When someone asks why you are Catholic …
Some more ‘reasons for our hope’
Some more ‘reasons for our hope’
In the last column, we imagined the scenario of a friend, classmate or teammate asking you, so why are you Catholic? What do you say? Maybe you think, because my mom wants me to be, or my family is Catholic or it kinda makes sense. Maybe you describe how you have seen God work in your life or how you love learning about the saints and receiving Christ in the Eucharist weekly. No matter where you are with your faith right now, God is calling you to honestly and intentionally have an answer to the fundamental question: Why are you Catholic?
Following are ideas for how we can witness to our faith in our everyday lives.
In the last column, we imagined the scenario of a friend, classmate or teammate asking you, so why are you Catholic? What do you say? Maybe you think, because my mom wants me to be, or my family is Catholic or it kinda makes sense. Maybe you describe how you have seen God work in your life or how you love learning about the saints and receiving Christ in the Eucharist weekly. No matter where you are with your faith right now, God is calling you to honestly and intentionally have an answer to the fundamental question: Why are you Catholic?
Following are ideas for how we can witness to our faith in our everyday lives.
Your pursuit
If you take a look at Scripture, the prophets and disciples didn’t have all the answers. Jesus’ closest friends didn’t see clearly what was about to happen. Still, they trusted and followed the person they knew. They trusted the Lord. Sharing about your ongoing pursuit of Christ and his Church can be life-changing for others to hear. We don’t have to pretend to have it all together. Pope Francis has said, “the Church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.” In sharing our faith with others, we can share our ongoing journey of healing, sanctification and learning about the Catholic faith that has not finished.
Your invitation
Finally, our best answer as to why we are Catholic includes an invitation for others to encounter Christ. In all three synoptic Gospels, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” In doing so, Jesus invites those he encounters to follow him, to ask questions and to think about God, life and love in a new way. Our best witness of faith can include asking others what they believe and journeying with them as they explore life’s big questions. We can share how we have encountered God and invite them to explore how God has worked in their lives as well. We can also rely on the Holy Spirit and prayer to know that we don’t have to come up with the words and witnesses of faith on our own, but can trust that God is working through us and our stories.
Our witness of faith, and our answer to this simple question of why we are Catholic, can become an amazing journey of conversion for those around us whom God has put in our lives.
Adam Cross is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California, and he worked as a youth minister at his local parish for 8 years. Adam loves to integrate the Catholic faith into his therapy practice.
