “boring,” with so many “requirements,” so they go over to fundamentalist sects and other non-Catholic fellowships. For these groups, it’s simple: “Accept Jesus as your personal Saviour! Period.” They have forgotten the other words of Jesus: “Not those who say, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father in heaven.” And, it’s not easy to do the will of God. It’s hard work! They have also forgotten the importance of charity towards one’s neighbour as always taught by Jesus in his parables, especially the Parable of the Last Judgement. And again, this is not easy. Sometimes, it’s even repulsive to one’s weakened nature!
Fundamentalist groups have little regard for history. Understandably, they are like the mushrooms that sprout during the rainy season and are gone when the season is over. They choose then to overlook their historical origin and that of the Catholic Church. It is only the Catholic Church that can trace its roots to Christ who founded her two thousand years ago. Consequently, without denying that truth can also be found in these groups and that they also have means of salvation, only in the Catholic Church is found the fullness of the truth and all the means of salvation!
If you’re a serious and concerned Catholic, you won’t take your faith for granted, veering away from the temptations of secularization or fundamentalism. You’ll value your Catholic faith, study it deeper and, most important of all, practise your faith in your daily life. Let’s have a fresh study of the Catholic faith, and that’s the purpose of this section on the Catholic faith. It’s a catechism. We shall base our study, not on the opinions of some theologians be they famous ones, but on the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” (CCC), the current, official catechism of the Church and the “Catechism for Filipino Catholics” (CFC), the adapted catechism in the Philippine context, approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and by the Vatican itself.
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