Prayer

          Prayer is an extremely important part of every Christian's life. Prayer if speaking with God and thanking him for all he has done or requesting good things from God. This is necessary so that we may grow in communion with God (since the best way to get to know someone and for them to know you is to talk to them) and establish and everlasting bond of love. We do not begin to pray because we feel the initiative to do so, but it is God who calls us within and asks us to speak with him. Through prayer, we try to get to know Christ, love him, and be united to him. By learning about the life of Jesus and what he did so that we may be saved, we learn how to pray just as Jesus prayed to his heavenly father.
          Jesus Christ was constantly praying while on Earth, especially before major events in his life. We also to likewise. At times we may only pray at night before we go to bed and at mass, but whenever something tragic happens or we are anxious/nervous about an upcoming event, we begin to pray more. On the other hand, when something great happens and our lives are filled with sudden joy, we rejoice and thank God for all he has done for us. When one of Jesus' disciples asked Jesus to teach them (the disciples) how to pray, Jesus responded with the Our Father. This is where the Our Father comes from. It is a gift from Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is why we pray it often. It shows that prayer means communion/communication with God and we recognize that God is an all-loving Father and not a supreme being who commands us from above. Through Jesus' example, we learn about the types of prayer and how to use each appropriately.

Christ or Life

In this post I want to talk about rejecting Christ and his Church in order to avoid suffering or even death. So, is it okay or justifiable to denounce your faith in a case where your life is at risk? We, in Revelation 2:10, Christ said, "Be faithful unto death." So, we really should suffer the torture and even death when our faith is being tested, and, if one does die from the suffering, he/she will become a martyr and gain guaranteed acceptance into Heaven, although this may involve going to Purgatory first. After all, Christ gave his life for us and so that we may experience salvation. And, we should live in imitation of Christ's own life, remaining faithful to our Father and our faith. But, for those who do denounce their faith, God knows how morally culpable we are when we do snap under such pressure. Nonetheless, we are called to never betray our loyalty to Christ and the Church even when we are experiencing pain or are at the risk of death.

Now, another question rises that is very relative to the first question. Does a Christian commit apostasy if he/she denies his faith while suffering or being threatened with death? Apostasy is committed when someone totally and completely repudiates the faith. Apostasy is one of the major wounds to unity. In some situations though, when the torture or suffering is very immense, the suffering can lessen one's ability to choose purposefully. So, someone might not be culpable for apostasy if he/she does not have full knowledge and deliberate consent to the action that they commit, for it would not really be a grave matter or mortal sin. But, he/she would not have been an example of a heroic martyr either. Also, it is possible for a person who is facing martyrdom to, at first, reject his/her faith but then repent and suffer martyrdom.

Overall, Christ is life. It is because of Jesus and his sacrifice of his own life no the cross that we are saved from the suffering of Hell and are able to be saved and enter into the gates of Heaven
. Jesus gave his life for us to live in eternity with God in the Kingdom of Heaven, where there is eternal happiness and peace. he saves us from our own actions and sins. Jesus offers us eternal life as he gives of his own self, as his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

Christian Life

          Living a Christian life means that you live according to how Christ lived while he was on Earth. Of course, this is impossible for any human being with the stains of original sin. At times we try to live a Christian life and tell ourselves that we will always be good people. The problem with this is that in the heat of the moment or a certain situation we act otherwise.  In other words, there are many obstacles to living a Christian life. There are obstacles in everyone's life, but it is how we approach and overcome those obstacles that separate us from being a normal person who just goes along with their natural instincts and being a true Christian who uses their good conscience to decide what the right decision is and puts that decision into action. Personally, I have found that the main obstacle to living a Christian life is convenience.

          Whenever I can, I try to help out others to the best of my ability. If anyone ever needs any help, I try to help them as much as possible. When I have a lot of homework or am too tired, I sometimes refuse to help but later regret it. Convenience is the biggest obstacle for me by far, because I almost only help out when I can. I then begin to wonder, "What if I really need help but the time is not convenient for any others?" Of course, one cannot go out of their way to try and get help in a really inconvenient time, but if someone really needs the help, it is important to try your best to help him/her in whatever way possible.

Priests and Marriage

Although priests do not marry once ordained into the priesthood, the Eastern rites of the Church do have instances where married men are ordained to the priesthood. But, the Latin rite has very few married men. In both of these rites, it is very rare for a priest to marry after ordination into the priesthood. There are legitimate reasons that are theological and canonical to why a priest in the Latin rite cannot marry.

Priests are thought to serve in the place of Jesus Christ and are shaped to be more like Jesus through their ministry. Because priests remain celibate, they devote themselves to the service of the Church and more precisely model and consecrate themselves to Jesus. Like Christ, although Jesus was married to the Church in the mystical sense, they are not married. Jesus says that none of us are going to be married in Heaven. So, through their celibacy, priests live a life that is closer to all of our final state in the Kingdom of God. Also, priests is more attentive to serving God when they are not married or in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. These are theological reason to the question of why priests cannot get married.

Now, like I mentioned before, there are also canonical reasons that explain why a priest cannot marry. Priests that belong to religious orders take vows of celibacy. But, diocesan priests make a promise of celibacy although they do not necessarily take vows. Also, the Church blocks the validity of marriages attempted by those who have been ordained through the establishment of restrictions. In Canon 1087, it says that "Persons who are in holy orders invalidly attempt marriage." The only way for a priest to ever get married validly is if he receives a dispensation from the Holy See. Nothing else that he tries to do can get him a valid marriage, including the commitment of
apostasy.

The Church in the Life of the Faithful

The Church is made up of her members and has God as her origin, which is why it is holy. But, that doesn't mean that we are not called to holiness, for there actually is a universal call to holiness. Even though many of the members of the Church are not priests or part of the clergy, we still have a role of the priesthood. And, with the teachings and graces that we receive from the Church, we are to evangelize the world, spreading the teachings of Jesus and helping others live the way God wants them to live. This is what I believe that this chapter will and should discuss and address. I believe that this chapter will explain how the Church helps us live in accordance to God's will and how she becomes part of our lives, as we too are part of the Church making up the Mystical Body of Christ. As part of the Mystical Body of Christ, we attend Mass and receive the Sacraments, and, by doing these things, we become stronger members of the Church and we grow in our relationship with God, which also allows us to grow in our relationship with our neighbors. As we grow in our relationships with one another as neighbors, we evangelize each other and help each other better understand our Faith. Jesus was a model of holiness, and this allowed many people to realize what we are to do in order to grow closer to God and make the world a better place. Like Jesus, we can really influence others to do good through our positive and encouraging actions, further spreading the Good News to more people of the world. Overall, the laity, in their priesthood, can also serve God through the fulfillment of their responsibility of evangelizing the world and so have a very important role in the Church.

So, the Church really does play a major role in our lives as it guides us as we ourselves evangelize the world and help others live a life of holiness. Jesus Christ established the Church in order to carry on and transfer his teachings to the members of his Church. The Church is essential in our lives as she provides the graces and lessons necessary for salvation. And, we should also complete our duty of showing others the way to live accordingly and as the children of God. Without the God and the
Church, we wouldn't really have a purpose to live, for we would only be living to serve ourselves and wouldn't be experiencing any special graces.