Viva il Papa!

God is so good. Where was I when our new pope was elected? I was home reading some Catholic blogs and one of them had a link to a live feed on St. Peter's square right on the chimney. I honestly didn't expect anything. I wasn't even sure what time it was in Italy. Only that it was dark out and for all I knew, the conclave could have been retiring for the night. I stepped away from my computer for a few minutes and then suddenly heard all the cheering coming from it. I ran back to my computer and much to my delight, shock and awe, the white smoke billowed out!

Praise God! I yelled that a few times. I couldn't believe they decided on someone already. There was no clear "frontrunner" said the media.

I posted on Facebook and im'd one of my closest friend,
HABEMAS PAPUM!!!


I anxiously watched the screen in anticipation, I saw the marching band come out and then the Swiss Guard. Eventually the cameras turned to the balcony and the lights were on. Finally it was announced

"Habemas Papum!"

He spoke in Italian so I didn't get most of what he said when he announced who was to be our next pope.

Some bishop from Argentina. Of course, I knew nothing about him. And perhaps I was a little disappointed because I had some others in mind. But it was only out of knowing them and not because I'm God or anything. Praise the Lord, He is in CHARGE!

So now we welcome Pope Francis! Praise to Jesus! I like him already. I love him already. And even my Atheist sister emailed me, shortly after his election, a big congratulations and said it was exciting for her too. She asked some questions of why they change their name and if he was the first non-european pope. I did my best to answer. Praise GOD! And she already seems to like him too. She likes that he takes the bus and is so humble. Praise God! How wonderful that would be if this was the man that spoke to my sister's heart and opened her to conversion. I can only pray.

And praise God for not leaving us without a shepherd for very long. Praise God for the chair of Peter. To see that the whole world was watching and the whole fascination with the Church's process for electing a new pope, it's just so edifying! It is a testament to God's power. People are responding to something that is not of this world and it's an amazing thing to witness!

Thank you Jesus! I know the bounty awaits us in heaven but God is so good to give us a taste of what's to come!

Going through the motions

I went to confession this weekend. I was over due. Something I needed to check off my to do list. So I went. I didn't feel deeply sorry. I didn't feel a whole lot. I just was doing what I had to do. Going through the motions. I know this is something some non-Catholic Christians observe with Catholics. The way we do things like rote prayers. Repetitions. "Works" based salvation, I think is what they think we believe and do. Going through the motions. Not always "feeling" it.

Here's the thing. Yes, I admit, I didn't have a lot of deep feelings about partaking in this sacrament. I was doing what I had to do because I wanted to partake legitimately in THE sacrament of Holy Communion. So, I did what I needed to do to and went to confession. And you know, afterward through pure grace, I felt AWESOME. I was overcome with great supernatural joy. I did nothing to deserve it. That's why it's called grace. I just went through the motion of going to confession and spoke of my usual habitual sins and viola! I was forgiven and I resolved to try and do better next time like I do every time I go to confession.

I think there are many ways to "work" out one's salvation. I think having the pressure to feel warm and fuzzy and have public displays of emotion is work. We're not always going to feel it. When praying, we won't always be present. We may let our minds wander. When going to Church, we may space out during the readings or the homily. We all go through the motions. It's o.k. Because we are saved by the grace of God. It always starts there. So God gave me the grace of pure joy after a lukewarm confession. And I was truly inspired by it that now I'm blogging about it.

This isn't a call for complacency. This is just a reminder that sometimes, it's o.k. to go through the motions as long as we're setting our sights on God. Showing love to God is about doing. Love is a decision. Me and my husband learned this through marriage prep. It is not a feeling. We get hooked on feelings but even the greatest Saints went through dry periods where they felt nothing. But they still went through the motions of prayer, partaking in the sacraments and being obedient to God.

Because the reality is that feelings come and go. Sometimes we have to go through the motions to maintain our connection to God. 

New blog :Finding Nate

I have a new blog where I will share my journey with my son who is ASD. Here's the first post!

Finding Nate: The Reluctant Mother: Finding Nate: The Reluctant Mother : Not for me God. I don't want that. I'll just have the two healthy children that are here and not tempt ...

It's sad when Evangelical Christians are more Catholic than Catholics...

