I was ordained a deacon more than a decade ago and served as a director of deacons for six years. Before that, I spent more than 25 years involved in volunteer and professional ministry, much of it focused on high school and college students.
My ministry has been most effective when people could see the teachings of our Catholic faith expressed through real actions and everyday examples. I’ve learned that faith becomes most persuasive when people can understand how it applies to their lives.
The Gospels show us this kind of practical Catholicism. Jesus often taught through parables, but he also spent his time among ordinary people. Through his actions, he showed God’s love, wisdom, and purpose in ways people could see and experience.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines practical as something learned through action rather than theory—something useful and capable of being put into practice.
Exercises in Practical Catholicism
- In my daily prayers, I reflect on two questions: How can I be like Jesus today? and How was I like Jesus today?
- I try to review the important moments of each day and look for the ways I recognized—or failed to recognize—Jesus in them. I also think about the times I did not act like Jesus and ask what obstacles, distractions, or habits got in the way.
- When I attend Mass or take part in other Catholic rituals and events, I reflect on what I hope to receive from them and why I am participating. I try to approach them because I want to, not simply because I feel obligated to.
These reflections have helped me make my faith more active and my Christian witness more practical.
The Letter of James reminds us:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. — James 1:22–24
