If life and the living of it are something
of a struggle for you at this time, the following invitation may
well be one that could help you.
Struggle has always been a part of life down
through human history. What is so disappointing in these modern
times is that with all of our modern technical wizardry a lot of
these problems have not been improving. In fact in a little over
a hundred and fifty years we have killed millions upon millions
with our modern methods of war and extermination technology.
Those of us who have escaped have gone on to consume the world's
resources to the point where every man, woman and child, on
earth, is living in a polluted environment, to one degree or
another.
The problem is that we have become blinded
to our true nature. We are not beings that are born to live a
very short life and then disappear into oblivion. We have become
so preoccupied with our personal rights and the struggle for
material gain that we have lost contact with that part of our
nature that lives beyond our physical selves. Like it or not, we
have opted for the physical tangible benefit, and the right to
enjoy that benefit, at the expense of our spiritual welfare.
Deep down inside most of us though, we sense
that we are more than simply a physical body that appears on
earth at some point in time and then disappears. Polls indicate
that by far the greatest percentage of us believes that there is
a God, or some controlling intelligence, behind everything in
this universe.
In recent years there has been a steady
growth of interest in exploring the spiritual, looking for
answers that seem to elude us in the here and now. The problem is
though, where do we go and who do we see to try and bring that
immortal part of our being back into a day to day part of our
lives.
The first step is to ask! Ask who? Ask the
God who created us and who most of us believes is there
somewhere? For example one drug addicted young lady woke out of a
troubled sleep one night, sat bolt upright in bed and simply
begged, "God help me," and then fell back to sleep. When she woke
in the morning the drug addiction that she was plagued with in
her life had gone. From that moment forward she began to rebuild
her life, looking to God for guidance, and in time was to become
a very caring person who reached out to others suffering with
addictions of various kinds.
The God who helped that young lady get her
life back actually loves each and every one of us, without
exception, so much so that He sent someone to help us and to open
the way back to Him more fully. That someone was His Son, Jesus
Christ, and that one person's entry into human history changed it
more than any other single person born to this earth.
Change is possible in any life as long as
there is still life. What is more, it costs nothing. All we have
to do is reach out and ask. There are all sorts of prayer
formulas that have been written to handle this situation but it
can be as simple as, "Jesus Lord, help me please! I will try to
follow wherever you direct me."
Why don't you stop reading, right now, and
invite Jesus into your heart, using a simple invitation like the
one I have just outlined. It does not matter who you are, or what
your background is, or where you are, we are all made by the same
Lord and Giver of Life. When you extend this invitation Jesus
will accept and come immediately to be with you. He has waited
all your life for this moment, so if you have just made this
invitation, rest with Him for a moment before reading any
further.
It is impossible to love something or follow
someone that you don't know. The quickest and easiest way to find
out more about Jesus is to read about His life in the four
Gospels of the New Testament. Go out and find or buy a copy of
the New Testament as soon as possible. It will be either part of
a full bible or printed on its own and most of the larger
bookstores will carry them. Or, you can write to us at "Leaflets
of Faith" and we would be happy to send you a copy of the "New
Testament."
You will need help in your new relationship
with Christ and choosing who you go to for help is a very
important step and the best suggestion would be that you approach
the Roman Catholic Church, which was founded by Jesus Christ,
with the Apostles, nearly 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ is
believed by Catholics to be God, the Lord and Saviour of all
humanity. To continue His saving presence and message through
history, Jesus founded a Church which is visible in the Roman
Catholic Church. Catholics believe that the Church will continue
her mission until the end of the world when Jesus himself will
come again.
The Lord bestowed a special gift of teaching
on Peter and the other Apostles, which continues in their
successors, the Pope and bishops to the present day. There is an
unbroken succession of popes, 262 in number, from the original
Peter the Apostle to the current Pope, John Paul II. Just as
Jesus was the visible communication of God's love, so Jesus
communicates through the Church's visible structure. The Church's
mystical, divine nature is bound to its social structure. How
else may God reveal Himself with certainty except through that
which is accessible to the human person?
Entry into the Church for adults is now
largely done through a process called the Rite of Christian
Initiation for Adults (RCIA). This RCIA is a gradual process that
can be fitted to the needs of the individual and entering into it
does not place any obligation at all on the enquirer to join the
Church. In general though, newcomers who choose to go forward are
received into the Church at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.
A few years ago a story came out about a
young family that moved into a new parish. Both the husband and
wife quickly became involved in the life of the parish through
its various organizations. The Pastor noticed however, that when
the family came forward for communion, the wife stayed back in
the pew. This is not particularly remarkable as there are many
marriages where one of the partners is not Catholic. In this
particular instance though, this woman was so much a part of the
parish life that the Pastor could not restrain his curiosity. One
day when they were working on a project together he asked if she
had ever thought about becoming a Catholic, to which she replied
"Yes, many times." "Then what's the problem," asked the Pasor,
"can I help in some way." "Well Father," she answered, "No one
has invited me....!"
To be sure that the same situation does not
happen here to you, why don't you accept our invitation to come
and find out about what Christ in his Catholic Church is all
about. If you like what you see the rest will be between you and
God. It is simple to do, all you have to do is phone the rectory
of the Catholic Church nearest to you and ask to speak to the
Pastor. If he is unavailable, explain to the person who answers
the phone that you are interested in finding out more about the
Catholic Church and they should be able to help you.
We have another leaflet that you might find
helpful called "Approaching the Catholic Church for the First
Time." We would be happy to send it to you by mail or you can
read it on our Internet web site, both addresses are on the back
of this leaflet. May God bless you in your searchings and be
confident that you are in our prayers.
William J. Bradley
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