“The Church has too many rules”, August 25, 2015 Daily Reflection

ChurchMany Catholics, especially teens, are put off by the Catholic Church because they see it as too restrictive. What they don’t explore deeper is the fact that the Church is not all about the rules, but they do have a good reason to exist and be enforced. The rules were made to guide us to make moral choices. Actions sometimes lead to change. The point of the rules is to move people to change to be more like Jesus. Many people forget that the purpose of our faith is to follow Jesus Christ, be transformed by him and therefore be saved and bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, meaning he did not get rid of the rules but his every action, word, and deed fulfilled the reason for the law.

Recently I have read about how each of us are “unfinished masterpieces of God”, but Jesus was the finished masterpiece, the fulfillment of God in human form. God does not want us to simply act differently but to transform our lives, to put on Christ, to change our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. The rules help to guide us in the direction of goodness, but the transformation of a life will change our hearts and souls for eternity. We don’t strive to just do what Jesus did but to live in the fulfillment of Jesus Christ in all aspects of our existence.

One Response

  1. Jan Redle

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