Catholicism has always been the central religion in my family heritage. Each of my family members, originating back to my great grandmother have been raised Roman Catholic. Both on my mother and father’s sides of the family they practice Catholicism. My entire life has been centralized around faith and believing in one God. I attended Catholic School from 2nd to 12th grade and I gained a large amount from the faith filled environment. However, it was not until I was 15 years old that I became fully involved with my relationship with God and practiced Catholicism properly.
The reason I became so involved with my relationship with God was because I attended a Catholic Youth Conference in Atlanta, Georgia called, “Steubenville Catholic Youth Conference. ” During this conference I learned about God and my true purpose in life. This conference changed my life and made me realize that I do believe in God and the Eucharist. Prior to even attending this conference, my family has always raised me to be kind to others and act in the ways that Jesus Christ would. Throughout my life journey, I have always had the goal in life to treat others with kindness and respect.
I want to be able to leave the impression on others that I am truly a kind hearted person. This relates to my religion because Catholicism practices reading the bible and gaining life lessons from the scripture. In particular, my favorite bible verse has always been 2 Chronicles 15: 7. This verse says, “But as for you, be strong and do not slack off, for there shall be a reward for what you do. ” I have always lived by this verse because I believe that I should work hard in everything I do. I am a strong believer in work ethic and I believe that in order to be successful in life, I need to work for it.
I also relate this concept to Jesus Christ in the ways that he died on the cross for my sins. I think that Jesus suffered and worked through all that pain, and as a result he was rewarded with freeing us from eternal sin. Not only do I practice reading scripture, but throughout my life I have been raised to attend Mass each Sunday and receive the Eucharist. Mass is what Catholics refer to as going to church. I believe that going to Mass is essential in life because it is how we as individuals pay our respects to God.
We show appreciation for him dying on the cross for our sins. I try and attend Mass each Sunday, and when I cannot I usually make up for it by praying on my own. Not only do I enjoy attending Mass, but some of the other practices of Catholicism. One of these practices is attending Eucharist Adoration. The Eucharist is bread and wine that is consecrated into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This tradition began long ago when Jesus met with his disciples at the last supper the night before he was nailed to the cross.
As for Eucharistic Adoration, this is when you attend a chapel or Mass and worship and pray with the Eucharist present. Typically the Eucharist is displayed up on the altar and you kneel before it and pray to God. It is also a time to reflect on your life and understand the deeper meaning of your purpose in life. This practice has always left a significant impression on me in regard to my relationship with God. It gives me a time to pray and think about my life and what I can do to become a person more like Jesus Christ. Not only this practice, but the Catholic practice of reconciliation.
This Catholic practice is when you go to a Catholic priest and he intercedes to God your sorrowfulness for all of the sins you have committed. After you explain your sins to the priest, he absolves your sins through penance. Some example of penance could be praying the rosary or praying the “Our Father” multiple times. I think this practice is helpful because it is a way to better myself and understand the wrong I have done. Both Eucharistic Adoration and Reconciliation are two ways that I practice my religion and they help me gain a deeper meaning in life.
From these practices I have learned that my purpose in life is to help others and be the best person I can possibly be devoted to Jesus Christ. After my conversion to becoming fully involved with Jesus Christ, I have never had second thoughts about my beliefs or my morals. However, I am not perfect and I have sinned. As a Catholic, I understand that if I repent and show true sorrowfulness for my sins, God will forgive me. Prior to becoming devoted to Catholicism, I did question my beliefs. When things were going wrong for me, I questioned if there really was a God.
I started to think about the concepts of evolution. However, after attending the Steubenville Catholic Youth Conference, I realized that with all the bad in the world, there is also a large amount of good. I think the tiny miracles that occur throughout the world would not be possible if there was not a God. I am also much happier that I live a life devoted to Christ. I think the use of Eucharistic Adoration, Reconciliation, prayer, and attending mass are what help me not question my beliefs and believe in the practices and teachings of Catholicism.
