I guess there's no where to start other than the present, right?

George and I had this amazing conversation yesterday (well, about three different amazing conversations threaded together, really), and part of it was this:

I have been reading The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic by Matthew Kelly and I got to wondering if a person who isn't a "dynamic Catholic" is really even Catholic.  I mean, doesn't Catholic mean whole? Universal?  Well, if you aren't living it (or trying your level-best), are you really Catholic?  (Can any of us say we are really Catholic?  Really whole?  Or is the best we can do is to say that we are working at being Catholic?)

But that got me to thinking about a big dividing point between Catholics and Evangelicals.  We seem to have this big thorn between us that always gets thrown around about faith vs. works. "They" (the Evangelicals, and yes, I'm generalizing for the sake of this conversation, but I spent 20 years in evangelical/protestant churches, so I have lived both sides of this thorn) say we expect to be saved by works.  They expect to be saved by faith and the works are an outpouring of love in response to Jesus' gift.  We Catholics say we have both and believe in both to save and sanctify us.  (Let me take a big aside here to explain that saved and sanctified are two very different things and that I (and the Catholic Church) believe we need to be both saved and sanctified to reach Heaven... actually this is a great subject for another post, so I'll save it.  Be on the lookout!)   Anyhow, we say we rely equally on faith and works (because "faith without works is dead", right St. James?).  But do we really?  How many of us Catholics are "dynamic" -- living our faith through prayer, study, generosity, and evangelization?  As much as (in general) Evangelicals rely on faith alone, we Catholics rely on works alone.  "Well, I'm a good Catholic, I go to Mass every Sunday.  I have my whole life."   Well, is that really the totality of the work God wants you to do?  Mass is wonderful and you should go, but you should participate in it, not just observe it.  Let Jesus' body and blood transform you so you can transform the world.

As my dear husband said, this isn't an "either/or" endeavor. It isn't faith or works that save and sanctify us, it's faith and works that make us whole and holy. It is this holistic living out of our faith that will prepare us to meet God in Heaven. It is this kind of faith that will make us fully the person He desires us (and designed us) to be.