Vocations-"Come & Follow Me"

This weekend at mass, we learned that there is no such thing as excuses for someone who wants to follow Christ.  In the 1st reading from the Book of Kings, we heard that Elijah was sent to call Elisha to serve God as a prophet.  Elisha didn't want to leave, so he made the excuse that he must first, "say farewell to his family."  In the Responsorial Psalm, "You are my inheritance, O Lord," we learned that the true, correct mentality that we should have of having the Lord as our first and most important priority over everything else.  Then, in St. Paul's letter to the Galatians, we heard the witness to Christ's Body & Blood as true satisfaction at last in a world where satisfaction in little and big things is rarely found.  Finally, in Luke's Gospel, we learned from true, physical example that when Christ calls us to follow him to immediately follow Him without hesitation, at least for those who want to keep their reservation of a place in Heaven by the Lord's side.  Even though we say this, we also in modern society want to closely examine our vocation before we choose it, and look at all possible positives and negatives before making a decision.  This also applies to all of our day to day choices.  "As Christ said, 'Give me a drink,' it was the love of His poor creatures that He, the Creator of all things, desired."  No matter what choices we make, or what path we take, the Lord will always be there, and love us.  

The Body of Christ: A Diverse, Yet Beautiful Worship

The Lord be with you readers!  This is a blog created for Electronic Bloggers and readers who are also Catholic or are interested in the Catholic faith.  The topic I would like to open with is a common misconception about the Catholic Church.  The stereotype goes as the following:  If you do not do what God or the Church commands, you go to hell, and that's that.  What the truth is, is that we, as a Catholic people, are nothing like that.  One of the things we teach that we quote from Our Lord Jesus Christ is that, "God did not send his Only Son, the Messiah, down to earth to condemn all its people, but rather to save them."  Each person, I believe as a strong Catholic has their own unique relationship with God, therefore also having their own style of worship and conversation.  There is no particular way to pray or worship, but rather, a specific type that can only be found in each individual.  What the Church is made up of is a force of imperfect sinners, but through the mystery of the Holy Eucharist is transformed into the Body of Christ.  The Catholic Church is not a harsh or strict force that commands you to worship very precisely in a specific manner, but a force of modern day shepherds present to guide us, as the sheep, to the True Lord God Almighty, and help our relationships grow closer to Him.  A thing I was taught through personal experience in a very fast manner is that prayer is not just rambling endlessly in the darkness to air, but rather, a simple prayer that acts as a conversation.  It has been quoted in Holy Scripture that, "You are to pray simple and from the heart, as Your Lord In Heaven knows already what you need and what you seek."  If we apply this to true life, we are not to just talk to ourselves in a long spiel of meaningless words, but rather pray to the Lord, and open our hearts, minds, and spirits for a response.  We are not alone, and there is a God.  If you say otherwise, I say very respectively, I beg to differ.