For various reasons, I am taking it slowly as far as acting on my recent convictions about following Jesus and where He may be calling me. What strikes me is that this is much different than the two previous times I have left the Catholic church.
The first time I left the version of Catholicism that I grew up with, the cultural Catholic church, if you will. I spent time in Paganism, Quakerism, Anglicanism (which I thought was an Episopalian church), and visited or pondered Unitarian Universalism and Islam. I was looking for a good fit, not the truth.
The second time I left, it was not on purpose. Postpartum anxiety and depression contributed to my faith leaving me. I wasn't nourishing it, and so it atrophied. When I tried to regain it, I considered Reform Judaism and spent time "being" a Deist. I started to try to reason my way back to faith.
This time, while I hesitate to jump to conclusions and announce that I am leaving the Catholic church for the third time, I don't really feel like I'm lost this time. Rather, I feel like I'm trying to follow Jesus more closely. This time, I'm trying to discern the truth and follow wherever it may lead. At first glance, it is looking like it will be outside the Catholic church. However, I want to first see if I can actually be both, Christian and Catholic.
Don't get me wrong. I believe there are lots of Catholics who are Christians at heart and have a relationship with Jesus and seek to do God's will. But what makes it difficult to maintain that spiritual connection in the Catholic church is that fellowship generally includes Catholics who are not really Christians at their core. There's cafeteria Catholics, much as I once was. Or cultural Catholics, ditto. There are those who like the pomp and circumstance of the religious trappings of Catholicism but don't actually buy the Gospel at all (my mom?) There are the Catholics who would likely be a much better fit in a mainline Protestant denomination based on their faith, but they stay Catholic because it's what they're used to. I guess these would also be Christian Catholics, like those who truly believe all that the Catholic church teaches, without compromising what Jesus taught.
Although... that is where I'm at now - is it actually possible to follow everything the Catholic church teaches AND everything Jesus taught? And even if it is, I feel like it would be a lot of unnecessary work to do so. Work that takes time and effort away from truly plunging into the Scriptures and God's will.
I want to be cautious about basing my decisions on emotion, but then again, without emotion, there isn't much left of a relationship, is there? Yes, love is a commitment. Applied to marriage, it's not good enough to say you fell out of love and divorce your spouse. But to have a vibrant marriage - any relationship - there must be an element of emotion. Otherwise, you're left with obligation, blind obedience, going through the motions, and a dry ... faith, if you even want to call it that.
I didn't receive communion today. I was at a Polish cathedral and went up with my dad so he could receive. Everyone still kneels on kneelers at the altar and waits their turn to receive. In the past, I would've jumped at the chance to "receive the Lord in the proper posture of reverence". But today, at the last minute, I walked up and then walked away. I believe that when Jesus talked about the need to "eat His body and drink His blood", He was referring to the Gospel and speaking metaphorically. I think there's potential in communion bringing out that truth, but when it has crossed over into literal interpretation, it really does straddle idolatry, even if unintentionally.
I wondered these last few years if I'd ever have a devotion to Mary again. I haven't felt particularly drawn to her since leaving Paganism and feminism, and I feared falling back into those world views if I gave Mary the level of devotion that is encouraged in Catholicism. Yesterday, I thought of this comparison; I think the Catholic church has done to Mary what the secular West has done to Saint Nicholas. Both were historical figures, good and kind and noble figures that ought to inspire faith and love of God. Both have been caricatured into legendary figures that are so far removed from their actual origins that they no longer emit what the actual persons stood for.
There have been layers upon layers of importance placed on Mary, all the while claiming that each additional layer somehow makes Jesus more prominent. Mary points us to Jesus, the Catholic church says. Ok, but if I already know where to find Jesus, why stop to ask for directions?
The plan of action right now is as follows. I will continue to worship at our regular Catholic church with my family for the duration of the school year (until June of next year). For one, our kids are getting ready to start a Sunday school program based on the Montessori method, and the educator in me really wants them to experience Montessori without having to invest in the materials or private school. I also have made a commitment to lead the tiny group step study affiliated with our parish's Celebrate Recovery ministry. Also, I just asked my good spiritual friend if she'd consider mentoring me, and she has taken that to prayer, so I want to wait and see what the Holy Spirit does there. There also may be an introduction of the Green Faith certification at our parish that I have been hoping and pushing for, so if it does come to our parish, I'll want to be involved in that in whatever capacity I am needed. Finally, in the interest of taking it slowly and actually discerning and following God's promptings, I've signed up for year-long weekly meetings designed to walk me through the Ignatian exercises, something I kept starting with my spiritual director and not finishing.
