The accidental Catholic.

There is a film you may have come across called the accidental tourist. The reason I refer to that film today is because many Catholics today could be termed accidental Catholics. It just happened that they were born into a family that was catholic, they were baptised because that was the done thing. But they have never looked at their faith, never discovered it as a pearl of great price. Never fully trusting, always trying to find a better deal somewhere else. An Accidental catholic. 

The other kind of catholic is the intentional catholic. An intentional catholic is one who wants to be a catholic. What the Catholic Church believes and teaches makes sense to them. They know that what the Church teaches is in agreement with what is found in the scriptures. They are happy and proud to be seen doing things like going to mass that identifies them as catholic. Their faith is not more than just a collection of personal beliefs, their faith has a shaping force in their lives.   

There are Catholics in China and in the middle East today who are being actively persecuted for their Catholic faith. Life would be so much easier for them if they were to abandon their faith, but they cling to their faith even though it means economic and social disadvantage and even danger to their lives. These are not accidental Catholics but intentional Catholics We have wonderful examples in our own history during the penal times of people who were prepared to lose everything rather than renounce their catholic faith..