This was a great day. I met a very vocal and very articulate individual. It was a pleasure to listen to the life story of the quintessential example of a cultural Catholic.
“I was born a Catholic, was baptized, went to Catholic school and made my first communion. All my family is Catholic. My mother and father donated generously to the church. The priest came to the house and ate and drank with the members of the family. We provided the statue for the May block rosary and processions. There is no way that I am going to be anything but a Catholic. I was born a Catholic, brought up a Catholic and I’m going to die a Catholic.
“So, I tell you, I am in total shock that I have to go through so much red tape to get my husband into the Catholic Church. I mean, we have all the documents that we need to make this go smoothly. We have the divorce decrees, the death certificates, my baptismal certificate, my spouse’s baptismal certificate, I mean, what else could you possibly want? After all, we are not in any big hurry to get married in the Church, we’ve been married now for a number of years and we’re all right. We have a good marriage.
“The one thing that is uncomfortable is to have to sit there when communion time comes around. It’s a shame that we can’t get up with the children and go to communion. So that’s why my spouse really should be Catholic. I know my spouse has had a previous marriage, but the first partner has disappeared and no one knows where. Besides, we have all the documents that we can show you so we can get this thing done without involvingany other first spouse.”
When the talking machine stops for a breath, I inquire where this lifelong Catholic was born. I was told the name of the town and the country but not the exact broader political division (State / Province).
“I’ll have to ask my mother. Why do you have to know that? What does that have to do with my present spouse wanting to be a Catholic?”
“By the way, is this your first marriage?” I asked.
“No.”
“Oh, fine. Was your first marriage blessed in the Catholic Church? Was your first spouse Catholic?”
“Yes, my first spouse was Catholic. No, we were not married in Church.”
“So you did not submit yourself to the Church’s sacrament of matrimony for your first marriage.”
“No, I did not.”
“So you realize that you could not go to communion then, either.”
“Yes, you’re right. Look, we’re going to have to talk this over together. I had no idea that this was going to be this complicated. I can’t understand why we have to endure all this red tape. All I want is that my spouse here should be Catholic. That’s the only goal. Besides, we have all the documents that we need.”
I went on to explain, “What you call red tape is your version of what Catholics call following the call of Jesus as expressed through His mission to His Church. The disciples of Jesus who follow Him through His Church accept the fact that they cannot be His disciples on their own terms. There are other religions that allow their members to relate to Jesus on their own terms, but not the Catholic Church. It appears to me that if you want to die a Catholic, you will have to experience a change of heart, a conversion, so to speak. "
I went further, “As to your spouse being admitted to the Catholic Church, I can tell you that it is going to take more than a pile of civil documents, and it is going to take longer than a month or two.”
“How long will it take?” she asked.
“I can’t begin to give you an estimate of that until I know the full story as contained in documents and testimony taken from both of you.”
“We’re going to have to talk this over. I never knew anything about this. I’ve been a Catholic all my life and I never knew anything about all this."
"All the more reason why you should come to the Sunday morning instructional meetings with your spouse. You'd get to know a lot about being a Catholic."
"Well, I'm very busy. Look, we’ll get back to you.”
“Talk it over and call me when you are ready. I am at your service when and where you want me.”
“All we want is for my spouse to be a Catholic. That shouldn’t be that hard.”
Now I know for sure that there is one more person in the world who will certainly not cry at my funeral.
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5 comments:
Congratulations in bringing in a new Catholic member. You're life long - so am I. It's a great system not just for salvation (avoid hell and make it to heaven) but to santify the world and to bring the energy and power of God's grace on the earth. Doing things because we are Catholic transforms our actions from just ours to God's - pretty powerful.
I wonder if this lady realizes how long she went to school to learn about being Catholic. Desire to become Catholic is only the beginning.
I get your point. Being Catholic is not just "being" one. It's living a life that's Christ-like. And that ain't easy. And it's also hard to comprehend what being a Catholic is without studying about it. I'm a cradle Catholic and I admit I do not know much about my faith. Maybe I should join an RCIA class in my parish.