In the meantime, there are a couple of Catholic teachings that are currently giving me pause that I think it's best to put a hold on. One is the reception of communion. Another is any prayers that glorify Mary at the expense of Jesus. I also would like to explore the possibility of other churches and I hope my husband will humor and join me. Once a month, our kids don't have Sunday school, so perhaps we can worship at non-Catholic churches on those Sundays. Finally, I intend to spend a lot of time reading both Catholic and non-Catholic Christian sources, as well as of course meditating on God's presence in expectation of His promptings.
The reason I feel it is important for me to take this current crisis of faith, if you want to call it such, seriously is that I can't point to anything overtly anti-Catholic nor fervently Protestant that would've sparked this desire. It's almost as if the time has come for me to take my faith to the next level.
Lord Jesus, I pray that You lead my thoughts, words, and actions over the coming months, put people in my life who will straighten out what is crooked, clarify what is muddled, and bring me that much closer to You. Amen.
Showing posts with label Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary. Show all posts
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
About the Moment of Death
Death is not scary. The actual moment of death really is no different from falling asleep, even though that's not what we're supposed to tell kids about death, as it may confuse them about the permanency of death. And yet... for believers, death really isn't permanent at all, is it? It's a birth into eternal life.
Three weeks ago, we had to euthenize our dog. That day marked the end of a 9 year era for us as "pet parents". Our dog, Bigosia, got very sick very quickly, and we didn't have much time to process what was happening or what we ought to do. The day we had her xrays done to confirm a large growth that had been interfering with her eating and breathing, we knew that one way or another, we had to make a decision quickly, within the week. We couldn't make her suffer any longer.
All four of us were there with her as she passed onto the other side. I remember petting her on the bridge of her nose, softly encouraging her to lay down, saying "get comfortable, baby". She was calm. Just that, she was calm. No deep penetrating looks trying to tell me something. No trying to remove herself from the situation. She was calm. Peaceful. Weather she knew her pain was about to be gone for good, I don't know. But she certainly didn't fear dying. And she seemed no different to me after the vet confirmed that her heart had stopped beating and she was "gone". I was so used to seeing her just lying around, keeping to herself. I'd approach her and pet her at my leisure, and she often wouldn't stir, so this was no different.
Five years ago, I approach another loved one's deceased body - my best friend Rachel, at her viewing. It was four days after she died, so I suppose her body had been embalmed. I noticed several things as I stood over her open casket to say my last goodbye. One - they really caked on her makeup! Two - she had her hair straight and cut, a newer style to the one I preferred, the one I always image her with - long and curly. Three - she was not in that casket. Standing over Rachel's body, I remember realizing that my best friend was being housed in that body, transported in it, but she was not bound to it. On some gut level, I knew that what made her Rachel was that je ne sais quoi that could only be described as "that which animated her body" - her spirit, her soul. That realization gave me closure, even though her death was unexpected.
I wasn't present at the exact moment of my great-grandmother's death, but I was there just minutes before, and minutes after. I had just stepped into the bathroom to wash my hair when she died. I was drying my hair when I heard my grandmother talking to her mom and, upon not getting a response, starting to wail. I knew even before she reached the bathroom door to tell me that Babcia Bronia had passed on. I remember being very calm about it. Sad, but calm. Earlier in the day, I watched my great-grandmother as she lay on her bed in the large kitchen, where she had been living to ease getting to and from the one bathroom in the house. She was on her back, and she was stretching out her arms above her, with a gentle grin on her face. She was clearly reaching towards something - or someone - that only she could see. As soon as I knew she had died, I knew that she had known she was dying. Not in the prolonged illness, my time is approaching kind of way, but in the "that's my name, gotta go!" kind of way. She was a devoted Catholic, and she died on the 8th of September, Mary's birthday. So we suspect that she was reaching out to the birthday girl, ehem, Queen of Heaven, thrilled to have been called home on such a day.
In the hour or so following her death, before the funeral home people came to take her body, I helped my grandmother and grandfather dress her in the funeral clothes Babcia Bronia had picked out for herself ahead of time. Before she died, her daughter/my grandmother had shown me the neatly folded outfit in her dresser. Babcia Bronia had packed for a trip, essentially! She packed light - she only wanted to wear a black dress with white ruffles. She knew she didn't need anything else. Anyway, the three of us liften her into a seating position to take off her nightgown and put on her funeral dress. I will never forget the shock I felt when she sat up. A gaspy noise came out of her mouth. For a split second, I thought she was back! Later I'd learn that it's normal for the last remnants of air to escape from the body after death, thereby making sounds. In fact, when we were preparing for our beloved dog Bigosia's "big moment", the vet also mentioned the possibility of some unexpected - well, she actually mentioned liquids coming out, but luckily no such thing happened.