I've never been a fan of Kirk Cameron. He's always annoyed me. I would have been a target audience for Tiger Beat when his photos were plastered allover the cover. But he's usually rubbed me the wrong way. When he became a born again Christian, it was only more ammunition for not liking the cut of his gib. When I had my own conversion, I still could not relate to him. He starred in those Left Behind movies which have a bit of anti-Catholicism in them. And when Kirk says the earth is only 6000 years old...facepalm!
But watch Kirk out Catholic a so called "Catholic" Piers Morgan when he defends traditional marriage and being pro-life. GO KIRK! You're gib isn't so annoying after all!

You know, I'm really fed up with these people who call themselves Catholic and use it as some kind of way to define themselves and then seem completely ignorant or downright hostile to what the Church teaches. Piers Morgan, Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius et al have no right to define themselves as Catholic. I think it would have been funny if Kirk asked Piers something like;
"Aren't you Catholic?"
and Piers would respond,
"Well, yeah."
"Doesn't the Catholic Church believe in traditional marriage and the right to life?"
"Uh uh, but... 7 states have legalized gay marriage..."

But unfortunately if we keep having these nominal Catholics in the public square conveniently dressing themselves in the mantle of Catholicism while preaching the exact opposite of Church teaching, the public will have no idea what the Church stands for. Sad indeed.

Things I've learned as a Catholic: We win

It will be a long battle. We have everything against us. Popular culture is against us. The president is against us. We are hated throughout the world. But it doesn't matter. We win. The battle was won in heaven. As long as we stay true to God nothing can stop us.  Our biggest mission is to save souls. Clever soundbites would be nice. Fair media coverage would be nice. Rescinding the mandate would be nice. But we're battling something bigger than the government. We're battling Satan and he is not interested in sound logic and reason and in being fair. He is interested in destroying mankind. But we already know how it all ends up. We win. The gates of hell shall not prevail. God wins.

Things I've learned as a Catholic: The Church is always right...

Disclaimer: The Church is always right on faith and morals. The faith that has been deposited once and for all is free of errors. This is not to say that anything her members do outside of what she teaches on faith and morals will be free from error. The Church's only authority is on faith and morals and in that she is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error. So she will always be right when weighing in on any issue of faith and morals.

I had been meaning to write this post for quite a while because after fully coming into the Church 10 years ago, I've discovered that the Church is always right in matter of faith and morals and even when I ran into snags and disagreements with her, I've found that I have had to eat crow and that mother Church is always right. So I've been ruminating about this for a while but someone else beat me to it.
This timely article is much better at articulating how the Church is always right.
Time to Admit it: The Church Has Always Been Right On Birth Control

Well Mr. President, you've really stepped in it...

One thing is certain about our current president and it's this: Don't underestimate him.  I've seen it countless times. People questioned his ability to get things done. They wasted time doing things like questioning his qualifications and his intelligence. They even questioned his citizenship. Make no mistake. He is very smart. Very shrewd. Very cunning and knows how to play people. He has since taking office, been able to get a lot of his agenda done for better or for worse and all the while his opponents and supporters underestimated him. There were plenty of legitimate reasons to oppose the president but instead his opponents built strawman to knock down and all the while the president was able to do some real damage.
But guess what? He's guilty of playing the underestimation game himself. For as smart as he is, I'm surprised. He's underestimated the Catholic Church. Big mistake. Never ever underestimate the Catholic Church. If the Roman Empire couldn't destroy us, what makes you think you can, Mr President? You think because you have some Catholics in your cabinet and you had some Catholics support you on other issues that we'd just lie down and swallow this HHS Mandate? You think because some of us don't follow the teaching of the Church that well, that that meant we'd be o.k. with you trying to change what our Church teaches on artificial contraception and abortion?
You see, you're not dealing with just ordinary everyday people. You're dealing with a supernatural entity. As much as even her own members have tried to destroy the Catholic Church, she still stands and she still continues to grow and she uses attacks against her for the greater good. She'll still be standing even when the U.S. has failed. She's outlasted all other empires and these attacks are nothing new. Been there, done that. You've helped to mobilize conservative, moderate and liberal Catholics to fight against this unconstitutional mandate. In fact, you've helped to mobilize people of varying faiths to fight you on this.
Check out this article here to see the gravity of what you've done Mr. President. You've really stepped in it.
Memo to Obama: You've got a problem

Please, let's band together and fight this attack on our religious liberty. This mandate doesn't only affect Catholics. Please sign the White House petition to rescind this mandate.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation and How going to Confession Heals.

I've seen non-Catholics make comments in reference to going to confession and how it's one of those "works" things and how this proves that Catholicism is a "works-based" religion. From the outside looking in, I suppose it looks like we Catholics can sin to our hearts content and then just go to confession and get clean and then sin again. My Atheist sister made that sort of snide remark and I had to correct her and explain that if a Catholic goes to confession without intending on changing their behavior then they would be lying and not getting any benefit from it.

