The Importance of Catholicism

By: Sophia Novak

Being a Catholic is the best part of who I am. But it took me a long time to be able to realize all of the things that I could do to feel this way. Catholicism is such a beautiful and fulfilling religion that helps us to live our lives to the fullest. And many people may think that all they have to do to feel this way is just by attending weekly Mass and opening their Bible whenever they feel like it. And these are two very important factors that must still be done, but the reality is that there is so much more that we can do to benefit our relationship with Christ.   

The first thing that I began to do to take my faith seriously is to attend Adoration. Quiet time with just you and the Lord in front of you really helps to get all of your thoughts in place and give your worries to Christ. Adoration is such an amazing blessing that we have been given, and we can go whenever we want. God always wants us to have Him be the person we run to when times get tough or when we just need to feel His presence after a long day. God wants us to be able to call on Him whenever we feel the need. Whenever I have a tough decision to make or just feel like He is the only one I can talk to, I always feel closest to the Lord in the Adoration Chapel, no matter which parish it is at.

The next thing that us Catholics can do is attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God knows we are going to make mistakes in our lifetime because we are human. We do things that we know are wrong because we think that we can be happy apart from the Lord. But with God having this in mind, He has given us a way to give our sins up to Him in order to have a strong relationship with Him. Going to confession and stating to a priest all the things that we have done wrong is a humbling experience, but it can also be terrifying. No one wants to hurt the Lord, but the only way to heal the relationship we have weakened due to the sins we make is by owning up to them and having them forgiven during this Sacrament. God has given us the option to bring our mistakes to Him to hold on to, and completing confession is a beautiful thing that really benefits our souls. 

Another thing that we can do to help us to strengthen our relationship with Christ is to pray the Rosary. As Catholics, the importance of this prayer has been spread throughout our whole religion, and if you are not familiar with this form of prayer, I encourage you to learn it. This is one of the strongest prayers that lifts up our hearts, our gifts of our lives, strengths, and our sacrifices to our Mother Mary and to Christ. The Rosary is a prayer that refreshes our soul and is like us showing God how much we would like to invite Him into our hearts.

Catholicism is a faith that has so many different components and different things that we can complete to help us strengthen our faith. But these are only three critical parts that I have found to benefit me as a young teen to help me learn how to put God in the front of my life. And as teenagers, learning to make time for God throughout our busy schedules can be a difficult task. But once you begin the process, the feeling of knowing God is beside you makes the whole thing worthwhile.