B16 - “Jesus in fact is not contented by a merely superficial or formal belonging; an initial and enthusiastic adhesion is not enough for him,”

Benedict XVI on the 'Paradox of Faith'.

“On the one hand, there are philosophies and ideologies, but also on an increasing scale, ways of thinking and acting that extol the freedom of man as the only principle, as an alternative to God, and thus transform man into a god, whose system of behavior is of an arbitrary nature,” Benedict XVI explained. “On the other hand, we note the saints, who, practicing the Gospel of love, make reason of their hope, show the true face of God who is love, and at the same time, the true face of man, created in the image and likeness of God.”

Substituting God for an ideology of 'Man can do anything', that there is no longer a need for God and man can control his own destiny, his own greatness is false.

It will only lead to his demise.

“Jesus in fact is not contented by a merely superficial or formal belonging; an initial and enthusiastic adhesion is not enough for him,” he said. “On the contrary, we must take part in ‘his thinking and his will’ throughout our entire life.”

At the same time we can't just belong to the Catholic church without living the faith. We can't just pick and choose what teachings we want to follow and ones we don't.

We need to use the lives of the saint as an example of how to live out our faith in our daily lives.

Benedict nails it again. What a teacher.

Benedict and the Paradox of Faith