BY ZOE CANNON
GRATITUDE FOR THE GIFT OF FAITH
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).
There is a great need for unity in our world today! The strength of Christian communities has always provided good news in times of persecution. We are called to be a light for Christ! When we pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, clarity is revealed among all the noise and chaos in the world. The society we live in today is no different than the communities that imprisoned the disciple Paul for sharing the gospel message. There is and always will be a need for soldiers in the battle of good and evil by keeping the word of God alive!
Imitation is sometimes considered a form of flattery. We often mimic what society dictates. We follow trends in the things we eat, what we wear, how we communicate and what we believe. We use trendy buzzwords and develop attitudes about life based on what is popular, not reasonable. Our culture often creates change and calls progress, while disrespecting the beliefs of others in order to promote an agenda. Relativism is destroying God’s plan for the world –resisting truth for the sake of being charitable is an offense to God.
I see more clearly every day why Jesus taught us to be like little children. Created in the image of God, we are all called to do something very special for Him. We often ask a child what they want to be when they grow up. We should be asking, what do you think God is calling you to do to make the world a better place?
The Catholic Church promotes many ways to serve God through vowed religious life, single life, married life and ordained life. When people hear the word vocation, they only think of the priesthood and religious service. But through our Baptism, we are all called to holiness with a plan to get to heaven by serving God. This is great news!
We can all agree that the past couple years have been very challenging. Unfortunately, we do not all agree on the cause of, or the solution to, the problem. So where do we go from here?
I recently had a very lengthy conversation with a physician who is Catholic. I believe the conversation was divinely inspired to help both of us. If anyone were listening to the conversation, which remained civil and informative, they would be confused about what the Church really teaches. This conversation has been on my mind and taken to prayer quite often.
We live in a world with immediate information at our fingertips, but knowledge is skewed by disinformation. There are times that we need to agree to disagree; but as St. Paul said, “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called – making every effort to maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Pray for the wisdom of God!
I enjoy observing people when I am in a crowd. I used to sit in amazement and sometimes a little judgment about how people do things, and wanting to point out the concern. I have made a conscious effort to look for good and make sure it is acknowledged. The conversations I have with people remind me how important affirmation is to a healthy society. The power of one person, one kind word, one simple smile or a gentle gesture can make a difference in someone’s day. Do not be a prisoner of negative human thought. Be captivated by sharing God’s love. Surrender to His will! Amen!