F
Fidelis
Guest
I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I wanted to get some ideas from other Catholics.
It is often said that we Catholics are “sacramentalized” but not evangelized." Without wishing to debate that specific point (or anything else–start your own debate thread, please
), I would revise that slightly to say, “Catholics are sacramentalized, but not discipled,” that is, we Catholics are not taught or formed in most parish settings to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What, in general, I mean by this is that most of us Catholics have no idea on how to live the fullness of the Christian life. Of course there are exceptions, but most of us are content to just get by with recieving the sacraments and avoiding gross sin (people that come into these forums are an obvious exception, but you know what I mean). While the sacraments are powerhouses of grace, most of us don’t know what to do with that power. I believe it’s because we’ve never been taught, and what’s needed is a means to make disciples out of Catholics-- teach them what it means to be a commited, active and fruitful follower of Jesus using all the spiritual resources found in the Catholic Church. This is the kind of Catholic that will make a difference in the Church and in the world.
My question to you is this: What do we need to teach or impart to our people to make them disciples? **What should a Catholic Christian disciple of Jesus Christ look like? **
I’d like to start with a couple of things, and if you could continue in the same vein, I think this could be a useful exercise:
**1. A disciple of Christ should know how to really pray. He should be comfortable with vocal, liturgical, traditional, meditative,contemplative and group prayer.
It is often said that we Catholics are “sacramentalized” but not evangelized." Without wishing to debate that specific point (or anything else–start your own debate thread, please
), I would revise that slightly to say, “Catholics are sacramentalized, but not discipled,” that is, we Catholics are not taught or formed in most parish settings to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.What, in general, I mean by this is that most of us Catholics have no idea on how to live the fullness of the Christian life. Of course there are exceptions, but most of us are content to just get by with recieving the sacraments and avoiding gross sin (people that come into these forums are an obvious exception, but you know what I mean). While the sacraments are powerhouses of grace, most of us don’t know what to do with that power. I believe it’s because we’ve never been taught, and what’s needed is a means to make disciples out of Catholics-- teach them what it means to be a commited, active and fruitful follower of Jesus using all the spiritual resources found in the Catholic Church. This is the kind of Catholic that will make a difference in the Church and in the world.
My question to you is this: What do we need to teach or impart to our people to make them disciples? **What should a Catholic Christian disciple of Jesus Christ look like? **
I’d like to start with a couple of things, and if you could continue in the same vein, I think this could be a useful exercise:
**1. A disciple of Christ should know how to really pray. He should be comfortable with vocal, liturgical, traditional, meditative,contemplative and group prayer.
- A disciple of Christ should be ready to speak about Jesus at any time and any place. He should be able to speak of Our Lord and of our precious Catholic Faith with prudence, fervor, confidence and humility.**
). People have noticed… even my own family has noticed. Everytime I volunteer to help someone in need, I am bringing Christ to them whether they know it or not.