Pope Francis denounced
consumerism as a poison that threatens true happiness, which comes from
membership in the church. The pope made his remarks before
praying the Angelus with a noontime crowd in St. Peter's Square. "The
encounter with the living Jesus, in the great family that is the church,
fills the heart with joy, because it fills it with true life, a
profound goodness that does not pass away or decay," he said. "But this
experience must face the daily vanity, the poison of emptiness that
insinuates itself into our society based on profit and having (things),
that deludes young people with consumerism," he said. "Young people are
particularly sensitive to the emptiness of meaning and values that
surrounds them," he said. "And they, unfortunately, pay the
consequences."
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...