Catholics And Conduct
"In the Catechism we find the Word of God, and the Word of God is Jesus Himself." Father Corapi
"In all His life Jesus presents himself as our model. He is the "perfect man" who invites us to become His disciples and follow him. In humbling himself, he has given us a example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way." Catechism # 520.
Sometimes we are asked how it is that Catholics who declare that theirs is the true, and the only true religion, nevertheless conform to a standard of conduct lower than that of those who perhaps are the kind that we ourselves condemn.
Evil is prominent, goodness is hidden. A Catholic who does wrong attracts attention, but the thousands who are upright and honorable are unnoticed. The public at large gets its ideas mainly by observation. People are too busy or too much disinclined to examine into the nature of things, preferring to judge by results. Hence, nothing succeeds like success. If a man fails in an undertaking he is a failure. And yet one who fails may be a bigger success than the one who succeeds, if all the circumstances were known. All that people see ordinarily are results. One reason for the popularity of the Movies is that they spare the spectators mental effort. Picture magazines are popular for the same reason. The eye gets results with less effort than the mind. Hence it was that Christ was so particular about good example. A good deed requires no effort to recognize it. A bad deed needs no branding to condemn it.
A man's principles are not in evidence, but his conduct is. Therefore it is that actions speaks so loudly and emphatically. Christ recognized this when He said, "By their fruits you shall know them." One of the finest tributes paid to the religion of Jesus Christ is that people are shocked if a Christian does wrong. The world expects only good conduct from those who are followers of Christ. It is because some Catholics, at least Catholics in name fail to be Catholic in conduct that often at times the Catholic religion has been brought into disrepute. If Catholics in public and professional and business life lived up to their religion, there is no doubt at all that many, very many would look differently at the Church and in consequence be influenced to embrace our faith.
If a man is a practical Catholic he will be a good man, a good citizen, a good father, a good husband. If a public man is a practical Catholic he will be a credit morally to his office. If a professional man is a practical Catholic, he will be honorable in his career, no matter what the inducements may be to the contrary. The standards of the Catholic religion are the highest on earth. The pity of it is that some so-called Catholics drag the standard down. A Catholic in a prominent position can do so much to harm the Church by wrong conduct.
The Church is not a building nor a book nor anything that can be seen as a visible object, but a congregation of the people who constitute it, under God's guidance. Hence the only thing visible to people ordinarily are the individuals who make up the Church and the deeds they perform.
It is true that it is not easy to live up to our faith, especially in todays culture. It demands courage and sacrifice to be a Catholic of the true kind. And yet what is our religion for if it is not to give us courage and the spirit of sacrifice? Why shouldn't a man have the spirit of sacrifice who has received his Lord in holy communion? Is it fair to take all and give nothing in return? Should we not be prepared to make sacrifices for Him?
Our faith, if it means anything, is of more value, if we live up to it, than the whole world. The world passes away. Our faith gives us everlasting life and blessedness. That is certainly worth making sacrifices for.
Source: Fr. Martin J. Scott. SJ.