THE DOOR OF FAITH
Fr. IRENEUSZ SKUBIŚ
One of the ancient authors wondered who were the Christians. He meant the believers of Jesus Christ who had lived in the Roman society, had their ordinary functions but also created a group distinguishing in this society. They were people of the so-called class, well-educated, friendly to others, following the commandment of love to God and their neighbor. Ordinary people but unusual. People living with God, taking the teaching of Gospel and the commandments of Jesus Christ very thoroughly and praying to Him.
Who is a Christian?
Since then there have passed about 2 thousand years. Today also many of us ask the question: Who are the Christians? You are a Christian – what does it mean to you? You say: I believe in God, I love Jesus Christ, I believe in the general Church – how does it influence your life? What results from your faith…
The beginning Year of Faith is time when we should ask the first basic question: what does it mean to be a Christian today and love God? Surely, those who express their faith in God, go to church, take the holy sacraments, want to be buried in a Christian way, that is, participate in a great Christian tradition. And here many of people might get insulted if they heard that in fact they are people far from God because they do not care about the proximity with Him. And, after all, the Christians are His children, these are brothers and sisters of Christ. Therefore He cannot be a stranger to us or somebody towards whom we are indifferent. It is the Redeemer of the world! Jesus took my sins into himself, in his suffering on the cross he took the sins of the humankind. In the mystery of Christ we enter the essence of God who is love and mercifulness.
Not only tradition
A believer cannot say that he is a Catholic because he was brought up in this faith and because his parents behaved in a particular way. However, we must know that we must open ourselves to God and cooperate with His mercy. we cannot say about any relationship with Christ here, which is limited for example to the Sunday Holy Mass. We must feed our faith and transfer it onto life. We feed, enliven our faith through: our participation in Eucharist, our presence in front of the Holiest Sacrament, using the holy sacraments, any kind of prayer and contemplation – but also spiritual practice, demanding from ourselves, although nobody demanded anything from us – as it was once beautifully said by John Paul II. In order to be a believer, we do not need to legitimate with a higher education, the content of a wallet of a social-professional status. If I say: I am a Christian, I must show my attitude that I am a disciple of Christ. So, I cannot forget about Him for a while, I must consider that He loves me and prepared a place for me at Father’s home. A Christian must always be aware that Jesus is His God, Redeemer and Friend.
The Year of Faith – a chance and task
The Year of Faith is supposed to make us realize that religion is not an accidental element in our life, that it may be or not. Christian religion is religion of love. It includes a great and healthy culture whose purpose is the development of the whole creation, as well as philosophy of God and theology. We enter this umbrella of the Christian philosophy and theology, spreading in the Church. We must recognize Christ anew, we must love Him. The good news about a spark of God’s mercifulness, which started shining over the world, should also reach to us.
‘And our hearts as cold as ice and Your effort of difficulty is in vain for them’- we sing in a religious song. Let this difficulty of Jesus’ suffering be not in vain for us, let the Year of Faith contribute to warming our hearts, so that we love God more and see our final salvation in His Divine Heart.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 41/2012