Now THIS is a great reflection I found online, and this is coming from a Novus Ordo priest who is starting up a community in Vaughan, Ontario!
Source:
PAX! Julian.
What does being Catholic mean?
I am sure you’ve heard of the term “Cafeteria Catholic.”
This term captures the essence of our modern day spirituality, picking-and-choosing only the things we want while rejecting the rest, exactly the same way we walk through the cafeteria picking-and-choosing what we want to eat on our plate.
Ability to customize is the latest fad; we customize our home, our bathrooms and kitchens, our cars, and pretty much every product we buy…AND even relationships! I’ve been told that there are online dating sites that can customize your search to the level of education, race, ethnicity, personality, height, weight, eye and hair colour….and the list goes on.
And much to our dismay, this mentality has even invaded how we relate to God: If we are not happy with or if we are uncomfortable with our religion, we can customize it to our beliefs and desires.
But wait…if we do that, are we not guilty of creating our own God and our own religion?
The whole point of religion for us Catholics is that we believe that God founded the Church to re-bind (re-ligare in latin) our broken relationships. And the only way we can allow God to re-bind our broken relationships, as He has done so many times as evidenced in the Bible, is for us to follow His Commandments and His ways.
When we do an “I did it my way” like Adam and Eve, we end up damaging our relationships.
Before the ordination to the Priesthood, I had to go through a ceremony during mass at the Seminary called the “Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders.” In it, I made it known that I believe in the faith as revealed by God and handed down by the Apostles. Our faith is not about inventing, but about preserving and being faithful to what has been revealed by God.
I was surprised and disappointed at the announcement of the former Catholic apologist and TV personality, Michael Coren leaving the Catholic Church. Moving to and fro from Atheism to Catholicism, and from Catholicism to Evangelical Christian, and from Evangelical Christian back to Catholicism, and from Catholicism to Anglicanism. All I can say is “Confused?”
Didn’t Jesus say, “Come, follow me”? Yes, He did. He didn’t say, “Go and do whatever you choose, and I will follow your suit.” In this day and age of confusion and cafeteriaism, what we need is solid stability. We need something that doesn’t change. If you are looking for a timeless truth, look to Catholicism! God’s love for us, His ways, and His Commandments, these do not change.
This term captures the essence of our modern day spirituality, picking-and-choosing only the things we want while rejecting the rest, exactly the same way we walk through the cafeteria picking-and-choosing what we want to eat on our plate.
Ability to customize is the latest fad; we customize our home, our bathrooms and kitchens, our cars, and pretty much every product we buy…AND even relationships! I’ve been told that there are online dating sites that can customize your search to the level of education, race, ethnicity, personality, height, weight, eye and hair colour….and the list goes on.
And much to our dismay, this mentality has even invaded how we relate to God: If we are not happy with or if we are uncomfortable with our religion, we can customize it to our beliefs and desires.
But wait…if we do that, are we not guilty of creating our own God and our own religion?
The whole point of religion for us Catholics is that we believe that God founded the Church to re-bind (re-ligare in latin) our broken relationships. And the only way we can allow God to re-bind our broken relationships, as He has done so many times as evidenced in the Bible, is for us to follow His Commandments and His ways.
When we do an “I did it my way” like Adam and Eve, we end up damaging our relationships.
Before the ordination to the Priesthood, I had to go through a ceremony during mass at the Seminary called the “Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders.” In it, I made it known that I believe in the faith as revealed by God and handed down by the Apostles. Our faith is not about inventing, but about preserving and being faithful to what has been revealed by God.
I was surprised and disappointed at the announcement of the former Catholic apologist and TV personality, Michael Coren leaving the Catholic Church. Moving to and fro from Atheism to Catholicism, and from Catholicism to Evangelical Christian, and from Evangelical Christian back to Catholicism, and from Catholicism to Anglicanism. All I can say is “Confused?”
Didn’t Jesus say, “Come, follow me”? Yes, He did. He didn’t say, “Go and do whatever you choose, and I will follow your suit.” In this day and age of confusion and cafeteriaism, what we need is solid stability. We need something that doesn’t change. If you are looking for a timeless truth, look to Catholicism! God’s love for us, His ways, and His Commandments, these do not change.
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