I will make this post a bit different. I will ask questions and maybe I will get some responses back. Feel free to leave a comment.
How do I explain to people my Catholic faith, when they are not even willing to listen in the first place?
How do I tell them that I am not an anomaly within the church, but that I am the norm and the people they have interacted with are the anomaly?
How can I say what I want to say and yet be respectful of their differing beliefs?
I am discouraged and frustrated sometimes at the poor witness other "Catholics" are giving to non-Catholic Christians. It's because of this poor witness that a common ground is slowly eroding away. Or so it seems. I know that there is always hope and that I need to continue in praying for an openess and understanding for this other party.
How do I relate to them that, yes, I know "we all serve the same God...yet you in your way and I in his" as a great saint and theologian once said?
So many questions...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Life and Death to Life
On September 12th, 2009 my grandfather was called home to the Lord. It was a trying time, but it was a peaceful time. He was surrounded by his family, just the way that he wanted. We sang him home with is favorite song, "On Eagles Wings." It still chokes me up and I will never listen to that song the same again. (The following Sunday after his inurnment, the choir sang the song and I couldn't help but smile to myself. That is true comfort. I'm thinking that Grandpa pulled some strings to let me know that though he's gone from my sight, he is still very much alive.) I am missing his advice and his pure love for us all. Truly he was a great man and he drew his strength from the Lord.
I guess through this whole ordeal, you begin to realize the value of family and the comfort that faith in Christ brings to us. It is through our sufferings that we are made more in the image of Christ. Truly to be a Christian you share in the life of Christ. And Christ suffered and died. It is a part of life and indeed the birth into a new life. Victorious over death, in Christ we have no need to be scared. Our hope is the hope of the Resurrection at the end of time when we will be reunited in spirit and body with all of those who have ever lived and died in Christ. What a beautiful future. And we know how the story ends. We win. And there is nothing that will seperate us from the Love of God.
This is what the Catechism says about the Resurrection and what it means. And this is what it says about us and our own resurrection. I cannot but thank God for the opportunity to have known and loved my grandfather. I am praying that Grandpa remembers us and prays for us and that he heard what we all want to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant...Come share your Master's joy." (St. Matthew 25:23).
I guess through this whole ordeal, you begin to realize the value of family and the comfort that faith in Christ brings to us. It is through our sufferings that we are made more in the image of Christ. Truly to be a Christian you share in the life of Christ. And Christ suffered and died. It is a part of life and indeed the birth into a new life. Victorious over death, in Christ we have no need to be scared. Our hope is the hope of the Resurrection at the end of time when we will be reunited in spirit and body with all of those who have ever lived and died in Christ. What a beautiful future. And we know how the story ends. We win. And there is nothing that will seperate us from the Love of God.
This is what the Catechism says about the Resurrection and what it means. And this is what it says about us and our own resurrection. I cannot but thank God for the opportunity to have known and loved my grandfather. I am praying that Grandpa remembers us and prays for us and that he heard what we all want to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant...Come share your Master's joy." (St. Matthew 25:23).
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
You're Catholic AND Christian?!
"He's such a good Christian guy. I don't understand why he would remain Catholic."
It seems to me that there is a true ignorance between Catholics and non-Catholics about what exactly constitutes you as a Christian. Especially among the latter. You can run the gamut of denominations and pretty much every single one of them will probably have a different answer. Some might be closer to historical Christianity, while others are way way off. This creates a mess and a problem when you are trying to explain to others of a different persuasion just exactly where you are coming from. You have some of the same terms, but their definitions can be totally at odds with each other. It's a sad reality, but one that we have to deal with.
All the time it seems that if you're Catholic then automatically in the eyes of particular non-Catholics, you're not a Christian. This creates a false dichotomy right away. Once again, it's got to be "either/or" instead of "both/and". The person who said the quote above has no idea what Catholicism truly teaches. They have been inundated by falsifications and misconceptions about the faith. They have only seen disenfranchised Catholics who never knew their faith in the first place saying nasty things about the church. Instead of seeing that Catholics truly are Christians (we are the original variety), they see a "good Christian guy" that's part of some horrible abomination that doesn't teach the Gospel.
