by Bo Sanchez

One day, three guys were convicted of a serious crime, and all were sentenced to ten years in solitary confinement.

But they were allowed to bring one thing in the jail cell with them. The first guy asked for law books. The second guy asked for dumbbells and barbells. Th third guy asked for a top-of-the-line laptop—with all the latest software in it.

At the end of the ten years, they opened the first guy’s jail cell, and he came out saying, “I studied all these law books. I’m going to be a lawyer.”

They opened the second guy’s jail cell, and he came out like he was the Hulk. He said, “After body building for ten years, I feel awesome!”

They opened the third guy’s jail cell and he came out very sad and said, “Uh, does anyone have my laptop charger?”

Without power, his laptop was useless.

This is the story of many people’s experience with their faith. The Catholic faith is like that high end laptop with all the bells and whistles, with all the latest software already loaded in it. But it’s useless without power just as a Catholic is useless without a real and vibrant relationship with Jesus.

Our Catholic faith is totally about Jesus. Unless you have Jesus in your life, the Mass, the sacraments, the doctrines, and the saints will mean nothing to you.

What the Catholic Faith Is All About

For the Catholic faith to mean anything to you, Jesus must be very real to you. If you study the lives of the Catholic saints—St. Francis of Assisi or St. Ignatius of Loyola or St. Therese of Lisieux— they were all Jesus lovers. (When I talk to an anti-Catholic who tells me that “all Catholics will go to hell,” I gently tell him, “Please study history more.”)

I cannot make this point strong enough:

• The Church is not just a behavior modification movement, teaching people good moral character (even though people do change their lives for eternity).
• The Church is not just a social action movement, helping the poor and all those living in the periphery of society (even if this is one hundred percent central and essential to our faith).
• The Church is not just about performing obligatory rituals that will gain us a ticket to heaven.

So what is the Church? It’s a spiritual family gathering around a Person—and this Person happens to be the Founder of this Church—and His name is Jesus. Unless you get that, you won’t get the Catholic faith. You’ll get the wrapper, the ribbon, the box, but not the gift.

To continue reading, grab your copy of Why I Love Being Catholic.

Available at www.feastbooks.ph. Also available via Shopee and Lazada.

*This excerpt is taken from “Why I Love Being Catholic” by Bo Sanchez.

Photo from Unsplashed.com