I don’t know what the answer is and if there was an answer, I doubt that God would see fit to give it to me. I would probably completely mess it up. I digress. Let me explain CRAP. It is those who choose to only participate in their faith on:
- Christmas
- Resurrection
- Ash Wednesday
- Palm Sunday
CRAP.
I know that this happens to Catholics in other areas of the country, but I think that the area that I live in is unique because it is populated by a lot of Catholics. It would be rare that someone would challenge the theology behind a certain type of belief. Instead, those who would challenge the faith challenge it with their apathy.
Somewhere on the road to heaven we started to settle for mediocrity.
“It is OK if I don’t go to mass this week, God knows that I am a good person and he surely would understand my reasoning.”
I hate to be blunt, but, “whatever helps you to sleep at night.” I mean, you aren’t arguing that missing mass is wrong, you are simply trying to convince me that your reasoning for missing mass is a legitimate excuse for not taking part in the high sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
God invited you to dinner and your RSVP is “no” and somehow it is a little weak.
Aren’t all excuses that way?
We claim that we are trying for holiness, that we want to achieve the best in our lives in a myriad of different areas and when it comes to religion we back down. Our CRAP gets shown in different ways.
The office conversation turns to indecency and rude language and we join in.
CRAP.
Our family members persist in behavior that is damaging them spiritually. Spiritual cancer that we refuse to diagnose and assist them in ridding themselves of. We are afraid of the confrontation. Afraid of that person’s temper. Afraid of the consequences. Afraid of letting the Holy Spirit work.
CRAP.
Our marriages become lifeless and non-communicative as we make our careers and hobbies our spouse. The TV becomes quality “family time” and we have no idea how our children and families became lost, when we became unable to engage them.
CRAP.
We decide that personal time at work should encompass four hours of surfing the internet and watching YouTube. Engaging in pointless arguments with faceless people on message boards while we literally steal from our employer the time we are getting paid for giving to them.
CRAP.
We casually toss two dollars in the basket at mass and then wonder why the pastor decided to close the school, not get the Church repainted, and is always asking for money from the altar.
CRAP.
We wonder why we have a priest preaching a homily that we cannot understand and walk away from an opportunity to challenge a young man to consider a vocation to the priesthood. Or a young woman to the religious life. Or we refuse to consider these vocations for ourselves.
CRAP.
Perhaps the extension of the attitude of CRAP can go into all of our lives. We sit in judgement of others and their perceived lack of commitment to the faith and we fail to understand the areas in our own lives where we have a “plank” in our eye.
I wish it was as easy as just telling everyone to cut the CRAP.
When we find ourselves yelling at the world and telling them to cut the CRAP, in the end we find out that no one is listening to our rants and we are simply alone, yelling at ourselves.
Maybe that is the way it should be.
