Our Catholic Church has the teaching (doctrinal) side of things under firm control and direction. We have the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is a clear, concise outline of the doctrine and beliefs of our Christianity. If you want to know what is true (what is the correct standard) you pull out the catechism and there it is - nblack and white!
But that is only one half of the purpose of the catechism book.
The true actual half of the catechism book is the truth that is lived on the street! How well do the teachings of Jesus take flesh in the daily lives, the attitudes and the practices of believers?
The teachings and the practice of the Gospels are only worthwhile as they are lived out in the lives and attitudes of the believers.
Our lives are a direct statement of what is worthwhile to believe . Or our lives may be a clear indication t\o walk away from Christianity.
One person may observe: I don’t go to church because I am of a different color from those people. Some of the people looked down on me the one time I tried to join them for worship. They were so unwelcoming!
The message coming through in the flesh is that people who are different are not wanted. “If you don’t want me, then probably God doesn’t want me either.”
Sometimes we have music people in our parishes who lament that ‘nobody wants to join us.’ But the remainder of the parish knows that they are so perfectionist, so demanding that everyone who musically inferior stays away. They try so hard to do the best music only to be strengthening a wall between themselves and people with less talent.
Then there is the perfectionist who is so intent on following Jesus that there is an unspoken wall of judgement that keeps away anyone who is or has struggled with alcohol/drug addiction, the divorced and those who have made some mistaken choices in their lives.
Every bishop, every priest and deacon, every teacher, and minister in the parish is a living catechism book. Their attitudes, their words all communicate: is God/ religion good and life-giving or does it throw out negative barbs?
Every person in the parish is a living statement of the goodness of the Gospels. Each life must be a living witness of Jesus Christ, living within that person.
No human being believes in God or choses to live the Gospel of Jesus because it is clearly spelt out in the doctrine of the Church. They believe because they have discovered the love and mercy of Jesus Christ in the lives of real people; deliberate believers. The lives of real people close to me testify to the love and mercy of God. I can believe and commit my life to Christ because of what I see of Christ’s love in the lives of these people. It is flesh and blood that makes our faith authentic.
Each person who identifies with God must examine themselves; what kind of message does my attitudes, my words, my response to people in need make clear that God is alive in us?
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