Religious and Spiritual beliefs

When it comes to people’s religion and beliefs, the subject can get sticky so I am going to try and be as UNsarcastic and glib as I possibly can in this entry. Under no circumstances do I wish to mock or make anyone think I do not have my faith. But first let me share two definitions I found on Wikipedia:

The word faith has various uses; its central meaning is similar to "belief", "trust" or "confidence", but unlike these terms, "faith" tends to imply a transpersonal rather than interpersonal relationship – with God or a higher power. The object of faith can be a person (or even an inanimate object or state of affairs) or a proposition (or body of propositions, such as a religious credo). In each case, however, faith is in an aspect of the object and cannot be logically proven or objectively known. Faith can mean believing unconditionally. It can also be defined as accepting as true something that one has been told by someone who is believed to be trustworthy.
Religion is a human phenomenon that defies easy definition. It is commonly understood as a group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object (real or imagined), person (real or imagined), or system of thought considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or highest truth, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, and rituals associated with such belief or system of thought. It is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system"[1] In the course of the development of religion, it has taken many forms in various cultures and individuals. Occasionally, the word "religion" is used in the more restrictive sense of "organized religion" — that is, an organization of people supporting the exercise of some religion, often taking the form of a legal entity (see religion-supporting organization). The fact that there are so many different religions, most of them with groups of followers that have a very rigid and shallow interpretation of their respective holy texts, such as the bible, the torah and the kuran, has lead and will lead to most wars
My family is Catholic…and when my mother was a child and young woman, she was not only very active with our church, but would spend many of her hours assisting the nuns that had a convent on our street in Brooklyn. To this day, my mother attends mass every Sunday, and when possible she will go in the morning before work. Mom devotes much of her time to special ministries in our church, and is a lecture and a Eucharistic Minister as well. Granted there have been times in her life (I am sure) where her faith was shaken but she knows God will provide for her.
I on the other hand, am what people call a CAPE Catholic. I attend Mass at the ‘important’ (Catholic) religious times; Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter. Does that make me a bad Catholic? And should I feel guilty for not attending Mass as often as my mother and her friends? I tend to think not. Because I know that God (or whatever you wish to call Him) exists and looks out for me. I pray every night before I go to sleep, and I try to live my life how I think ‘The Big Guy above’ would like people to live. I believe in reincarnation, and in karma. Basically not intentionally harming our fellow man, or committing any of the major ‘no-no’s. With the Catholic religion, suicide is a sin, and you are not welcomed to rest with God because you took the life of one of His children. But I do not believe that. I believe He knows if someone resorts to ending their life, which they must be in such pain that they truly need Him, so he would welcome them. There are other issues I do not totally agree upon with the Catholic religion, but like I stated earlier I rather not make this uncomfortable for anyone.And the reason why I bring this up today is because Religion is always a hot topic. Especially with the wars that are going on these past several years. But I also feel that we should all RESPECT one another’s beliefs. So if I am at my desk, in my office….do not need to be told that ‘the end of the world is at hand’ or that ‘if you do not accept Jesus in to your life NOW, you are going to be living under the reign of the anti-christ’. If you believe that, fine. And if you need to believe in that, that’s ok. But you do not know what MY relationship is with my God. I am not going to start reading a book about the prophesies are coming true, and I most certainly am not going to start reading the Bible. Sorry, that is not what I am about. If you do enjoy reading Scripture or the Bible, and it gives you peace or comfort or helps you with your faith…I am cool with that. And I am glad that you get what you need from these readings. But don’t push this on other people