To Be Catholic

What does it mean to be Catholic? Is it just a name or maybe some new trend in our society? Is it the latest fashion of some new way of wearing your hair? What is being Catholic or about?

First and foremost, to be Catholic is to be Christian. To be Catholic is to follow Christ by the way we live, the way we think, the things we say, in fact every single facet of our lives must reflect that of Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul urges us by saying, “you must give up your old way of life: you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.” (Eph 4: 22-24)

Later on in that same book or rather that letter, St. Paul again urges us to “Try then to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and to follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up in your place as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Among you there must be not even a mention of fornication or impurity in any of its forms, nor promiscuity: this would hardly become the Saints! There must be no coarseness, or salacious talk and jokes — all of this is wrong for you; raise your voices in a thanksgiving instead. For you can be quite certain that nobody who actually indulges in fornication or impurity or promiscuity — which is worshiping a false god — and inherit anything of the kingdom of God.” (Eph 5: 1-6)

Being Catholic is allowing our minds and our hearts to be transformed, to be renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that our lives reflect the will of our Heavenly Father.  Being Catholic is about accepting and fully embracing all of the teachings of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. I know many, many people will be contented with what I have written so far, that is up to this point: but I will say it again. To be Catholic is all about excepting and embracing all the teachings of the Holy Roman Catholic Church; and I emphasize ALL!  It does not, I repeat it does not include making up your own rules to suit your own lifestyles or to suit that which we prefer.  It does not include compromising the truth nor does it involve the exclusion of some of the teachings of the Church because they are too difficult to follow. Many people approach their faith as if they were choosing items from the grocery shelf, or as if they went to have a meal at a restaurant and was going through the menu to choose the dishes that they liked. So when the Church teaches that abortion is wrong, then as a true Catholic we must accept and live that. When the Church teaches that sex before marriage is wrong, then as Catholics we must accept and live in this truth.

If we are really honest with ourselves, and we know and ponder the teachings of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, we will surely find a tremendous wealth of wisdom in all Her teachings.  We will likewise recognize that deviation from Her teachings always leads to problems, and makes our lives more difficult.  For example, deviating from the Church’s teachings on sexuality and it’s right use and purpose, has resulted in deadly diseases, brokenness, insecurity; and it filters all the way down to our children. Deviation from God’s law – and let us not kid ourselves, the Catholic Church’s laws and God’s laws are one in the same – results in sin, alienation and pain and ultimately death, since the wages of sin is death.   As serious minded Catholics, we are obligated to accept the full teachings of the Catholic Church.  That is what being Catholic is all about.

Many people – including Catholics – use the scandals that have plagued our church as an excuse why they choose not to follow some or all of Her teachings.  For those who are honestly and genuinely caught up by this, what I will say to you is this. When Jesus established the Catholic Church in Matthew 16: 18-19, he did not call Michael the archangel, nor Gabriel to head the Church.  He called Peter – a mere man – who denied that he knew Jesus, not once but three times.  From the earliest days of the Church, there were problems.  Apart from Peter’s denial, there was Judas who used to help himself to the funds, and who betrayed Jesus, then to top it off, he hung himself. So the problems were always there.  You see when Jesus founded the Church, he did not say that it would be problem free.  He did however promise to send the Holy Spirit to be with the Church to guide Her, till the end of time.  Therefore, there exists a very wide difference between the Church and the individuals in the Church who have faltered along the way. The Church and all of Her teachings are the fulfilment of God promise in Christ Jesus to always be present in, to and through the Church, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christ has empowered the Church’s shepherds with the gift of infallibility in all matters of faith and morals.  So while many individuals – be they priest of lay-people – have faltered along the way, the teachings of the Church remain sound and intact because the teaching of the Holy Roman Catholic Church ALL came into being by the power of the Holy Spirit.  So do not make the error of confusing the Church’s teachings, the Church’s authority, the Church’s truths with the sins of those within the Church. We all are meant to be guided by the Church and NOT individuals within the Church.  So Catholics, take pride in being Catholic.

The most important and exciting part of being Catholic is that of living a sacramental life. The word sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum which means “a sign of the sacred.” To be Catholic means to live our lives deeply rooted in our Baptism. Every day we should relive our Confirmation by renewing our promise to be open to the Holy Spirit and to follow Jesus Christ in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.  We should not miss weekend Mass at all.  To be Catholic, we should also do our best to make sure that no sin, no one, absolutely nothing prevents us from receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. To be Catholic is to embrace God’s infinite love and His mercy that is extended to us in the sacrament of Reconciliation, which we should attend as often as we can.

In short, if we are truly serious about our faith in Christ Jesus; if we are truly serious about the promise we made to follow Jesus when we were confirmed; if we truly want to be faithful followers of Jesus, we must live sacramental lives.  If we do, we will find that more and more God will reveal himself to us and guide us in the way we should go.  Being Catholic is a great joy. It is one of the best things anyone can ever do with their lives.

“Try then to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and to follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up in your place as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.