Safari

Christianity is not reading about a safari. Christianity is going on safari.

In Christianity, there is a delicate balance between thinking about God and seeking God. We do not become Christians head first. We become Christians feet first. The head follows the feet. Why? We don't make a Christian. Only God makes a Christian.

Like foolish children, Adam and Eve ran away from home with God in paradise and took us with them into godlessness. Godlessness is not a nice place. To rescue us from godlessness, God established an escape route, defined it with holy places, made a map of them and entrusted the map to the Church. At a holy place, a close encounter with the living God takes place. During a close encounter with the living God, a connection is made between earth and heaven. Through the connection, the light of paradise illuminates the darkness of godlessness. No one walks away from a close encounter with the living God unchanged. No one walks away from a close encounter with the living God empty handed. A new exodus is taking place and is now in progress on the escape route through the hostile desert of godlessness from slavery under the yoke of Pharaoh to freedom with God and their holy family in paradise. Leading the new exodus is the new Moses, the Church.

The escape from godlessness to God is primary. Nothing else matters. Everything else is secondary. Anything that interferes is suspect (Matthew 23:13)  (Matthew 23:24)  (Matthew 6:33).

The job of the Church is to be grease for the wheels of the escape not an obstacle in its way. The job of the Church is to facilitate the escape not to filter it. The job of the Church is not to throw the children of Adam and Eve out of the life boats and into the shark infested waters of godlessness whose thinking is not consubstantial with the official thinking of the Catholic Church.  The job of the Church is to fill the life boats with the children of Adam and Eve regardless of the status of their thinking and get them to safety - even the agnostics and atheists.

Only by moving from holy place to holy place that define the escape route can you be sure that you are heading in the right direction. The movement of the new exodus is the needle of the compass that always points in the direction of God.

Examples of the holy places upon the earth at which close encounters with the living God take place are the Mass, Confession, the other sacraments, works of charity, acts of kindness, prayer especially the rosary, Eucharistic adoration, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, fasting, the gathering of two or more together in God's name, bible study, suffering, the hour of death, etc.

Seeking God and experiencing close encounters with them at the holy places defines a Christian. Seeking God and experiencing close encounters with them at the holy places is what Christians do. Christianity is more experiential than intellectual. We are Christians in the doing more so than in the thinking. We are Christians with our feet more so than with our heads. We become Christians feet first not head first. Christianity is a religion that is done more than thought. 

The reason that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples rather than their heads is because the feet are more important than the heads (John 13:1-17).

Far be it for me to get between the Holy Spirit and the Curious

There is a school of thought that thinking is what defines a Catholic. This school of thought requires that to be a Catholic your thinking must be consubstantial with the official thinking of the Catholic Church. 

 However, it is not thinking that makes a Catholic. 

It is seeking that makes a Catholic. We become Catholic feet first. We become Catholic first with our feet and then with our heads. Revelation before regulation. Devotion before doctrine. 

A Catholic is someone who seeks God at the Catholic holy places. Like foolish children, Adam and Eve ran away from their home with God in paradise and took us with them into godlessness. Godless is not a nice place. To rescue us from godlessness, God established an escape route, defined it with holy places, made a map of them and entrusted the map to the Church. The Church has the map and knows the way. The Church is leading a new exodus on the escape route through the hostile desert of godlessness from slavery under the yoke of Pharaoh to freedom with God and their holy family in the promised land. The Church is the new Moses. The escape from godlessness to God is primary. Nothing else matters. Everything else is secondary. Anything that interferes is suspect. 

At the holy places, close encounters with the living God take place. No one walks away from a close encounter with the living God unchanged. No one walks away from a close encounter with the living God empty handed.

Bread and wine, when consecrated by a priest, are the throne of the Son of God upon the earth.  The throne is found in the palace of the Mass.

The school of thought that thinking defines a Catholic wants us to get our heads straight before they would allow us to seek God at the Catholic holy places. Without our heads being screwed on straight, we are lesser Catholics unworthy to seek God. 

The school of thought that seeking defines a Catholic holds the opinion that only the grace of God can get our heads straight. We do not have the power to get our heads straight ourselves. Right thinking is a byproduct of seeking God. We cannot help ourselves. Only God can help us.

You subscribe to one or the other schools of thought. Where do you stand?

For me, I would welcome everybody who has the desire to seek God. I would bar none. The Holy Spirit is tugging at our souls and the curious follow the tug back to its source. Far be it for me to get in the way of the curious and the Holy Spirit! Perhaps some of you are bolder than I.