The Goal is Heaven..

The most deadly poison of our times is indifference.-- St. Maximilian Kolbe


The goal is heaven, not complacency and indifference--we need to try to act like that is where we want to go!!!

Where do we want to go? Why do we put up with so much from others? Why is it okay for us to watch the sin of the world and the world essentially fall to pieces, but it is not okay, or rather we find it hard to speak up about out faith in Christ? When I think of this concept I think of it as my dear bestest friend. If someone was making fun of her or calling her names or tarnishing her good name--would I not stand up for her no matter what the cost? Would I not fight for her or him even if it meant that the people would not like me? Would I risk my own life for the situation? These are questions that most people, if they have a dear friend, would probably answer yes to. When it comes to defending the faith, the answer is usually, well they have there opinion and i have mine--they can think how they want etc. Now although there is truth in that statement, there is also a bit of moral relativism and indiffence involved.

As a soldier for Christ, I vow to do my best to listen to his prompting through the Holy Spirit. That means, sometimes I am not suppose to sit there and just say, well everyone is entitled to there opinion. Like I said, that is true, but I feel that there are times when we need to speak truth to our brother and sisters who do not know otherwise. We are here to get to heaven--that does not mean that I act good and I get there--that means I am a follower of Christ, that means if the King commands I follow. Sometimes it is scary to speak up and I have been there as well, but as a priest said to me one time, "the Holy Spirit is working through all of us, not just you. So if you are prompted to say something to someone, God is moving in that other person as well." That really woke me up in a totally different way.

What is blowing my mind these days are the men and woman I meet who claim that they are Christians, specifically Catholic, but do not live that way at all. One thing I know for sure for myself is that I cannot live one way and act another. The more I have sat and listened to these people the more i have come to realize the holes they have in there understanding of Christ Jesus. They see all the doctrines and "rules" etc, but completely miss out on the LOVE. I was driving home one day and just thought, I want to start a revolution--its time to bring people to an understanding of TRUE LOVE. The only way I have been able to do that is by loving them exactly where they are at. Since the relationship is missing, it is the hole, then giving them the relationship is the key to bring them back to the understanding of what they have abandoned.

We love people back to Jesus. People are usually amazed at the fact that anyone single person could look at them and love them for themselves. This is our Call as Catholics...not to so much convert and stand up for our faith--but to love!!! We are called to be universal--that is what Catholic Means. It does not mean superior religion, or religion with rules--it means Universal. What is it to be Universal? For me it means, I am called to love my neighbor as myself. It means love as Christ has loved us--by dying for each other, sacrificing time for love of souls. Just listening can be a sacrifice! Some people have no one to listen to them.
That is what they need, to feel loved again. We live in a society that does not know how to love. We have taken love out of the equation of life because love requires suffering and pain and we try our best as a society to stay away from that. A lot of times you hear people talk about the "lack of love" here or there...the reality is, there is not a lack of love--there is not a proper understanding of Love...so true love is non-existent!

As for standing up for Christ, there are those moments within these loving moments to stand up for the faith. To speak truth to our brothers and sisters. That is love too. To be able to call our brothers and sisters out to holiness. Our call to as Christians is to make sure that the souls that have been entrusted in our care are held accountable as long as God has them in our paths. If anything we are called to pray for each other. As St Francis said, "Preach the Gospel always and when necessary use words."

God is calling you and I to a basic concept LOVE! I must first love God with everything I am -- so that I can be everything that he has designed for me to be. Then I must take that love and Love my neighbor the way that I long to be loved. If we know the love of God truly in our hearts, that love is simple--"We love until it hurts, and then when it hurts, we love some more." --Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.