Being a Catholic

While waiting for Daily Mass to begin and praying for world peace, it dawned on me that we all think it is easier to blame the scapegoat. So the question then becomes, if we are supposed to be Christ-like everyday and even though we are tempted by the devil, why do we blame everyone else and not take responsibility for our own actions?

Why do we as Catholics find it easier to say that it is okay for the small things to be passed off as human errors? Why is it that it is easier to say that I am full of pride, too self absorbed, it is not my responsibility to fight for the human justices of the world? And yet, we blame everyone else, but when we look in the mirror we forget to see that the person looking back at us is the person who can also make a change.

We want the world to see us as being a "true Catholic" one who embodies all of Christ. The answer lies in every single Catholic. We are called to be beacons of hope for others. We are suppose to give our Catholic talents to help all of those around us. We are suppose to use our gifts to better the human race whether it is helping the inner city people or people in our parish. However, every day we fall short of the prize and compromise our own Catholic values to justify our actions.

In the four Gospels, never once did Jesus justified not doing some wonderful Deed. As long as the people had faith and believed, he performed miracles every day. Jesus was tempted every day by Satan. The difference is we, at times, cave in to the devil whereas Jesus never caved into the temptation. Most importantly, if we all truly want to be more Catholic like, why are we passing the buck to other people?

How can you call yourself a Catholic if you can't uphold the values that you are so deeply rooted in? It is difficult to take the good with the bad. Unfortunately, we as Catholics need to look at the big picture. We need to strive for the perfection of not committing sins and when we do sin, then we need to go to Confession. It is very difficult to stand alone when the rest of the world including our friends think it is okay to blame everyone and everything. Yet, as Catholics, we are called to strive for perfection. We are called to be the person who takes ownership of our mistakes.

The most profound fact is that if we were getting attention for the positive, then we do not make a scapegoat out of others. It is difficult to stand for our convictions when the rest of the world blames everything on everyone else. Each day if we strive for accepting ownership, then maybe the world would understand what the true word of being a Catholic means. By showing the world what it truly means to be a Catholic, then just maybe we can make the world a better place.