A Little Taste of Treasure in the Catholic Church

First of all when I was a child “I thought as a child” but when I grew up that was a different story.  My thoughts weren’t towards our belief; they were of the world.  She has many treasurer’s.  Most of all The Eucharist.  Its a mystery one can only fathom just so far and then its elusive as it should be.  Its what we call the real presence.  Many Catholics even in the Church believe its only a symbol and I recommend that they do a Holy Hour it may change their minds.  Its their choice but one I think they will find fulfilling.

The Catholic Church is old.  She is over 2000 years old.  She was established by Jesus Christ.  Her deposit of the faith is held by the seat of Peter who our Lord chose to administer His treasurer’s.  Now in my journey– two treasurers I discovered were the Catholic Bible (There are many but I’m told the Revised Standard Version is good and if you can find some old ones they are good to.) and the Catechism of the Catholic Faith.  The first, the Bible is what were all about.  The second, the Catechism is the teaching and taken from the Bible and the Oral Tradition.

At one time most of the known world was Catholic believe it or not.  Think about it there is history here.  Today forces which we can sometimes fathom and sometimes cant grasp are trying to rid us of this treasurer.  If one has a belief in God and it belongs to Him then this will not happen.  We also have other treasurers related to the Catholic Church around the world.

We have many holy places one may visit such as Lourdes and Fatima.  There are others known and still being investigated such as Medjurgorje, this is another story.  Anyway I have not been to either one but my faith is established in their stories.  Perhaps someday maybe I will get my travelling shoes on and follow the trail that leads to stronger faith–the pilgrimage.  Don’t forget in your own countries you might find these treasures to.

My faith comes truly from Christ but He has elected that certain individuals were given part of the prize.  These places considered genuine as private revelation have been handed down to us for our times.  They inspire us to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the New and Old Testaments.  We are not obligated to follow private revelation but when we can truly discern in our minds in a healthy way that He has given us a gift and The Church is established here, it is ok.  The Lord would never do us any harm and He knows we have built in forgetters so at times in history He has been known to send us a little “gold” to keep us going.  This of course is not real monetary value in the sense but tender from Heaven to get us through tough times.  We see this treasure in devotions as well.

The Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are two such devotions.  I think that they are helpful because when we see them as Icons for our everyday life.  We are then inspired to overcome the darkness of this world by what they portray to us.  They tell a story just as the colored glass does in our churches.  They are their as markers for those of us who have a hard time reading the Bible or following all the different devotions handed to us.  We arent obligated to do them all. 

The simplicity of just reading the Bible for 15 minutes a day or spend an hour with the Blessed Sacrament when it is offered.  One could also spend a few minutes in a church  (Unfortunately we have vandalism today so do what you can.) when one needs to and lucky enough to be open.  There are many devotions but the one the church endorses are the ones to pick from.  Don’t forget the 15 minutes at 3:00PM for The Divine Mercy.  Even read the Catechism for 15 minutes but always the Bible first and this, the Catechism second or together but always try to include the Bible with it.  Use whatever time is given you and you will be surprised at what knowledge you accumulate about The Catholic Church.   You have time for a newspaper or a magazine then you have 10 or 15 minutes or even 5 minutes for the Bible.  Even one of the most important devotions we mustn’t forget is the Mother’s Rosary given to her as a gift by Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Well happy trails on one’s journey of faith my brothers and sisters.