To Whom Shall we Go?

A few days ago, I came across an article about Catholics leaving the church.  The conclusion that the author made was that, many times, it is not a situation of someone abandoning Catholic belief, but instead a case of him or her having not ever really found it to begin with “or having not known the fullness of faith which makes it worth keeping even when it feels the most difficult” (Grabowski, 2021).  I think this author is completely correct in saying this.  If people really understood the teachings of the faith, they would not leave or stop practicing.

Oftentimes, people will say they simply stopped believing in what the Church teaches or that the Church is wrong about certain teachings.  The beliefs of the Catholic Church are misunderstood and falsely presented by the world.  Many times, people who leave the Church are unable to see the truth in the midst of the lies the world is feeding them.  When people don’t have a solid foundation in the faith, they will inevitably fall through the cracks.  If people are not standing firmly on Christ and his words, then their ability to understand Church teachings and beliefs will crumble.

Instead of asking, “Why did they leave the church?” we need to ask “Why were they Catholic to begin with?”.  In other words, once they were old enough, what made them take ownership of their faith?  I think what we often see in the church today is a failure of people to take ownership of their faith.  In many cases, people are only Catholic because they were baptized and sent to Catholic school or CCD (weekly religion class).  Just take a look at Confirmation classes.  How many students cannot really tell you why they are being confirmed aside from the fact that their parents want them to or because it’s just the next thing to do.  Many of these students abandon their faith upon going to college.  Or maybe they never had it to begin with.

There are teachings that, although they are filled with truth and goodness, many find difficult to accept.  What the Catholic church teaches on abortion, contraception, IVF, marriage, and the Eucharist are just a few topics that people often attribute to their reasons for leaving.  While some of the teachings on these topics may appear complex and hard, when we dive into the reasons we believe what we do and try to understand, it is evident that these teachings allow us to live the fullness of life.  As we heard in this weekend’s gospel, even some disciples had a hard time accepting what Jesus was teaching, specifically on the Eucharist.  Something that stands out to me  in the passage is that Jesus doesn’t back down or change what he says.
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Like Jesus, we as the Church need to live and speak on what we believe with the same conviction.  We must be able and willing to defend what the Catholic church teaches even when it is hard.  We need to be available to teach, answer questions, and be there to discuss our faith with others.  We should be ready to help people build a strong foundation so they take ownership of their faith.  And ultimately, may we all live in such a way that each and every Catholic would say, “Master, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  (John 6:68)