THE QUALITY OF FAITH
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
My dear encountered couples:
Paul traveled through many countries converting people. We are told the congregations increased daily in numbers. I wonder if any Jewish people joined Christianity just to get out from under the strict laws of the Jewish faith. Maybe there were some people, both Gentiles and Jews, who joined just because of the attraction of something new. Both these reasons attract people nowadays, especially the young, to join various movements and organizations. If such a thing happens now, why not back then? I doubt very much that every Christian in the early days of the Church joined purely for reasons of faith in Christ.
You and I have true faith, though, don’t we? And solid faith. Our faith has been tried and tested for many years. We go to Church because we are truly convinced that no other person than Jesus Christ can save us from our unhappiness, from our sins.
Yet, there are Catholics who fall away, Catholics who give up going to church, Catholics who for some reason or other lose their faith. Some possibly do that because their faith was not really founded on Christ in the first place. Maybe it was a passing fancy, a whim, a misunderstanding, or what have you.
But why does it also happen to Catholics who were brought up in the faith from birth and practiced their faith faithfully for many years? Is it the lure of things in the world, the attraction of new ways of thinking and living? Can it happen to you or me? We certainly hope not.
We are very fortunate to have our faith. Let us pray every day we never lose it. Without Jesus Christ what would we have?