And so I'm back to my original observation. Death itself is nothing to fear. Instead, it's all the trauma that often leads up to death that can be scary, painful, and confusing. And of course, the loss and grief that is felt by the loved ones left behind is the other unpleasant aspect of death. But the actual moment of death? Nah, that's just a transition.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Spiritual Independent in the Catholic Tradition
Last night I conducted a sort of thought-experiment. I imagined my daughter asking me what some aspect of Catholicism meant, how she was to understand it, what its relevance was to living a meaningful life.
First, I thought of the major figures and events of the Old Testament. I imagined telling my daughter that each of these stories was meant to convey a certain moral.
The Creation story is meant to remind us that we are made in the image of God, that we have that of God in us (as Quakers would say). Also, this story shows how it is human nature to always want more, since even living in paradise, Adam and Eve are shown to be dissatisfied. The consequences, of course, were dire, and the point of the story is that we should cultivate contentment, that learning to be content with where we are in life without constantly wanting something different or something more, is the key to a return to paradise.
Noah was given instructions from God that made no sense. He was ridiculed for building a giant arc no where near a water source. And yet, his dedication to being in tune with God, willing to listen for God's inspiration regardless if it is what we expect to "hear", led to him being the only one prepared to endure the legendary flood. The story also highlights the importance of the various members of the animal kingdom, as God desired for all of them to be saved along with the humans.
The tower of Babel shows that our different languages, cultures, religions serve to divide us, limiting our ability to work together towards a goal. Of course, the goal of the people in the story was to worship an idol, hardly a task worthy of enlightened persons. But the underlying point is that God originally wanted us to work together - it wasn't until the people in the story proved to try to use their community for bad that God put a stop to their nonsense. So with the right joint goal, it can be said that God wants us to work together and transcend the superficial differences of our societies.
Sarah and Abraham didn't receive their mission in the story of the Hebrew (and later Jewish) people until an old age. This goes to show that we are never too old to make a contribution, to do something worthwhile. (I absolutely refuse to engage in the other part of the story, child sacrifice.)
Moses led his people wandering around for generations. I think this is indicative of another aspect of the human condition. We search, we seek, we want to find God, even if we seem to constantly mess up along the way.
The proverbs are mini morality lessons, Cliff notes without the whole myth or legend to dig through. Just the bare pearls of wisdom.
Psalms and - one of my favorite books of the Bible - Isaiah are not so much stories with morals as they are expressions of praise and worship and adoration towards our wonderful creator. When we cannot find the words ourselves, we can turn to these books and find a reminder about how awe-inspiring God is, how miraculous life is.
Even the utterly tear-inducing borefest of Leviticus can be valuable. It shows in minute detail how one people - the ancient Hebrews - expressed their spirituality. The detail with which they tried to please God is noteworthy, even if not relevant to modern times or gentile people.
Next, as far as the New Testament, I strongly believe that Christianity is a religion started by Paul, who took advantage of Jesus's teachings and popularity and twisted it according to his own spiritual understanding. As such, I see little value in placing much of what's written there on the "truth spectrum". Even so, there is certainly plenty to be gained from the stories found there.
One of the values of the gospels can be found in what they have in common. That which is repeated, well, apparently bares repeating. The teachings that are attributed to Jesus, regardless if he actually taught them, stand alone. Each of Jesus's teachings can be taken to heart and applied to our modern lives. If we struggle with guilt or grudges, Jesus insists on our repentance and assures us of our forgiveness. If we struggle with keeping the various commandments, he breaks it down for us to the core, so we know what the motivation behind our thoughts, words, and actions ought to be. If we are stuck in a constant competition, comparing ourselves to others, Jesus reminds us what's important instead.
I really like the way Quakers are stereotypically said to hone down their values: integrity, peace, simplicity, equality, community, stewardship. Jesus not only teaches these things through his sermons, but he lives them and exemplifies them through the stories about him.
The incarnation story takes place in the womb of an unlikely candidate. A woman, a young girl really, is elevated to the role of God-bearer and later (in Catholic and Orthodox theology anyway) Queen of Heaven. Equality. In the story of the nativity, Jesus is born in a barn among hay and animals. Simplicity. He travels around with his disciples, and he slowly expands the circle of his audience to include gentiles. Community. He dines with people no respectable person would dine with. Equality and peace. His passion, crucifixion, and death are an incredible testament to his integrity and commitment to peace. He has opportunities to change what he preaches, to go back on what he's said, in order to save his life but he doesn't. Even stewardship can be found in how he alludes to the lessons we should take from nature - the sparrow who doesn't collect into barns yet is fed, the wildflower that doesn't spin yet is marvelously clothed. Nature, it would seem, is there to teach us, not to be trampled on.
