The Contemporary Catholic: An Embodiment of God's Love for the World - Essay Example

The Contemporary Catholic: An Embodiment of Gods Love for the World WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE ABOUT? Imagine a world full of love and compassion that breaks through the barriers of race, gender, color, economic status, and religion. According to Father Martin, the primary goal of the well-known religion called Catholicism is simply to give love and compassion to other people. On the other hand, how much do we really know about Catholicism and about devout Catholics? What does it take to become a Catholic in the real sense of the word? These are two questions that form part of the primary purpose for this paper and that is to explore everything about what it is genuinely like to be Catholic. Thus, the main topic of this paper is directed towards Catholicism and the Catholic as the prime mover of the Christian faith. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS TOPIC? I chose this topic because the world today is so full of apathy, violence, depression, and negativism, that people need to know about what will help them keep back on track towards the true meaning of life. WHAT IS THE RELEVANCE OR YOUR TOPIC? Additionally, probing this topic is quite relevant considering all the rapid changes in communication and technology that people may be too busy to do the things that really matter and keep him grounded on good soil. WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES YOU WILL EXPLORE? As such, the main issues that will be tackled in this paper includes the traditional views about Catholicism such as going to church every Sunday, submitting to regular confession and receiving all the other sacraments that are considered central to the practice of religion, devotion to prayer and the call to study the lives of the saints (Richert). Moreover, this paper would like to explore how the modern-day Catholic has evolved and grown in his faith throughout the years. Foremost is to examine the challenges posed to him by the environment today and how he faces them. Secondly, this paper will also present how Jesus Christ is made the center of the Catholic’s life. Thirdly, significant beliefs in faith, forgiveness, devotion, ecumenism and eternal life are also given emphasis. Fourth, the qualities of the Catholic that make him stand out from the rest will also be described. Consequently, aside from being religious in his practices, he may get more focused on developing the qualities of a real Catholic who lives for others. WHAT IS THE THESIS OF YOUR PAPER? Therefore, it is hypothesized that the Catholic as a man of God and a follower of Jesus Christ is somebody who, through His grace, essentially has love in his heart that overflows and spreads to the rest of humanity. As such, Catholicism is not merely a practice of religion or religiosity but a way of life that promotes forgiveness and healing. This paper will utilize the descriptive type of research and make use of a personal interview, a book written by Pope John Paul II himself, and Richert’s online texts on Catholicism. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO INTERVIEW AND WHY? I have chosen to interview a Redemptorist priest from Ireland who has had vast experience in his vocation over the years. I chose him because having been educated from Ireland, he was a witness to the traditional beliefs of the Catholic Church. But being a missionary for more than forty years has made a great impact on his view about the real essence of Catholicism and being a genuine Catholic. WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER SOURCES? On the other hand, the book by Pope John Paul II and the online texts compiled by Richert gives this paper an authentic information about Catholicism as well. Finally, Pope John Paul II explains that the lay apostolate should be empowered and should consider each of themselves as Catholic missionaries (131). WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO PROVE WITH THIS TOPIC? As such, this paper would like to prove that a true Catholic is someone who places God at the center of his life and, as Jesus Christ upholds, loves his neighbors as much as he loves himself. PERSONAL INTERVIEW WITH FATHER MARTIN: One truly faithful missionary of all times is the priest and no other person can describe Catholicism and Catholics more thoroughly than he can because of the continuous studies and spiritual experiences he has had in serving God. In specific, I have conducted an interview with a Redemptorist priest, Father Martin, and he did give a lot of good points on Catholicism. Father Martin shared that he has been a priest for 44 years now. He grew up in Ireland and was made to traditionally believe that religiosity is spirituality which means that Catholics were expected to adhere to Church doctrines. For example, he used to believe that indeed Catholics need to attend mass regularly otherwise, that person is not favorable in Gods eyes. However, when he was sent to a mission to an Asian country, his idea about Catholicism changed. He relates having been assigned to a community in the mountains where there was no church. Here, he saw that not all Catholic communities had the resources to do their Sunday masses but this did not mean that these people were not pleasing in Gods eyes. He even said that sometimes people tend to do everything to please God but they are not aware that God Himself is doubling His efforts to make him happy. During a feast of their patron saint in that community, he asked what one woman would do to give back to God. Father Martin admitted that he was expecting the woman to say that she will give money to the church and attend mass. Unexpectedly, the woman answered that she would prepare a lot of food and would welcome anybody who wants to join her in her home. This is a way of letting people realize that God truly cares for them. Father Martin believes that Catholicism is about following Jesus Christ who said that the greatest commandment is to love God above all things and to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Furthermore, he espouses that Catholicism is not a doctrine or a morality-based religion but a mystical experience with God - knowing and believing that He does exist. He believes that Catholicism is really about ones relationship with the Heavenly Father. He also emphasized that the real essence of being a Catholic is having compassion or unconditional love for all mankind. This is how he believes Catholicism should be – veering away from the requirements for good behavior just to please somebody. Instead he pushes for the idea that Catholicism is humane in the first place and relationships exceeds adherence to common practices. He goes on to say that a person can be an authentic Catholic when his goal is to live in peace with everybody. This may not be easy though considering all the negative issues we are all facing today including poverty, hatred, and individualism. However, he insists that if Catholics have to have certain qualities or behavior, it should be geared toward actions that promote healing and forgiveness. Gone are the days when God the father is a distant God. Father Martin strongly states there has been a change in the image of who God really is and the best description is that he is a God of love. Thus, it is not really about thinking which is right or wrong but relying on our conscience as a supreme law in guiding our actions and decisions. Lastly, Father Martin believes that if there is one thing that Jesus has commissioned Catholics to do, it would be to unite everybody including those who have a different religion. This in particular is called ecumenism. For instance, Muslims believe that Jesus Christ is one of the prophets but they never accept Him as Gods Son. These different views may contradict each other but one thing is for sure and that is the belief that there is someone in the spiritual dimension who has made us, loved us, and continues to nurture us so that we can all be with Him in His heavenly kingdom in the here and now. Works Cited Martin, Bernard. Personal Interview. 28 November 2008. Paul, John II. Memory and Identity. Great Britain: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2005. Richert, Scott P. “Catholicism 101: An Introduction the Beliefs and Practices of the Catholic Church.” 27 November 2008 . INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: 1. How is your life like being a Catholic priest? 2. What is Catholicism? 3. How did it start? 4. How is Jesus Christ the center of this faith? 5. In what ways can a person be a real Catholic? 6. What makes a Catholic stand out from the others? 7. What is the Catholic Church’s view about other religions? 8. What challenges does the Catholic face these days? 9. How should he face them? 10. What is the mission of the Catholic in this life? Read More