Fallen Away

I don't know the statistics. I'm not sure I really want to. I do know that many, many Catholics fall away from their faith.

I've said on many occasions that, at this point in my faith life, it would take a whole lot for me to turn my back on my faith. From my perspective, though I have much, much more to learn, I've grown a lot in my ability to trust God. I've found that loving God and His will even when it doesn't make much sense to me is the only thing that actually makes me happy in this life, and the only thing that will lead me to the next.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul is in anguish over Jewish rejection of Christ. He notes that to the Jewish people God gave so much: sonship, glory, the patriarchs, the law, and the promises. Yet when God sent the Messiah for which they had been waiting, they rejected Him.  When I read that, I can connect in some way with Paul's anguish. It is sad.

What if it is my story too?

Continuing through Paul's letter, he talks about the Gentiles being grafted on the tree. He warns them not to be boastful.  He cautions them to remember that their faith is a gift. It is a manifestation of God's glory and goodness. It is through no power of their own. It is because God holds them their, through His faithfulness.

I have to remember this too. Those lessons I have learned in faith and trust are gifts. I've learned them only because God has allowed it. I learn them only when I listen well. To His voice. Not mine.

My prayer is that I heed Paul's warning. My faith is a gift. I should not boast.

It is God who holds me here.