I also like how the Rosary gives each of the main events of the story of Jesus a core value or spiritual gem to ponder. These vary somewhat depending on the source, but include gratitude for the gift of faith, fidelity, desire for holiness, spiritual courage, and love for the Eucharistic Lord (Luminous Mysteries instituted by pope St John Paul the Great). That last one is clearly Catholic-specific, but we can easily simplify it to "love of God". (The Joyful Mysteries encourage us to ponder: humility, love of neighbor, poverty of spirit, purity of mind and body, and obedience. The Sorrowful Mysteries: acceptance of God's will, mortification of the senses, reign of Christ in our heart [Quakers would say "Christ within", or "God within"], patient bearing of trials, and pardoning of injuries. The Glorious Mysteries: faith, hope, gifts of the Holy Spirit [ability to be inspired by God], "to Jesus through Mary" [value in intersession], and grace of final perseverance.)
Finally, I also considered the regular ritual practice of mass attendance in my thought experiment. I continue to participate regularly with my husband and daughter in spite of having completely made peace with the fact that I am no longer Christian. Nonetheless, I am staying put on Sundays because there is still much spiritual wealth in the practices, even if my understanding of them is different from the "official" beliefs.
We gather together regularly for the very basic human need to form community. We sing, pray, and hopefully learn together, as well as contribute financially to the greater good. These acts remind us of our social nature and that we have a place in the community.
The stories of the Old and New Testament are read and expounded upon, so even those who never crack open the Bible on their own have the benefit of being exposed to the moral lessons discussed above.
But as Catholics, the center of our worship is the Eucharist. I have never stopped feeling something special about being in the presence of the Eucharist. It has been ingrained in me, and I welcome having this opportunity to still link to my old Catholic faith. Yes, God is everywhere, but when something is too wide-spread, it loses its appeal. When something is overdone, it stops being special. That's why we celebrate birthdays, holidays. They are special days set aside to remember someone or something worth remembering. That's not to say we shouldn't remember them any other day. But without that special designation, everything becomes mundane.
And so, being able to step foot in a Catholic church, stand in front of the tabernacle, and become aware of the enveloping silence around me, I'm able to truly come to grips with the fact that I am standing on holy ground. I am in the presence of God. It's not that this place is more holy than any other place, or that God is more present here than anywhere else. But the reminder makes it very real for me.
Then, we are invited not just to be in God's presence, but to actually come up and receive holy Communion. We are being allowed to physically experience the spiritual reality of God being a part of us. There is that of God in all of us. Literally. Not only that, but watching others receive Communion reminds me that each and every one of these people is made in the image of God, has that of God in them. I don't have to know them, agree with them, or even like them. God made them and lives in them all the same. What a beautiful reminder!
And then, at the end of Mass, we are told to go forth and take what we've learned, what we've experienced, into the world. So in a sense, we are told to include everyone we meet or come in contact with in this realization that God lives in them too. And so we are encouraged not to limit our experience of God to this time and place, but to have our weekly church attendance nourish our souls for the week, so that we can stand in the presence of God on the street, in our living room, under a tree, stuck in traffic, in an elevator, in line at the store, in the waiting room at the doctor's, and remember how God is there with us, in the people around us.
The interesting thing about this thought experiment is that it occurred to me halfway through that by just framing the Catholic teachings as "stories" and the "sacraments" as "ritual reminders", all of a sudden I don't experience my defenses kicking in, resulting in a blockage to gaining any spiritual benefit from any of it. Instead, I'm able to hear the deeper meaning and grow spiritually. As a Spiritual Independent, in the Catholic tradition.
First, I thought of the major figures and events of the Old Testament. I imagined telling my daughter that each of these stories was meant to convey a certain moral.
The Creation story is meant to remind us that we are made in the image of God, that we have that of God in us (as Quakers would say). Also, this story shows how it is human nature to always want more, since even living in paradise, Adam and Eve are shown to be dissatisfied. The consequences, of course, were dire, and the point of the story is that we should cultivate contentment, that learning to be content with where we are in life without constantly wanting something different or something more, is the key to a return to paradise.
Noah was given instructions from God that made no sense. He was ridiculed for building a giant arc no where near a water source. And yet, his dedication to being in tune with God, willing to listen for God's inspiration regardless if it is what we expect to "hear", led to him being the only one prepared to endure the legendary flood. The story also highlights the importance of the various members of the animal kingdom, as God desired for all of them to be saved along with the humans.