My answer to other Christians who scoff at the idea of Catholics going to confession is, don't knock it until you've tried it. Confession is not some license to sin again.  As a matter of fact, not nearly enough Catholics take advantage of this wonderful Sacrament. It's a terrible shame because the graces you receive from going to confession are indescribable. Yes, it's hard to admit you've done wrong to a virtual stranger and sometimes, the priest isn't a virtual stranger. In a smaller parish they may even know your name. It doesn't matter either way. They are standing in for Jesus and acting in His name and that's who we're really confessing our sins to. The priest acts as a conduit of His graces. Receiving these graces is very healing and it has to be experienced to understand the magnitude of it's power.

Here's just one example of what I mean by this Sacraments power to heal. Several months ago, as I came to realize that my toddler son was on the Autism spectrum, I was in deep turmoil and not at all at peace. I was angry and in despair and to say I wasn't handling it with grace would be an understatement. I dragged myself to confession, talked to the priest, confessed my sins and then left and had an overwhelming supernatural kind of peace wash over me. Nothing changed. The priest didn't say anything enlightening. My son's condition didn't change. The circumstances were exactly the same after going to confession as they were before. But my attitude was completely different. I suddenly was handling it. I wasn't steeped in darkness. I felt peace and joy. There's no other reason other than the fact that I went to confession. My problems suddenly don't seem so overwhelming and insurmountable. I know of others who experience the same thing. So I take advantage of this Sacrament because I know it's doing something for me. Something that is supernatural and beyond my human comprehension. It's healing me. It's healing my wounded heart. All the puss and gunk gets washed off and disinfected and wrapped in fresh bandages. The wounds get redressed and overtime are completely healed. This is what going to confession does for me. Little by little, my soul is being healed and I'm better able to handle the crosses I have to carry. I have strength for the journey. This is how the Sacrament of Reconciliation heals and I'd be insane not to take advantage of this free healthcare. 

Why I need Religion

There's a video that's gone completely viral called Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. There's been a ton of responses and especially good Catholic responses. So I won't go into a theological response to the video because it's been more than sufficiently responded to. Instead I'll just speak from my own experience of why I don't just love religion but I need religion. This religion: Catholicism.

You see, I come from a none religious background. I was baptized Catholic for mostly cultural and sentimental reasons and that was the last time my family stepped foot into a church unless it was for a wedding or funeral. Yet this simple act of  baptism put an indelible seal on me as a child of God and a seed was planted. I hungered for God and established a relationship with Him very early on in life. I had a diary which I wrote to Him. I was a bit fatalistic and had lots of fears. But I had no guidance. I was on my own and eventually dabbled in New Age and Occult. I unwittingly invited evil into my life and I witnessed it possibly destroy someone I deeply cared about.
Ultimately, I genuinely desired a relationship with God and even with Jesus but I saw many of things that Mr. Bethke saw and frankly, those things kept me away. There was a time in my life when I would have totally related to Mr. Bethke's message. But as a life long spiritual nomad, I was always searching for truth. I finally found it in Catholicism. I finally got over myself and realized, I'm not perfect and so I shouldn't expect anyone else to be perfect other than God. I had to do the unthinkable and conform. I had to let go of control which I didn't really have to begin with. Catholicism forces me to depend only on God and gives me the tools and a conduit of grace to do that. When I go to Mass, I'm not dependent on how good the priest's homily is. He isn't able to make himself all that important. Our religion dictates that he has the Liturgy to follow and he can't stray from that. The focus is always on Jesus. It doesn't matter how bad the music is or how uninspired the priest is. He could be speaking in Spanish for all I care. I'm there for one reason alone. For Jesus. I get to receive Him, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

I need this religion because I need to know that when I sin, once I hear the words "I absolve you from your sins..." that means I really am forgiven and I don't have to guess or wonder. I am free. My guilt is removed. Trust me, as a spiritual nomad, I felt guilt. This religion frees me from it.

I need this religion because when things are really bad I can go to an Adoration Chapel and spend time with Jesus. I can tell Him all my woes. I can cry. I can beg. I can just be quiet and feel His presence. I know that wherever there's a Catholic Church, there He is whether I "feel" it or not. (By the way, as far as big fancy Churches and Cathedrals go, why shouldn't Jesus be surrounded in the finest most beautiful surroundings? If you were building a house for God, would you put Him in a shed?)

