"I suppose it is like this: each one of us, no matter how good our family and how fine our lessons in self esteem and how marvelously encouraging our education, still has a deep and unshakeable conviction that we are unloved, that we have to earn the love we need, that we have to please somebody. The negativities that result from this deep conviction are manifold. We feel guilt, we feel anger towards others, we long for what is wrong, we lust for all that is dust, we feel the need for greed. We reach for so many things to fill that gap which is really the need for total, unconditional love...the love of the Father above."
2. The body, mind and spirit aren't always cohesive.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not arguing for a kind of wishy washy relativistic faith based only on subjective personal experience. However I am saying there is such a thing as personal experience in our faith, and it's a good thing, and it comes to us in as many different ways as there are people."
"We want it all organized and together, but life isn't like that. Life is messy. Love is messy. If we're going to walk by faith, not by sight, then we're going to have times when we're confused. We're going to mess up. We're going to stumble and fall. We're going to take wrong turnings and get lost in the woods. But this is the great adventure. This is the beautiful struggle."
(I am not going to discuss sacraments or the Catholic church in general. I don't think that is an appropriate discussion for a young Christian struggling to be Christ-like. There are bigger things. Getting caught up in controversial theological debates reminds me of Titus 3:9-"Avoid foolish controversies." There is a time and place but not now.)
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