They have no idea that we are chock full of the Gospel. In fact we are full to the brim. We possess the fullness of Christian Truth. Because that Truth is a Person, we have the fullness of Jesus Christ's revelation. Not only do we possess God's letter to us, the Bible (all 73 books of it), we possess the knowledge and the confidence that comes with the promise that Christ made to Peter: "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it... Whatever you bind on earth is bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven." (St. Matthew 16:18-19) It's pretty easy to take Christ, the God-Man, at his words. We have the Church. We have God's promise that He will guide us and be with us throughout all time.
What constitutes the Church and how do you become a member of Christ's Church? The Church is described here. To become a member of the Church you must be baptized with water and the Spirit. In Acts 2:38, Peter says to all "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." By becoming a part of the Church that Christ founded, you can be confident of the promises that he made to it. That is how you become a follower of Christ, a Christian. There is an internal decision that also accompanies baptism. This notion that each believer is an island unto himself is a "new" development in Christianity. By over emphasising one aspect of your relationship to Christ, it seems you are cutting off another. Keep in mind as well, that the covenant was fulfilled by Christ, not abolished. Naturally, what was seen darkly in the old covenant was made light in the new. Thus, since intrance into the old covenant was through circumcision of small children, so the new sign of the the new covenant, baptism, takes its place. Just as a person took the faith of their parents and childhood and made it their own through their bar or bat mitzvah, so it is the same with Confirmation. Understanding of the sacramental nature of the church is essential when trying to understand other aspects of it.
So when someone asks if you are a Christian, you say a resounding "Yes, just the way the Bible says." Catholics are truly Christians. What makes it difficult to answer dissenteing opinions is that there is that so much background work that must be accomplished first. Understanding can come only through patience and through credible witness to the truths of Christianity in their fullness found only in the Catholic Church.
It seems to me that there is a true ignorance between Catholics and non-Catholics about what exactly constitutes you as a Christian. Especially among the latter. You can run the gamut of denominations and pretty much every single one of them will probably have a different answer. Some might be closer to historical Christianity, while others are way way off. This creates a mess and a problem when you are trying to explain to others of a different persuasion just exactly where you are coming from. You have some of the same terms, but their definitions can be totally at odds with each other. It's a sad reality, but one that we have to deal with.
All the time it seems that if you're Catholic then automatically in the eyes of particular non-Catholics, you're not a Christian. This creates a false dichotomy right away. Once again, it's got to be "either/or" instead of "both/and". The person who said the quote above has no idea what Catholicism truly teaches. They have been inundated by falsifications and misconceptions about the faith. They have only seen disenfranchised Catholics who never knew their faith in the first place saying nasty things about the church. Instead of seeing that Catholics truly are Christians (we are the original variety), they see a "good Christian guy" that's part of some horrible abomination that doesn't teach the Gospel.
They have no idea that we are chock full of the Gospel. In fact we are full to the brim. We possess the fullness of Christian Truth. Because that Truth is a Person, we have the fullness of Jesus Christ's revelation. Not only do we possess God's letter to us, the Bible (all 73 books of it), we possess the knowledge and the confidence that comes with the promise that Christ made to Peter: "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it... Whatever you bind on earth is bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven." (St. Matthew 16:18-19) It's pretty easy to take Christ, the God-Man, at his words. We have the Church. We have God's promise that He will guide us and be with us throughout all time.
What constitutes the Church and how do you become a member of Christ's Church? The Church is described here. To become a member of the Church you must be baptized with water and the Spirit. In Acts 2:38, Peter says to all "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." By becoming a part of the Church that Christ founded, you can be confident of the promises that he made to it. That is how you become a follower of Christ, a Christian. There is an internal decision that also accompanies baptism. This notion that each believer is an island unto himself is a "new" development in Christianity. By over emphasising one aspect of your relationship to Christ, it seems you are cutting off another. Keep in mind as well, that the covenant was fulfilled by Christ, not abolished. Naturally, what was seen darkly in the old covenant was made light in the new. Thus, since intrance into the old covenant was through circumcision of small children, so the new sign of the the new covenant, baptism, takes its place. Just as a person took the faith of their parents and childhood and made it their own through their bar or bat mitzvah, so it is the same with Confirmation. Understanding of the sacramental nature of the church is essential when trying to understand other aspects of it.
So when someone asks if you are a Christian, you say a resounding "Yes, just the way the Bible says." Catholics are truly Christians. What makes it difficult to answer dissenteing opinions is that there is that so much background work that must be accomplished first. Understanding can come only through patience and through credible witness to the truths of Christianity in their fullness found only in the Catholic Church.
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