The Challenges of Being a Follower of Christ Today - Essay Example

The Challenges of Following Christ and Being a Catholic Being Catholic is not simply going to Church on Sundays. It is all about faith combined with action. Being a Catholic is also about being sensitive to the issues that surround us in the present and seeking ways to handle or remedy such situations through morality and a strengthening of faith. Catholicism is therefore synonymous to the idea of responsibility and a clear vision of what is morally good. News – Guns and Politics Being a Catholic means consciously making choices based on what is morally good and not based on the common good. Recently, there has been a debate in universities and in Congress about the legality of total gun bans in school campuses. While the representatives of many States have chosen to lift the gun ban in their own States and cities or become more lenient when it comes to the carrying of guns, the minority – made up of concerned teachers and some of those whose children or family members have died in a gun-related incident – has chosen to fight for their cause. Guns can be instruments of evil and should therefore be banned in our schools at all costs, considering that so many acts of gun-related violence have been reported in the United States. In fact, one’s so-called constitutional right to own and carry guns in public is not a moral dilemma at all to the Catholic because Catholics know that carrying guns in school campuses is already wrong as it is an occasion of sin. If one is Catholic, one should therefore know where one stands in such an issue, and one should therefore practice one’s principles. When it comes to politics, Catholics should also be aware that taking a political stance as Republican or Democrat sometimes does not matter for what matters is the morality of the issue. Everyone is aware that the U.S. Congress and the White House would sometimes have opposing opinion on a particular issue not because of the goodness, rightness, or practical value of the issue but on whether this suggestion is coming from the Democrats or the Republicans. Nobody even cares about the morality of the issue, on whether Obama Care is the best solution to ill health or not, or whether the military authorization to use force against Syria is the best course of action. The most important thing for politicians is to support the suggestions coming from their own political party and to reject ones coming from the other regardless of moral substance. Nevertheless, every Catholic should be aware that it is the morality of the issue that should be taken into consideration first and not even the practical value. Catholic parents should therefore be careful of what their opinion is about current political issues because it is these opinions that their children will adopt for their own. It is therefore imperative for Catholics that even if they cannot do anything about what is going on in society and politics, they should know which ones are morally right and which ones are not. News – Immigration Immigration laws in the United States may have become strict but their moral aspect should be considered. Regardless of the purpose of these immigration laws – whether to welcome or to restrict the entry of foreign immigrants – the most important thing is to consider the moral goodness of these laws. Catholics, therefore, should discuss over meals or during their free time not only the practical and legal value of these laws but also the benefits it can give to foreign immigrants. The fact that so many foreigners have become naturalized citizens of the United States may actually be good or bad for the country, but every Catholic should not fail to consider how good things are despite its advantages. Welcoming immigrants from other countries is a corporal work of mercy similar to sheltering the homeless, and so Catholics should rejoice at this. News – Poverty and Unemployment, Taxation, Corruption When it comes to poverty and unemployment, Catholics are expected not only to condemn the corruption of the government and other negative factors that brought about poverty and unemployment. As Catholics are a people who value good works, every Catholic should therefore focus on how to alleviate poverty and unemployment through good works or by physically and actually helping people. If they cannot help the poor and the unemployed, what Catholics can do is to empower these people or help them to get through their difficult situation through prayer. Poverty and unemployment are rampant anywhere in the world, not only in the United States. In fact, poverty is the root cause of so many evils in our society, including prostitution, drugs, mental illness, violence, murder, divorce, robbery, and lack of education. Such evils have consumed a large portion of the American population especially the youth. If therefore all Catholics choose and continue to pray and seek opportunities to alleviate poverty and provide new jobs to reduce unemployment, then it should be a much better world for all of us, regardless of religion. The good thing about Catholics is that there is no condemnation against people of other religions, unlike what some extremists or religious fanatics show on TV and in the pulpits of their ministers. Catholics should extend a helping hand to everyone, just like what Blessed Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa did when they were still alive. News – Divorce, suicide, depression, crimes As divorce, suicide, depression and crime rates increase, Catholics should try to be vigilant regarding these matters. Divorce may be caused not only by poverty but also by two people who cannot compromise or by infidelity. The consequences of divorce are horrible especially to the children. Catholics should therefore try as much as possible to view marriage and relationships as acts of sacrifice, not just mere opportunities for physical and sexual pleasure. Nobody marries for such animal purposes, and besides the sacrament of matrimony is sanctified by God’s grace. The times may be hard and the pain may be too much but good Catholics settle their issues in the name of Christ. On the subject of suicide and depression, these two things usually go hand in hand and may be caused by various factors like poverty, bad relationships or simply a big ego that was therefore hurt so much. Catholics should therefore know when to let God handle their problems and let go of these things. One should therefore do what he can as a human being but for those things he cannot do, he should not be too egoistic to offer these concerns to God. No pain can ever be settled with the help and grace of God. On the subject of crimes, the root cause is usually poverty but behind this is still an egoistic personality that is jealous of others, one that does not realize the value of sacrifice, and one that is therefore always hurt because it is based on a big ego. Criminals usually are those who cannot control their own emotions, cannot settle their own personal issues, cannot endure the temptations of jealousy, and are therefore hurt and vengeful. Thus, for one not to become a criminal, one should pray to God so that one’s ego is reduced and so one’s pain is alleviated at the same time. For other Catholics, they should also try not to condemn the perpetrators of crime even if they cannot afford to love them. Hypocrisy and Lack of Forgiveness So far, so many Catholics today have become hypocritical towards others. While proclaiming their Catholicism everywhere especially when they join church outreach programs and other forms of apostolic work, they themselves are ill-tempered, easy to be discouraged in difficult situations, or easy to condemn and vilify others who have done wrong. They have invested so much in good works but they themselves have not attained personal spiritual growth as good Catholics and good Christians. Catholics usually think many times before reacting to fearful and annoying situations and take care not to get angry at the slightest instance. Aside from being slow to anger, Catholics are supposed to be reserved when it comes to stating opinions especially those that condemn others. In the Lenten season, the Stations of the Cross remind all Catholics how the Romans and the Jews condemned and crucified Jesus Christ. Many Catholics reflect on this every Good Friday but many also do not realize that they themselves condemn and crucify some of their neighbors faster than the Romans did to Jesus Christ. Hypocrisy therefore exists among Catholics, but such an existence is all about a lack of forgiveness. The immoral person’s tendency is to get angry first and seek revenge before giving consideration, understanding and forgiveness. The Catholic must be the opposite, but this has always been a challenge to all of the Catholic Church. What I like most about Catholicism is the morals and values it teaches, in addition to the actual good works that it encourages everyone to do. Catholicism encourages people to be good and to do good things as a natural consequence of this being good. The world today may be beset by issues that include poverty, corruption, immigration problems, political controversies, unemployment, divorce, suicide and depression, and even hypocrisy and the cultivation of an unforgiving nature. However, the solution to all these is neither money nor good governance but a strengthening of one’s Catholic faith and a vision of a better world and a good future under Christ Read More