I didn't mean to sound judgmental...

I have been struggling lately over something with a few of my friends. I had sent out a blog posting that was sent to me entitled,"Is this all there is?" It was written by Max Lucado, whom I only know by name, not by his work. I thought the piece was uplifting, and I have some friends who have been dealing with life changes and/or challenges. I was trying to help. I know that I am more committed to my Church and to my practice of the Catholic faith than some others and I was not trying to be or sound judgmental. I am only trying to help.

Let me explain it this way. I am sort of legalistic when it comes to my faith. If the Church says no meat on Fridays during Lent, I do it. If the Church says August 15th is a Holy Day of Obligation, I go to Mass without question. For me, I do believe what the Church teaches about Heaven and Hell, and I am not willing to chance where I go when my time is done in this world. I have had bouts feeling apathetic about my faith life, who hasn't? But I never would stop attending Mass because of it. All that would do is pull me further away from God. A couple of months ago when I was at Confession, I said to Fr. Jack that I was feeling like I was just going through the motions. Mind you, I was also going through a really tough time with my two year-old during Mass. What I loved about that moment in the Confessional was that Fr. Jack said I needed to let Jesus do some of the work. That it was OK to feel the way I feel. (By the way, my Michael is behaving much better in Mass, and I actually can pray during Mass!).

So, last week, I was not being judgmental about the way people are choosing to live their lives when I forwarded that blog. It was out of love and concern. One of my greatest responsibilities as a parent is to make sure that my children learn to love their faith, and to make sure they understand the Church's teachings so that they can attain Heaven someday. I love my friends, and want the same thing for them. I was in no way trying to say that if they continue to live their lives the way they are, they will have a horrible life or they will go to Hell. That is not my place to decide. I am just trying to say, why take a chance?