"I don't need this," says your brain while reading. Oh but you clicked and wanna know what kind of "sh*t" I'm about to spew. 😂

Well I've written about being a lukewarm, hot or cold Christian so which one are you? Oh yeah, you're probably none of the above huh. Meaning I can call you cold or lukewarm or tell me otherwise.

Maybe you're just bored to death about religion and living. Either that or angry at everything all the time. Rawr. (🙋 Hello old me. 😂) Whatever the case, it's 2024 and humanity still does the same old shizz.

Whether we're lukewarm or cold in the faith, neither would help make life on Earth spectacular. The pandemic either made life even worse or better depending on how you turned out.

Despite all the technological advancements, many people:

• Doesn't want to follow God's commandments. Insists on doing what God said we shouldn't do.
• Keep sinning because it "feels soooo gooood" thus won't even care whatever effect it has on self & other people. Living with the 7 deadly sins is the norm.
• Thinks Christians are fanatics or crazy for believing in "some invisible thing" which "doesn't exist". Or people keep bashing/blaspheming the mother of Jesus Christ despite worshipping and adoring Him.
• Are despairing about the negativity in the world, lazy to work and angry at self and everyone, crying out about mental health issues, social injustices, unfairness and inequality, poverty, body issues, wars, climate crisis, etc.

And then people wonder why our lives are sh*t and the world has gone to the dogs? 😂 We keep asking why God allows bad things to happen when out of our free will: suffering is caused by you and me! So why don't we start being a better person for a change?

_source

_{Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Catholicism but I was born, raised and live as a Catholic. Also, I went to a Catholic school for 4 yrs. This post is based on a combination of my opinion, what I've been taught, learned online/offline and/or experienced.}

1. First things first, ask for help or the presence of God, Jesus or Mama Mary in your life.

God moves in mysterious ways. He knows how to mold us towards sanctification. As long as we call out to Him and also accept Jesus in our lives, He will quickly come to our aid.

Remember, being lazy in our Christian duties is not a good thing in the eyes of the Lord. If we keep focusing on garbage in our minds everyday then what should we expect in life? At least do something, anything, not just the bare minimum of Christian activities! Ask for God's help, strive for sainthood, be more charitable to others or just change your immoral ways! Don't wait for God's chastisement because it is usually hard to deal with and painful!

Worst case scenario, if you don't remove the stumbling blocks and keep rejecting Him then that's choosing hell. 😂 But out of love and mercy for humanity, He will not let anyone be damned until our dying breath. Even Mama Mary can lead everyone towards union with His beloved Son! However if He has nothing to hold on to you then don't wonder where you'll end up.

_{Church window art showing Jesus crowning his mother Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth | Photo source}

When you call and accept God in your life, He will lovingly "embrace you with open arms". You'll also do whatever it takes to please Him. You will just find yourself doing things and be surprised with everything you learn about Catholicism. Otherwise, as long as you make an effort to change your ways for sure something will happen.

2. Expand your knowledge of God.

How can you be something you do not know? The goal of Christians is a sanctified life (or to go to heaven). If we don't know how to be pleasing to God then we will be frowned upon and spit out by Jesus. We won't receive the most out of His many graces if we don't ask for it nor do anything to grow our faith.

To learn more is to:

1. Read the Bible and other Catholic books (e.g. 1. Exorcist, 2. Dear Pope Francis, 3. Bible Heroes, etc.)
2. Discover the writings of the church fathers, study the lives of the apostles and saints (e.g. Diary of St. Faustina, The Little Way of St. Therese, etc.) and contemplate how to be like them.
3. Study world history and religion! There are so many events that happened all over the world (e.g. 1. Cristero war, 2. failed Dutch conquest of the Philippines, 3. How Mexican indigenous tribes were converted by Our Lady of Guadalupe, 4. European wars, etc.). This is how many scholars, researchers and history buffs convert to Catholicism after they discover God in all His glory. (The proof of spiritual warfare is in our history, I'll write more on this soon.)

_{The complete set of Exorcist books by Fr. Jocis Syquia.}

3. Grow in Love by God's Grace and Your Actions

For some people, this isn't an easy concept to grasp. There are people who refused love while growing up or were never loved at all thus end up spreading hate and hurt. Otherwise, when we are too used to using our minds, our hearts can be hardened by our painful experiences. If this is the case, again ask God, Jesus and Mama Mary or even the angels and saints to help you.

If we don't have much love in our hearts, we can overcome this by taking action! After whatever we've learned it's time to apply it! Let's do everything we can to cleanse our soul. Change can happen slowly but surely.

• Start with accepting and forgiving yourself and then the first "enemy" you can think of.
• Next would be to start caring for other people. A simple but sincere prayer for your family members or friends is enough as a start.
• Praise God as often as you can. It can start with once every 3 months maybe, one per month or even weekly.
• Be kind as often as you can. Eventually it can lead to acts of charity or works of mercy
• Examine your conscience thoroughly then use the sacrament of Confession ASAP. Confessing your sins and getting absolution is FREE and you don't even need to do it everyday! Even non-Catholic Christians do this!

In all of these, remember the sayings: "Practice makes perfect," "Try and try until you succeed," and "God loves you."

Yeah, the road to heaven is not easy but we can start with changing our cold or lukewarm Christian life into an active one. Same with success or having a slim and buff body, it takes a lot of effort but it's worth it once achieved. Who doesn't want to go to heaven, right?

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. _{(Matthew 6:19-20 NIV)}

Take action and start following God's commandments now. Do it out of fear of hell or out of love for God and humanity. Either way is a good way to start although the Lord prefers the latter. Let's keep striving towards sanctification.

The SHORTCUT 😍

In truth, not everyone needs to follow steps to break out of atheism or lukewarmness, etc. Find your own way to God. A scientist can think of Newton's law of motion or inertia as a start. Are you an artist? Try drawing or painting a guardian angel first before doing any art of Mama Mary or Jesus. If you sing well, why not learn to sing praise songs then join the local church choir?

_{The Miraculous Medal (left) and plastic Brown Scapulars (right)}

THE LAZY WAY: Wear a blessed Brown Scapular or Miraculous Medal out of the blue, even if you don't care about it. Buy any and have it blessed by a priest or just ask a devout Catholic if they have one. I can also give you a blessed plastic scapular if you're in Metro Manila. (As of Lent 2024, I still have two available so just let me know.) Once worn don't remove it even at bath time. That's it!

Many of us are already lost and confused. What the heck are we doing with our lives, going about and running towards perishable things? If you're bored/tired of living then just offer your life to God and see what happens! You've got everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Whichever choice it is, better to not delay in doing any of the above suggestions. Or if you have your own thoughts on the topic, feel free to share in the comments.

XOXO,
@artgirl

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