I need this religion because when I struggle I can take comfort in the lives of the Saints who's solutions to life's problems were otherworldly and no easy quick fixes that promised something that couldn't be fulfilled. Their only solution was complete and utter dependence on God and living a life of heroic virtue up to the point of death and martyrdom. And they were witnesses of much joy and peace in spite of their hardships. Their promise was beyond this world. They always point to God and I need their friendship now as I know they are in heaven and are able to hear my prayers and take them up to God. I know they are there because of the canonization process which takes into account miraculous events as a sign from God that they are indeed partaking in the Heavenly banquet.

I need this religion because when I'm suffering, I take comfort in that Crucifix where the Lord is up there in a display of complete unconditional love for humanity. Nothing says I love you like the Crucifix does.

I need this religion because I need stability and clear cut answers on the biggest moral issues of the day and only one place offers that unchanging TRUTH no matter how unpopular and counter-cultural.

I need this religion because it was founded by the man on the Crucifix and He promised the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church and I believe Him. He started this Church and He said unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood, you have no life within you. By golly then, I will do what He says and eat His flesh and drink His blood. I will put my pride and ego away and humble myself  and do what He says. I trust in Him which means I HAVE to trust in His Church and the religion He started. Otherwise, that wouldn't be trust and you can't have a real relationship without TRUST.

I need this religion because I NEED JESUS. I need Him now more than ever. He's the only one that has brought me peace and comfort in difficult times and it's been through His Church that I've obtained these graces He offers through His sacraments. I experience joy when I should be feeling sorrow and I experience peace in a world of unrest.

I'm not going to let other sinners get in between my relationship with Jesus. I'm not going to let corrupt religious leaders get in the way between my relationship with Jesus. If one of those corrupt individuals is holding Jesus in his hands, nothing will stop me from receiving Him. How great our God is to not let any corrupt human stop us from receiving Him and His graces. I need those graces and I can only get all of them in one place. My religion, Catholicism, started by Christ. That's all I need to know and that's all I need.

I scream: He whispers.

Things are moving at a snails pace with my son's development. He's in early intervention. He's on a special diet. He's on special supplements. He's making progress here and there but it's not enough. I'm getting impatient. I want consistent regular words. I find myself wanting to pull my hair out. I find myself thoroughly frustrated. I find myself screaming in my head. Sometimes outside my head too. I beg the Lord to "fix" this. I plead and cry. I beat my chest and have a tantrum.

He whispers back. In between my screams I can hear His whispering. He says,
It's o.k. to be angry. It's o.k. I understand. But I can't fix this for you right now. 

He is up on the cross while I have my tantrum and He is whispering these words to me.
It's o.k. Go ahead. Let it out. Let it all out.

And I see Him up on that cross so I remember to offer it up to Him so that He's not alone and I'm not alone and we can share this moment together. I start to feel a little less sorry for myself maybe, if only for a moment.

Deep down I know why He's allowing this to happen. But I still find myself begging Him to take this cup away from me. I'm a child with an attention span of a gnat. I keep screaming and He keeps whispering back reminding me and just loving me. Before all this, I used to know only intellectually of His love. Most of the time, it was too abstract for me to really grasp. I had to be knocked off my feet to really understand how powerfully and intensely our God loves us. It may have broken me in two if I experienced it when all was hunky dory. Nowadays I'm vulnerable enough to let Him in. I'm vulnerable enough to scream at Him in anger.
FIX THIS PLEASE!!!
But through all my screaming, His whispers break through and shatter it all. He whispered the Universe into existence. My screams are no match. Praise God.

Do No Harm!

I was scrolling through facebook the other day and came across a link to a news story titled:

Melbourne hospital aborts wrong twin

I didn't have to read the article to understand what happened. It was labeled as a "tragedy."  It was labeled as such because the hospital killed the "wrong" twin. They meant to kill the "sick" twin. Not the healthy twin. That was the tragedy. That they killed the "wrong" baby. And after they figured out their "mistake" they went ahead and killed the "right" baby. Of course, they used words like "terminate" and "abort" so as to not be too obvious about what they were doing. Killing. Ending the life of an innocent human being. This innocent human being wasn't endangering the life of his brother and certainly wasn't endangering the life of his mother,(the classic excuse pro-abortionists make for justifying late term abortions... ) He just had the misfortune of not being healthy and had he survived his birth, he would need many operations. So, that was a good enough excuse to end his life. And in the process, his "worthy" brother was killed by mistake. Someone had mentioned how they felt bad for the technician that made the mistake. I'm afraid that technician was going to have blood on her hands either way. She was assigned the job of assassin who ended up creating collateral damage.