The tower of Babel shows that our different languages, cultures, religions serve to divide us, limiting our ability to work together towards a goal. Of course, the goal of the people in the story was to worship an idol, hardly a task worthy of enlightened persons. But the underlying point is that God originally wanted us to work together - it wasn't until the people in the story proved to try to use their community for bad that God put a stop to their nonsense. So with the right joint goal, it can be said that God wants us to work together and transcend the superficial differences of our societies.
Sarah and Abraham didn't receive their mission in the story of the Hebrew (and later Jewish) people until an old age. This goes to show that we are never too old to make a contribution, to do something worthwhile. (I absolutely refuse to engage in the other part of the story, child sacrifice.)
Moses led his people wandering around for generations. I think this is indicative of another aspect of the human condition. We search, we seek, we want to find God, even if we seem to constantly mess up along the way.
The proverbs are mini morality lessons, Cliff notes without the whole myth or legend to dig through. Just the bare pearls of wisdom.
Psalms and - one of my favorite books of the Bible - Isaiah are not so much stories with morals as they are expressions of praise and worship and adoration towards our wonderful creator. When we cannot find the words ourselves, we can turn to these books and find a reminder about how awe-inspiring God is, how miraculous life is.
Even the utterly tear-inducing borefest of Leviticus can be valuable. It shows in minute detail how one people - the ancient Hebrews - expressed their spirituality. The detail with which they tried to please God is noteworthy, even if not relevant to modern times or gentile people.
Next, as far as the New Testament, I strongly believe that Christianity is a religion started by Paul, who took advantage of Jesus's teachings and popularity and twisted it according to his own spiritual understanding. As such, I see little value in placing much of what's written there on the "truth spectrum". Even so, there is certainly plenty to be gained from the stories found there.
One of the values of the gospels can be found in what they have in common. That which is repeated, well, apparently bares repeating. The teachings that are attributed to Jesus, regardless if he actually taught them, stand alone. Each of Jesus's teachings can be taken to heart and applied to our modern lives. If we struggle with guilt or grudges, Jesus insists on our repentance and assures us of our forgiveness. If we struggle with keeping the various commandments, he breaks it down for us to the core, so we know what the motivation behind our thoughts, words, and actions ought to be. If we are stuck in a constant competition, comparing ourselves to others, Jesus reminds us what's important instead.
I really like the way Quakers are stereotypically said to hone down their values: integrity, peace, simplicity, equality, community, stewardship. Jesus not only teaches these things through his sermons, but he lives them and exemplifies them through the stories about him.
The incarnation story takes place in the womb of an unlikely candidate. A woman, a young girl really, is elevated to the role of God-bearer and later (in Catholic and Orthodox theology anyway) Queen of Heaven. Equality. In the story of the nativity, Jesus is born in a barn among hay and animals. Simplicity. He travels around with his disciples, and he slowly expands the circle of his audience to include gentiles. Community. He dines with people no respectable person would dine with. Equality and peace. His passion, crucifixion, and death are an incredible testament to his integrity and commitment to peace. He has opportunities to change what he preaches, to go back on what he's said, in order to save his life but he doesn't. Even stewardship can be found in how he alludes to the lessons we should take from nature - the sparrow who doesn't collect into barns yet is fed, the wildflower that doesn't spin yet is marvelously clothed. Nature, it would seem, is there to teach us, not to be trampled on.
I also like how the Rosary gives each of the main events of the story of Jesus a core value or spiritual gem to ponder. These vary somewhat depending on the source, but include gratitude for the gift of faith, fidelity, desire for holiness, spiritual courage, and love for the Eucharistic Lord (Luminous Mysteries instituted by pope St John Paul the Great). That last one is clearly Catholic-specific, but we can easily simplify it to "love of God". (The Joyful Mysteries encourage us to ponder: humility, love of neighbor, poverty of spirit, purity of mind and body, and obedience. The Sorrowful Mysteries: acceptance of God's will, mortification of the senses, reign of Christ in our heart [Quakers would say "Christ within", or "God within"], patient bearing of trials, and pardoning of injuries. The Glorious Mysteries: faith, hope, gifts of the Holy Spirit [ability to be inspired by God], "to Jesus through Mary" [value in intersession], and grace of final perseverance.)
Finally, I also considered the regular ritual practice of mass attendance in my thought experiment. I continue to participate regularly with my husband and daughter in spite of having completely made peace with the fact that I am no longer Christian. Nonetheless, I am staying put on Sundays because there is still much spiritual wealth in the practices, even if my understanding of them is different from the "official" beliefs.
We gather together regularly for the very basic human need to form community. We sing, pray, and hopefully learn together, as well as contribute financially to the greater good. These acts remind us of our social nature and that we have a place in the community.
The stories of the Old and New Testament are read and expounded upon, so even those who never crack open the Bible on their own have the benefit of being exposed to the moral lessons discussed above.
