Summary of the Gospel of Christ

"God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, 

in a plan of sheer goodness

 freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. 

For this reason, at every time and in every place, 

God draws close to man. 

He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. 

 He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, 

into the unity of his family, the Church.

 To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, 

God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. 

In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, 

in the Holy Spirit, 

his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life."

                                                                -- From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC1)

Welcome!

I started this page after realizing that although I may come across a lot of people on a daily basis, interact with them, "know" them, share parts of my life with them, grow with them...with the majority of these people, I have never shared the things that have mattered most. That is the sad reality. Most people don't know the hope behind my joy or the faith that has transformed every ounce of my being, my existence.

Sometimes this is because I'm afraid it won't be understood or taken well. Other times I just consider myself inadequate in sharing it. But I'm coming to understand that this is the best possible thing I could ever share with another person - my experience and knowledge of the love and truth of Christ. And I'm learning that I simply can't afford to be passive about what I believe. 

I can't afford to keep something I consider so beautiful and real to myself.

This year has been pronounced the "Year of Faith" within the Catholic Church, so that the church as a whole can focus especially this year on making an increased effort to "rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived, and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith - Pope Benedict XVI." The Church reminds me that we're all called to an active faith. But for so long, my approach resembled one of passivity. A kind of "this is what I believe, but I can't tell you why...and please don't ask me" approach. Through the New Evangelization, the Church is responding to the need to more actively engage in her mission of sharing the faith. And I want to engage in that mission. As the late Pope Paul VI once stated, "Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize."

I've been considering my role in the New Evangelization, particularly during the Year of Faith, and God has been increasing my desire to share more openly what I hold to be the truth of Christ and His Church. I've been praying a lot for boldness and for the zeal of the first disciples.

Please understand that this is not at all an effort to in any way bash other faiths and to ridicule. I simply want to share the beauty I've discovered in Catholicism - which I consider to be the church that Christ founded.

My intention with this new page on my blog is simply to share the doctrines of Catholicism in a way that's easy to understand and accessible to people. And I also want to provide good resources for learning more for those interested.