Every Catholic is, by his faith, a follower of Jesus. We are instructed by Him through the Gospels and His Church in the way in which we are to live our lives here on earth, so that we may reach the blessedness of eternal glory with Him in Heaven. We begin with the command to believe in Him and receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Many imagine that this is all that is required of them. Protestants preach that through faith alone we are saved. Jesus, however, has made many more demands of us.
Not only must we believe in Him and be baptized, but we must also have Charity. We must love God above all things, even more than ourselves, and we must love our neighbour as ourselves. We must also do penance: "I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish." (St. Luke 13, 3) We must also take up our daily cross and follow Him. Et cetera. Faith without works is dead.
It is in His Name that we pray: anything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give to you. Yet, we are given His example in prayer to imitate: Father, not My will, but Thine be done.
There are many who use the name of Jesus, but they do not reference the true Jesus. The "Jesus" that they reference is one who complies with their own desires. They have rejected the true Jesus because He has taught things that they do not wish to obey. For example the real Jesus has said: "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder."(St. Matthew 19, 6) The false "Jesus" that many believe in teaches something like: If you grow tired of each other, then get a divorce and find another. Do whatever makes you happy or whatever "feels" good. On the last day Jesus says that many will claim that they have preached in His Name, and worked wonders in His Name; but He will say to them: "Depart from Me you workers of iniquity. I know you not."(St. Matthew 7, 23)
To be a true Christian, we must believe in the True Jesus. We cannot make a Jesus that suits our pleasures. We must search out and find exactly what Jesus has said and done so that we may know Who He is. We can only find the unadulterated teachings of Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. She reveals Him to us in both Scripture and in Tradition. As we discover the True Jesus for ourselves, we increase our knowledge of Him, but even more importantly we grow in the love of Him. This is the First and greatest Commandment: To love God with a preferential love of our entire being. As we grow in true Charity, we will receive greater graces which will increase our knowledge and understanding of Jesus, which will in turn cause true charity to grow stronger. We, therefore, find that there is a type of cyclical growth in love and understanding.
This growth in charity and knowledge does not just take place in the hidden recesses of the soul; it is manifested in the body through its many activities. As we grow in the knowledge and love of God, we likewise grow in the understanding of all His creation. We know and love Him in all His works. Men are His greatest creation, and so we must correspondingly have an ever increasing understanding and love for one another. This loving our neighbour as we love ourselves must manifest itself in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It is not enough to say that we love our neighbour. True love is manifested not only in words, but especially in works.
Those who love Jesus, believe in Him, and imitate Him, especially in the daily carrying of the cross. They bear patiently and forgivingly the burdens that their fellow men place upon them for the love of Jesus, and in imitation of Him. They strive at all times to avoid ever displeasing Him by sin, or ever leading any of His children to offend Him. One of the more offensive sins against Jesus today is the blasphemous use of His Holy Name. Every true Christian must strive ardently to never use Our Lord's Name in vain. We must likewise seek to stop the abuse of His Holy Name in all those around us. This is necessary for two reasons: first, because of our love of God, Whom we do not want to see ever offended; secondly, because of our love for our fellow men, whom we do not want to see incur the just punishment of eternal damnation for this grave crime.