Well, this person sure has had their head in the sand well before Vatican II. I have heard of people like them and now I know why I try and reach people through RCIA. It seems that being a Catholic is just a label to them and they want it like they want Nike shoes. Well, I will cry at their funeral if they don't come around before God calls them home. Wow. How sad to be a Catholic and not have a relationship with God.
Catholics realize that the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are objects of God-given faith. They also realize that salvation (“being saved”) is an object of God-given faith. The religion that comes from that God-given faith is also an object of faith. Catholics also believe that non-catholic humans who dedicate themselves to the pursuit of perfection, following Jesus and living the way He showed us, can and do aspire to being saved. Following Jesus requires “following the guidelines” that He himself delineated for us all. These guidelines are as much objects of faith as Jesus Himself is. Since these guidelines are contained as part and parcel of the Catholic Religion, it is logical that the religion itself is an object of God-given faith.
It is true that religion is an integral part of our faith. It is not true that religion is “merely” a part of our faith. As an integral part of our faith religion is an object of our faith.
“SavedbyChrist” you say that you do not believe in the Catholic religion, and, by extension, the Catholic Church, but your soul is infused to its depths by the Spirit of God to the extent that everything you believe is impregnated by the God-given gift of Faith under the color of the Catholic religion.
Religion is not just an agglomeration of exterior organizational forces. Religion is an internal personal virtue that makes it easier for us to express our God-given gift of faith. If we had no virtue of religion, we would not be able to live life in the footsteps of Jesus. Jesus Himself lived His life as an Orthodox Jew. Jesus had religion. If we aspire to eternal salvation through the imitation of Jesus, As He himself has challenged us to do in the Gospels, we too have to have not only personal faith, but its integral part, religion.
The interesting part of Jesus’ life is that He challenged the leaders of His religion. He saw the weaknesses that they had and He pointed them out to them. Through it all, He never abdicated His religious beliefs because He knew that they were an essential part of His mission on earth. We follow Jesus’ example in a Faith which includes Religious practice. Jesus gave us an example of life that has made it possible for us to maintain religious practice that reaches back many thousands of years. The Bible that formed Jesus’ faith and religion and that we cherish so much is the product of religious people who expressed their faith in writing under the inspiration of God Himself. The Jewish religion that built the Bible under the direction of God is therefore an object of our faith. It is this religion that serves as the source of our Catholicism. Catholics believe that and that is why the Catholic religion maintains that the most secure way to salvation is through active practice of a complete faith in God Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the Catholic religion. Jesus saved us through His living of an exemplary religious life in relationship with His Father and through the spilling of His Sacred Blood which sprang forth from His Orthodox Jewish body.
It is clear that you are happy that you have learned a lot about the Catholic Religion through your many years of contact with it. It is also clear that you did not accept God’s gift of religious faith along the way. Intellectual knowledge does not bring faith. Faith comes directly from God as an unconditionally proffered gift and is either accepted or rejected out of human freedom. Fulfilled faith is not simple acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross for our salvation. Faith is a mutually practiced relationship between God and humans. In order to be complete, this relationship is fuelled by God’s gift of faith well received and the human’s response to the gift through a virtuous, generously giving religious life (Matthew, chapter 25). This response is lived within the guidelines of organized religion, usually defined by active affiliation to an organized church.
“I just pray that all, no matter what religous (sic) affiliation they have are saved-confessed they are a sinner, be repentant and have accepted Christ in their heart and life.”
Your prayer is touching. Catholics believe that those who lead virtuous lives in response to the love of God can aspire to being saved. Catholics do not believe that passive acceptance of Christ as a personal savior alone is sufficient for salvation. Catholics believe that salvation comes only to those of good faith and clean conscience, in whatever religious affiliation, who are dynamic followers of Jesus according to His commissioning (Matthew, Chapter 28, verse 19ss).
By the way, “SavedbyChrist”, like it or not, you will die a Catholic. Your honesty gives you away. You don’t hide behind the culture of baptismal Catholicism. You call a spade a spade. Your participation in this give-and-take shows that you have been swallowed by the whale. God is taking you to your Nineveh . One day you will be thrown up on the shore of God ’s mission for you. Stay ready, be aware, keep your lamp well oiled and your wick trimmed, sleep with your shoes next to your bed, keep a valid passport handy.
You have my prayers and my blessings.
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