THE DEFAULT ATHEIST

As you and I both know, there are people who are Catholic/Christian for the "wrong reason."  I am thoroughly convinced that there are many people who call themselves atheists for the wrong reason.  The same goes for some who call themselves agnostic or "spiritual but not religious."  Way, way, way too often in conversations with persons who give themselves this title, the reason they give for their belief is not a deep insight or well thought out philosophy.  They do not have much of an anthropology or a system of determining that which is good or bad that holds any water (and when you take what they say to its logical conclusion they say, "well, not that of course," but offer no way to avoid it.)  It has more to do with what they are avoiding than where they are heading.

It's like swerving a car to avoid hitting a deer.  You have some idea of where you are steering but your immediate task is to avoid hitting a deer.  Dealing with where you end up after that will come with the next thought.

Imagine coming to Mass week in and week out.  You have a priest, minister, congregation, family, or group of friends who repeatedly let you know how bad you are.  Maybe you are divorced.  Maybe you have an addiction.  Maybe you have same sex attraction.  Maybe you had an abortion.  Maybe you are part of a long list of categories and this message comes down on you like a hammer on a sore thumb week after week after week.  What do you do if you are so bad at hammering that you constantly hit yourself and always feel miserable?  You give up hammering.

What do you do if your faith does not give you hope?  What do you do if you are not encouraged?  What do you do if you feel miserable all of the time because of you faith?  You stop being a church goer.  And it is often easier to tell people you are atheist, agnostic, spiritual, and even decide that you are instead of saying, "Look, I'm (insert category here) and my Church hates me."

I do the same thing with fish.  I hate fish.  I want to like it but I don't.  All the time people say, "But you haven't tried MY fish."  Yes I have.  I don't like it.  So I just tell people I am allergic.  I am an anti-fishite.  If God had intended us to eat fish he would have made them taste like steak.

I am in no way saying we need to shy away from these topics or water them down.  But there must always also be an opportunity for hope.  There must be a way for those who wish to be faithful.  There must a chance for healing and incorporating.  

Do you know who does the best pro-life work?  Women who have had an abortion and have some creds with which to speak.  Who can give the most hope to someone dealing with same-sex attraction?  The faithful Catholic who also lives with same-sex attraction.  Who are some of the best volunteers at the parish - often the back bone of the parish - doing tasks that nobody else can or wants to?  Your divorced person.  How do you get them to come to the parish?  Not beating them with a stick, but with hope that there is a place for you.  There is encouragement and support for you.  There is a community for you.  

That does not mean you get to do whatever you want as long as you are some flavor of faithful.  If you want to belong to the country club, you may not play football on the fairway.  But if you are a football player and you want to be a part of the country club, we will help you learn to play golf in a (hopefully) nourishing and safe environment.  

Somehow I don't feel like I am saying what I really want to say but I can't put my finger on it.  If something seems off, please comment and let me see if I can clarify.

A PROPOSAL FOR A CATHOLIC MISSION STATEMENT - PART 1 OF 4

We Valencheck men were sometimes referred to as “Jacks of all trades, masters of none,” meaning that we could do just about anything but the trade off was that that we did not do anything particularly well. Bishop Lennon of the great Diocese of Cleveland called his priests together this past week and said that although we as Church would like to do everything and be all things to all people, we then end up being jacks of all trades, doing everything but not doing anything really well. So he proposed a vision for the diocese. It is a vision that the bishops of the United States have stated for the Church in the U.S., and what he has asked the priests to initiate in the parish, and what we as the Body of Christ should try to enact in our own loves.

The vision has four main points and the key is to understand exactly what he means by them. They are 1) Catechesis, 2) Marriage and Family Life, 3) Vocations, 4) Respect of Life. Today and Wednesday through Friday we will take a brief look into each of these areas in which we are asked to focus our attention, talents, and treasure.

CATECHESIS

Thoughts turn quickly to teaching young folk about the faith and that is certainly part of it. There are some major problems we are facing in this area. Catholic grade school education is in grave danger in this nation. The rising cost of benefits, technology, and state mandated services are crushing our schools. The solution is to raise tuition. But once you raise tuition you lose students. When you lose students you lose your money base so you raise tuition and the vicious cycle goes on. As less parishioners are involved in the school there sometimes develops a certain resentment by parishioners that so much of the collection goes to subsidize the school. Solving this problem will be a big hurdle.

On the heals of this is the shoring up of our CCD/PSR programs. They may soon be the primary way in which our students are catechized on the parish level and so we must work hard to make sure that we are making our best effort here.

PSR/CCD is to be only the most formal aspect of children’s formation. The primary place is in the home by the parents. In the baptismal rite it states that parents are “the first” (and I add the most effective) “teachers of their children in the practice of the faith. May they also be the best of teachers by what they say and do.” Home is where they learn their prayers, ask about God, witness parents praying and going to the sacraments, reading Bible stories, and having the symbols of our faith around. Without that, CCD/PSR is not very effective.

In addition the bishop challenged the priests in adult catechesis in such areas as when couples plan to marry, when they present their children for baptism, and when they face end of life issues. He also challenges us to take seriously our obligation in continuing education. It is our moral obligation to grow so that we might in turn nourish those who come to us thirsting for truth.

In that same vein all Catholic, Christian, disciples of Christ must challenge themselves. There is so much out there to be taken advantage of. There are the Scriptures to be read, books and magazines to be devoured, classes to be enjoyed, the Internet to explore, videos to be watched, CDs to be listened to, and programs to be experienced. We all must cultivate this desire, which to some extent you must have already or you would not have read this far.

Catechesis is the way the faith grows and is passed on from one generation to the next. There is no substitute for it. Find some aspect of the faith you enjoy (or really need) and start searching it out! Who knows how you (or who else) will be blessed by it?