For all those who have stumbled across this website, I have to ask: Do you feel like there is a part of you that is empty? Do you feel hopeless or unloved? Do you ever feel like there must be something more to life than just what we experience in this world? Perhaps you have even been going to a church but still feel that your questions are not being answered or have the feeling that there must be more to it? Have you been pushed toward a world view that maybe you never really stopped to consider very deeply? If so, I can fully sympathize with you and you should know, a great number of people in the world are just like you.
Growing up, I went to the church my parents went to, but it never seemed to make much sense, I always felt that there had to be more to God and eternity than just this, just following a bunch of rules in the hope that the interpretation of those instructing me was the "right one". I even tried to deny that God could possibly exist, with all of the same silly questions about suffering in the world and "how could God allow that to happen?" No one else cared about me, so why would God be any different? Even if there was a God, how could we ever hope to know what He wants when He seems to be so mysterious and confusing about it? Well, as I eventually discovered, God is mysterious but the confusion is entirely man's doing.
After a great deal of suffering, studying and soul searching I came to a point where the truth of the Catholic Church could no longer be ignored. I had to become a Catholic or I would believe in nothing at all. It was a hard journey for me, and I had to convert in secret and carry on my Catholicism secretly for some time afterwards. However, I have no doubt that the Church, the body of Christ, has saved my life regardless of whether or not I can understand why. Did becoming a Christian make all of my problems go away? No, plenty of problems remain, but I know that even if no one else on earth cares for me in the least, someone in Heaven does. I know that everything I go through counts for something and most of all, I know that I am finally on the right side; and make no mistake about it, everyone in the world has to be on one side or the other, and there are only two: the right side and the wrong one.
The world today is suffering collectively just as individuals are suffering, and all of the problems can be traced directly back to the world turning away from Christ. People usually think about making God angry but most simply make him sad. Jesus understands saddness only too well. He loves us so much that He suffered torture and gave His own life so that we could avoid punishment for our crimes. The Sacred Heart of Jesus burns with love for us, was pierced for us and is also breaking that so many of the people who He loves so dearly have turned their back on him and stopped believing in Him. In relation to what Christ the King wants to give us, what He asks is so very small: ourselves.
Recently, the reign of Pope Benedict XVI began, and people around the world may have noted a number of negative comments about the Holy Father, most of which come down to the fact that he firmly believes and defends what the Church has been teaching for the last 2,000 years. The world and all people in it, today more than ever, need something solid and unchanging they can trust and believe in; and the Body of Christ is the only thing which can provide that. Looking through this site you can see something of the history of the "original brand" of Christianity, you can also read about the Scriptural basis of the teachings of the Church on this page. I appeal to all who read this, to submit to Christ the King and come running into the embrace of Mother Holy Church.
Jos. Crisp |
