We are expected as Baptized Catholics to serve, no, expected is not the word, it is our responsibility and our obligation to serve. What is it to serve? It is far more than just going to church on Sunday and going to confession once a year. In our Baptism we are charged to LIVE our CATHOLIC FAITH! We are commissioned at Baptism to show others by our actions that we are members of the family of God. By living our Baptism we can start in our own homes. Walk around your house, does your house reflect your relationship with God? Look at the most prized possessions in your house. Is it Furniture or the Big Screen TV? Is it the animals or fish hanging on the walls that you so proudly hunted or caught?
Is it a beautiful porcelain collection or the paintings that so well exhibit your artistic talents? Or is it the Family pictures that adorn the table tops and the walls? We are collectors and we are proud of our collections that why we display them in prominent places in our homes. In the Family pictures do we have a few pictures of Jesus, any of Our Blessed Mother Mary?

Is there even one Crucifix in your house? If there is, is it in a prominent location so that when friends and family come in and out they can plainly see it.
What is important in your home?

Living your Baptism means being a witness to God, sharing Gods love with your spouse, children, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends.
Look at it this way, lets say you attended to a major College and studied for twelve years to become a Brain Surgeon. You spent more than a hundred thousand dollars to gain that education and that vocation in life. When you received your diploma you then went into the world and started looking for employment. Would you answer an ad to be a cab driver or a common laborer? I don't think so! Your very first vocation in life, your Baptism didn't cost you a dime, however it did cost the giver, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ everything. Jesus paid for the most important treasurer we have in life, and that is, Life itself! Eternal Life.

Why are you still going to church?
Why do you continue to Baptize your children?

These are two very valid and important questions that you MUST consider. If you were a master musician and were in the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra you could only be a member as long as you continued to practice on a very regular basis. In working hard and practicing you would reap the awards of Preforming and receiving applause and great reviews.

As a Baptized Catholic, our Baptism really means nothing to us or our families, if we don't practice it! We will never reap the rewards like the musician that practices very hard or the Brain-Surgeon who has worked so many years and spent so much money to attain his goal.

Have you ever heard the expression "Once saved, always saved?" Well, God is here to tell you, that is a lie! How does God tell us that? He tells us that when we look at heaven when there was no HELL. Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub and their legions of good Angels were not only saved, they were already sharing in the fruits of Heaven with God our Father. At one point these good angels decided that they were better and more powerful than God. They challenged God, in effect they staged a mutiny against God. What happened? God created Hell and he cast down these once already saved in Heaven Angels to Hell. They are now kings in there own kingdoms, the lake of fire, Hades. They are kings over the lowest of the lows. Who are the lowest of the lows? They are the poor souls that will never have salvation. They are the poor souls that rejected God. Can you see that God gives us all a free will? God gives us an instruction book on how to live life, that instruction book is the Bible. Once we are baptized and saved by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior we are well on our way to Heaven. However, there is one catch! We must attempt to live our lives in following the teachings of the instruction Book "the Bible." We were born sinners through original sin and we will because of our humanness die sinners. Daily we must strive to live the Love and Kindness that Jesus Christ showed us through his own example in the way he lived. I have a favorite saying when I think about this way of life. I 'm sure someone famous said it and I am not sure who to give the credit to. I expect I should give the credit to Holy Spirit. He is the source of all wisdom. I acknowledge that He is the source of my writings, I do not have the intelligence or ability to write as He does. The saying is,

NEXT:
Be a witness to your Spouse, your children, relatives and friends.
How can you be a witness?
Share Gods Love, reach out and feed the hungry, clothe those who have no clothes, talk with and comfort the afflicted. Pray with your friends and family on a regular basis, not just on. Sundays.

As Baptized Catholics we are commissioned by God to spread the good news. That doesn't mean that you have to dig out a soap box and put it on a corner and preach in a very loud voice. It simply means live your faith. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The greatest commandment that was given to us was not in the Ten Commandments, no it was delivered by Gods only Son, Jesus Christ when he said, "Love one another as I have Loved you."
Go out and Love, go out and live your Baptism and as God has promised you will have ETERNAL LIFE!