It's personal.
That is the single most defining feature of Catholicism, of Christianity in general, really. It's personal. It's about Christ. It's about him. Period.
I'll tell you a revelation, of sorts, I had while praying during the mass a few weeks back. I was on the kneeler, and the Priest held up the host - and it just all sort of synthasized there before me, one of the biggest aHA moments I've had in a while. Here was a man ordained to act in the PERSON of Christ, standing below a crucifix with a depiction of the human Christ just above his head, and another one at the front of the alter. In his hands he held the full body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ - there was a painting of a smiling Christ behind him. And before that consecration, we had all prayed, communicating with Christ, and before that, we had all sung a hymn called "Be Christ for one another", and before that we'd read a story about actual words that Christ said during his time of walking on two feet the earth.
Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ.
Who the heck is this guy? Why's he so important? While other religions of the world center around rigorous disciplines of worldly detachment, or give concise rules for submitting to God (how to pray, what to eat, how to live our lives), offer a mystical world-view that makes us feel fuzzy or amounts to, basically, an intricate library of wisdom, Christianity is just about some guy, really.
Think about it. If all of the world religious leaders got together for a chat, Mohummad would come with his Quran, Buddha would come with a little blanket, a bunch of pagan shamans would come with a Cauldron and a book of spells, a whole parade of Hindu sages would come with a vastly diverse collection of stories and myths, Confusius and Lao Tse would both come with books of their proverbs and sayings.
When it came time to present their ideas, Muhummad would explain his ideas for submission, of how we need to give our lives to God, particularly through the mandated pillars which he demands for his faithful. Buddha would talk about how we need to detach ourselves from everything worldly. Pagans would talk about using magic to take control of our lives. Hindus would talk about how we need to come to wipe ourselves of notions of ourselves through hours of meditation on their web of stories and belief in their "I AM HE" theology. Confuscious and Lao Tse would maybe talk about approaching the world with more contentment and humility, acquired through their philsophy and wisdom.
Jesus would go last of all, and he would just shrug and say, I'm just looking for friends.
It's seriously that beautifully simple in Christianity. Of course we have theology, we have rituals, we have social teaching, we definitely should spend hours in prayer, and while we wouldn't call it magic, explicitly, there is certainly something magical about living a life of Christian faith, and participating in the mass is definitely a mystical experience. And we have plently of wisdom to offer as well.
But the end is never any of these of the former paragraph. In fact, everything which the other religions focus on - submission, wisdom, detachment, theology - have places in Christianity, but only insomuch as they help us come to closer friendship with Christ.
Friendship is the beginning, the middle, and the end of our faith.
Of course, to be a bit more theologically sound, friendship is an analogy. Not a perfect one, but a fairly sound one. Christ is more than a friend. Our relationship with God is more than a relationship. It's everything. It's an organic union that we were designed for. But as humans, its preferable to think of it as friendship, because it is, when you get down to it, all about the loving bond between us and another human being - a human being who just so happens to be the Lord, creator, and source of all life in this universe.
What this means for me today is that when my goals within my Christian journey vary from coming closer to Christ, to becoming a better friend of him and to him, things are going to go off track. My entire worldview becomes disordered. If I look at my ministries as a means of aspiratious progress, not as a means to come closer to Christ, they will be cut off from their source. If I discern in order that I may find peace, purely, and not to find the way of life which Christ most seeks to live with me in, then I am completely cut off from the purpose of my vocation. And if service for me becomes a source of pride and accomplishment and not a means of bringing others into this family of God so that we can all be together in a great communion of love and harmony, service for me becomes empty as well.
May our lives be ordered to the love of Christ, singularly and comprehensively.
May this worldview, of being a friend of Jesus,
encompass all of our daily lives.
May we see clearly how our Christian disciplines are wholly designed
to strengthen our friendship with Christ.
Jesus, by my companion, please.
Knock loudly, and persistently, at the door of my soul,
for I am often too lazy and distracted to let you in.
Help me to respond to your invitations for deeper communion than we have today.
And may we look upon each other with love,
on this very sacred day.
