One thing that I found most unattractive about the
Catholic faith were the many rules that seemed to overshadow the beauty of
Catholicism. As I shopped for a church
to join, my journey took me to many different protestant churches; but, the
Eucharist called me home. When I arrived
(home) I still had quite a defensive stance.
Any mention of rules and my mind would begin to formulate arguments and
attacks to defend my image of a hippie Jesus.
I had issues with anything from the simple adhering to an expected dress
code if I wanted to serve during mass, “At Calvary Chapel they wear shorts and
flip-flops for Sunday service because Jesus is our BFF. Isn’t simple dress a sign of humility?” I wasn’t shy about voicing my opinions or of
sharing my beliefs in how much the church needed a makeover. Looking back I want to thank the many
speakers, teachers, religious, priests and friends who allowed me to ask these naïve
questions and who provided answers that challenged my immature faith. Most importantly, who waited patiently for me
to grow! Years later, I’ve come to realize the importance of structure and to
appreciate the laws that govern my faith.
In fact, all societies need boundaries.
For example, if a car driver doesn’t respect a red light, he is placing
himself and others in danger; thus, traffic rules are implemented for
everyone’s safety. So, if our secular society accepts the
importance of laws why does it have such a hard time accepting that God also gave
us standards to live by.
A friend jokes with me that though I
set on finding the most liberal church the one that asked the least of me, I
ended at the one that asks the most. I
traveled the world of protestant churches all over Orange County, looking for a
place to grow roots. I began at a small
Old Catholic Church in Old World in Huntington Beach. After attending a couple years the priest
told us he would be leaving to start his own parish because he had disagreements
with the head reverend of that community.
Not knowing any better I followed the priest to the new church which met
in a small office building. Eventually
the drive was too far so I moved to Saddleback, Calvary Chapel, Crystal
Cathedral among others – until I realized that I missed the beauty of the Mass
and the Sacrament of Communion. All
these churches that I attended commonly were started by a man who felt a
calling to begin a new congregation for Christ.
They felt that the place they were attending was not suitable or that
God was sending them on a mission to begin a new church. For many, like my former self, this doesn’t
seem like a big deal because we assume that the people are honest and holy, but
who keeps them accountable? In the Catholic
Church, we trace our lineage back to the apostles, back to the day that Jesus
gave the key to Saint Peter. Our history
and tradition is important and since its beginning, the church in its wisdom,
has developed canon laws and a magisterium to protect the authenticity and
integrity of the faith, to safeguard it against abuses and to keep us united
under God.
Many of the saints speak of obedience as a
path towards sanctification. While
following rules is not very popular in our society one of the aims of Canon Law
is to help us reach sanctity. It shows
us a path to follow that will help us become saints. I have spoken about how outside the church
people can feel inspired to begin their own Christian parish if one is unhappy
with the current selection. Yet, in the Catholic
Church there’s an order and rules that protect communities from people who
decide one day to begin their own movement.
If a priest can’t get along with another fellow priest he’s encouraged
to try to work it out and to pray. The Old Catholic Priest that I used to follow told us he was starting his own
church because he couldn’t get along with the bishop of his parish. He felt that he had been instrumental in
bringing people into the community and helping it grow; but the bishop didn’t
recognize his efforts. So, in his homily
he told us that he would be leaving that he had rented a venue to have services
and we were encouraged to follow him.
This should have been a warning sign for me; but I followed him thinking
that he was behaving in a very reasonable way.
He didn’t like his boss so he was taking the measures to address the situation. Instead of
promoting unity he was asking us to follow him to his new church and many of
the people in the congregation did.
While I (like many others) didn’t see the fallacy in his actions, I now
see that if a priest is unhappy with his post leaving to begin his own
congregation is not an action that promotes unity. Our faith and tradition
tells us that how we deal with our trials is of great importance in our process
of sanctification. When we have a
challenge we must fervently pray and practice humility before we decide to go
rogue. I think of Saint Therese of
Lisieux she speaks of having difficulties getting along with some of the nuns
in the convent, yet she saw these opportunities to grow in charity, virtue and
holiness. We have many examples of the
saints who had difficulties getting along with other brothers and they didn’t
run away, but humbled themselves. They
took these challenges as opportunities to grow in holiness and please God. The Catholic Church has rules that clearly state how priests are to deal with their superiors, I believe it clearly explains
their role before taking vows. There’s
this spirit of service of brotherhood of working together towards the common
good and salvation of souls. And that’s
precisely why the Catholic Church has a well-developed canon, so that instead of
running away we come together united in one faith and one body.
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