This one was a real problem for me when coming into the Church. What do you do when most of your friends and family think about this guy when you mention Catholicism?
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| "You wanna be Catholic? I'll make you an offer..." |
You could always say you think about this guy when you think of Protestantism...
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| "Have a sip of my kool-aid" |
But both images would be epic fails, and back and forth image throw-downs won't get intra-Christian dialog anywhere. All that said, cultural Catholics still present a serious impediment to the Catholic faith -- especially for faithful, Christ-loving, Protestants considering Catholicism. Because nothing makes the Catholic Church more attractive than:
Not so much.
But while Mass isn't week-in-and-week-out populated with "cultural Catholics" (that's what Easter and Christmas are for), there are still thousands and thousands of people in almost any densely populated location who will eagerly admit "I'm Catholic!" when asked about their religious affiliation simply because they were baptized 2-5 decades ago. In fact, some Protestants (Evangelicals) love to call this group of Catholics "devout", especially when they "save them" on airplanes. For example:
Evangelical: "Did you feel that turbulence?"
Evangelical: "Did you feel that turbulence?"
Cultural Catholic: "What?"
Evangelical: "Did you just feel the plane dip?"
Cultural Catholic: "Yeah, so what?"
Evangelical: "If this plane went down in a ball of flame, and your body was turned into a piece of burnt toast, sprinkled about like fish food on top of the ocean, would you be with Jesus tonight?"
Cultural Catholic: "What?"
Evangelical: "Are you sure of your salvation? If you died right now, had a cardiac arrest, a brain aneurysm, a genetic defect that flared up, a hemorrhoid that hemorrhaged and caused you to lose too much blood, a"
Cultural Catholic: "Dude, what is your point?"
Evangelical: "Are you Catholic?"
Cultural Catholic: "Yes!"
Evangelical: "Then repeat after me, Jesus come into my heart..."
They are literally waiting on the wings. Then when the evangelical goes to his Bible study the next week, he will report, "Guys, I just want you to know that I recently converted a devout Catholic on a plane ride from Tucson. Can you believe he didn't know where he would be if he died from a massive hemorrhoidal hemorrhage. So sad."
And you know what? Our evangelical buddy is right! Cultural Catholics are sad. They hurt the body of Christ and bring shame to the Apostolic faith. However, I have two reasons why I can put up with them:
1. Religion creates cultureCulture is simply a set of behaviors codified by a certain group of people to maintain that which is good. Guess what? People think their religion is good; therefore, they codify behaviors which they hope will imbibe their particular religious sentiment in future generations. In many instances this can be a good thing, but it can devolve into a mere 'going through the motions'. We could call this small-t "tradition". In this way, this type of religious behavior can simply be an expression of cultural identity. "I'm Catholic" can be understand as a placeholder for "I'm Irish, not ________" or "I'm from Brazil, not ________". Such sentiment is not so much an expression of a religious attitude as it is of a cultural disposition that is religious in character.
So for starters, there are cultural Catholics because Catholicism is a bonafide religion that's been around the block for a while, and oh yeah, by the way, built all of western civilization.
Full Stop.
"But, Brent, didn't Jesus say he would rather us be cold or hot and not luke warm?"
A: Yes, but...
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also....The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”- Matthew 13:24-30
Rule-to-live-by #1: If you would get in trouble wearing a piece of clothing to school, you shouldn't wear it to Mass.
Rule-to-live-by #2: If a dress is inappropriate for a PTA meeting, it is inappropriate for Mass.
Rule-to-live-by #3: When you pass the altar, you should show a little more respect than you would your 6th grade math teacher's desk.
Rule-to-live-by #4: The Eucharist is not a snack, and genuflecting is not a curtsey.
These random sagacious sound-bites brought to you by "Tares: At A Local Parish Near You!"
But you never know, a weed might not be a weed after all.
By that last statement, I'm in no way implying that Catholicism is a free-for-all. I'm just saying that sometimes in the midst of all the noise, the clutter, and tares, there is a real soul really trying to reach God. That's the beauty of the Catholic faith. She's Noah's Ark, and we're all on board. The annoying barking sound won't stop until we get to heaven.
So, if you are considering Catholicism, don't be discouraged by the bad parish or the cultural Catholics. I imagine by now, you have already been taken in by the beautiful fruit of the Catholic faith as lived through the lives of her Saints. None compare to that fruit. There are also faithful Catholics everywhere who are striving by the help of God's grace to be saints. Join us! In addition, just remind yourself that it is nice to know when someone is in dissent from the Church since "the Church" in Catholic parlance -- unlike Protestantism -- is not just "that group for which you agree to agree" until of course you disagree and then go find "the Church" that agrees with you. You know, I'm talking about when Church shopping makes sense. To put it another way, obvious dissent that disgusts you is better than innocuous denominationalism.
Anyways, I thought I would leave you with this nice video. If you don't know Pomplamoose, now you do and now your life is better. I thought the mafia theme was appropriate considering the topic of this post because everyone knows that the mafia are "devout" Catholics.
Rule-to-live-by #2: If a dress is inappropriate for a PTA meeting, it is inappropriate for Mass.
Rule-to-live-by #3: When you pass the altar, you should show a little more respect than you would your 6th grade math teacher's desk.
Rule-to-live-by #4: The Eucharist is not a snack, and genuflecting is not a curtsey.
These random sagacious sound-bites brought to you by "Tares: At A Local Parish Near You!"
But you never know, a weed might not be a weed after all.
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| These flowers are often mistaken for "weeds" |
So, if you are considering Catholicism, don't be discouraged by the bad parish or the cultural Catholics. I imagine by now, you have already been taken in by the beautiful fruit of the Catholic faith as lived through the lives of her Saints. None compare to that fruit. There are also faithful Catholics everywhere who are striving by the help of God's grace to be saints. Join us! In addition, just remind yourself that it is nice to know when someone is in dissent from the Church since "the Church" in Catholic parlance -- unlike Protestantism -- is not just "that group for which you agree to agree" until of course you disagree and then go find "the Church" that agrees with you. You know, I'm talking about when Church shopping makes sense. To put it another way, obvious dissent that disgusts you is better than innocuous denominationalism.
Anyways, I thought I would leave you with this nice video. If you don't know Pomplamoose, now you do and now your life is better. I thought the mafia theme was appropriate considering the topic of this post because everyone knows that the mafia are "devout" Catholics.
Peace to you on your journey.
