Does Catholic mean mediocre?

I found this recent article in the Catholic Herald both familiar and painful, as it speaks to a real truth we likely all witness in our Church on a regular basis:
Catholics do not always edify and evangelise non-Catholics; indeed, “We can also dis-edify, discombobulate and de-evangelise them without ever trying… simply by dint of our sheer laziness and complacency and our lack of reverence for sacred things.
This is something I often wrestle with, and, especially over the last couple of weeks when I have been enjoying watching this series with Fr Jeff Woolnough and parishioners at St Peter's Catholic Church in Eastwood:


As a young, uncatchesised Catholic Father, this is the kind of evangelisation that brought me ardently back to my Catholic faith. Erudite, intelligent and rooted in Scripture.

One of the insights gained while attending these sessions with Fr Jeff is that the parishioners enjoying this series are amazed by the depth of sacred Scripture and the truths that are unpacked there. They have no knowledge of it.

We hear the word of God at Mass on Sundays, but do we recognise it for what it is? The depth of its meaning? Consider that many ardent Christians survive on nothing more than the spiritual food of the Bible, yet we Catholics have so much more: the Sacraments, the devotions, the prayers of the saints, the Magisterium. How many of us know these great gifts or take advantage of the gift they are to us?

I don't know why we are where we are, but I do think we have been given so much, if only we would open our hearts to Christ.


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