So, I see this headline and I read the article and I don't see tragedy. I see willful intentional and legal murder. Murder at the hands of doctors who have broken their Hippocratic oath. They did harm. They intentionally recommended the killing of one of their patients- a sick child- because they considered him too much of a "burden."  

The real tragedy is that this made news because they killed the "wrong" baby. Had they killed the "right" baby to begin with, we would have never heard about it. These things happen everyday. Partial birth abortions take place regularly for many reasons that are arbitrary. Any child can be labeled as a burden whether they're healthy or unhealthy and they can be killed without it ever making headlines. That's the real tragedy. Broken oaths and broken lives.

But I have to believe that a greater good will come out of this horrible deed. The hospital staff are devastated by their mistake. That gives me hope. Maybe they'll rethink the idea of killing off sick babies. Maybe they'll question why they participated in these "procedures."  After all, when a director of Planned Parenthood, Abby Johnson, assisted in an ultrasound guided abortion of a 13 week old baby, whom she witnessed fighting for his life, her eyes were opened at the horror she was party to. Now she's a powerful influential pro-life hero. And because this story did make the news, maybe those who read it will think more about the horrors of partial birth abortions. Maybe they'll question why the sick child had to be put to death in the first place. In the meantime, I pray for all who were involved in this horrible injustice and I pray for God's mercy and healing for each and every one of them.

Fear of God

We have some friends that will be coming into the Catholic Church this Easter. We are their sponsors and the husband is actually a cradle Catholic that did not go through confirmation. So he has some history with the Church which my husband, who is also a cradle Catholic, felt compelled to discuss with him.
He explained to his friend that in this process of coming back to the Church, his friend might feel great terror.
Unbeknownst to me, when we decided to become church goers and he decided he wanted to go back to being a practicing Catholic, my husband felt terror upon being back at Church.
I asked him if it was because he was afraid of being assimilated and losing his identity. He said,
"There was no thought in it. I felt absolute fear and wanted to get out."

This made me think. What was going on? My husband experienced pure fear that initiated the flight response. Purely a primal reaction. I assumed his anxiety had to do with worrying about losing his identity. I certainly had those thoughts. But that wasn't the case for my husband. It was just pure unadulterated fear.

It was fear of God.

As a Catholic, I understand why he experienced this. I've come to learn of the Real Presence. I've taken it as act of faith but also as an act of reason. I have many reasons to believe in the Real Presence. I can look through the Bible -especially John Chapter 6, and I can look at the writings of the Early Church Fathers. They clearly in no uncertain terms believed in the Real Presence. These same men died for the faith. They were even closer to the events of Christ's life, death and resurrection. These same men compiled the Bible and discerned which were inspired and which were not. So on one hand, I'm a Christian because of faith but I'm also a Christian because there's plenty of circumstancial and forensic evidence that Jesus walked the earth, did lots of miracles, died on the cross and rose from the dead. If I believe anything historical, I'd say the eyewitness testimony in the Bible is better than many other historical accounts of great events in human history. And I trust that the Bible is true because of the Church that it came out of was given the authority to carry on the gospel. This same entity says Christ is present in the Eucharist. And there are also Eucharist miracles to bolster their claims.

But sometimes, it can still be hard to grasp what one can't see with one's eyes. The Real Presence is one of those. When we go into a Catholic Church, the Real Presence is there. God is physically present. I've witnessed people picking up on this instinctually. I myself picked up on this during the consecration of the Eucharist at my sister-in-law's wedding.  Even my non-believing mother picks up on this. She has said on several occasion when she was traveling, she'd walk into a Catholic Church as a tourist and feel moved to tears. She didn't know why exactly. She thought it had to do with her Italian heritage but even in Brazil, she felt this. It doesn't quite add up.

Being in the presence of God can bring about different reactions and they're not always positive. Sometimes they're negative. The fact that my husband felt absolute fear makes complete sense to me. It wasn't the cliche feel good warm fuzzy feeling. It was terror. Fear of God is considered a gift of the Holy Spirit. It's a gift because it can become dangerous to treat God as just a mirror of ourselves. I've been guilty of this approach to Jesus. Some people like to make out like Jesus is a close friend and treat Him rather casually.

Here Fr. Barron explains the dangers of "domesticating" Jesus in an excerpt from the first episode of Catholicism and why fear of God is a natural and healthy response. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

Things I've learned as a Catholic: The Church is a family in all the good and bad ways.

