Catechism Was Not Written To Please You.

[EJames2]

[b] [url="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc/index.htm"]http://www.vatican.v...e/ccc/index.htm[/url]
-"Catechism was not written to please you. It will not make life easy for you, because it demands of you a new life. It places before you the Gospel message as the “pearl of great value” (Mt 13:46) for which you must give everything. So I beg you: Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance. Make a sacrifice of your time for it! Study it in the quiet of your room; read it with a friend; form study groups and networks; share with each other on the Internet. By all means continue to talk with each other about your faith.

You need to know what you believe. You need to know your faith with that same precision with which an IT specialist knows the inner workings of a computer. You need to understand it like a good musician knows the piece he is playing. Yes, you need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents so that you can engage the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and determination. You need God’s help if your faith is not going to dry up like a dewdrop in the sun, if you want to resist the blandishments of consumerism, if your love is not to drown in pornography, if you are not going to betray the weak and leave the vulnerable helpless.

If you are now going to apply yourselves zealously to the study of the Catechism, I want to give you one last thing to accompany you: You all know how deeply the community of faith has been wounded recently through the attacks of the evil one, through the penetration of sin itself into the interior, yes, into the heart of the Church. Do not make that an excuse to flee from the face of God! You yourselves are the Body of Christ, the Church! Bring the undiminished fire of your love into this Church whose countenance has so often been disfigured by man. “Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord!”--Pope Benedict XVI
- 2011[/b]
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc2.htm

Edited April 29, 2012 by EJames2

[Papist]

Made not to please me, but it still does. Thanks for sharing.

[PhuturePriest]

I agree with Papist's sentiments. It is not meant to please me, and yet I love every part of it, especially when reading it to people and looking at their distraught faces.

[MissyP89]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1335720616' post='2424781']
I agree with Papist's sentiments. It is not meant to please me, and yet I love every part of it, especially when reading it to people and looking at their distraught faces.
[/quote]

Because that's definitely going to soften hearts and win souls!

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='MissyP89' timestamp='1335720979' post='2424785']
Because that's definitely going to soften hearts and win souls!
[/quote]

It's still funny to see their faces...

[MissScripture]

Yes, I frequently get joy out of others realizing that they have a lot to work on in their lives and could very well be going to Hell...OH. OH, WAIT! No I don't.

[dominicansoul]

Papa Benny rawks...



speaking of distraught faces, I get that ALOT, not from my students, but mostly from parents, when I tell them they need to start bringing their children to Mass EVERY Sunday....

[dominicansoul]

..i also get distraught faces from teenagers when I tell them having sex before marriage is a mortal sin.. they've never heard that before and it shawks them..


you'd be suprised how Truth gives people so much anxiety, especially when they've been conditioned to listen more to the ways of the world than the ways of God...

[beatitude]

This paragraph comes as an answer to an anguished prayer I made last night:

[quote]If you are now going to apply yourselves zealously to the study of the Catechism, I want to give you one last thing to accompany you: You all know how deeply the community of faith has been wounded recently through the attacks of the evil one, through the penetration of sin itself into the interior, yes, into the heart of the Church. Do not make that an excuse to flee from the face of God! You yourselves are the Body of Christ, the Church! Bring the undiminished fire of your love into this Church whose countenance has so often been disfigured by man. “Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord!”[/quote]

Bless you for sharing this, EJames. I would never have seen it otherwise. You have been God's postman.

[dominicansoul]

[quote][b]You all know how deeply the community of faith has been wounded recently through the attacks of the evil one, through the penetration of sin itself into the interior, yes, into the heart of the Church. Do not make that an excuse to flee from the face of God! You yourselves are the Body of Christ, the Church! Bring the undiminished fire of your love into this Church whose countenance has so often been disfigured by man. “Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord!”--Pope Benedict XVI
- 2011[/b][/quote]

...even when other catholics mock you..., (and they will,) it can be tough, but for those who have studied and continue to study the catechism and teach it to others, don't ever "flag in zeal, but be aglow with the Spirit," and pray pray pray pray for those who you teach

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1335723203' post='2424805']
Yes, I frequently get joy out of others realizing that they have a lot to work on in their lives and could very well be going to Hell...OH. OH, WAIT! No I don't.
[/quote]

I believe there is a misunderstanding here. I love to see their faces when they're like "Wait, I can't do what now?! Are you kidding me?!" It's funny to me because I had much the same reaction, but I got over it. I take it much more seriously if the person is unwilling to submit to the Church's authority and try to help them, but there's nothing wrong with laughing at a reaction. Perhaps the word "distraught" was the wrong one to use?

Edited April 29, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='dominicansoul' timestamp='1335727340' post='2424838']
...even when other catholics mock you..., (and they will,) it can be tough, but for those who have studied and continue to study the catechism and teach it to others, don't ever "flag in zeal, but be aglow with the Spirit," and pray pray pray pray for those who you teach
[/quote]

Of course. Besides, I'm not really being serious. I'd think people would have learned that by now, but perhaps soon people will understand when I am serious and when I am not. I never said I loved it when people were anxious about their sins and how tough it will be to change. I was rather vague about what I said and i think you should always give someone the benefit of the doubt. I'm not judging anyone, this is simply what I believe. It's surprising how many times your original conclusion is wrong about someone and something they said. I say that being an absolute pro at coming up with the wrong conclusions.

Edited April 29, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[dominicansoul]

FP, i was kinda agreeing with you...that has been my experience, in all the years I've taught catechism, "distraught" isn't even the word to describe the faces of those I teach, the CCD director, the parents, etc. etc.

...its as if I've walked into a protestant church and taught Transubstantiation...

[Norseman82]

[quote name='dominicansoul' timestamp='1335727105' post='2424835']
..i also get distraught faces from teenagers when I tell them having sex before marriage is a mortal sin.. they've never heard that before and it shawks them..


you'd be suprised how Truth gives people so much anxiety, especially when they've been conditioned to listen more to the ways of the world than the ways of God...
[/quote]

Let's also not forget the tension that occurs when the kids finally realize that mommy and daddy are going to hell because they are cohabiting, or divorced/remarried or otherwise remarried outside the church, blowing off Mass on Sunday, cussing like drunken sailors, etc.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Norseman82

[Clare~Therese]

Oh yeah!
Wait...so am I [i]supposed[/i] to be displeased when I read it? Because I'm pleased with the whole thing thus far.

On a more serious note (I guess) I like reading the [i]YouCat[/i] (meow!) and so on because I [i]want[/i] to know more, I [i]want[/i] to be strong in the Faith, I [i]don't want[/i] my faith to "dry up like a dewdrop in the sun" in these times & those to come short-term & long-term.

My parish priest said to all of us in my high school CCD class that we are part of the future of the Church. I was thinking recently about how huge of a responsibility that is, in a sense. Is that frightening to me? Somewhat. But "with God nothing is impossible."

Edited April 29, 2012 by Clare~Therese