CANFIELD — The importance of having a Catholic identity with the three elements of beholding, believing and belonging are needed as individuals grow in Christ.

Bishop David Bonnar of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown shared the importance of those three elements as the speaker at the Oct. 3 First Friday Club of Greater Youngstown’s monthly luncheon at Avion on the Water in Canffield. Bonnar also shared reflections on the importance of Catholic identity in living the Catholic faith.

He said it is time for Catholics to intentionally and honestly reflect on their identity as disciples of Jesus Christ and faithful members of the church, which also translates into being faithful citizens.

“We need to be true to our identity, Otherwise, we risk becoming frauds and charlatans,” Bonnar said.

He said who we are and who we aspire to be can be subtly diminished and stolen by ways of the world such as secularism, relativism, individualism, narcissism and defeatism, which cut away the core of Catholic identity.

“Our identity is inextricably linked to the identity of Jesus, especially as we aspire to be missionary disciples,” Bonnar said.

He said there are three constitutive elements to Catholic identity, noting to behold is the first element that appears repeatedly in the Bible.

“The call to behold is not just an exercise for the eyes but also the heart. It means opening ourselves to God and his plan for us. To behold is to embrace his vision for us by doing all that we can to remove the scales from our eyes that blind us from seeing the truth. Jesus wants us to see with our eyes and our hearts,” Bonnar said.

He said brothers and sisters in Christ need to intentionally work at beholding one another with love and tenderness.

Bonnar said the second element to Catholic identity is belief. He said as men and women of faith, Catholics seek every day to grow in faith by believing in a pursuit to know and live the truth.

“To be Catholics in identity is not only to espouse these tenets, but also to believe in sacred scripture, the Christian tradition, and the magisterium led by the Holy Father. Our faith and what we believe is not a Burger King faith in which we ‘have it our way.’ As Catholics, we aspire to uphold all that the church teaches and believes,” Bonnar said.

Bonnar said the third element of identity is belonging to a community of faith.

“We need to be bold and strong, and we are always stronger when we are together. Our sense of beholding and believing cannot be lived out in isolation or exclusivity. We need a community to love us, feed us, comfort us and challenge us. The parish is typically the venues for this community,” he said, adding faith cannot be authentic unless it is rooted in a community.

Bonnar said sadly, in today’s world, the sense of belonging has been compromised by convenience and preference, with people worshiping God and belonging to a community that best fits their needs such as convenient Mass times, musical tastes and dynamic preachers.

“This has created more ‘roaming Catholics’ as opposed to Roman Catholics, and these roaming Catholics lack roots and bonds,” Bonnar said.

He said on Christmas Eve this year, Pope Francis will open the holy door, signaling the beginning of the jubilee year that comes every 25 years. The theme for the jubilee is “Catholics of Hope.”

“We are all brothers and sisters journeying in the footsteps of Jesus beholding, believing and belonging as we wait in joy and hope for the fullness of the kingdom,” he said.