a great storehouse

St Irenaeus of Lyons talks to us today about avoiding heresy in A Year with the Church Fathers. He tells us that it's important to learn what the church teaches so that we don't fall into error like Adam and Eve did.

Now, many of you reading this aren't Catholic, so I don't intend to tell you that you must learn what the church teaches and obey it. But when I'm making an important decision in my life, I like to make the best choice I can. I will listen to the advice and opinions of all of the wisest people I can find. And once I've heard their views, then I make my decision.

When I was thinking about becoming Catholic, I started learning all of the things the Catholic church taught. I took the classes that you take to become Catholic (called RCIA) three times in three different cities. I prayed about it. And the more I learned, and the more I prayed, the more I realized that on every issue, what the church taught either agreed with what I'd come to believe in my faith journey, or it was BETTER than what I had come to believe on my own. So that's why I became Catholic.

Some of you are not interested in becoming Catholic, and my intent in my blogs is not to convince anyone to change what church they go to. But I do encourage everyone to learn what the church teaches on issues. Alot of very wise and holy people spent their lives thinking and praying about these issues. So I think it is wise, even if you don't agree with them, to hear what they have to say so you can make the best choice you can in what you believe.

God, thanks for giving us such a great storehouse of faith from which we can learn. Give us wisdom in knowing what to do with that storehouse.