Church of ST JOSEPH Plentong

https://www.catholic.sg
31-January-2019-Thursday
3rd-week-ordinary-time

*To remain firm in the faith we profess, we must continue to grow in our faith.  The fault with many Catholics is that they think baptism is a graduation from having acquired knowledge and understanding of their faith. After completing their catechism classes or RCIA journey, they no longer seek out opportunities to continue growing their faith, both doctrinally and spiritually.  Their only occasion to grow in faith is the one-hour mass that they attend every Sunday.  This is hardly enough to sustain the life of a Catholic. The warning of the Lord is clear.  Those who do not grow in their faith are already losing their faith. Faith, like relationships, needs time to grow. Just like relationships, faith needs to be strengthened every moment, each day, every week and every year.  There is no question of stopping when it comes to nurturing our faith as in any relationship.  Relationships between spouses or friends when not deepened because we take each other for granted will eventually lead to distancing, misunderstandings, doubts and suspicions.  So, too, in our faith relationship with God.*

*How, then, can we grow in our faith?  Firstly, we need to deepen our intimacy with God through Christ. Catholics must fight shy of those pseudo-Christian spiritualties that attempt to reach God by bypassing the humanity of Christ.  A true Christian spirituality is always rooted in not just the mystical body of Christ but in His humanity.  This has always been the teaching of the mystical writers and the Church. Secondly, we must be rooted in the Word of God. We cannot grow in our faith without deepening our love and appreciation for the Word of God through bible study and most of all, a prayerful reading and sharing of the Word of God.  When we do not make time to read, study and pray the scriptures, we cannot know Christ since St Jerome makes it clear that “to be ignorant of the scriptures, is to be ignorant of Christ”.*

*Thirdly, we must seek the support of the Christian community.    The main reason why many Catholics fall off from their faith is because their faith is a personal individualistic faith, between God and them alone.  A Catholic without the support of his fellow Catholics will eventually fall out from the faith, especially when he undergoes the trials and challenges of life, the influence of secularism, and the materialistic, individualistic and atheistic views of the world.  A Catholic who is disconnected from his fellow Catholics will not have fellow Catholics to encourage, support and journey with him in his life of faith.  Without hearing the testimonies of fellow Catholics in their encounter with the Lord and how they live out their Catholic faith, we will lack inspiration, models and mentors to edify and guide us.  Catholics must not only come for Sunday Mass regularly, but they must also belong to a faith-sharing group, a community that could support them in their faith.  Otherwise, their faith will become weak and when they have no ties with the community, they will wander away to find another community, often a secular community without godly values.*

*Fourthly, to grow our faith, we need to evangelize and be a witness to Christ.  We evangelize ourselves by evangelizing others.  By sharing our faith with others, we strengthen our own faith.  By teaching our faith to others, we grow in understanding and clarity in what we believe in.  So often, Catholics take their faith for granted until it is challenged.  They do not make the effort to know more about their faith but they will have the time to read all the worldly articles about health, finance, the stock market and all the gossips in the news. Finally, growing in faith, in the final analysis, is to grow in our Christian life.  This is the most effective form of witnessing. A life of holiness and charity are the fruits of a strong spiritual life and a life of hope founded in the promises of God.*

A Blessed, Joyful and Peaceful morning to all of you.