I sometimes imagine what my life would be like if I wasn’t ever part of the CFC-Youth/SFC community. I sometimes think that my life would be easier and maybe a little more care free, but, I wonder, would my life be fulfilling? Would I know that God exists? Would I know that I am loved? Would I see people, especially my family and the poor, differently? Would I fight for a woman’s “right” to access abortion? Would I go through life trying to excel or to simply get by? Would the media and consumerism possess me?
I’ve learnt some of the most basic, yet most valuable teachings and lessons in this community about the Catholic faith and how it applies to life. Personally, this has been a huge blessing because I’ve never attended a Catholic school. Before I joined the community, my only sources for any sort of Catholic education have been my parents and mass. As an 11 year old, I didn’t think or care to grow a relationship with my parents and, at mass, I think I got easily distracted that I didn’t learn much. When I was younger I studied, did well in school, watched TV, volunteered, took numerous naps, and played with friends, but that was about it. My life was about doing what I needed to do to not get into trouble and to make myself feel happy, and if others felt happy that was a bonus. But then I met Christ at a CFC-Youth camp, and everything changed.
Today I think about Christ more than anyone else. Actually, maybe I think about myself a lot more haha, but that’s just me being selfish or self-absorbed sometimes, but even when I think about myself, I’m always somehow led to think about Christ alone, and then everyone else. I think about how my life can be used as an instrument for God’s glory and I see myself as a vessel by which others can experience God’s great love for them. There is a change in me from when I was younger, and it’s that I intentionally seek to serve others, not because it’s easy or that it makes me feel better about myself, but because I can see that there is always a great need to love with God’s love.
This entire post stems from a thought I’ve had for these past few months: How different would my life be if I never experienced worship?
I can barely play an instrument and I sing randomly because I enjoy it — but wow, how I would be missing out on not knowing how it feels to extend my arms and hands, and to clap and sing loudly for Someone who loves me unconditionally? It seems so unimaginable to me to ever think that music and God would never come together in such a way that we have in this community. Worship is an incredible part of CFC’s charism. Worship is a form of prayer. It is twice praying!
How does this thought relate to everything that I’ve said thus far?
Well, if I can’t imagine a life without worship, what more is it if I can’t imagine a life without God?
God has done great things for me in this community. I know who I am. I know I am loved. I know that I’m called to love on God’s terms and not my own. There is no greater, no more useful, no more important news than this: God has always existed, has died but has resurrected from the dead, is alive, loves every single person regardless of their sins, and wants nothing more than to have a relationship with each of us. And, not by coincidence, our hearts long for this relationship too. Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.
This leads me to say that evangelization is extremely important in these times. It concerns me that people in my classes do not believe in God or do not see that God is good. It alarms me that lukewarmness in faith, acceptance of injustice, and relativism are growing more and more in this world. As CFC-Youth and SFC members, we may all be young, but we’ve seen and experienced God’s transforming love in this community. How great has God been to us for blessing us with people to journey with, to affirm us of our growth, to correct us where we’ve failed?
What we know about the family, the poor, the gift of life, and the Church are things that may be ordinary to all of us in the community. But, it’s not ordinary in actuality. Everything we know that pertains to the Catholic faith is extraordinary because it’s guided by the Holy Spirit. Not all people know what we know nor have they experienced what we’ve experienced, but once they do, I bet they will think it is either nonsense or that it is special. But imagine when it comes to that point, where they recognize the specialness of the community and the Catholic faith; their entire life could change in an instant or it could be the start of a new life, just as it has in all of ours.
What do we fear for ourselves and for others if we don’t ask them to join the community or to come to mass with us? What have they got to lose when Christ is the prize?
Service to God can come in various forms, but in all forms, love is necessary. To love someone is to seek the greatest good for them, and there is no greater good than the All-good God. Therefore, if we say we love someone then we should also say that we’ve done our part in inviting them to grow in a relationship with Christ. Yes, there are billions of people in this world but God wants all of them to have a relationship with Him. Until all of us are in Heaven with God, there will always be a great need to love with God’s love. There will always be the need to love our families, care for the poor, heal the sick, become friends with our enemies, to defend those whose voices have been silenced, and to share the Good News and evangelize.
God bless. <3