But as Catholics, the center of our worship is the Eucharist. I have never stopped feeling something special about being in the presence of the Eucharist. It has been ingrained in me, and I welcome having this opportunity to still link to my old Catholic faith. Yes, God is everywhere, but when something is too wide-spread, it loses its appeal. When something is overdone, it stops being special. That's why we celebrate birthdays, holidays. They are special days set aside to remember someone or something worth remembering. That's not to say we shouldn't remember them any other day. But without that special designation, everything becomes mundane.
And so, being able to step foot in a Catholic church, stand in front of the tabernacle, and become aware of the enveloping silence around me, I'm able to truly come to grips with the fact that I am standing on holy ground. I am in the presence of God. It's not that this place is more holy than any other place, or that God is more present here than anywhere else. But the reminder makes it very real for me.
Then, we are invited not just to be in God's presence, but to actually come up and receive holy Communion. We are being allowed to physically experience the spiritual reality of God being a part of us. There is that of God in all of us. Literally. Not only that, but watching others receive Communion reminds me that each and every one of these people is made in the image of God, has that of God in them. I don't have to know them, agree with them, or even like them. God made them and lives in them all the same. What a beautiful reminder!
And then, at the end of Mass, we are told to go forth and take what we've learned, what we've experienced, into the world. So in a sense, we are told to include everyone we meet or come in contact with in this realization that God lives in them too. And so we are encouraged not to limit our experience of God to this time and place, but to have our weekly church attendance nourish our souls for the week, so that we can stand in the presence of God on the street, in our living room, under a tree, stuck in traffic, in an elevator, in line at the store, in the waiting room at the doctor's, and remember how God is there with us, in the people around us.
The interesting thing about this thought experiment is that it occurred to me halfway through that by just framing the Catholic teachings as "stories" and the "sacraments" as "ritual reminders", all of a sudden I don't experience my defenses kicking in, resulting in a blockage to gaining any spiritual benefit from any of it. Instead, I'm able to hear the deeper meaning and grow spiritually. As a Spiritual Independent, in the Catholic tradition.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Personal or Impersonal God?
At the core of my spiritual quest over the years, there had always been one constant: a personal God. But with my recent reversion to Cultural Catholicism, I'm trying to make sense of the role spirituality ought to play in my life now that I'm essentially nonreligious.
My beliefs in terms of the big questions are simple and straightforward, with little explanation. With every fiber of my being, I believe, nay, I KNOW, that everything that exists was created. At some point, some laws of physics and other mysterious forces we may not yet know about (as was the case until recently with quantum mechanics, quarks and all), were placed into motion, and from there the world that we now know evolved. Somehow, for some reason. I do not speculate as to when that was, or why. But I do not doubt for one second that there was an act of will on the part of an intelligent source thanks to which we have our being.
The second point of my minimalist belief system is that death is merely a transition, like all other things in the known universe. I cannot think of a single experience, single even, that has a definitive ending and beginning. Rather, I see everything is in a constant state of transition. We are both dying and being reborn simultaneously and continuously. We fall asleep and for all intents of our personal consciousness, cease to exist (with the rare exception of lucid dreaming). Then we awake and reflect back on the fact that we were asleep and carry on in our wakeful state as if nothing happened. We do not dwell on having temporarily died, nor do we agonize over having our conscience die yet again the following night.
I find it interesting that people claim to only believe what they can see, what they can understand. I know I'm not in the minority when I say that I actually do not fully grasp how radio waves, much less television, works. All I know is that there's electricity involved, and some computer coding, software and hardware, all of which must be working in perfect alignment for me to be able to watch my favorite show. I don't understand it. But because I can experience watching my favorite show, I know there is an explanation, and that's actually enough for me. I don't need to be a physicist, computer programmer, electrician, before I can enjoy my show. So why do people insist - like I have done for years - that they must first grasp who God is and by extension what that means for us and our lives before we can start living, enjoying life, and doing the right thing?
I do not know if we reincarnate as lesser or greater beings based on our karma, or if we remain humans in our next life, or if we reincarnate at all. I do not know if we fall into a deep unconscious slumber until some designated "Judgment Day", or if we are immediately judged to be worthy of heaven or not at the moment of our death. I do not know if our bodies will by physically resurrected, and if so, will I get my 37 year old body or a younger or older version?
To be honest, I find all of these hypotheses (for that is all I see them as) to be a bit far-fetched and too literal. I think what makes spirituality and the divine mysterious is precisely that we cannot explain it in terms of our everyday experiences. We can approximate, but nothing more. I think most religious adherents are simply too literal in their understanding of their faith.
