Moving Forward 

   “To stand still is to fall behind.” (Mark Twain) 

   I love it when I go to Mass on Easter and Christmas and find the church overflowing with people.  Yet I wonder, where were all these people last week?  Will they be here next week?  There is a term I’ve heard for those who attend Mass only for the most special of Masses.  They are sometimes called “Christers” or “CEOS” people who come to Mass at Christmas and Easter only.  The rest of the year, they simply ignore God and going to Mass.

   Then there are the “cafeteria Catholics” who may attend Mass regularly but pick and choose which teachings of the faith they will accept and which they will reject.  I once heard someone say they were a pro-choice Catholic.  I responded that there is no such thing, pro-choice and the Catholic faith are diametrically opposed, one cannot be both.

   Many others refuse to accept the reality of the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.  They see it simply as a symbol or a kind of commemoration rather than the miracle of our Lord feeding our souls with His Body and Blood.   As St. Paul wrote, “Therefore, anyone who eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of an offense against the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Cor 11: 27)

   So the question is, where do we go from here?  Easter is done and Christmas is a long way off.  Will we live in the spirit of Easter, seeking the will of God in all we do, or will we live our lives any way we please and show up again at Christmas to start all over.  Will we continue to decide for ourselves which truths we will accept or recognize and honor the teachings of Christ and the apostles?  If we aren’t moving forward in our faith we are moving backwards.