What can a Catholic do?

Many Catholics wish to do more for the Church, for our communities, either on a local or national level, and for our Faith in general. But how does one person make a difference in the church and in the world we live in. Some people are destined to do great things, others are simply naturally talented and it is easy to see who they are. Others are born into wealth or well-connected families or even communities that make the task of contributing easier or at least seem to be easier.

So what does the “normal” person do to help?

Initially they should try to learn about the faith, not just the practical ways of it, but the history and theology behind it. Grow your own virtues and learn to combat your sins.

They should explore and meet the community locally, national and international and learn from them. Learn from the priests, nuns and other members of the Faith itself. Try to build a foundation of support and guidance.

Then support the members of the faith that you feel support the faith itself. Financial support is very important, also try to spread your money around, if one individual or group are already well backed try funding someone that is not. Money is a very important tool in this world and supporting the Faith in such an aggressive environment can be costly. However supporting in other ways is also very important, volunteering is critically important, sharing your skills or just time for free is an amazing contribution. But start small and do not over commit, offering a bit of help then delivering more, is a positive. Also leaving positive comments, visiting or checking in often and sharing content is also very helpful, for example, a gentle suggestion, to an angry commenter that does not like Catholics or something we believe in and pointing them to another resource to help them understand is a helpful act for all involved. Sharing content of any kind is so incredibly important, it will help grow it and help spread the Faith.

Leading by example, though this is not easy, it does ‘fly the flag’, saying grace publicly and stating that you are a Catholic and standing up for your faith is important. This does not mean public self-flagellation and shouting out the stances of the church (online or in real life), which in many countries will get you fired and or even arrested. Even though everything we believe in supports and spreads tolerance, charity and love, the modern world can be a strange and dark place. What I mean is, state your point, logically, calmly and lovingly, do not deny Christ or his church, simply know your audience. Is starting an argument with someone worth it, even if that is not your intention. Will it push people towards the faith or help them understand it better or will they just ignore you and ruin your life and push maybe yourself or others away from it. Having knowledge, experience, education, guidance, confidence will help in these matters.

All these things that I have mentioned are not easy to do, they take time, even just learning or remembering to pray daily, read a few pages a day and say grace before meals can sometimes seem hard. We all forget, and we all can get distracted, either by the important things in life or the more mundane things, what matters is that you try, try to do better than yesterday.

Being helpful or doing good is not always glamorous, nor does it always get appreciated, but it is right and just. It can make you into a more virtuous person and it will make the world a little better.