What I actually do think happens after death, and this is a work in progress, always open to adjustments as new information makes itself known, is based on who I think "I" am at my core. I don't think my body is what makes me who I am, eternally speaking. My body has changed drastically since the time I was still in the womb. We shed our cells regularly, and I read that every seven years or so, the cells in our entire body have been replaced with new ones. If this is true (from science), then how can I think that my body is what makes me who I am? There is something else that maintains my sense of self through all of those bodily changes.
I don't think it's our personality either. As we mature, as we have different experiences, as we learn and grow, we see the world in a different light. Some aspects of our personality may remain, like introversion or extroversion, but I cannot say that I am the same "person" that I was twenty years ago. At age 17, I was graduating high school and learning to toe my way into the "real world" (whatever that is) with my best friend Rachel as my guide. I was in a chaotic state of figuring out how to make my life meaningful. I went from wanting to pursue religious life (being quickly discouraged from this endeavor by my family) to joining AmeriCorp (my application missed the deadline) to shipping off for the Army's Basic Training Course.
Twenty years later, my best friend Rachel has crossed over to the other side (of death, that is). I ended up hating the Army and spent a little over one year there. Rather than finding my independence, as I had intended, I found my life's partner instead. We married, enjoyed life as a couple for a while, struggled with infertility for many years, and finally welcomed our daughter two years ago. And instead of religious life, I'm now nonreligious. No, my personality is not what makes me who I am either.
There is something mysterious, something that cannot be grasped with the intellectual faculties, that holds us together and carries us through life. It is something so nuanced that the moment you start to define it, you get it wrong. It's something that intersects who we are as physical beings, emotional beings, and intellectual beings. Many people call this something a "soul", though usually it is thought to be very non-physical in nature. I actually think it is absolutely rooted in the most minuscule particles of existence.
Quantum physics absolutely intrigues me, as it describes concepts such as bilocation and time travel as real, except on the level of quarks. How can we begin to conceptualize God or our true nature as it comes from God, if time is a construct with no basis in reality? Time-space, actually, is seen as a single phenomenon, interdependent. We experience time and space because we live in it. But after death (and for argument's sake, before conception), we are not bound by either. We can be anywhere, do anything. We are not God per se. We are God's fingers, toes, etc.
Teresa of Avila said it beautifully when she said:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
And to continue a bit with the Catholic tradition, in spite of calling myself a "revert to Cultural Catholicism", I actually do currently believe in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the essence of Jesus Christ. And it's not because the church says so, actually! It's because of quantum physics and what I've learned about quarks being able to exist simultaneously in two "time-space" places at the same time. God is outside of time, right? During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we have an opportunity to attune ourselves to a time warp of sorts, where we are given a front row seat at Calvary.
Now, that said, just because I believe this doesn't mean it's not disturbing, or that the rest of Christian theology makes any sense to me. My immediate question is, why would I want to be present at an execution? A torturous one at that, of an innocent man! I'm not some sort of sadist who gets his kicks from watching others suffer. So what I actually think is the point of that part of our religious service is a reminder of innocent suffering (so that we are moved to act to lessen it) and a reminder of the possibility to transcend one's own suffering. I think the same role is played by the image of the crucified Christ at the altar, and the stations of the cross in every Catholic church. No, it's not feel-good religion. It's difficult, but it's real. It can truly lead us to something beyond our mundane everyday experiences, if only we let it.
While we're on the subject of Catholic belief, I also believe in the Virgin Birth. That said, I am not committed to it being unique to Jesus. Because early embryonic cells have the potential to grow into any of the necessary cells that a human needs (hence the interest in embryonic stem cell research), it doesn't sound like a stretch at all for a single cell, Mary's ovum, to somehow have carried the necessary y chromosome in order to grow baby Jesus in her womb. Of course, this isn't something she could've willed into being. This is where the hand of God comes in, and it is best if we leave it at that, because once we start to guess why God may have done such a thing, we end up with religion (aka theories and hypotheses about the unknowable will of God).
I don't think Jesus's conception needed to be miraculous (which only means "unexplained by current scientific knowledge") in order for Him to teach what He taught. Yes, I realize that the Christian religion states that it is not so much what Jesus taught that is important, but what He did (namely "take our place on the cross"). Not being Christian, I do not subscribe to this notion. I do not believe in so-called original sin or the wrath of God. Instead, I believe that Jesus's crucifixion was inevitable as far as the natural consequences of being a rebel of thought in his society. The value of his sacrifice (to me) comes in the fact that he was perfectly aware of the consequences of what he taught publicly, but he refused to stay silent. He provided an example that has been followed since, not only in the church-sanctioned saints of the faith, but also in the secular heroes and heroines who have fought for social justice and civil rights, all too often paying the ultimate price for the courage of their convictions. This is not blasphemy. After all, we are told to "be Christ to others".