I stumbled upon this peculiar comment from the actor Robert Downy Jr. in an interview in the New York Times. Emphasis mine.

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.

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

This week I continue my series Things I've Learn as a Catholic

and how it's not God's fault for all that's wrong in the world as the atheist would otherwise have you believe.

Things I've learned as a Catholic: It's not God's fault

In my days of youth and "rebellion" my religion was rock and roll music. Punk, classic, new wave. Anything with a good beat and guitar and some "deep" lyrics would hook me.

This was one of those songs I liked:

Nowadays, I look at it and think how silly I was, (I still love this band though. They have true God given talent! ;-)..)
I've come to find out that the songwriter, Andy Partridge, understands the paradox of writing to a god he doesn't believe in and has stated that in the song, he was working out the last bit of any belief in God that he may have had in the past.  However, it still illustrates something I've found among many atheists. The especially outspoken ones seem to be angry and railing against something they don't believe in. They blame this what they say is a non-existent God for all that's wrong in the world.  Yet, how can they even complain about evil in their relativist worldview? The concept of good and evil are difficult to explain without implying a divine author and an objective source of truth. Yet many passionate atheists try and their arguments fail to reach it's logical conclusion. They're saying that there is somehow truth but at the same time there is no source of truth. This is relativism in play. It contradicts itself.  On one hand there's no objective good and evil but on the other hand they'll tell what's good or evil. So, if you don't believe in objective good and evil then you can't complain when you see someone is committing some sort of objective evil and at the same time say that truth is subjective and morals are subjective. If all these things are subjective then who's to say what is evil or good.

So here, the songwriter laments the many ills of the world and if God exists then why are these bad things happening? This is a favorite argument of many atheists: If God exists then why do all these bad things happen? I will attempt to explain why. I used to feel this way so I understand the frustration.

Here's the answer: It's not His fault.

Evil came out of rebellion. All the things we do to hurt others are things WE DO. God didn't exterminate millions of Jews. God didn't cause all the wars. God didn't rob your house or kill your loved one. We live in a fallen world because WE are fallen. So then the atheist asks: Then why doesn't God stop these things? God doesn't outright stop these things because A. He gave us freewill and B. He allows a greater good to come out of it.
God treats us like adults. He respects our freewill and He wants us to love Him freely. He won't force us to love Him and He won't treat us like puppets. Still, He sees us hurting ourselves and others and did something to break the vicious cycle without interfering in our freewill. This is where Jesus comes in.

God went out of His way to rescue us to the point where He became one of us and was brutally tortured and killed for us.  We tortured God. We spat on Him. We ridiculed Him. We killed Him. All of this after He told us to love our enemies and that we must forgive others indefinitely. He said to love one another as He loves us. He said all this knowing that ultimately He would be put to death on the cross. We can't blame God for the things WE DO. But God is bigger and God rose from the dead like it was promised. God does not break His promises. We are always breaking ours and yet He will never take that freewill away from us even when we hurt others or ourselves.  Out of our freewill, we make choices. Good and bad choices. We live with the consequences of the bad. Hopefully, we learn from these consequences, thus the greater good.
Any competent parent knows this when applying this to their own children. We also know that they will often learn to change their behavior because of the consequences of their negative actions.  And, eventually, our children grow up and become independent. We can't control all that they do. We may try to give them advice. We may even plead and beg them not to do something that could harm them. But ultimately, they can choose to listen to us or ignore us. So we can't be blamed for the bad choices they make when we've been guiding them on what the good choices are all throughout their young lives. If they choose to ignore us and they get hurt, they are living with the consequences of their actions. Again, hopefully they will learn from that and the greater good will come out of it. It's the same with God. He can guide us and show us the way but if we ignore Him then we can run into trouble. We can't then turn around and blame God for our bad choices and our fallen world.

As a Catholic, I've learned more about humanity and our fallen nature. I've learned that I'm just as culpable for this fallen world as the person next to me.
I've learned that it's only in God where we find peace, joy and fulfillment. In God I have found my refuge. No matter what is going on in the world, God promises us internal and eternal peace if we follow Him. Again, He does not break His promise even when we are harming each other. He gives us the choice to believe in Him and follow Him or to reject Him and not follow Him. He doesn't promise life on earth will be without suffering, He didn't escape suffering when He became one of us.  Our world is fallen because of our rebellion. We live with the consequences of that. He only promises us eternal life if we really want it. And then He shows us The Way. But it is always up to us. We can say no at any time. We can back out and walk away. It's our choice and our consequences.

