Don’t Lose Your Faith!
Submitted by: Seminarian Thomas Meinart
Diocese of Harrisburg
As we all grow up and become adults everyone comes to a point in their lives where we have to make a decision about who we want to be. There are many different aspects that when taken all together make us who we are. For example, what we want to do for work, where we want to live, what we do for fun etc. But some of the most important questions often get overlooked and sometimes come together accidently. Questions like how do I treat others, how do I treat myself, and how do I view the world around me. I think one of the most important questions that often gets overlooked is how do I live out my faith.
When we are little kids the faith is easy. We mainly rely on our parents for everything. We go to mass, pray before meals, and whatever else we do because we do it with our family. As a kid we almost have no say in the decision because our parents tell us that we are going to go to mass. But as we get older some of those decisions have to eventually be chosen by us. The ultimate question becomes “What is most important in my life?” Do I put God first before anything else? Or do I “live my life” and if I can find time for God do I just try to squeeze Him in there when it’s convenient? These are real problems that everyone eventually faces, and we all have to make a decision.
Many people as they get older and go to high school or college gradually fall away from their faith not because one day they woke up and just decided to stop believing, but because over a long period of time they start giving pieces of their heart to different things that at the time seemed more important than God. We have to keep God at the center of our lives and make our faith truly our own, meaning we start choosing to go to mass not because our parents make us or even because our parents want us to go, but we go because we understand that our relationship with God is what is essential for our daily lives. Building a relationship with God takes a long time. Just like any other friendship it requires you to spend time with the other person and getting to know them more and more. This relationship with God can be the one thing that no one can ever take away from you and can help guide you through the rest of your life!
Father Mike Schmitz is a priest who makes a lot of great YouTube videos and he made one on this topic specifically. He said it better than I ever could, so I encourage all of you reading to click below and watch the video.