I stumbled upon this peculiar comment from the actor Robert Downy Jr. in an interview in the New York Times. Emphasis mine.
He seems reticent in his comments to just actually come out and say "I'm Catholic and I'm proud."
I've come across this throughout my time as a practicing Catholic. Even the Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan admitted to going to Mass but he added only because he was brought up in it so that's all he knows. Again, not actually embracing it but in there I read between the lines. I read in there an admission that the Catholic faith has played a more than passing role in these men's lives. The problem is it's not "cool" to be Catholic.
I know where they're coming from. The Church is a family in all the good and bad ways. She's the nagging mother that you pretend you don't need but run to when you find yourself in hot water. She's the siblings and aunts and uncles that embarrass you to no end to the point where you pretend you're not related to any of them. But she's a family non the less. A very powerful family that you can't sweep under the rug. One that makes you very uncomfortable and asks a lot from you. But always loving and always ready to bring you back into the fold even when you fail to live up to her expectations. People don't always want to admit they need their family. Sometimes they look for a "better" less embarrassing hipper family to hang out with. But those other families can't cook a thanksgiving dinner like your mom can. So more often than not, people feel sentimental about the Church even when they're away from her. But then they remember the dysfunction too and so they are reluctant to come back home.
The Church isn't cool. She's not hip. She can be nagging. She can make you feel really guilty. She has so many embarrassing children, (myself included,) and her expectation are very hard. But she loves us unconditionally. She opens the doors even if we're dirty and grubby. In times of trouble, she's there dragging us out of the ditch. If we let her, she cleans us off and looks at us like a newborn child with a clean slate.
That's family. That's the love of Christ. His gift to us. A big huge over cumbersome family with all the dysfunction you'd expect at the yearly Thanksgiving dinner. But everyone still comes together for a fabulous meal known as the Eucharist which by absolutely no coincidence means- Thanksgiving.
I love my family embarrassing relatives and all.
Q. Are you religious? Many people find God as part of their recovery process and there seem to be veiled references in a few of the songs.
A. I'm not above it. But like Jung said about people using religion to avoid a religious experience, I have managed handily to avoid a religious experience. I don't know where I fall. Spiritual Green Party? There were times when I was into the whole Hare Krishna thing, which is pretty far out. Now I would call myself a Jew-Bu, a Jewish-Buddhist. But there were many times when Catholicism saved my butt.
Q. You were a practicing Catholic?
A.I was in as much when I was on the B yard and they asked me, "Are you going to Catholic services or Presbyterian services?" I think I'm going to Catholic because they just give you more stuff. More candles and there's a whole calendar where this day you read this, the next day you read that. It's like a call sheet for spirituality.
He seems reticent in his comments to just actually come out and say "I'm Catholic and I'm proud."
I've come across this throughout my time as a practicing Catholic. Even the Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan admitted to going to Mass but he added only because he was brought up in it so that's all he knows. Again, not actually embracing it but in there I read between the lines. I read in there an admission that the Catholic faith has played a more than passing role in these men's lives. The problem is it's not "cool" to be Catholic.
I know where they're coming from. The Church is a family in all the good and bad ways. She's the nagging mother that you pretend you don't need but run to when you find yourself in hot water. She's the siblings and aunts and uncles that embarrass you to no end to the point where you pretend you're not related to any of them. But she's a family non the less. A very powerful family that you can't sweep under the rug. One that makes you very uncomfortable and asks a lot from you. But always loving and always ready to bring you back into the fold even when you fail to live up to her expectations. People don't always want to admit they need their family. Sometimes they look for a "better" less embarrassing hipper family to hang out with. But those other families can't cook a thanksgiving dinner like your mom can. So more often than not, people feel sentimental about the Church even when they're away from her. But then they remember the dysfunction too and so they are reluctant to come back home.
The Church isn't cool. She's not hip. She can be nagging. She can make you feel really guilty. She has so many embarrassing children, (myself included,) and her expectation are very hard. But she loves us unconditionally. She opens the doors even if we're dirty and grubby. In times of trouble, she's there dragging us out of the ditch. If we let her, she cleans us off and looks at us like a newborn child with a clean slate.
That's family. That's the love of Christ. His gift to us. A big huge over cumbersome family with all the dysfunction you'd expect at the yearly Thanksgiving dinner. But everyone still comes together for a fabulous meal known as the Eucharist which by absolutely no coincidence means- Thanksgiving.
I love my family embarrassing relatives and all.
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