Religion

What is religion? How does religion relate to our faith? How does religion relate to our relationship with God? Religion, from the world view, has become a catch-all word, a nasty word, for a system of believing or rather a system of doing without necessarily having the believing. One rather has to look from the inside out, starting with one’s relationship with God. Our relationship with God ought to be one on one. We can do this because Jesus became a man. Our being, our soul connecting with God, with His Love, His Word, His Life, our individual connection with God has to be the starting point, the center. From there as we are being filled with God, His Love, His Word, His Spirit, we must then connect with others. God made us social beings; and in the most important part of us, our relationship with God, we must also connect with others. We cannot maintain a growing relationship with God without also being part of a greater community. This community is called the Church - Jesus created it - He is the Head - the members are the Body. From our need to grow in our relationship with God comes all the things that the outside world labels ‘religion.’ Those things all serve a greater purpose to nourish us, to give us knowledge of God, to help us in our struggles against the world’s temptations which work to separate us from God. The Mass, the Bible, the Sacraments are needed by all. Other types of disciplines, practices, devotions are good for some but not as helpful for others. To see this, look at a practice from the inside, as how it would help our relationship with God. The Church, in its God-directed wisdom has deemed some to be necessary for all - such as Holy Days or Lenten practices. Everything, though, is derived from and helpful to growth in our personal relationship with God. That is religion.