Belief in a Supreme Being such as God is based on one’s acceptance that such an entity has one’s best interest in mind. This God, therefore, would have the ability to provide one with a life of peace and joy on earth and eternal happiness after death if he or she follows His ways provided in a plan with parameters for that purpose.
In Catholicism, a Christian faith with a Trinitarian God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; teaches that this God of love creates humans in His divine image and likeness. In doing so, each is given an opportunity to obey a covenant agreement by which all love the creator and all He creates on earth and in everlasting happiness after one’s death out of His love for us.
Love then is the catalyst for this relationship between God and us. One would think that with this as the mainstay of all that is good, why is there any hesitation in responding positively to this invitation? Initially, there are three main obstacles which cause us to question its promises of such a wonderful offer. They are:
Original Sin, caused by the disobedience of the first human God created, Adam. We are born with this as a direct relative of Adam and only Baptism, a Sacrament in the Roman Catholic faith, has the power through the Holy Spirit to wipe it away. In other words, a decision either by our parents/guardians on our behalf as children or us as adults, to join Catholicism, wipes away this anchor of hesitation.
Sin Nature also is with us since our birth. It is that part of our thought process which causes doubt to trust in the ways of the Lord. Negative thoughts within us lead us to be more acceptable of the world’s offers of awards of instant gratification. By doing this, we push our conscience aside as to what is a positive path to follow.
Lucifer, the fallen angel who thought he knew better than God in all things and rejected Him, who we call Satan, works 24/7 to make sure we disobey God in thought, word and deed. It is difficult to avoid him because he often disguises himself as someone or something good which entices us to toward sin.
To
conquer all three of these life stumbling blocks, we need listen to God when He
tells us what the most important commandments to follow are. To avoid loss of
our relationship with God and His creation, we need to accept the following
Scriptural verses from the Old and New Testaments that say:
“You shall love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart, and with all your soul and will all your strength.” Deuteronomy
6:5
“You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength.” Mark
12:30
“You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“You
shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:39
Some questions to contemplate:
If you want a relationship of
love as written about above, what are you doing to attain it.
For Catholics who don’t
regularly practice their faith, what do you need to change to become fully
involved?
Practicing Catholics, do you
often question if you are doing enough to be the disciples you are called to be
or do you accept God’s gifts to share your story of a love relationship with
God and how it affects your life?
If you feel compelled to share
your responses, please do so for all of us to learn.
Deacon Jim
Additional Scriptures about
Love:
The Song of Songs 4:9
Matthew 5:46
John 15:13
Romans 5:8
1 Corinthians 8:1, 2
1 Corinthians 13:4 – 7
1 Timothy 1:5
Philemon 1:7
1 Peter 4:8
1 John 3:17
1 John 4:18, 19
2 John 6
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