Marks of Faithfulness (an introduction)

As I get older, I happen to notice things that I never noticed before; like how beautiful many of the simple things in life actually are. I also discover things that I knew but never gave much thought to; like how much less energy I have now that I am 57 than I had when I was 27. I also notice articles that point out good markers to say whether a person is aging well. These are things like how long you can stand on one foot (strength, agility, balance, etc.). Mental acuity is also important for us to give some consideration. Has anyone, however, ever written up a list of spiritual markers that show we are living the faith properly (regardless of a person's age)?

A parishioner a while back emailed me a list of things he considered to be good "signposts" of faithfulness. He did a very good job, and I am going to use the basics from his list to outline what we each need to look for in our souls to see how well we are standing fast in the faith. These "marks of the faith" are not perfect because we are not perfect. We tend to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt while we expect perfection from others. It will be possible to read through these marks and deceive ourselves as to how faithful we actually are living. This means that we have to ask ourselves if we are being honest in our own self-assessment. It also means that each of us should prepare ourselves to be challenged; to say "I'm going to work on my faith" and actually doing so, are not the same thing.

To be continued...