So... stop blaming God. It's not His fault.

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Here are my posts for the week. Thanks to RAnn.

Idol Worship

what it is and what it isn't...

What if?

What if I joined non-Catholic Church instead of where I'm at today?

I see poor people

Confronting the homeless in the city and wondering what to do about it.

Idol Worship

Something I've seen Catholic's get accused of by our non-Catholic brothers and sisters is our supposed "worship" of statues and pictures. They accuse us of idolatry. I'll see comments like "they bow down to statues... they worship statues...etc."

I used to hear about Catholics being accused of this but I thought maybe it was just paranoia on our part. But no, it's really true, we still get accused of this stuff to the point that the accusers have made such a caricature of themselves by caricaturing us. If you want to see some examples go to the combox discussions here and here and this forum thread here.

Take a "bow" everyone or don't because that must mean you worship whatever it is that you bow at. I suppose the next time I go to a concert or play then I'm to assume that I'm being worshipped when the performers "bow down" to me. I think Shameless Popery does an excellent job of debunking this myth of "statue" worship that Catholics are accused of. So I suggest reading his post on the subject. First of all it's not bowing, it's kneeling and kneeling does not automatically mean "worship." If I kneel before a statue that doesn't mean I'm worshiping. People kneel before the Queen of England. People kneel before a grave of someone they love or respect. Kneeling is a sign of respect. Signs of respect don't equal worship. Worship is what's in your heart. It's when you put something, (hopefully God,) above all else and it is done in your heart and mind. I only worship God. If I worshipped anything other than God, I would be in grave sin according to the Catholic Church.

Now, I'm going to let our accusers in on a little secret. Yes, we Catholics can be guilty of idol worship... BUT, it's not the statues you should be concerned with. In fact, I'd be willing to bet our accusers are guilty too.

Let's be honest here, I have a statue of Mary in my house. I have some pictures of Mary and Jesus. What would I gain in worshiping these objects? The objects in it of themselves are not all that exciting and in fact, I should probably go dust them off. In Exodus the objects the Israelites worshipped were made of gold and sparkly. You know, GOLD, a very valuable metal that can be used to get things and show off one's status in the world. Kind of like money. Hmm. money. Ah yes, money. Paper and not so precious metal coins that get us STUFF. Things like IPads, cars, jewelry, designer handbags. A statue of Mary on the other hand, hmm not so much. I love Mary like I love my own mother. I don't worship either. Other than being a reminder of the wonderful creature God chose to come into this world I don't find a statue of Mary particularly exciting. Certainly not enough to distract me from God. An IPad on the other hand, well that's definitely flashy and exciting. And it's definitely something that could distract me from God.

IPad- potential idol.

Statue of Mary- Meh.

Somehow, I doubt Catholics are the only ones that get distracted with things like IPads, Nintendo Wii, designer handbags, their favorite football team, Nike shoes, etc. I have a hunch many protestants, Jews, Budhists, Atheists and secularist are lured by these material things which ultimately lead us further away from God if we let them or if we even care that they can. And these material things never fill our hunger that we ultimately have for God. Which is why God tells us not have false gods. They are bad for us. They don't satisfy. They lead to other sins which damage us and those around us.

Bottom line, if it leads you AWAY from God, it's an idol. It's a false god. If it leads you TO God, it's not an idol. Mary leads me to Jesus. The saints lead me to Jesus. The Bible leads me to Jesus,(although, the Bible can become an idol when it is used as a weapon for pride.)  And sometimes I may avoid these things because they're not as fun and sparkly. Instead, they are sobering and instructive. But they ultimately bring me closer to God and then I experience the joy of being in communion with God.

The treasures of the world in it of themselves aren't idols. They can be good things that bring temporary enjoyment as the fruits of labor. But when they come before God, they become idols. This is why many religious orders take a vow of poverty. They don't want anything to get in the way of their service and relationship to God. It's ironic because Catholics are accused of letting statues of Mary and the saints as a barrier to our relationship with Christ and yet there's the Joel Osteens preaching "name it and claim it" on some car or house. Material "blessings" as he calls it. And then you have St. Francis who unloaded all his wealth and belongings to the poor. He got rid of everything, even the clothes on his back. He saw material things as a impediment to his relationship and mission to God. Of the two, who's really guilty of idol worship? St. Francis or Joel Osteen?

