On Leaving "The Church"
I was on my way out to the 9:00 mass when this caught my eye. It's kind of an interesting, although somewhat melodramatic, story about one man's problem with the Catholic faith, and if I read him correctly, faith in general. I understand where he's coming from.
What I don't understand is how do you become a non-Catholic. I mean who do you write to in order to quit the religion? Where do you turn in your resignation letter?
I'm coming at this from the perspective of a "cradle catholic". I had nuns in grammer school, Irish Christian Brothers for High School, and I even went to the S.J.'s for the first two years of university. Chicago is known as "The City of Neighborhoods", but it's equally known as "The City of Parishes". I grew up at the tail end of a time when if you asked somebody where they lived they would give you the name of their parish. "Ahhh, I'm from over in Dennis". "Oh yeah, he grew up in Sabina's, but then moved to Leo's" You never needed to use the Saint title.
Throughout the years of my adulthood I have experienced a steady decline in my loyalty to mother church, but not because of anything the church has done, although the pedophile scandal was pretty bad. I have just gradually come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as God. Since there is no God it makes it difficult to participate in an institution dedicated to a man who is supposed to be the Son of God.
But this is where things get weird. I haven't been to communion in 7 or 8 years. I probably didn't step inside a church for 5 years, but I still feel Catholic. To paraphrase my good friend Barack, I don't think I could stop being Catholic anymore than I could stop being Irish. I understand that in order to be a member of the Church, you should believe what the church teaches, and believing in God would seem to be the minimum requirement. Here's the thing. I've been going to Mass for about a year now. I don't receive communion, but I do participate. The way I see it, I don't believe in God today, but I don't rule out the possibility that I might believe tommorrow.
In life things change. My parents had an unshakable faith in Jesus and the teaching of the Church. It was what got them through the incredible challenges they faced. I didn't get that faith, but I keep thinking if I just leave myself open to the possibility....life'll surprise you sometimes.
Uhh... this is unfinished, but I'm going to post it anyway. "King of Kings" is on. Happy Easter.
What I don't understand is how do you become a non-Catholic. I mean who do you write to in order to quit the religion? Where do you turn in your resignation letter?
I'm coming at this from the perspective of a "cradle catholic". I had nuns in grammer school, Irish Christian Brothers for High School, and I even went to the S.J.'s for the first two years of university. Chicago is known as "The City of Neighborhoods", but it's equally known as "The City of Parishes". I grew up at the tail end of a time when if you asked somebody where they lived they would give you the name of their parish. "Ahhh, I'm from over in Dennis". "Oh yeah, he grew up in Sabina's, but then moved to Leo's" You never needed to use the Saint title.
Throughout the years of my adulthood I have experienced a steady decline in my loyalty to mother church, but not because of anything the church has done, although the pedophile scandal was pretty bad. I have just gradually come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as God. Since there is no God it makes it difficult to participate in an institution dedicated to a man who is supposed to be the Son of God.
But this is where things get weird. I haven't been to communion in 7 or 8 years. I probably didn't step inside a church for 5 years, but I still feel Catholic. To paraphrase my good friend Barack, I don't think I could stop being Catholic anymore than I could stop being Irish. I understand that in order to be a member of the Church, you should believe what the church teaches, and believing in God would seem to be the minimum requirement. Here's the thing. I've been going to Mass for about a year now. I don't receive communion, but I do participate. The way I see it, I don't believe in God today, but I don't rule out the possibility that I might believe tommorrow.
In life things change. My parents had an unshakable faith in Jesus and the teaching of the Church. It was what got them through the incredible challenges they faced. I didn't get that faith, but I keep thinking if I just leave myself open to the possibility....life'll surprise you sometimes.
Uhh... this is unfinished, but I'm going to post it anyway. "King of Kings" is on. Happy Easter.
posted by 35th 'n Shields at 11:00 AM
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