Justin
November 15, 2017
Lauren
November 15, 2017In his own words, Chris shares the story of his faith journey and relationship with the Catholic Church.
Transcript:
I would never discourage anyone from following a religion, if it gave them hope, you know security and peace. You know, as long as there their faith or their religion doesn’t devote them to something misguided or hurtful to other people.
I grew up in the Catholic Church, my family was very Catholic. We did regular confessions, we went to church every Sunday, holy days of obligation, individual masses, took part in Stations of the Cross. I also went on a missions trip my senior year. I am grateful to the church in part it’s teaching teaching me my best qualities, patients, reverence, respect, humility, concession, forgiveness, selflessness, a general sense of community, and togetherness and morality. And for helping create and strengthen relationships with people who are influential in my life.
I attended church every Sunday through my second-year college, when are I was about 20 years old. I think some people need religion to help them deal with or understand aspects of life that are confusing, troubling and unexplainable, but I don’t feel like I need that. Some of the nicest people I know are quite religious, but I find myself doubting whether they they truly believe what they are hearing and saying. And if they, don’t these are things that are kept under wraps, not talked about openly and it’s starts to sound like Blind Faith, which I mistrust.
Over the past few years particular, I’ve been taken more notice of science as a basis of existence and humanity as a source of our love and success. I think the teachings of the church supposed been founded upon are put behind the pageantry of the church. There are times certainly that I’ve been at church that I feel like it’s a club and because I’m I have these doubts, or are these other ideas about life and faith. I’m not part of the club, but everybody else is. People feel judgement by other members and that scares them, makes them uncomfortable and feel isolated. The church should be pulling everyone closer and showing them love, giving them hope and support through their toughest times and complicated decisions and feelings. But also still understand they can’t make those decisions for them, that love from the church has to be unconditional, the embodiment of God’s love.
4 Comments
Thank you, Chris, for sharing your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings! Best wishes on your journey!
What strikes me is that no one mentions the importance of grace and the Sacraments. Jesus nourishes us on our journey to the Father.
There is no mention of the Holy Trinity., the importance of the teachings of Jesus, the gospels, the very core of our Catholic faith. The word
Catholic is used, but does anyone know it’s meaning?
I don’t think that there is an understanding of what it really means to be a Catholic!
The Eucharist is the center of the Catholic!
Dear Alice: The tone and tenor of your comment suggests that you are not open to the reality of Church experience among youth in the western world. The ones who are leaving (or have already left) reject an institution that is wholly counter cultural (anti-modernism comes to mind) to the reality that surrounds them. Western society has largely moved beyond authoritarian and superstitious modes of belief and worship, instead opting for more personal, meaningful faith experiences that resonate in their daily interactions with others. There is nothing wrong with saying “Eucharist is the center of the Catholic” (along with the other sacraments) but as opposed to a rote “duty” this needs to be filtered through the lens of reality and be presented in such a way that connects and provides value for our youth in their pursuit of “the word made flesh.” This is akin to Pope Francis’ metaphor of Eucharist as “food for the journey” as opposed to a “prize for the perfect.” Your insistence on adhering to old forms (emphasis on institutional sacraments and supernatural grace) and dismissal of their “stories” is precisely what many of our youth reject and hinders the Church from finding new ways to evangelize the youth of today.
As the President and CEO of St. Mary’s Press has aptly stated:
“It’s clear that church leaders will need to open their minds and their hearts in order to view disaffiliation not as a grave threat, but as a new reality in which the church’s evangelizing mission must function in wholly new ways,” Vitek said. “Most young people still believe in God and want to be connected spiritually, but they also believe that religion is just one path to a fulfilled life. A critical first step for the church is to provide a nonjudgmental place for young people to openly and honestly wrestle with their questions, struggles, and doubts about faith and religion. If we don’t, they will leave and find a place where they can.”
I agree with Ronald Johansen and want to reiterate his quote from the President of SMP, “It’s clear that church leaders will need to open their minds and their hearts in order to view disaffiliation not as a grave threat, but as a new reality in which the church’s evangelizing mission must function in wholly new ways”. We need to view the reality of our emptying pews as a powerful reminder that the church’s evangelizing mission needs to “function in wholly new ways”. At the very least, we need to invite our disaffiliated members to open and honest conversations, discussions, and dialogue. We need to listen and engage and suspend judgement. We need to have credible answers to why it is not enough to just be “good human beings without religion in the mix”. We need to preach the gospel with (to misappropriate the quote attributed to Francis of Assisi) fewer words and more Christlike actions. We need to make the truth of Jesus – fully human and fully divine – more comprehensible to all.
We also cannot continue to ignore the (many) elephant(s) in the room. Most of the people I have spoken to who are no longer Catholic, do not seem disenchanted with Christ as much as they seem disappointed with the hierarchical, institutionalized expression of Church. The richness and beauty of Catholic ritual needs to be explained and taught as being different from pomp and bombast. It does not help either that some of the men in power (even if a minority) have committed heinous crimes that appear to have been kept concealed. Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who do you say that I am?”. That question has resonated through the ages and comes to rest with us today. Who do we say He is? We need to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in wholly new ways.