Catechism Study - I Believe, We Believe

This may be a rather ambitious attempt on my part to journal thoughts regarding the catechism. It's pretty big. But yet I feel compelled to read it and really absorb what our spiritual forefathers intended when they compiled it.

It is divided into many sections. Part One is "The Profession of Faith." Part Two is "The Celebration of the Christian Mystery." Part Three is "Life in Christ." Part Four is "Christian Prayer."

Within all those are sections, articles, and paragraphs. Very orderly. I've always loved order because I believe it keeps one on track. Just as a train needs the rails to reach its destination, so too I believe we need "rails" to help us reach our spiritual destination. I have believed for years that the Bible is our guide. But now I am seeing that the catechism is also a very good manual to help us keep on track.

So, Part One:

Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. [26]

Faith is something I have been blessed to have ever since I was a small child. I am very grateful for this because I know there are many who do not have any faith. It is easy to look around the world and wonder if God even cares or exists.

But the catechism states it beautifully - faith is a response to God. God has already initiated the conversation. He already made "first contact," as it were. Our faith is the response to His "Greetings..." to the world. Sometimes it's easy for me to forget that He is forever there, knocking on my heart, asking to be acknowledged. I'll never forget a time when I was struggling in my life with my devotions. I was at work and started to think about how long it had been since I had studied the Bible or prayed. Now granted, my idea of "long" is a few weeks or at the most, a few months. Still, I knew I was apart from God.

Suddenly, I sensed a voice within me say, "Has it ever occurred to you that I miss you? I've missed your smile, your joy, your laughter. I've missed our communion."

I was stunned. There I sat, at my desk during a typical workday and was just in awe that God spoke to me and told me He missed me! I was gobsmacked right upside the head! (I love that word...gobsmacked. Good word.)

So my faith needs strengthening again. It's good to know that He is still there, waiting for my response, and loving me into His Kingdom always.