By Eric Girten
The Catholic Kitchen
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This is my last article written from the perspective of the Office of Family and Life Director. The one parting thought I leave you with is that God our Father is a God of Life. Reflecting on that simple statement alone should give each of us substantial guidance of how we are to live out our Catholic lives. This impacts our interaction with others; where we choose to spend our money; how we choose to participate in the political process; where to land on social issues and much more.
Deep in our being, we know the difference between a God of Life and the “gods” of death. We can parse that on a very organic level. We instinctively know what “seems” right in the world and what “seems” wrong and usually what it boils down to is whether or not we want to listen to or ignore that voice of conscience in our lives as we make daily decisions.
As I reflect on the Father as The God of Life, I am reminded of how creation is replete with examples of the generative cycle. It is this natural order that reminds us of God’s vision for his creation and how we can and should participate in that vision.
Just as in other parts of our lives, it is okay to make mistakes in our spiritual lives as long as we learn from those mistakes and use them as catalysts to become stronger in our faith and closer to the God of Life.
Please remember that each of us has a baptismal calling to be preachers of this Gospel of Life. Spiritual bravery is needed now and I encourage all of you in your own journeys of faith.
Eric Girten now serves as Vice-Chancellor for the Diocese of Evansville.