In his book Render Unto Caesar, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver wrote;
We can choose to treat our faith as a collection of comforting pieties. We can choose to file Jesus away as a good teacher with some great, if unrealistic, ideas. Or we can choose to be real disciples, despite all our sins and admitting all our sins. In other words, we can accept Jesus for who he says he is: our redeemer, the Messiah of Israel, and the only Son of God. This is what the Church has always believed. What we can't honestly choose is continuing to select our faith from a cafeteria menu while failing at the task Christ himself gave us: a root-level transformation of ourselves and the world around us. The time for easy Christianity is over. In fact, it never existed. We're blessed to be rid of the illusion. We need to be more zealous in our faith, not more discreet; clearer in our convictions, not muddier; and more Catholic, not less. (Doubleday, 2008. p. 53)
In light of the fact that the Church is attacked by so many different ways, we need to determine to know what our faith teaches. We should know what implications these teachings have for our world today. The doctrines of faith have Jesus Christ as their source. As we know correctly each teaching, we will learn to appreciate them as treasures.
We have to be careful that what we read and hear is in fact the true faith, that is, what the Church actually teaches. Since the time of the New Testament there have been and still are many divergent views on the content of our faith. We should be careful of becoming prey to false doctrine and false morality.
In addition to a good Bible, it is important to have the official Catechism of the Catholic Church on hand. Moreover, if you are connected to the internet, go to the Holy See itself at http://www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm. You certainly can also rely on Eternal Word Television Network on TV (channel 10 on Comcast cable and channel 285 on Verizon FiOS) and on line at http://www.ewtn.com/. Doing so will make us clearer in our convictions and more Catholic as Archbishop Chaput urges us to be—I might add as God wants us to be.
Fr. Stanley
