Building a Rock Solid Faith

Some random thoughts on faith and religion.

I want to talk about some things I have learnt about faith since I returned to the Catholic Church over seven years ago.

Faith is something that you must work at and build upon every day. We do this through prayer, good works, charity, and avoidance of sin.

Prayer is the action mode of faith. When I pray the Rosary, as one example, I am doing it for God’s benefit, not for my own. When this slips from my mind then my prayer is less efficacious.

Good works are another action mode of faith. We are called to be in the Church militant. I try to set an example for those around me, often by simply things such as not eating meat on a Friday. My local watering hole now puts out simple fish dishes on Friday. People know why.

Charity is tied with humility, (in fact, humility is tied with everything).

I read somewhere that the saints were not people that did not sin, but rather they sinned less and less with each subsequent day.

The Latin Mass is the only acceptable mass for many reasons, but the very best reason for us today is because it is the masculine mass. The world needs a lot more masculinity.

When I find myself discouraged then I will often recite the Jesus prayer. Apart from this, in general I try to go quietly. I don’t want to make a big deal out of things or make a fuss. I’m not interested in attaining the highest of highs because the lowest of lows do not appeal to me.

I try and practice surrender to God. I try to not get in His way and impede His actions. He will gladly do it for us if we let Him. Doubt and worry are contrary to belief in God. If we worry then we are getting in God’s way, and stopping Him from helping us. How can we worry if God has our best interests at heart?

Our very best interest is in attaining heaven. Anything that gets in the way of that goal is a very big problem for us. Unfortunately, most of the things that we think we want or need run counter to that outcome.

We’re talking eternity here, folks.

I try not to submit to fear. Fear is of the devil, it is the opposite of God. Fear blinds you, it paralyses you, it cuts you off from God, it propels you onto the wide path.

God has blessed me with abundance and riches beyond compare. But the greatest gift that He gave me was the return of my faith. For that reason, my divorce was the best thing that ever happened to me. Come to think of it, my ex-wife should be in my prayers. I sure owe her one.

It would be nice to have a religious mentor, a priest to tend to my spiritual needs, but that is not the world we are living in right now. So we must continue to dig deep, to hold fast, to practice our faith, to regularly confess, to pray daily, and to sin less. Imagine what the world would be like if every man did that.