My own theory, and feel free to refute me if I am wrong, is that the salt has lost its savor. Christianity is more than what church you go to or what teaching that you say you believe, but how does that belief affect your behavior? The Catholic Church has the fullness of the faith, I have no doubt, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, I know, but do we really believe that? we can say it, but do we live it?
If all we do is go to Mass every Sunday, stand, sit, kneel, receive communion, go to confession and believe we a guaranteed salvation. How are we different from Protestants? Is the Catholic Church a change in rote behavior or is it a change of the heart? What do we do? Do we try to have the world's pleasures and indulge our appetites and still think that we will get to heaven because we go to Catholic Church?
We need to work at building the virtues that the Church teaches us. We need to train our bodies to be in subjection to the will of God. To do that, we have to know what to do. Study the virtues
The three theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity come from God alone, by grace alone. In that the Protestants are right, but if we stop there, we are incomplete. As a Protestant, I was taught of the verse in the epistle to Timothy that speak of training in righteousness. What is that training in righteousness? Go to Mass, give 10%, say your prayers, or is it more?
As Catholics we don't stop at the three theological virtues, we move on to the four Cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. These require work, and as James said, Faith without works is dead
We need to stop talking about the Faith, but actually live it. Jesus said to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. The twentieth and twenty-first century gospel seems to be indulge yourself, and as long as you go to the right church, you will get to heaven. Don't believe everything the Catholic Church teaches? no worries, you have Jesus, He will get you in, just believe. Wrong, wrong Wrong!!
Narrow is the way, straight is the gate that leads to life.
The Catholic way is one of self denial, prayer and generosity. Three general good works are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Are we known for that or where we just go to church? Have we submitted our bodies in obedience to the Church, or do we think that we know better? Cafeteria Catholics are ok?
Do we like to point out the specks in our brothers eyes, and not the planks in our own? plead with our seperated brethren, this is the way. The Lord tells us to subject and train our bodies in the seven virtues, not indulge in the seven deadly sins. It takes work and training to do it, but it can be done. It starts with willingness and submission to God and His Church
Turn greed to generosity, pride to humility, wrath to patience, sloth to zeal, envy to kindness, gluttony to self restraint, and lust to chastity; and we need to avoid the opposite extremes in countering the deadly sins. there is a whole host of study that we should be doing and practicing so that we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world
Isaiah 30:21 : “This is the way; walk in it, when you would rather turn to the right or to the left.”
Joshua 1:7 : “Above all, be firm and steadfast…. Do not swerve from the Law either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.”
St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor: “Lead me to pastures, Lord, and graze there with me. Do not let my heart lean either to the right or to the left, but let your good Spirit guide me along the straight path.” (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. IV, p. 1214)
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop: “Remove all obstacles and stumbling blocks so that you will be able to go straight along the road to Eternal Life.” (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. II, p. 1714)
The atheists mock and blaspheme God; they ask what is the difference between Christ the Lord, and our belief the the flying spaghetti monster and his noodley appendage? If we lived a virtuous life and actually did the will of the Father, we could show them
Peace be with you all