By REY FLORES
We have heard the expression “American exceptionalism,” and this I believe is true, although in the current era, our nation has been anything but exceptional.
As Catholics, however, we are exceptional simply by being baptized into our Church — and living up to that isn’t going to be easy, but it is well worth the fight.
There happens to be a dark cloud that hovers over us all, but beneath that cloud, there are lower-lying clouds that are unique and exclusive to each one of us. We all carry a cross — some crosses are given to us, while other crosses are ones that we built and thrust upon ourselves. But the one thing that is certain is that we are all Catholic.
Catholic exceptionalism is a gift. Having been born American is a blessing in and of itself, but having been baptized as Catholics — that is nothing less than a grace which has been bestowed upon us. Let us thank God ceaselessly for that grace.
I bring all this up because it is seemingly harder and harder to be a Catholic nowadays by the world’s standards, but by the same token, because the world is in such a mess, our Catholicism has become that much more important and valuable.
Week after week, I am almost trapped into a pattern of complaining about how terrible things are and how the world continues to become a less-desirable proposition for us Catholics. Thank God for the graces that are bestowed upon us through the sacraments and particularly by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Even by praying our daily rosary and blessing ourselves with holy water, we receive graces beyond our own knowledge. If we do what God calls us to do as Catholics, we can extend His graces to others through our kind acts, generosity, and by instructing the ignorant.
Life gets tough sometimes, however. Like you, I too get scared and that fright can be debilitating to the point that we almost want to just give up, but we mustn’t. Satan is waiting for our moments of weakness so he can steal us away from God, but remember — he cannot do it without our consent.
The lies that come from the mouth of the father of lies himself are all around us every day. Whether it’s what we hear on the radio or at work, or whether it’s the tiny voice that leads us into sin, nevertheless, temptations are always there like a wolf ready to pounce on us.
The Tempter wants you, me, and everyone within our society to simply let go, that is — let go of the desire to know genuine truth — in order to seek his false creed. He knows what our weaknesses are and he exploits them at every opportunity.
What it takes today to be at least a willing Catholic is humility, desire, and above all, discipline.
MMore so than belonging to any spin-off Christian denomination, it takes work to be a Catholic. We are expected to work toward our salvation, unlike some of our brethren who can simply recite a scout-like oath about being friends with Jesus and a sentimental platitude about accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.
Yes, we can be friends with Jesus, if that’s how you want to look at it, but He is so much more. He is everything and that thought should be in our thoughts, on our lips, and in our hearts every single moment of our days. This is why we bless our head, our lips, and our hearts when the Gospel and the Last Gospel are read at Mass.
We must always be worthy to enter the Kingdom. God made us to be with Him forever. I know that this sounds like a catechism lesson, but in our daily lives we forget the simplest of instructions on how we, the members of the Church Militant, are called to save not just our own souls, but also as many other souls that we can possibly rescue from temptation and sin.
No matter what the world says, the Holy Roman Catholic Church is the exception to everything else in this world. No wonder so many have hated us, because if it weren’t for our Church, the world would have literally become Hell on Earth already.
The Church is the only thing standing in the way of tyranny, Communism, atheism, homosexuality, abortion, and every other evil you can imagine. The Church is perfect despite the fallibility of many of us mere mortals, including the clergy throughout the ages.
We are a visible witness and an indictment of the wicked ways of this world. We must steer clear of that muck at all times lest we become part of that wickedness. We are Catholics and we are exceptional.
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(Rey Flores is a Catholic writer and speaker. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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