When I sit down with each new group in RCIA, I like to share a bit of my personal story. I share that I was in New York in 2012 and was looking into a restaurant window when I had my calling to the Catholic Church. I wasn’t sure at the time what that exactly meant, but I knew that I wanted to accept the invitation. Faith, after all, is our response to God’s invitation.
Before reflecting on how and why to keep the faith, I thought it was important to remember that faith is our personal response; a response to an unseen grace. Sometimes it seems difficult to keep that faith. There are so many distractions and issues into today’s world. It’s easy to get caught up in all of the “noise.” Sometimes that “noise” can even find its way into the Church. It can cause some of our brothers and sisters to wonder if they should check out a different “spiritual community.” So, how do we keep the faith in our Church?
In the Gospel this week, Jesus gives us the Parable of the Faithful servant. “Gird your loins and light your lamp and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” Jesus is reminding us to be prepared and remain alert.
This message of being alert and being prepared is applicable to how and why we keep the faith in our Church. As a Church, we need to be alert to the needs of our spiritual community. It’s crucial that we as a Church continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters and develop opportunities like small groups and other ways to be involved. We also need to continue to prepare ourselves for our continued faith journeys. Prayer is one way we can prepare. It takes intentionality to be prepared and taking time to pray is one way we can keep the faith awake!
“If we only try to show our Dear Lord a good will and ask Him for resignation to the crosses He sends or permits to come our way, we may be sure that sooner or later they will turn out to have been just so many blessings in disguise.” Blessed Solanus Casey.
