I am Catholic and am not defending it!. I was baptized withing two weeks of my birth. I have twelve years of catholic education to my credit. A Catholic church is one of the most comforting places for me to be.
I am not a good catholic, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I try. Every week when I leave mass (and that is currently three weeks in a row), I leave with an open heart. Open to the message of the Gospel. Sometimes I manage to remember the message for the whole day and even reflect on it a little before I fall asleep, but most Sundays I am forgetting everything as I head to my car. But Lord, I am trying.
As a catholic, I feel like I am put on the spot a lot. It is true that this organization has had its fair share of scandal and sin. I also know that on a daily basis, a lot of good comes from this church. And that is true of all churches. But we just seem to take more of the heat.
I knew a guy that fancied himself a pretty religious man. He carried his bible and he quoted the word. He also told stories about his thug life and drug dealing days. He never seemed to be sorry for his past while he preached about his future. I suppose I wouldn't have cared much either way if he wasn't constantly attacking me, my church and my faith. Say what you want about me, but when you start in on the Angels and Saints, its on!
The Angels and Saints. God love 'em! I think they are awesome. He would tell me that praying to the saints was blasphemous. With a roll of my eyes and an exasperated exhale, I would explain (very slowly) that the saints were there to do God's will. It was like the military chain of command. When I misplaced my keys (or a gas station), I would ask St Anthony for help. I know that I could have asked God, and He would have been happy to help. But I didn't think my keys were that important compared to...war. So, Anthony got the call. St. Francis was there with me as I drove Barron to the vet that day in April. St. Micheal is with Danny every night at work. I know that the Lord is always and everywhere. The angels and saints intercede on our behalf. I appreciate all the help I can get.
The sacraments, especially reconciliation, or confession (I like it old school). He could not figure it out. How was it ok for me to go to a priest and tell him my sins and then he would tell me I was forgiven after ten Our Fathers. Well, since he had no idea what really happened, he couldn't understand. It is an act of faith. I am not asking anyone else to believe what I believe, but I am asking you to respect what I believe, especially since it doesn't hurt you in any way and does make me a better human! When I go into a confessional and say those seven little words, "forgive me Father, for I have sinned" I am not talking to the priest sitting in front of me (or if I am really naughty, on the other side of the screen from me), I am talking to God. And the words of forgiveness that I hear are coming from God through the priest. Otherwise, for the last thirty years, every priest I have met has known exactly what to say. Anyway, this guy would tell me that he didn't need a priest to tell him that he was forgiven, that was between him and God. I agree. I know that when I ask for forgiveness for a sin that I am truly sorry for, I am forgiven. I just like telling someone. I feel that the weight is lifted for me when I hear that I am forgiven and receive some words to help me not commit this sin again.
Mary, why worship Mary? Well, here's my thing about Mary. She was the mother of all Sons. When I am struggling as a parent, I pray to her. There is a lot of debate about her virginity and such, but that is really none of my business. She was a good mom. She raised a good kid. I aspire to both of those things. If she can give me some pointers, great!
Big, gaudy churches! WHOA! Big, I will give you, but gaudy? Seriously, we have some pretty kick ass churches. And by ass, I mean donkey. It's in the bible! (remember when the bible verse would use ass instead of donkey and it was fun to read aloud!) Don't blame the Catholics because you can't raise the roof on your own place of worship. Some of the cardinals of days gone by weren't very Godly, but they knew real estate and art. And do I feel closer to the Lord inside a building compared to being in a meadow. Of course not, but there is an awe inspiring feeling knowing how difficult the task was and how hard these craftsmen worked to create a house for the Lord.
And his final argument was that we used a missal every week. He thought the priest should know it by heart. After all, it was the same every week. And I'm sure the priest did know it by heart. I knew the mass by heart in the second grade. I got to make my first communion early because I was so church smart! But the significance to the mass, to the Eucharist is that Jesus' words are being spoken. And those words need to be correct so the priest reads them. It is a tremendous gift that he is given. I am sure that he does not want to screw it up. And as far as what happens at the mass, well that is all a matter of faith. And it is the same every week. When I was young, it was boring because it was the same every week. But there is comfort in that sameness. I could see how much my mom enjoyed the ritual, even when she didn't know much else, she still knew the Mass. That is a tremendous gift. Now that I am older and maybe wiser, I don't just go through the motions, but I listen and I respond. I am an active part of the celebration.
A couple of summers ago, I had two Morman elders stop by. I have always enjoyed a visit from the elders. I admire their own commitment to faith, work ethic and clean white shirts. They wanted me to read the book and all that jazz. I politely declined because I am where I am supposed to be. I thought and thought about how best to explain this to the elders and here is my best analogy. The Body and Blood of Christ is present during the Catholic mass, the bread and wine are a symbol of the Body and Blood at the LDS service. That is the big deal. But what does it mean for me? Well when I got my prescription for my epi pen, it came with a practice pen. This practice pen looked and acted just like the real pen except that it could not save my life. It was a symbol... Good anology right! Those Mormans finished their mission before I could impart that bit of wisdom on them.
So there you have it! My in defense of Catholics blog. I know that there have been some horrible priests that have done monsterous things to the most trusting of members. But there have been so many amazing priests and nuns that have changed the lives of so many. I don't think it is fair to lump them all, or us all together. We are a group of people with a common faith trying to make our way in this world and make it to the next one. Ask me a question, but don't put me on the spot.
Peace Out!
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