Am I Good Enough?

I love it when I can share something written by an author that explains exactly how I feel.  In the current issue of FAITH Magazine, Father Joe Krupp addresses a common problem:  What do we do when different people insist we have to do certain things to be a good Catholic?

But let's not limit ourselves to Catholics, because this is a universal problem.  I was talking to a woman of a different faith years ago, who said she quit practicing her faith because she felt like someone was always looking over her shoulder, waiting to judge her.

This is terrible and it is real pet peeve of mine.

In his FAITH article, Father Joe shares some pearls of wisdom from his own experiences.  He identifies himself as a passionate person while warning about passionate people:

"I've noticed that some folks take their personal call from God and assume it should apply to everyone."

He further wrote, "Passion does not equal rightness."

These are two very important points, which are foundational to his reminder:  We are not called to every fight. "The reason God made so many of us and made us all so different is because one person can't do it all."

Amen to that.

Please do not let anyone guilt or shame you into thinking you are not "good enough" just because you do not practice their same devotion, pray or worship the way they do.  So what if you are not particularly pious?  The basis of all of this is judgment.

Father Joe reminds us that "The core of our existence is love" and that "we were created by Love, for love, to love."

The only one we need to please is God.  "This is who you want to make happy.  This is who you want to approve of you."  And the good news is that "God approves of you.  He delights in you.  He has stacked the deck in favor of you getting to heaven."

I hope you will find Father Joe's wisdom helpful, uplifting even.  I encourage you to read the whole article, the link for which I have provided above under the title of the magazine.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com