Catholic Faith Space
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In case you didn’t hear or see the news about it, the L.A. Dodgers are honoring a group of men who dress in drag and mock the Catholic faith with a “Community Hero” award. The members of this anti-Catholic group dress in habits and call themselves the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The group’s motto is, “Go forth and sin some more, " a distasteful twisting of Jesus’ command to “go and sin no more.” Each of them takes on a vulgar religious name when they join the group and they also mock the various steps in the formation process that Catholic religious women go through (postulancy, novitiate, etc.) when joining an order. They host lewd and sacrilegious events such as a Midnight Confessional Contest held at a bar, dressing up as Jesus carrying a cross and then performing a pole dance on the cross, a Free Choice Mary pro-abortion event, mock masses with wafers and tequila, and many more acts that are more obscene and sickening than you can imagine. After the Dodgers received criticism and objections from Catholics, the Dodgers rescinded their invitation to the drag group. However, a week later, the Dodgers caved to the pressure of LGBTQ groups and proponents, issued an apology, and reinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to be honored at the stadium. This whole situation is just one example of how the Catholic faith is viewed by the world. If it were any other group of people being mocked in this kind of way, there would be an immediate stop put to it and it would be widely condemned. But Catholicism has become some sort of punching bag for our society and people just go along with it. Our faith is under attack in big ways such as the above example and in smaller, more discreet ways every single day.
Jesus was clear that we would experience persecution as a result of following Him and being part of the Church, so we should not be surprised when it happens. And thankfully, we live in a country where we do not have to fear for our physical safety when attending mass or praying in public. While we likely will not face a situation where we have to die for our religious beliefs, the reality is that we still will be hated by the world because of His name (John 15:18-21). This must not stop us from living out our faith. Whether it’s in music, movies, TV shows, any sort of entertainment outlet, or just in the jokes of others, our faith is often the target for inappropriate comments, ridicule, or parodies. Our culture is hostile to Catholics, and especially to those who are serious about living it out. It can be easy to become discouraged or tempted to hide our faith, turning it into something private. But our faith is meant to be shared with others. We must persevere and strive to imitate Christ each day, while taking a stand against those who think our faith is a joke. Many people just go with the flow or say that there are bigger issues to worry about. But if our faith is important to us, we will not accept people mocking or defiling it. We must continue to stand up for the truth and not be ashamed to let the world know not only who we are as Catholics, but more importantly, who Jesus is. People are starving for the truth and for the love of Christ, even if they don’t realize it. And it is in this longing and searching that they target what is sacred and valuable. I don’t think so many people would attack and mock Catholicism if it wasn’t good, true, and beautiful. In the midst of a culture that hates Catholicism, we must remain firm in our beliefs and stand up against the attacks against our faith. Dear Jesus, you faced the ultimate persecution. Thank you for showing us the way. Help us to recognize the cost of discipleship and strengthen us so that we may persevere through the hardships in order to follow you. Set us apart so that we would not conform to the ways of the world. Give us courage so that we would not be afraid to be persecuted for your sake. May we strive to imitate you and bring your love and compassion to all we encounter, especially to those who are hostile towards you. Amen.
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Yesterday my sister Abbey ran a marathon. Watching the marathon was genuinely one of the most fun and enjoyable things ever. We had the race participant tracking app so that we could track where Abbey was and so that we could get to as many spots as possible to see her and cheer her on. Aside from cheering for Abbey, we cheered for and encouraged all the people we didn’t know who were also running the course. The amount of times that they said “thank you for being out here” or expressed some other type of appreciation was countless. They were so grateful for the encouragement and motivation. Being able to support the runners and encourage them to keep going also encouraged and inspired myself as a spectator. If you’ve ever watched a marathon or really any road race (10/10 would recommend it if you haven’t), you know the atmosphere is amazing. People are along the course cheering for anyone and everyone who runs by and the runners themselves are encouraging each other as well. It would be so much more difficult for the race participants to complete the long and strenuous event without each other and without the support of spectators. This is a metaphor for our lives, as our faith journey as Christians is very much the same way.
