Claiming faith

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

Most of us are Catholic Christians because it is the faith of our fathers and mothers. But somewhere along the line, in order for our faith to be truly our own, it must go from being a hand-me-down to become our own personal treasure.

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How we go about that transition will vary from person to person. But it will probably involve some point - perhaps a crisis - where we have to decide if we're going to truly embrace our faith as a necessary part of who we are or if we're going to discard it as just another hand-me-down.

There are many reasons for embracing Christianity. The best one is Easter - which we celebrate this Sunday - because Easter celebrates Jesus' resurrection from the dead and contains within it the promise of our own resurrection from the dead. As St. Paul put it: "If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised; and if Christ was not raised your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins" (1 Cor 15:16-17).

Through the resurrection of Christ our sins are forgiven and we enjoy the promise of new life after our earthly existence in the company of God and the saints. It is there where all will be made right and all injustices will end. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness" (1024).

Beyond that, Christ's resurrection demonstrates to us that through the power of God we can experience resurrections in daily life by dying to what has been and being willing to start anew.

We often face situations where something we valued - for example, a relationship, a job, a situation - is ending. We can deny it or pretend otherwise, we can stall or elude, but eventually, we need to surrender to the reality - as Jesus did in Gethsemane and again on Calvary - and allow the death of what we valued. It will most likely be a painful process, as were Jesus' Passion and death, but it also contains the promise of something better - new life.

Even as good as this new life may be, it's only a teaser, a promise of the new life that awaits us in eternity because of the resurrection of Christ. Happy Easter!