A few years ago, a dear couple with whom I grew up invited me to their home one evening when I was in my NC hometown.
The reason?
One of their children was engaged to a Catholic, and this Baptist couple had a lot of questions.
“Why do Catholics have to go to a priest for forgiveness?” “Do you really worship Mary?”
Ah yes, the myths and distortions about my Catholic faith that come from lapsed Catholics or from people who have heard from a friend who heard from a friends; and of course, the well-known pedophilia that has occurred for far too long.
After I dispelled some of these false notions about my faith, I heard one of them say, “We’re just ignorant,” to which the spouse replied, “We aren’t ignorant. We’re just small-town minded.”
I get it. I grew up in my beloved hometown of 2,500 people, and in the years I was navigating my childhood and youth, I think there was one Catholic church in our county. I doubt a single Jewish temple or synagogue could be found. A large segment of my father’s family–who lived about 30 or so miles away– was Catholic, and I remember seeing a picture of Mary in their home and always hearing about mass.
I was intrigued, but still… who would want to be Catholic?
Apparently I did, but I didn’t know it at the time.
The Moravian Church is the early foundation of my faith, but I have been a practicing Catholic for nearly 30 years, and I am so grateful to continue on this faith journey.
I often hear misinformed people make comments such as, “She used to be a Christian, but now she’s a Catholic.”
Say what?!
The Catholic Church IS the bedrock of Christianity. Protestant faiths were formed when people broke away from the Church. My Moravian faith predates Martin Luther’s Reformation, and look at all the various denominations now: Baptist, Lutheran, United Methodist, Pentecostal… and the list goes one. When I was growing up in our small town, I was shocked that the Episcopalians drank REAL wine at communion (How dare they?!) and that the Pentecostal Holiness folks ran up and down the aisles speaking in tongues.
Nope. I wouldn’t have graced the door of either of those churches back then.
I can remember a few girls at the holiness church with whom I attended school becoming pregnant before graduating, prompting my Moravian church leader father to remark at dinner one evening, “You know, they have more virgin births at the holiness church…” My sweet mother’s reply to him? “Conrad, that’s mean!”
Stop the presses!
We Christians are all part of the universal church and the body of Christ, even though we may have some differences in our beliefs, in our interpretation of scripture, and in the ways we worship.
In my own faith journey, I have been Moravian, Lutheran, nondenominational, and Catholic. I have learned from and have grown in my faith from ALL of these paths, but the path I walk today is Catholic.
What do I love about my Church and my faith?
There is much, but here are a few things:
- We trace our faith all the way back to Peter, whom we consider the first pope.
- Our masses are saturated in scripture.
- We believe in the literal Body and Blood of Christ.
- We kneel, bow, and lift up our hands in praise.
- We observe Holy Days and often incorporate incense, chimes, candles, and holy water in our services.
- We cross ourselves in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… such a beautiful act of reverence and for me, divine protection.
- We celebrate! We have many dinners and social gatherings, and there’s always beer and wine available for purchase. Unlike some faiths, Catholics don’t feel the need to “hide” a glass of wine, but I have never seen anyone come close to being intoxicated. Many simply choose to drink water or soda.
- We have sacraments, such as baptism, confirmation, reconciliation, marriage, and others.
- We don’t get caught up in the literal interpretation of scripture, even though we firmly believe it is God’s Holy Word. We recognize that much of the Old Testament is allegory, words God gave to teach lessons but not necessarily to be taken literally.
I remember when I made the decision to join the Church and to raise my children in the faith. My and my late husband’s family had a difficult time with this. I think some thought I was joining a cult. Truthfully, I had been confused and frustrated in the theology of the nondenominational church we were attending (I had always worshiped liturgically), and I was trying to forge my own path and discerning the path on which to raise my sons as a single mother. I found a beautiful holiness in the Catholic mass.
No, we aren’t a “cult.” We are the original Christian Church.
We sing “Amazing Grace” and other well-known hymns. We kneel and pray. We wash feet in the days before Easter, one of the most humbling acts my children and I have ever done. We hold hands as we pray the “Our Father,” also known as The Lord’s Prayer. We host Vacation Bible School, and our social justice ministries are ingrained in us.
Why do I feel compelled to tell you all of this?
Because many people in small towns and rural areas have no concept of what the Church really is. They hear about priests abusing children. They make assumptions just as my dear hometown friends did. The snarky side of me has often wished I could put a few of my God-loving pentecostal or Baptist friends in a room with a few Catholic priests I know. I think my friends would be enlightened.
I love worship, period, whether it’s my church or another Catholic church, my childhood church in NC, the predominantly Black church down south, or the United Methodist church up the road. I love the women’s ministry program of which I am a part at a local nondenominational church.
God is God. The Church is the Church universal, the body of believers who cling to the Triune God and whose faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus.
I am, first and foremost, a Christian, My denomination is Catholic. I love worshiping at all kinds of churches, but I prefer the spiritual food–Jesus’s Body–I receive at mass, and I love the holiness of the mass.
And going back to those two questions my friends asked… We are forgiven by simply asking God to forgive us, but in the sacrament of reconciliation, we own our misgivings to a priest, and we are reconciled with the Christian community.
As far as Mary, the Blessed Mother goes, she was the earthly vessel through whom God chose to enter this world as a person. The whole Virgin Birth concept is mind blowing and requires great faith; and as the great Virgin, Mary is held in high esteem in the Church as the Mother of God. This reverence makes complete sense to me. Of all the women in the whole spectrum of time as we know it, she is the one chosen by the Great I AM to birth Him into a person.
I am a Christian. I am a Catholic.
I am a Catholic Christian.
Any questions?
Amy Walton is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200) and certified Holy Yoga instructor, a Christian author and speaker, and a coach/trainer. She came into the Catholic Church in 1996 by the sacrament of confirmation. Connect with her at amywaltoncoaching@gmail.com.
