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by John Paul Thomas (Author)
You are called to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind (see Matthew 22:37). This is not an option if we want to be a Christian It's a command of love from God and is an invitation to share in His divine life. We should hear those words and soak them up desiring to fulfill them in our daily life.
How do we do this? How do we love God with everything we are? To say with all your "heart, mind and soul" means everything It means all that we are. Our whole being. So loving God in the way we are called to requires a very radical commitment on our part. It requires that we are "all in" so to speak. So, again, how do we do this? The key is worship To worship God is to love God in the way we are called to love. To worship God means that He is indeed the God of our life and nothing else gets in the way. It means we allow our heart, soul and mind to become immersed in God and filled with His presence. This is worship. And it's our calling in life. Worship is prayer. It's true prayer. But it's not only a prayer we offer at church or at a specific prayer time. Rather, we are called to worship God 24/7 in all that we do and all that we are. We cannot set specific times of worship and times when we do not worship. It's a calling to constantly be in God's presence surrendering all to Him. This book is about Worship of the Triune God There is nothing more important in life than what is presented here in these pages. Not because of this book itself, but because of the truths this book shares. There are two main sections of this book. The first section is about prayer as it is lived in the Sacraments of our Church. The Sacraments can seem, at times, to be dry, dull and repetitive. They can, at times, feel like empty rituals that we are "obliged" to do out of obedience. But when understood and entered into correctly, the Sacraments become the greatest source of our intimacy with our God. They become personal. They become My Catholic Worship The second section of this book deals with all other forms of prayer. It highlights various methods as well as the meaning of prayer. So jump into this book with an open heart and know that God wants to draw you more closely to Himself in all forms of worship. He wants you to know and love Him with your whole heart, soul and strength. And the way to do just that is prayer Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur About this Series:The My Catholic Life series is a three volume series written as a complete summary of our glorious Catholic faith The goal of these books is to answer the difficult and deep questions of life in a clear and understandable way. We need to know who we are and what life is all about. And we need to know who God is and what He has spoke to us through the ages. Volume One, My Catholic Faith is a summary of the Apostles and Nicene Creed. This volume looks at everything from the creation of the world to God's eternal plan of salvation. Other topics include: Afterlife, saints, God, faith, and the Church. It is a summary of the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1-1065. Volume Two, My Catholic Worship is a summary of the life of grace found in prayer and the Sacraments. So often the Sacraments can be seen as dry and empty rituals. But they are, in reality, the greatest treasures we have They are God's true presence among us It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1066-1684 and #2558-2865. Volume Three, My Catholic Morals is a summary of the morality itself, knowing how we choose right from wrong, as well as a summary of all the moral teachings of our faith. It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1691 Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur
Author Biography
By John Paul Thomas "John Paul Thomas" is the pen name of a diocesan priest who picked this name in honor of the apostles Saints John and Thomas and the great evangelist Saint Paul. This name also evokes the memory of the great Pope Saint John Paul II. John is the beloved apostle who sought out a deeply personal and intimate relationship with his Savior. Hopefully the writings in this book point us all to a deeply personal and intimate relationship with our God. May John be a model of this intimacy and love. Thomas is also a beloved apostle and close friend of Jesus but is well known for his lack of faith in Jesus' resurrection. Though he ultimately entered into a profound faith crying out, "my Lord and my God," he is given to us as a model of our own weakness of faith. Thomas should inspire us to always return to faith when we realize we have doubted. As a Pharisee, Paul severely persecuted the early Christian Church. However, after going through a powerful conversion, he went on to become the great evangelist to the gentiles, founding many new communities of believers and writing many letters contained in Sacred Scripture. His letters are deeply personal and reveal a shepherd's heart. He is a model for all as we seek to embrace our calling to spread the Gospel.
