(Last summer I had many occasions to meet a lot of young people from different countries. During my interactions with them I had to deal topics like, why I do want to become a priest? Why I became a Jesuit? Why do I still love the Church….and many more why. Here I tried to put in writing some of my thoughts which I shared with them. These are to be treated as my personal opinions)
Recently I heard a leading theologian telling that while deciding for his further studies he had two choices- Christology or Ecclesiology. He chose Ecclesiology because it is easy to convince people about Jesus but it is difficult to explain or say something about the Church. The people have, especially at this point of the history, many difficulties about the authenticity of the Catholic Church. The said theologian took Ecclesiology because he loved the Catholic Church and wanted to share his conviction with others. While I was listening to him I asked myself, why do I still love the Catholic Church?
The Church I had experienced as I was growing is completely different than the Church I see, at least in some points. As a child I was taught or given a picture of the Church where priests are to be considered the people of God. Religious nuns and brothers are also believed to manifest God’s love to the people. The Church is a place where the faithful gather for religious services. The people would approach to the priests/religious for their needs both – spiritual and material. Fortunately I had very good memories of the Church. These inspired me to dedicate my life for the service of the Church. I became part of the Church. I began to live in the Church premises. I began to experience many things from the inside. These experiences include both- negative and positive. I did question about the authenticity of the Church, about my faith…but the more I questioned about the Church weakness I was drawn closer to the Church. I found the Church more human rather than an institute.
The Church has taught me to love. I do not know if I had not been part of the Catholic Church where would I have learnt this self-giving love? Jesus Christ has shown us what it means to love others. The Catholic Church which is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ continues to show this love to the world. It is believed to be accepted by many that ‘LOVE’ is something unique that Catholic has contributed to the world. Love still continues to be the main mission of the Catholic Church.
I love Jesus and I find Him in the Church. The Church was constituted by the Jesus himself. He asked St Peter to look after the Church (Mt 16:18). St Peter faithfully carried out this mission to look after the Church. The Holy Father, who is successor of St Peter, continues to do so even today. My association with the Catholic Church brings me more close to Jesus and inspires me to continue the mission of Jesus.
The Church is the place where everyone has a place. As Jesus himself said that he had come to call and save the sinners (Lk 5:32). The religious services and sacraments are equally offered to the sinners to you. The Church never turns down people but welcomes all, as Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”(Mt11:28). And thus I go to the Church, I still love my Church and will do so till the end of my life…(to be continued)
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