The journey of following Christ is not always easy. It is long, challenging, and difficult at times. We need people to pray for us and with us. We need people who are going to challenge us in our faith and help us rise up and be better. We need people who will encourage us and cheer us on, especially when it gets hard. We need people who will hold us accountable. We need people who are running the race with us. When I think of Christianity, the key element that comes to mind is community. Without a community, living out our faith would be so much harder. We really cannot do it on our own and we need a community that is built on Jesus and our faith. We need other people to help us keep the fire alive. We need people who will share their witness with us, inspire us, and help us stay focused on God when our culture is trying to drag us down. There is so much power in a strong faith community. Taking time to walk with others on the journey is vital for us to experience growth and a deeper relationship with Jesus. Whether it’s a text message checking in with someone to see how things are going, a phone call or letter, or sitting down with someone to talk about faith, these seemingly small actions all make a huge difference. Whether it’s a retreat group, a Bible study or book group, or just a group of friends, there are so many amazing Catholic communities we can be a part of. We just have to seek them out. Aside from people who are here and living among us, we also have a powerful community of saints up in heaven, cheering us on, praying for us, and helping us walk more closely with Jesus. We all have a race to run. It is long and challenging at times. And even if it seems like we are ever alone, we must remember that we all have at least one community who is there for us, praying for us, sharing their faith, and offering the support we need. Life is a lot like a marathon, allow others to run it with you and cheer you on and to help you run closer to Jesus. My sister Sarah lives in North Carolina. Ever since she has lived out of the state, my mom and whoever else is at home at the time, calls her over FaceTime every weekend. This past weekend, she was home for my sister Abbey’s graduation. Since she was with us in person, we didn’t have to FaceTime her. It’s great to have the technology to call her and talk to her with video, but nothing beats when she is home and we get to see her in person. Seeing her in person is key to maintaining a relationship. Similarly, there are many ways to practice our faith and various tools we have to do so, but nothing beats being able to sit in the presence of Jesus in eucharistic adoration and being able to receive Him at mass. And it is the key to our relationship with Him.
Looking around at mass every week, the pews are empty. Where is everyone? One thing I hear from a lot of people is that they can just pray at home or wherever they are. Other people say that they don’t get anything from mass. We should pray wherever we are whenever we can. And now more than ever, we have so many resources that can help us grow in our faith and strengthen our relationship with Jesus. There are prayer and Bible apps, podcasts, Youtube videos, streaming abilities for getting on a video call with others to have a Bible or book study, and countless other tools. These are all great options we have to grow in faith. But how can anyone have a relationship with someone who they don’t ever see face-to-face? The two best ways to come to know Jesus personally and not just know about Him are in eucharistic adoration and in the mass. Jesus makes himself present so that we can encounter him, in-person. It is in these places that we can be more attentive to Him and listen to how He is speaking to us. When communicating with someone over the phone, we can be doing many other tasks and only giving the person part of our attention. But when that person is with us in the flesh, we can more easily give our full attention. It is the same with Jesus. Praying on our own at home or using an app on our phones to listen to a homily or faith-based podcast only allows us to go to the surface level that can have more distractions. But when we are in an environment that is conducive to encountering Christ, it is easier to give Him our full attention and to go deeper in our relationship with Him. We have been given a great gift in both the mass and in adoration. Getting to be in the presence of Jesus should give us great joy. How can we share that joy with others not in the pews so that they too might want to meet Jesus in-person? Last Thursday night, as I went up and began doing the first reading at church, it suddenly became a struggle. It felt like it was one hundred degrees and my head started pounding. Some of the words on the page seemed to be moving. It was like my brain was not responding fast enough to what my eyes were seeing and it became difficult to read the words. The lines on the page also seemed to blur together. Sometimes, life can be like this; blurry, especially if we try to look at life without Jesus and faith.
Sometimes, the world around us can seem blurry. There is so much that goes on in our daily lives and our days are filled up so much that by the end of the day, or the end of the week, we often can’t perceive any clear moments of any real significance. A lot of times, we live each day, just trying to make it through another work week and get to the weekend. We can become so focused on moving forward that we don’t stop and reflect on the present moment. We are called to invite Jesus into every part of our days. Whether that means taking a quick break to walk outside and thank God for the sunshine, or to say a brief prayer asking Him to help you through whatever you are working on, these small moments help us to recognize the presence of God in wherever we are and whatever we may be doing. There is so much going on in our world right now. So many people look at life without the lens of faith and without the acknowledgement of Jesus. But without Him, nothing makes sense and life is rather meaningless. Without faith, it’s no wonder that people question their purpose and have nowhere to turn to when life gets hard and when suffering and tragedies present themselves. By taking the time regularly to slow down and thank God for another hour, minute, or breath, it allows us to recognize Him more easily in the moment. Instead of our days and weeks blending together, and everything moving quickly and being blurred together, we can see the value of each day, even if nothing particularly eventful happens. May we all take time to clearly see Jesus in the midst of our fast-paced and continually-moving days. |
AuthorStriving to share hope, joy, God's love, and all of the good stuff, one blog post at a time. Categories |
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