Fish Fry or Way of the Cross, or......Both?
Who Cares What the Church says, I Do What I Want
Photo By: Flickr/jlwelsh
How many of us Catholics practice this type of Cafeteria Catholicism? I would guess, most of us. I surmise that many of us pass judgement on the teachings and dogmas of the Church without fully understanding them. This is irresponsible and probably exudes the vice of pride, it certainly doesn’t exude humility.
So many of us think we know what the Church teaches, but we really don’t at all. It is a shame too. People are spending tens of thousands of dollars sending their kids to Catholic schools, yet where are they on Sunday? They seem to be absent from the pews. I don’t get that. Why isn’t that fire being lit within the hearts of our kids? If we truly understand the Catholic Faith, how can our hearts not be consumed with Christ’s heat, light and Joy!
I really believe it’s because most of us, simply don’t take the time to know the Faith, and I will even take this one step further and declare that we don’t take the time to know Jesus. Yeah, I know, I see the empty platitudes on Facebook, and hear all kinds of hypocritical evangelization. Ironically, many times, this comes from those of us that don’t practice or abide by the most fundamental and basic tenants of the Faith. This seems to be abundant. What doesn’t seem abundant are people in the pews, a daily commitment to prayer, and a real effort to understand the richness, depth and true miracle of the Catholic Faith. This is sad and disappointing. I can attest from experience that the deeper you dig into the Faith, the bigger and more amazing it becomes. I will also state that when you truly start to understand the fundamental principles our Faith is based on, her teachings make so much sense.
Fulton Sheen : “ There are not 100 people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church, which is, of course, quite a different thing”.
Among these millions of people are Catholics themselves who truly misunderstand the teachings and dogmas of the Church. They are the most dangerous and destructive to the message of the Church.
Satan loves these erroneous perceptions and lies. He perpetuates them in an effort to draw us away from the Church and Jesus. He feeds us lies, lies that tell us we are too busy for Church and daily prayer; because if we don’t talk to Jesus about our struggles, and our hopes and dreams, we don’t share them with the One who can truly make them happen or shape them into His plan for us. If we can’t find the time to speak with Him, as we would an earthly best friend, and to receive His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the sacraments; aren’t we in fact denying Him? Why would we ever miss an opportunity to make Him a part of our very body and spirit in a real and material way?
Shouldn’t Jesus be our top priority? Shouldn’t He be worth the time and the effort? The Church has a 2000 year history of Saints, Visionaries and brilliant thinkers to lead us toward the right path and direction, and to bring Christ’s very being into our hearts and our lives. Isn’t He worthy of everything we are and hope to be? You only need to look at the Crucifix for your answer?
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About the Author
I am a wife and mother of two grown sons. Although I am Cradle Catholic, I experienced a profound reversion to the True faith several years ago that motivated and inspired me to dive more deeply into an understanding of the Church and Her teachings, and why She has these teachings and where they come from. Surprisingly, for me, the more I read and discovered, the deeper my love of the Catholic Church and her teachings became. This certainly is a journey that doesn't end, and so as I uncover more amazing facts about our Faith and Church, I just can't help but want to share what I'm learning. So, I began writing for Catholic 365.
I have recently served for a year and a half as the Executive Director of a very active and busy Crisis Pregnancy Center on the West side of Cincinnati. God is so good and does answers prayers, even though He knows at times, we have no idea what we are asking for. The pro life cause is paramount to our times, I am so honored and humbled to have had the experience and opportunity to serve women and the unborn in this capacity! I am also very grateful to God, for allowing me to see for myself, that perhaps such a calling was not His long term plan for me. We go where God seeminly calls us, and for me, that was a return to corporate America. I currently work as a recruiter and sales onboarding specialist where I am helping a Franchising company open and support small businesses that serve seniors and the elderly, giving them opportunities to age in place and live thier final chapters with dignity. It is the other end of the pro life spectrum and such an amazing endeavor!
I love being able to share this great faith of ours and use this platform as a way to express my deep love and devotion to our Lord. We need each other, and this effort has truly become a wonderful way to connect with all of you- my brothers and sisters in Christ!
