What Being Catholic Means To Me.

How nice to find this forum.
Since I became catholic my life has forever changed for the better. I have learned the true meaning of being humane and the true meaning of compassion.
A couple of really important things I picked up from my catechism classes offered by one of my favorite priests was;
~ Fortitude. I use to be suicidal. Lots of bad stuff has happened in my life and I have always felt inferior. Just not good enough for this world. But after learning about fortitude, that making a conscious choice not to give up in bad times, is actually choosing good over evil, I have not considered suicide since. I have been consciously working on my fortitude. I make a real effort to focus on the good, to choose good, no matter what other people do.

~ Respect other people whomever they are or whatever choices they make. This is also one I am trying to keep in mind on a continual basis. It has been a good lesson for me. I use to feel that I should try and fix other people. But I learned that we have to respect other people's free will and not try to manipulate them. We can share our own knowledge and experience, but we ultimately have to respect their free will. This has actually brought me a great deal of peace because with it, I also realize that other people's actions are not my responsibility. I am responsible for my own actions and that's it.
I previously didn't know anything about the catholic faith so I was curious when I first met some nuns. I asked them some questions and was delighted when they told me their job was to bring hope to others.
That's what I want to do. Bring hope to others. And I have learned that even small gestures do make a diffence. A smile can be contagious. An act of kindness can lead to other acts of kindness.
That's why I love my catholic faith. It's the oldest church, linked back to Jesus. And all the teachings come from love and goodness.
This world is fighting an epidemic of anger, irritibility and I dare say - even selfishness.
Happiness is not "all about me", because being all alone can be a very depressing thing. True happiness is in fact, just the opposite, giving up yourself and your talents for others. To help each other out.
I just thought I would share what being catholic means to me.