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What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?

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What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?
What does it mean to be Catholic?

To be Catholic means to be whole, one with community, rich in spiritual tradition. Catholicism is a lens or filter which provides a meaningful pattern to our experiences which otherwise would be lacking in life and interest. It is comprised up of faith, theologies, and many different doctrines; even ethical and spiritual orientations and behaviors. At the same time though, it is a community, a group of many strong willed people, with a particular history.

The word “Catholic” is derived from the Greek adjective katholikos, which means “universal” and also derives from the adverb form kath’ holou meaning “on the whole”. Catholicism offers all humanity the “lens” of Jesus’ life. It also gives us faith and lets us believe in our beliefs, whether they are spiritual, emotional, or physical. The faith we get from Catholicism is the “ultimate concern” we have in life. It is the confident assurance concerning what we hope for and conviction about things we cannot see. In my opinion, the faith we have in something is the belief we have in it times the hope we have for it to come true. To be a true Catholic, we must be able to communicate with God. We must open up our souls to the almighty Lord and let him communicate with us through others and the environment around us. To be catholic, before all else, is to be human. Catholicism is an affirmation, a true understanding and expression human existence and before it was a corporate conviction of the pope or the seven sacraments or the 10 commandments or even about Jesus and revelation and redemption. With that said, spiritual communication must be accomplished in order to be in a covenant with God. Once God allows you to be in a covenant with him, you may choose to follow a path on earth that will lead you to everlasting good revelation.

“Being a Catholic means sensing God 's presence and power in a sacramental way. We gradually come to understand that there

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