Does being a Catholic make sense? Does being Catholic contribute life to your life? How would you "sell it" to someone who does not know the God-giving experience of being a disciple of Christ in the Catholic Church? Can you explain your own experience of God — i.e., life, worth, power and healing — without arguing religion? It's all got to make sense and contribute to worth, solace, comfort, motivation in your life — or why would one "be Catholic"? To put it out there:—So many of us good and practicing Catholics don't know how, or feel competent enough, to apply our faith to our daily lives as nourished by Catholicism.—So many good and non-practicing Catholics have either left the Catholic community due to our sin, our inadequacies and/or our inability to witness its relevance in our daily lives.—Sadly, many of these as well as many non-Catholics do not see the need for what they perceive as God. Turned off (to varying degrees) by a bombardment of information on scandals within the governance of the institution/clergy, they would rather focus on and accept the ways of a secular world to the exclusion of the common good. As new world missionaries, we Catholics must consciously seek to mature/grow in Christ and, thus, be able to explain the deep value, the power of this in our experience, and the Hope of hopes that come with what we call living the Christian Faith within the Catholic experience, which is so much more than we could ever imagine. With this "Year of Faith: the New Evangelization," we are invited to revisit the treasure of the past but, also, the treasure of how that treasure affirms that the Lord is with us; from what was God to what is of God! As members of The Tidings’ Editorial Council, we plan to submit a regular series of perspectives on matters of faith and how to simply add our own two cents in response to common questions/inquiries that we encounter as fellow Catholics. Since we are all looking down, so to speak, at the same valley from different viewpoints of its surrounding terrain, all of us can offer different views.My perspective? I am a Baby Boomer Catholic born in 1954, and a Catholic priest ordained in 1987. Like many, I'm a Catholic who has experienced the most magnificent soulful connections to the Holy Spirit, deliberately pushing ahead to seeking what is fully alive, discovering the "real" wealth of Catholic revelations that have blossomed in access, charity to the world and vision since the taste of the "magic of it all" in second grade, once someone else pointed them out to me. Wow!The Catholic experience has been the most challenging when tempted by other socially acceptable but demeaning roads — or, most sadly, when the faith is presented as preoccupied with hierarchy, church governance and "bringing back the good ol' days.” All are distractions from the Holy Spirit within and the common good among. Being a Catholic has also been the most frustrating when I invite Catholics, who want to believe in the "real" wealth of Catholic revelations, to take that step, that risk, toward being “fully alive” — but they are unable, unwilling or just can't believe in their own "being inspired" by the Holy Spirit.In all of this, I grow with more wonder and more questions. A good thing! I have only two cents of experience to offer, compared to so many others whose faith in Christ has grown through their experience within their family, their parish, the sacraments, personal spirituality, personal callings and life experiences. These fine Catholics, like fine bottles of wine, need to be permitted and enabled to be uncorked and have the joys of their own faith experience within the Catholic experience — their own experiences of God's love, Christ and the Holy Spirit, their healings, revelations, new roads — not only flow, but be validated, affirmed and shared. So, Readers, we invite you to respond to this perspective, and those to come, in order for others to resonate and grow in awareness of the Love of God around them. In 150 words or less, submit your perspective on this topic and email/mail it to: [email protected] or The Tidings (attn.: Perspectives), 3424 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010. Please include your full name, address, email and telephone number. We will include as many responses as possible in our print and online editions.Father Ken Deasy served as pastor of St. Agatha Church, Los Angeles, for 11 years, and now ministers within the Missionary Childhood Association in the archdiocesan Mission Office.