by Irene Daniel
Growing up in the 1960s, I remember how good it felt to be a Catholic, just like the president. I remember the familiarity and feeling of inclusiveness during those all too many Kennedy funerals. How comforting it was to witness the extraordinary and historic ritual that is my church; that draws Catholics into a sense of solemnity and fealty to our universal Catholic and Apostolic faith. I felt not alone in the world, but connected to, and a part of, something truly sacred and shared by many.
As I grew older, I stopped going to mass, stopped praying and -- on and off -- stopped believing. As I write this, I cannot describe my God to you. It would be like a drop of water trying to describe the entire universe; way above my pay-grade. I don't know what I believe all the time, but I like Maya Angelou's response when asked to define God. She simply stated, "God is all."
And if God is all, then God is my confusion. God is my doubt. God is even in my darkest places; maybe even especially there. But I know that whatever God is or isn't, I cannot access Spiritual power by myself, isolated in my home and in my own head. And so it is necessary for me to participate in a community of faith. And that community exists in the Church of the Assumption of Mary in my hometown of Florence, AZ. It is the Alpha and Omega of my Spiritual walk.
Having just recently been reconciled with the faith of my childhood, it has been exhilarating to witness the Pope's visit to the United States. Let's face it, the Catholic church has taken some hits lately after enabling pedophiles for too long, as well as the continued discounting of women and other 4th century ideas, which often conflict with 21st century reality. And I have walked away from the Catholic church many times; experimenting with other belief systems before returning again to a parish in my neighborhood. This was my cycle of faith for decades.
The Taoist believes that there are many mules that can take you to the summit of God, for they all arrive at the same destination, the same zenith. Well, Catholicism is my mule and I have surrendered to it completely. And it has made a complete difference in my life. I don't think I'm holier than anyone, nor that only Catholics go to heaven. This is just what works for me.
Witnessing this historic visit from His Holiness Pope Frances has, I hope, inspired all of us whether Catholic or not, to replace our suspicion of one another with compassion, our closed-off exclusivity for acceptance and inclusion and our biased and blind hatred for love of one another. A tall order, yes I know; but what else is faith for if not to enable us to choose love above all else? This is the example of Pope Francis. He is teaching us all how to choose love; all the while acknowledging that it is often a difficult choice to make. It is so much easier to exclude, because that seems safer. But how can moving away from the love of God make anyone safer?
To open our hearts to love -- to truly love and be loved -- requires risk. We invite hurt, exploitation and confusion when we love unconditionally and we all instinctively avoid pain. Loving others and opening our hearts does not require that we abandon reason, nor that we should not set healthy physical and emotional boundaries for our own well-being. Love asks us to choose higher; to access "the better angels of our nature," to borrow the words of Abraham Lincoln.
We need Pope Francis right now. We need to see somebody make the kind of choices we would like to make, to open our hearts to love in the manner of His Holiness. We need leadership that challenges us to rise above our pettiness, our vitriol, our self-righteousness and our greed.
So when I say that it is cool to be Catholic again, I am not communicating a sense of superiority, but of great humility. Those who know me well know that humility is not my strong suit. I have to work hard to keep my mouth shut and stash my judgmental ego. It's a daily challenge, let me tell you. But I meet this challenge happily because now I know that I am not alone, that I am loved and that we all basically want the same things in life -- love, happiness and peace of mind.
What His Holiness reminds us today is that we already possess all of those things, for they have been bestowed upon us by Almighty God. They are gifts for us to use and enjoy. However, these gifts can only be opened and enjoyed when they are relevant to our relationships with other human beings. We are all children of the same God, no matter what you call Him or Her. And we are all connected to the same eternal source of love and all things that matter.
We are all connected, whether we like it or not. And we all have the power to choose whether we will invest our energy into lifting each other up, or in tearing each other down. This is the gift of His Holiness.
The only measure of a true Christian is to behave like Jesus Christ, to make the choices that He showed us how to make -- in all things. Pope Frances gives us this example, and for that, I am joyfully grateful.
Copyright 2015, Irene Daniel, all rights reserved.
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