The more I learn about Catholicism, the more I feel I need to work a lot on sanctification. Now I am seeing how truly lax we Catholics have become. Being a cradle Catholic in a Catholic country means nothing when the religious actions and practices are not being done. 😢
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How We Should Live, According to Saints
You know, the venerated saints of the world are all spokespersons of God. They saw/heard or were divinely inspired by Jesus, Mama Mary, the angels and/or saints (solo or combined). And they'd never have experienced such from any heavenly being unless they've been living an already humble and pious life.
For example we have St. Juan Diego, St. Bernadette and the three shepherd children of Fatima (Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia). Other examples are Padre Pio and Don Bosco.
Speaking of the last one, there's a YouTube channel about the dreams God showed him. First time I saw Don Bosco's parable-like dreams was last year. I still don't know much about this saint so everything is new to me.
In one of the online narration, how one gets to or avoids hell is expounded. (Meanwhile if one is to avoid purgatory, St. Therese of Lisieux also shared a tip.) Here's another one that shows what a good or bad confession is like.
Now do you see why we think Catholicism is lax? If you read older saints' writings (15th or even 13th century), you will see how disciplined they are. Ideally speaking their writings are all helpful but can be difficult to put into practice by people now.
Yes the teachings shared by saints are hard to do, what more the life instructions written in the Bible?! They all come from the same source. BUT WAIT there's more! God is eternally merciful and loving. Even if Jesus said the road to Heaven is never easy He still extends Himself and helps all of us to get there! ♥️✝️
So with the example above, whenever we confess, listen to what the priest or pastor tells you. Those are from Jesus Himself. If you have doubts then pray before you confess so that God will inspire you and the clergyman during confession.
Each of us have our own dispositions in life. Whichever is apt for us, Jesus knows best. We can be as scrupulous as we like anytime but whatever He says during confession, obey it.
Mama Mary and the Child Jesus with the Saints. | source
Again, all saints have complete obedience to the Lord and their superiors, true humility and perfected love or charity. Meaning every single one of them are full of kindness too.
When we have all three virtues we become closer to God and humanity than ever. To be like Jesus or the saints we must work on ourselves daily by asking for and earning graces from God.
Why Non-Pious People Perceive Devout Christians and Communities Negatively
Learning about more Catholic practices made me realize it'd be great to be part of a religious group. For example, St. Josemaria Escriva founded Opus Dei and apparently members have daily practices towards sanctification. Too bad some people cannot appreciate such things.
The bad rep about it is that it's abusive, corrupt and manipulative. If that's true then let the church correct it. Otherwise that's just the devil's gossip to keep people from being holy.
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When you have a strict parent you always see them negatively even if they're only doing their best for your sake. Everything seemingly fun that you wanna do isn't allowed, each rule must be followed, etc. You think that's already having a hard life when you're a teenager. Think about God's commandments and rules and you'll realize strict parents are peanuts. 😂
This is why those not doing anything to be holy look at religious communities (like Opus Dei) as if they're the evil ones. Why not when they have practices that are "so strict" or "cruel/abusive". If only secular people realized how despite being sinless, Jesus suffered greatly until His death because He loves everyone.
On the other hand, having lax and easygoing parents is not the best thing in the world. Speaking from experience (of strict and lax) this will only give you plenty of opportunities to be spoiled and irresponsible in every way. So no, it does NOT help the child at all once adulthood comes around.
When such kids grow up they'll start "quiet quitting" and say, "adulting sucks," etc. Thus instilling self-discipline becomes harder than for those already used to it in their youth.
No wonder living a pious life is quite difficult these days. All we do is complain about every little thing. Anything happens, we say something negative about it. We see it online all the time. Yes I'm also guilty of this.
The solution? I suggest we emulate St. Therese of Lisieux, never lax or so hardcore but still went to Heaven. We must take things step by step, diligently work towards holiness or be like her: pious and met halfway by Jesus. Most of us don't want to experience hardships but we must make every effort to be sanctified.
Yes Love or Charity is the ultimate answer. Being a loving person must make it easier for them to be saints huh? 🤔 Sadly there are also individuals who don't understand love because they refused it from a young age or never really got a lot of it. This means doing more interior work than others.
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True Catholicism is Living a Life of Discipline
Haha I can't even think that far in my spiritual journey right now. But this is what I realized lately: discipline is what's lacking in many of us.
Self-discipline is hard to come by, which is why a truly anarchist or communistic government will never work. This is also why Boomers call the Gen Z and the next generation as snowflakes.
Humanity has become too soft and very undisciplined that just a little bit of inconveniece becomes a big issue. Even spanking has been outlawed. Must be why there are more brats all over the world. Many are quite entitled, starting from the poor to the rich.
Yes poor people have entitlement issues too. I've met some beggars who act pathetic then will throw tantrums/insults when their needs aren't met. I know because I used to have a victim mentality. It started when I was a kid; eventually got rid of it several years after I started working. Imagine that.
Poverty made me think we should be given whatever we asked for by those who have the money because they have lots and we don't. (Ever had a "rich" relative living and working abroad?) That's what an ignorant child, who doesn't really know how the world works, thinks like. The reality is, so many people have such a mindset that they aren't even aware of it, like I was.
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Now here's some worse example. I've heard of street beggars who ask for food or money but when given precious food will just throw it away seconds after receiving it. Personally I've experienced giving a coin to a jeepney beggar only for the woman to suddenly throw it and then spout angry nonsense. Life WTF. Poor people can be spoiled brats too!!! 😲
I won't talk about the rich or middle class people's entitlements. We all know what that's like. Humans are all the same regardless of social class.
Hey I haven't even discussed the discipline of a Catholic life yet. 😂 Can you see now how difficult it would be at this point? Do you finally understand why we find it hard to live a holier life each day? We won't even make it to the halfway mark to reach Jesus if that's the case.
"Catholicism is so lax," is a very popular incorrect thought. More like Catholics lack catechism and discipline. It's why many people convert to other Christian denominations. Those who discover and learn the real deal stay, while others convert to Catholicism because of the things they found out and experienced.
We're Spoiled Because God is Infinitely Loving and Merciful
Yep, too many of us just continue living a sinful life without thinking of changing. (Hello lukewarm Christians. 👋) Usually that's only until we experience extreme hardships in life. Still there are those who run farther instead of closer to God when that happens. I've been one of them too. 😆
From left: Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. | sourceFortunately the Lord loves us so much and has bountiful mercy. This doesn't mean we should delay in repenting. We must return to Him like the prodigal son RIGHT NOW. Cleaning our soul does not happen in an instant. It takes time before we can deserve to enter heaven.
But can we live a great and holy life after living a life of sin? Yes of course! Just like St. Paul the Apostle, we can be devout followers of Christ! Even if we cannot take back all the mistakes on Earth, we can strive to never sin again.
When it gets harder to choose from the convenience of sin vs. road to sanctification, we must choose the road to God! Never stop praying and moving closer to heaven!
Can you think of times such a scenario happened in your life? What are your thoughts on Catholic laxness? Will you make any personal change after reading this? Feel free to share thoughts in the comments.
XOXO,
