Welcome!
I don’t know much about blogging. I’ve never written for one and I don’t follow any. But, I’ve decided to start one, for many reasons. I am currently a full time fourth grade teacher at a Catholic school in Southern California and have been looking for work on the side for a while. A couple of years ago I started writing, which is what I did before teaching, and which I have enjoyed getting back into.
They say to write what you’re passionate about. I’m passionate about many things, most importantly, the Catholic Faith. That leads me to the spirit I want to bring to this blog.
Jesus says in Scripture: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his soul?” The world, however, seems to have adjusted that question for Our Lord. We live in a culture whose main message is: “What does it profit a person to save his soul, if he misses out on anything in this world?”
Americans, at a rate of over 95%, say they believe in God. That’s good. It takes far more faith than I have to be an atheist. One has to deny the overwhelming proof of philosophy, science, history and common sense to hold to atheism. However, in our culture, by and large, God is considered as relatively unimportant, at least for our daily lives. He’s nice to have when there is a tragedy and we hold tight to our belief in Him when someone dies, but when we have to make moral decisions, or prioritize our lives, as a culture, we tell God to stay out of our affairs. If someone dares to claim that God has a place in the public forum, or should even influence our political policy, there will be few who cheer, but many, even among believers, who are ready to shout him down.
This is what I don’t understand. How can we, as a culture, acknowledge that God exists, and yet regard Him as inconsequential to our lives? If God exists, and if an eternal destiny exists, then nothing can be more important. If God exists, and He does, then He is the source of everything. This world is His. Our lives are His. We exist because of Him, and our eternity depends on our response to Him. Could anything be more important? Should anything have more influence over the direction of our lives, or of our culture?
Everything should be seen through the eyes of eternal realities. Our faith should drive everything about us. If it doesn’t, then our lives are a contradiction, assuming we are among the over 95% of Americans who count themselves believers.
That is the purpose of this blog – to consider the world, our lives, through the lens of faith. I am not a theologian. I am a well-educated Catholic with a passion for theology, but if anything I say contradicts the Magisterium of the Church, the one thing we can be sure of is that I am wrong. And I would ask you to send me an email and correct me.
Often I will share my opinions, and they will not be a matter of true or false. Often I will ask questions for which I do not have the answer. But my prayer is that I can touch on things that are relevant through the only reasonable perspective, that of faith, and with a sincere love of God.
