Good catholic?

[vtech2009]

What are the key ingredients to be a good catholic?

Prayer, sacraments, keeping the commandments, and loving your neighbor?

It’s interesting there is no scale, or ranking, of which should receive more focus over the other. Only that God that should be your #1 priority in life, but even that, is vague and leaves much to interpretation, what does it mean, that it’s your #1 priority?

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Love God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself.

This is the heart of being a good Christian.

Examine yourself against these and how to do them, and you’ll have your answer.

Jim

 

[vtech2009]

Love God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself.

This is the heart of being a good Christian.

Examine yourself against these and how to do them, and you’ll have your answer.

Jim

How do you love God with your whole heart?
gregsimas.org/how-to-love-god-with-all-your-heart/

 

[JimR-OCDS]

How do you love God with your whole heart?
gregsimas.org/how-to-love-god-with-all-your-heart/

Essentially, by keeping the commandments and especially, loving your neighbor.

As Jesus said, “where your treasure is, so will your heart be.”

If you love God, you’ll have a desire to do the things that bring you closer to him, i.e. receive the Sacraments and go to Him in prayer unceasingly.

Jim

 

[Mystical_Seeker]

Essentially, by keeping the commandments and especially, loving your neighbor.

As Jesus said, “where your treasure is, so will your heart be.”

If you love God, you’ll have a desire to do the things that bring you closer to him, i.e. receive the Sacraments and go to Him in prayer unceasingly.

Jim

Our faith is to bring us to union with God, through transformation or whatever. It is a means to God, Who is the end – and the beginning and all else there may be.

I recommend this reading on the topic of love:

1 Cor 13 “Love chapter”

And the Sermon on the Mount, starting in Matt 5

Without knowing the OP any more about you than a desire to be a good Catholic, that’s my generic idea for a starting point. Others will tell you more of the rich traditions and devotions available.

 

[vtech2009]

Thank you.

How are you progressing in your spiritual journey towards God? What are you doing? What are you focusing on?

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Thank you.

How are you progressing in your spiritual journey towards God? What are you doing? What are you focusing on?

I’m a little reluctant to try and answer that question because we humans tend to want a meter to measure our spiritual progress.

Spiritual life doesn’t work that way.

Whatever growth I’ve gone through, I’m probably unaware of, and whatever I have, was given to me from Jesus Christ, not anything I’ve done.

Transforming grace is interior and how we have moved toward holiness is something we’re unaware of, for once we become aware, we’ll begin to give commentary to it and end up falling backwards.

So, I don’t concern myself about my spiritual growth, I leave that to God.

God leads we follow, it’s how we surrender ourselves to Him.

Jim

 

[St_Francis]

I look at the teachings of the Catholic Church as being the best roadmap to Heaven available. Just as there are several aspects essential for a physical journey, there are several aspects necessary for the spiritual journey.

To go on a road trip, I need a well-functioning car, gasoline, food and drink, etc. Without gasoline, the car is worthless, and vice versa, right? So it is with our spiritual journey–none is more important, they are each essential to the journey. We need prayer *and *sacraments *and *obedience *and * love for God *and *love for our neighbors. Just as without my physical journey comes to a halt, so without one of the above, my spiritual journey comes to a halt.

And just as on our physcal journey we sometimes need to focus on getting gasoline, and other times on getting a tire inflated, so in the spiritual life we need to focus on one or another aspect.