Grace--it's why I'm Catholic
There are many reasons to be Catholic. Grace is present in all of them.
My
friend recently asked me in an email conversation why I stay in the
Catholic Church. "If that sounds confrontational, it's not," he wrote in
his email. "At least not yet. I am genuinely curious."
My
friend was raised Catholic but is not currently a practicing member of
any religion. He credits the Jesuits with saving his life in high
school, and he went to Georgetown University for undergrad and married a
Catholic woman he met there. They now have four children. His wife is
still a practicing Catholic and brings the younger kids to Mass and
religious education. My husband Bill and I are godparents to their third
child.
My friend's question is a fair one. He's not
asking why I'm Christian or questioning my faith in God; he's asking me
why I belong to a religion that has some elements with which he knows I
disagree.
He knows, for example, that I believe the
church should ordain married people of both genders, along with men and
women who choose celibacy. He knows I believe the question of birth
control and family planning is complex and should not be simplified into
a one-size-fits-all teaching. He knows that because Bill and I have
adopted from the U.S. foster care system, we have a depth of
understanding of the ramifications of all types of child abuse.
Yet
we have chosen to stay with a church whose leaders failed to protect
children from the most egregious of abuse. He knows I hold dear our gay
friends and colleagues--that I believe they should be as welcome at the
eucharistic table as they are at our own dining room table.
And
yet I'm Catholic. Passionately Catholic. And I could no more change to
another Christian religion than I could peel off my skin and exchange it
for a different tone with a better hue.
Why am I
Catholic? I may not embrace or even agree with all the teachings of the
church, but I believe in all the sacraments. I believe in God's grace
working through them. I've felt the grace; I've seen it.
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