Living The Worthy Life: Is Going To Church Enough?

I was recently reading a story about a person, and it caused me to think about what is our real purpose here on the earth.  The article went on and on about what type of example this person was. They regularly attended Mass and said the Rosary. This got me thinking about something, “Is going to Church regularly enough?”

First, I would like to talk about the people who say that they would not be caught dead in Church ever. When they pass away - something that we all have to do - their family has a funeral service at the Church. Does this one time of attendance make up for their past omissions?

Second, we have several groups of people who attend church regularly in a predictable pattern. We all have seen the type of people who go to Church for Baptisms, Marriages, and Funerals. Have they gone to Church enough? A week or so ago my Parish Priest told me a story about the women calling him to Baptize their baby later that day. He simply asked if she was a member of the congregation, and she replied no. Can we just go get the Sacraments and never have to worry about how we live thereafter? We all have seen the people who come to church twice a year.  Once on Easter and once on Christmas. Those are the days (at least they used to be) that you had to get to church early to get a parking place. Then there are the people who come three times a year.  They come on Ash Wednesday to get Ashes and then go on Easter and Christmas. They come because they feel like they should and they get ashes to show everyone that they do go to Church. Included in this group are also people who only go when they need to go- every time they have a problem, and also the people who go to Church to show off their new clothes, car, or find out about how the people are doing.

Third, we have a group of people who attend for political or status reasons.  These people will go through the motions of the Church but fail to practice the Church’s main decrees.  They may take the Eucharist but they believe it is only symbolic.  They get married in the Church but they continue to cheat on their spouse. They may believe that there are too many people in the world and support birth control. They say they believe in the Church but do not contribute time or money to fulfill the needs of the Church. They say they are against abortion but they support the laws that allow abortions in our nation to continue.  In stark contrast to the teachings of the Church- you can not be a good Catholic or an example of being a good Catholic and practice one thing publicly on Sunday and then Monday through Saturday actively engage in practices that are against the Church. This article’s purpose is not to point out one person or one family.  It is to point out what this not what the Lord wants us to do and it should not be what the Church wants us to do either?

Bishop Sheen had three powerful quotes on this matter.  Bishop Sheen explained that we stand on the side of the Church and on the shoulders of Christ with our beliefs. We can take a political point of view that against the Church makes it claim that we can not decide for others.  In that case, all we have done is refuse to make the proper call or decision.  Bishop Sheen wrote, “ The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction.”

In an essay written in 1931, entitled, “ A Plea for Intolerance”, Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote ninety years ago, “ America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance - it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ, and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.”

Brothers and sisters, we are the Church.  The Church is not just building it where we meet, we should not forget about the other people in Church throughout the week and we should not forget about the teaching of the Church during that same time.  The Good News is not that we love God but that God gave his only begotten Son to die for us.  God truly loves us.  Let us remember our purpose here on earth is to live here in such a way that we get back to live for all eternity.  You short change yourself, your family, your country, and your Church if you live for today.  Keep your thoughts, words, actions, and prayers on the hereafter and you will be safe.  In conclusion, always practice the immortal words of Bishop Fulton Sheen, when he said,  “Civilization is always in danger when those who have never learned to obey are given the right to command.”