A GRAIN OF WHEAT

Do the cultural Catholics now outnumber the true Catholics? I know of so many people that make a big deal, as they should, about baptizing their children but the same people do not go to Mass regularly, they do not go to confession, and they do not pass on the Faith to their children. Why is this happening? Why are seemingly good people abandoning the teaching of the Church for a way of life that keeps God on the fringes?

Someone today was telling me of a Catholic couple who practices Natural Family Planning rather than using contraceptives. When this person described the couple she said that they are “very Catholic”. My wife and I also use NFP and I fail to understand how this places one farther along on some imaginary scale of Catholicity. There is not a system of measurement used to determine one’s devotion to the true teachings of the Church. There either is devotion, or there isn’t.

The cultural Catholic phenomenon is not something to be taken lightly. We all need to be united in a faith that burns but does not consume; a faith that ignites fervor and devotion to Jesus and His Church; a faith that places things of God before things of man always. Our Lady has told us again and again that true devotion to her Son and constant prayer to Him are what is needed for the salvation of mankind and yet we continue to drive ourselves farther from Him by our lukewarm attitude.

My oldest son has a habit of doing whatever I do. If I sit, then he sits. If I get a drink of water, then he gets a drink of water. If I pray, then he prays. You see my point? If we neglect our faith then we are not living up to our calling as parents. Jesus specifically said not to hold the children back from coming to Him, but our poor attitudes regarding the practice of faith are doing just that. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our children to practice the Faith with vigor and devotion because we do not belong to ourselves and neither do our children belong to us. We were all created by God and we belong to Him, so it would be wise to treat His creation with care and attentiveness.

So whether you are very Catholic or just a little bit Catholic, let’s all practice the Faith the way God desires, with love and vigor and joy.

Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christian,
how sweet it is to come to your feet
imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children, 
how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?
Grant then to me, I implore you, 
your perpetual help in all my necessities, 
in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
 Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life. 
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians,
that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.
              

-St. John Bosco