Personal Statement of Faith
By Joseph Stephens
I believe that, in accepting and living our faith as Christians,
we need to avoid becoming distracted by anything that might keep us
away from our Lord and interfering with our understanding the reason
of His death and salvation for us. Being a vegetarian can help us
become closer to His creation, but we must not stop there. We need
to work hard and go on our knees to receive the Lord and come closer
to God.
I would like to share my story about being a Christian
vegetarian. I was strongly guided by Christian principles and faith
to help me become a vegetarian. At the same time, I was deeply
troubled because the church – “the pillar of our faith" – and the
priests were blind to cruelty of animals and deaf to the animals’
cries of pain and suffering. Church leaders happily participated in
the banquets that included the end products of cruelty and
suffering. I was deeply saddened because the church was not doing
anything. I felt alone and unsupported by either churchgoers or the
priests. Over time, I came to understand that vegetarianism should
not stand in the way of the growth of my faith and my participation
in the church community.
Here is a story I heard in retreat recently that really resonated
to me. A righteous man died and met St. Peter at the gate. St. Peter
asked the man, “Do you have enough credits to enter in through the
doors of the heaven?” The man said, “Sure.” So St. Peter asked the
man, “Okay, tell me all of them.” The man replied, “I was a good
father and a good husband.” St. Peter said, “That’s 2 points.” “I
helped the poor,” and St. Peter said, “1 point.” “I attended every
Sunday mass and led my family to the church,” and St. Peter said, “2
points.” The man continued and reached 100 points, but nowhere close
to 1000 points that he needed to enter the gates of heaven. Then the
man was exhausted and terrified that he would not make it to heaven
and he cried, “Jesus help me.” Then St. Peter said to man, "Welcome
in to Heaven. The moment you cried out to Jesus and sought Him, you
got all the points you needed.” While virtues are important, and
being vegetarian is one, we need to reach out to Jesus.
I think being vegetarian and promoting vegetarianism is very
important, but the resistance we sometimes meet should not tempt us
to leave the church. It is important that we continue to remain
active in our church communities because all Christians together
constitute the body of Christ. Paul wrote, "Now you are the body of
Christ, and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Cor 27). Before I
became a vegetarian, I was a Christian with a similar faith as other
Christians. Vegetarianism has enriched and enhanced my faith, though
for a long time I struggled with feelings of loneliness in the
church. In response to this struggle I prayed to God, increased my
visits to Church, and read the bible more. I am now in my seventh
year of vegetarian activism, encouraging my brothers and sisters in
Christ to accept a plant based life and to come closer to God and
honor God’s creations.
Have a blessed and renewed Easter and may God be with you,
Through Christ,
Joe Stephens
Your question and comments are welcome
