Online recently, the question was posed as to why people, in general, are Catholic. I could answer this in a myriad of different ways, but I think the reasons that I am Catholic and desire to remain so are as follows:
- I am Catholic because it is gives my life direction and purpose. There are thousands of people in our world, some in our own circle of friends and family, who feel direction-less. They are restless, have no ambition and pretend they don’t care. Instead they immerse themselves in sensual pleasure and have to deal with that superficiality as well. I don’t feel this way. I believe that God has a plan and purpose for all of us, a vocation that is tailor made to suit the talents and abilities He has given us. My life has purpose and direction because of this. I know what my vocation is and what is asked of me. Sometimes I might be hesitant to accept God’s will in my life, but deep down I know that He knows what is best for me.
- I am Catholic because it is so life affirming. From conception to death, life is embraced, welcomed and supported. Everyone is considered equally vital to the world and equally loved by God. Children are welcomed lovingly through marriage, a union designed to be open to life, and big families are celebrated and blessed abundantly. The rights of the unborn and the elderly, infirm or dying are respected and they are treated with the dignity they deserve. Though it is certainly difficult to fight for the pro-life cause in such a secular world, it is so important.
- I am Catholic because of the Cross. I am compelled to draw nearer and nearer to Jesus, the Lord who gave His life for me so that I might live in Heaven with Him. How much easier it is to bear the sufferings of this earthly life when I can offer them in union with His suffering and use it for good, rather than dwelling on my own fears and anxieties. How could I love Him less, who would willingly die the horrific death of crucifixion out of love of me?
- I am Catholic because of Confession. Don’t get me wrong, like most other people I don’t actually like going to Confession and admitting my sins but I do love the absolution, the forgiveness and the knowledge that I have a merciful Father in Heaven who will forgive me for all the sins I commit. I love the feeling of walking out of the Confessional knowing that, at this moment, I’m in a state of grace.
- I am Catholic because I believe in the next life and what it offers us. Hope is a strong motivator, a pervasive trust that this life is not all that there is. I believe that this life is only transitory and that the next one is the one worth working towards. And I try, and probably fail most of the time, to live accordingly.
- I am Catholic because I believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. You can’t get much more Catholic than that, in my opinion, and sadly a lot of practising Catholics don’t necessarily believe that. Perhaps I have been blessed more than others in that I have been to Orvieto, Italy, and seen evidence of the Eucharistic Miracle that occurred there, but then again, I believed long before then that He was truly there. If you can believe, and see with faith, what nature obscures from us, then you’re Catholic and there’s no running from that.
I am Catholic for many more reasons than this, but I am also Catholic because I recognise my own nothingness and in the Catholic Church I know that I am loved, welcomed and commissioned, despite my nothingness, to work for God in a role of His choosing. And perhaps that is countercultural to some, but for me, it’s a reality and one I cherish.
Originally posted 2015-07-21 12:00:59.