It takes only will, to start believing at least with the mind. One may arguments against faith, but the will to believe belongs only to the persona. He can believe, or not, is his decision. And since anyone can decide it, anyone can be included in the perimeter of parishioners: Catholics are open to new members. Actually the quest of the apostles was to announce good news. If you like good news, you can be a candidate.
It doesn’t mean that anything we believe will become true. Also believing with the mind, and with all the heart is different. One may say with words “I believe”, and deep in the heart he doesn’t.
This is the starting point, the first step, a decision of a free will. Mary, and even Abraham out stand because of this first step that brought the Lamb to all humanity, starting from faith. I will underline: knowledge is not necessary, nor abilities, nor money, or strength. We don’t need to be smart, nor to have studies.
This humble start, triggers a series of new happy decisions. Good luck! 🤞
I have practiced both Catholicism, and Buddhism. I had also gone through other systems like Taoism, Yoga, Reiki and more. But at the end I preferred Catholicism. This is my opinion in this important topic:
Catholicism is a faith, which began in Jesus, who said I am the Truth. Buddhism, on the other hand, is an interesting philosophy, an intelligent system with outstanding thinking. In fact, explanations and narratives can be more stimulating in Buddhism than in Catholicism. But the Buddha is not the Lord. As you can see, this is a different conception, a different view which cannot be compared.
If we focus only on the material world without God’s acting; or to say it differently, if we think only in matter and its consequences, as buddhism claims, we end up with a temporarily world that will pass away, with no meaning and no higher purpose. Life on the contrary, our world is full of purpose, God is in everything, in every movement. Life is vast and rich, with grace all around. There is grace in the sun and in the air. God is in the creatures and also in humans. There is an immense complexity in all the ecosystems, in living entities, even in observable landscapes. Intelligent order like this doesn’t happen alone out of nothing. There has to be a Creator, there is one.
And most important is to test it for yourself. If you are from a different tradition (as the buddhist I was before) , I encourage you to test Catholicism. See what happens with the sacraments. No one can tell you that this is good or bad; look for yourself. You can always come back if it doesn’t convince you. Or it could occur what happened to me, when I went to Medjugorge within a group: I liked it, I preferred it, and I converted. Try it for a month, I think it is worth a lifetime! 😀
The New York Times Reader’s Center is looking for inspiring people who prove it’s never too late to switch gears, change lifestyles and pursue dreams. They want to hear from people of all ages who are living according to their own timeline — in regards to career, education, athletic pursuits, family, friendships or another calling: People who learned to drive after the age of 40, found love after age 75 or finished a marathon at age 99.
Art is a good field to switch gears into, it doesn’t require the physical optimum, only time and wishes. Regular life is that busy, being a relief at certain age to move into another field, a more relaxing and creative one. It is never to late to use experience or knowledge; to face different issues; or to learn different skills. If there is free time and patience, he or she could become a good artist. For example I made this painting in acrylic, using a 47 X 31.5in canvas:
Original painting in canvas
Leaving alone the easel along with my initial inspiration, I then switched to my licensing knowledge: and holding the legal right of this artwork, transformed it into a product. So a painting originally in canvas, became a design ready in the computer, available to be replicated in products. As you saw in the canvas above, its theme was a sun with cactuses, which then were manufactured in this apron:
You can see that the main theme corresponds to the figures in the canvas. There is the same sun and cactuses. This new way of making products its called POD (Print On Demand), meaning that there is no inventory. Whenever someone orders, the apron is cut and printed at that moment with the digital image, and sent to the buyer who already payed online. Products are good quality, totally new, without handling deterioration, nor transfer damages. It is a different business with thousand of artists around the globe making very interesting products…
Being satisfied with the final outcome, why not use my other paintings to make more aprons. As an artist, I paint every day and have many finished canvases in my studio. We photographed each one, caring about lighting and reflections, digitalized them, and made aprons, of varied sizes:
Aprons, clocks, cell cases, masks, mugs, and many products can be manufactured this way. Redbubble, the australian company, helps designers to promote their work. However one may not be interested in making business after all. OKay forget the money for a second, and focus on what we were talking about: changing gears.
I have switched gears in religion too, shifting again, my purpose of living. It is not the same to go to mass as a weekly routine, than to be an individualistic new-age practitioner (and I passed through both of them in this order). As an inherited catholic, I did duties because I had to: I used to forgive incidents but only with my voice, not in the heart.
I saw advantages in dropping church while I was a Buddhist and later switched to a Taoist; however I never founded satisfaction in these doctrines. I felt no peace and was running all the time, from one goal to the other. Of course, physical surgeries made me reflect on my acting, and a trip I took to Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to Israel. I definitely turned back to The religion of love, to the same Jesus I knew as child, with a deeper understanding and embracing the faith. I have been in peace since then, and never regret of returning. I wish you good luck in switching Years, hahaha I mean GEARS…. Thanks for reading, I see you later 🖐🏻
The New York Times Reader’s Center is looking for inspiring people who prove it’s never too late to switch gears, change lifestyles and pursue dreams. They want to hear from people of all ages who are living according to their own timeline — in regards to career, education, athletic pursuits, family, friendships or another calling: People who learned to drive after the age of 40, found love after age 75 or finished a marathon at age 99.
Most artists are used to this idea of switching gears. We do it in each artwork. For me it happens when painting and also when writing. I have switched gears in religion too, shifting my whole panorama. It is not the same to be an inherited catholic, a new-age practitioner, or a returned catholic (I passed through them in this order). As an inherited catholic, I did duties because I had to. I saw advantages in dropping it, but I never satisfied myself in new age’s doctrines. I felt no peace and was running all the time, from one place to the other. Of course, physical surgeries made me reflect on my acting, and a trip I took to Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to Israel. I finally turned to a religion of love, the Catholicism I knew already, with a deeper understanding and embracing the faith. I wish you the same in your Trip, different for each person, in which religion and beliefs are upmost important.
The difficulty is to predict the results of each genetical modification. Many years have to pass to be able to measure their consequences. Developing tests take time, depending on the kind of food. And of course, there have to be enough monetary outcome since the required investment is much.
Once grown, what if the GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) behave different than expected? 💡 This is similar as the creation: God made us and gave us freedom. We can take our own choices, whether good or bad, only God can tell. What if we make mistakes, maybe unfixable mistakes??? What if, being confused, we take decisions that later wish to change? Because of God’s love, he sent us his Son, actually Himself in Trinity’s Second Person. He is the one able to fix unrepairable mistakes. There is no impossible for Him, even when it seems the contrary, so keep the faith. I can talk and talk about this and my experiences in hospitals and surgeries, but let us return to GMOs.
There is an opposition, which is completely natural, to this movement. Also it is natural to have fears, because they prevent us from dangers. An intricate knot will result if we keep hiding and hiding fears under the armor, pretending they are not there, with the temporal benefit of not seeing them for a while.
There should be a level of maturity when dealing with this issue and its consequences. Each alteration being done should have a multilateral reason. For instance someone could produce an overwhelming colored fruit, one that sells better. But what if now requires a different weather, or if it is devoured by insects attracted to the new look. As I said above, consequences can be unpredictable. Like when they forced salt to be perfectly white, which seemed pure at that time; and now salt is listed under the 7 white food demons. White is an utopic color, did you know it is the mandatory color to play tennis at Wimbledon?
JAM Paintings 