So, please, if you're railing against Catholics because we have statues of Jesus, Mary and the saints, shift your focus elsewhere. Worry about your own idols and false gods. I know what mine are and they're not in statue form. My false gods and idols are like many in this western industrial world. Gadgets and toys, money, the computer, the tv. All are brimming with potential for idol worship.

What if?

I consider myself a "convert" even though as a child I was baptized in the Catholic Church. But I was not raised in it. I was raised in a non-believing secular family. I read other's conversion stories and a lot of them are from other Christian denominations. I find them very fascinating because these people already had a deep relationship with Jesus and knew the Bible inside and out and even had some anti-catholic prejudices. I didn't have much to lose when I came into full communion with the Church. I was my biggest hurdle. I had my pride to overcome but that was pretty much it. Don't get me wrong. Pride is a HUGE hurdle. But our protestant brothers and sisters who converted not only had their pride but also risked losing family members, friends, their source of income, (if they were clergy,) and other outside oppositional influences. And yet, they still became Catholic.

I ponder if I had become a non-Catholic Christian, if I'd have done the same. I'm afraid I wouldn't have. There were some occasions when I could have joined another church but there always seemed to be an obstacle. I got the sense that God was putting up the hurdles. Sometimes I even wondered when these hurdles popped up if God just didn't want me. I wasn't worthy enough. But I look back now and see that He did want me. He wanted all of me and had I gone with another tradition I might have become disillusioned and left Christianity altogether. Knowing how weak and faint of heart I was, He put up those hurdles so I'd go straight to the source.

So I really admire those who converted from other Christian traditions. Because they've got moxie. They risked everything and they even lost everything and they still came to Rome. In the early days of Christianity they would have been the happy martyrs singing hymns while being fed to the lions. And they strengthen my faith all the more.

I see poor people

We've recently moved to a nice metropolitan city with excellent mass transit. We live in the suburbs but now when we feel like it, we can hop on the light rail that takes us to downtown. The downtown has all you would expect in a hopping and hip place. Lots of eateries, cafes, book stores, record stores, hip clothing boutiques, galleries, city parks, and a cool river that people walk and ride their bike a long. And then there's the homeless.

I see them and I don't know what to do. I feel called to do something.

It's not like I haven't seen homeless people before. I've dropped them some change here and there. I've served them in the parish soup kitchen a couple times. But now I have kids so I've kept my distance. But in this city, I'm confronted with them. I walk by them and I feel utterly helpless. There is a St. Vincent de Pauls and some other Christian and secular outreaches down there but still, I can't ignore them.

Saturday we took my mom who was visiting from out of town on the lightrail to the downtown market. There were the usual beggars on the street corners with signs pleading for a job, food or money. But one individual really stuck with me. We were strolling along the river walk and I noticed a young man in his twenties with his head down on a wooden post of the metal barrier to the river. We were close to the draw bridge and I wondered if he was going to hop over and jump off it. I stared at him and his misery and started mumbling the Divine Mercy prayer under my breath. I kept singing to myself;

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity or your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

I chanted it and looked back over at him. He lifted his head up looking out. Then he started walking toward us. I watched him as he looked me in the eye. Perhaps my expression was a look of pity. His gaze was locked on me and I stared back and kept chanting the prayer under my breath. The look on his face said,

"Help me."

Then he walked past us and continued onward. My eyes followed him still singing and praying in my mind that he wouldn't jump off the bridge.

I don't know his story. I just know he was lost and in total despair. I'm praying he finds God. I'm praying I can be Jesus to these poor souls even if it's for a moment.

I contemplate what I should do when we go downtown. I wonder if I should just have some change handy. Or maybe some holy cards with change in them. Maybe tuck some brown scapulars in them as well.

I open to suggestions. 

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Here's what I wrote for the week. Thanks to RAnn for hosting!

Why are Catholics so guilty?

Not too long ago, I was chatting on the phone with a friend. We were talking about faith and our relationship with Christ. She's a non-denominational Christian so it's easy to talk about faith without fear of sounding like a "Jesus freak." I was lamenting about how I keep failing God and I keep screwing up. She interrupted me and asked "Why are Catholics so guilty? I have other Catholic friends and they're always so guilty."

I was a little caught off guard. I thought for a moment trying to figure how to respond but then as we both have kids we were interrupted and the subject changed. I didn't really have an answer at the time. I remember my pastor would joke about how the Jews invented guilt and Catholics perfected it. You hear about Catholic guilt a lot. But is it really Catholic guilt? Or is it just plain ol' guilt and why do Catholics tend have a lot of it? Readmore