Catholic Renewal Brings People Closer To Faith

By Claudette Lambert


Many people question the purpose behind the movement that took place in the Roman Catholic Church which is called the catholic renewal. Before one can understand why such a thing was deemed necessary by the religious men, it needs to be seen what kind of practice was being followed by people at that time.

One of the changes that were brought about by these reforms was the translation of the Bible and some texts. Since the initial days, the Bible has been written in Latin language and it was in this language that the followers had to read it. But even with sermons and explanations by ministers during Mass, it becomes difficult for people to understand the real meaning, if Latin is not their native language.

To make sure that all followers understand the Holy Book, it was agreed that the texts and certain portions be translated to the mother tongue of the followers. This was welcomed by the people because this meant that they would be able to read it themselves, without having to rely on anyone else.

Study also helps in staying connected to our faith. As long faithful keep reading and studying the teachings, and listening to what the seniors preach, the process of deepening of faith continues. This is the actual purpose of having so many translations of the Holy Book.

The other reform was suggested in the liturgy or what is more widely referred to as service. These services are ceremonies and rituals that are performed by the church and in which people are asked to participate. But it was pointed out at that time, that mostly people participate because they are asked to, and half the time they are not even sure of what they are doing.

Mostly, people do not understand the significance of things. They do things blindly and do them out of fear of reprimand, or believing that it would anger the Gods. The motive behind this reform was to enable people to improve and change this habit and to participate in services of the Church only when they are fully conscious of what they are doing.

It is not only in Christianity that one sees such practices. This is common with all religions. It is said that today, mankind is a bunch of God fearing people, and not God loving people. And that is why one does everything that is asked of them by religious men, hoping to please God and not anger Him. But instead, one must try to understand philosophies.

Services should also be performed only when they are consciously aware of what and why they are doing something, and not because someone has asked them to do something. One should be curious about faith and not afraid of it. They must have the inclination to learn and not just the feeling that a higher power needs to be pleased.

Faith is based on two basic things, practice and study. Both are equally important and the absence of any one would mean that one is lacking somewhere. And this was the reason why catholic renewal also happened. It was a means to bring people closer to their religion and to their faith.




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