With regard to sports, one of the most predictable comments heard by coaches and commentators alike is that the victors oftentimes are those who performed the fundamentals of the sport the best. Attention to the fundamentals produces "winners" in the Catholic Church as well.
The Precepts of the Church are listed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the following practices: attendance at Mass, receiving the Sacrament of Penance, receiving Holy Communion, observing the days of fasting and abstinence, and the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church (CCC 2042-43). The prescribed observance of each is included as well.
These five traditional Precepts provide an age-old way of defining what it means to be a "practicing" Catholic, which is required in order to enjoy certain privileges in the Church, such as serving as a liturgical minister or being a sacramental sponsor. It is important to note that the Catechism outlines simply "the very necessary minimum" (CCC 2041) expected from all Catholics.
Current research on the behavior of baptized Catholics exposes two very regrettable realities of our day. First of all, most people who identify themselves as "Catholic" are essentially ignorant of what that means and tend to fashion a personal definition of Catholicism to suit their own purposes. Secondly, many of those who actually do fulfill the requirements to be considered practicing Catholics do no more than the bare minimum. Hence, they deprive themselves of many of the riches that the Church has to offer. The first group has more or less abandoned their ties with the Catholic Church. The latter group, doing as little as possible, is in real danger of losing their Catholic identity as well.
I am confident that the readers of this column share my concern for the "Catholics" just described. All of us know many people who fall into the aforementioned categories. A disturbing trend in our country is that, just in the last decade, many have quit practicing their faith altogether, oftentimes for no apparent reason other than their lack of enthusiasm for being Catholic.
We know that lackluster performances in sports (dare I mention the Holiday Bowl?) can leave us frustrated, unmotivated and disillusioned. When the basics of our Catholic Faith are approached without enthusiasm and zeal, leading to self-inflicted discontent, it is quite easy to abandon those fundamentals altogether, which has happened all too often in our families and in our parishes.
The solution? Take the high road! If we settle for striving for the minimum our faith requires, we will be mediocre Christians at best. However, if we make every effort to follow Jesus’ instruction, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt. 5:48), we can expect great things to happen in our faith lives and we avoid the risk of losing our prized Catholic identity.
In short, knowing and performing the fundamentals of our Faith is enormously important, but there is more to it if we wish to be genuinely good Catholics. Much of it has to do with desire. As we know from sports, it is often the team that desires victory the most that takes home the prize. We must not only live our faith; we must love it as well, including all of its routine aspects. Those who love to be Catholic show it not only by being completely faithful to the fundamentals, but by demonstrating genuine enthusiasm with regard to all facets of our Catholic Faith. Only by avoiding minimalist tendencies will we ever have the benefit of all the blessings that bona fide Catholics enjoy.
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