Finally, we have the Resurrection, another teaching that I do not see any reason for discarding. Countless people "saw Jesus" after his death. What they saw is really moot, other than to say that it was real to them and changed their lives. It doesn't matter if they saw his literal physical body, the one that was nailed to a cross. It doesn't matter if it was some new, transcendent yet still physical body that is now held up as a promise for anyone willing to follow him. It could just as well have been a vision, a hallucination, a dream, a hologram. Why do we assign greater worth to that which can be clearly discerned with our five basic senses, yet ignore the truth that can be known through intuition or discernment?
So for me, Jesus taught very important lessons. He was willing to die for them, because he believed his lessons had the power to transform lives. And they do. And the fact that people experienced (and continue to experience) his presence in some way is only confirmation of the fact that he can continue to teach us these lessons, if we only listen.
I think the reason we are taught to focus on the person of Jesus (rather than his teachings) is simply a way to remind us to do what he said - empty ourselves and deny ourselves and put ourselves last. We cannot go though life polishing our many virtues and patting ourselves on the back and expect to live a transformed life. Jesus called us to go beyond the basic golden rule. Jesus called us to try to see the big picture. I think we are entering an age when that will be more and more possible, with the insights gleaned from quantum physics!
Why do most religions preach helping others? There must be something in the deepest part of who we are that remembers that we are all interconnected, that we are not merely individuals living together on this planet. Where I end and you begin.... there's a transition there that isn't quite as clear-cut as we like to think.
Ok, so is God personal or impersonal? I think that as far as we are persons having a personal experience in this lifetime, God is likewise personal. God encompasses whatever experiences we can imagine, because God is the source of them all. But to say that God is "a person", as in just like us, is to make God in our own image, idolatry! God is beyond simply an elder Father-King sitting in the clouds looking down at us. And this is what I believe was the intention of putting forth the belief in God as a Trinity, this "both-and-neither" answer that simply doesn't satisfy our meager human intellect, when we try to limit our understanding only to what our brains can do! I don't think the point is that God is literally a Spirit-Man (Father), Savior-Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit (like a very important angel maybe?). The point was precisely to stop our incessant philosophizing over the nature of God, as if we have any right to understand God or grasp God's vastness or greatness, as if we have a right to qualify our worship based on our understanding. The Trinity is a western koan! What is the sound of one hand clapping? What does the color red taste like? What is the nature of God?
I actually think we will know everything we need to know once we cross from this life. I think children are still very close to our source and can better intuit God than adults can. I think some of us, probably through mere openness to the Spirit, can indeed experience God's presence without the limitations of human language, either in dreams, or visions, or just through quiet reflection. Sadly, most of us spend too much time paying lip service to how great God is and too little time acting as though we actually believe what has been taught about God by some of the greatest religious-philosophical thinkers of all time (Jesus included). Do we really treat others the way we would want to be treated? Or do we only treat those that aren't too different from us with kindness? Do we look for excuses to ignore people's struggles, or do we look for opportunities to help? That is how we really worship God; not in ritual and lip service, but in spirit and in truth.
My beliefs in terms of the big questions are simple and straightforward, with little explanation. With every fiber of my being, I believe, nay, I KNOW, that everything that exists was created. At some point, some laws of physics and other mysterious forces we may not yet know about (as was the case until recently with quantum mechanics, quarks and all), were placed into motion, and from there the world that we now know evolved. Somehow, for some reason. I do not speculate as to when that was, or why. But I do not doubt for one second that there was an act of will on the part of an intelligent source thanks to which we have our being.
The second point of my minimalist belief system is that death is merely a transition, like all other things in the known universe. I cannot think of a single experience, single even, that has a definitive ending and beginning. Rather, I see everything is in a constant state of transition. We are both dying and being reborn simultaneously and continuously. We fall asleep and for all intents of our personal consciousness, cease to exist (with the rare exception of lucid dreaming). Then we awake and reflect back on the fact that we were asleep and carry on in our wakeful state as if nothing happened. We do not dwell on having temporarily died, nor do we agonize over having our conscience die yet again the following night.
I find it interesting that people claim to only believe what they can see, what they can understand. I know I'm not in the minority when I say that I actually do not fully grasp how radio waves, much less television, works. All I know is that there's electricity involved, and some computer coding, software and hardware, all of which must be working in perfect alignment for me to be able to watch my favorite show. I don't understand it. But because I can experience watching my favorite show, I know there is an explanation, and that's actually enough for me. I don't need to be a physicist, computer programmer, electrician, before I can enjoy my show. So why do people insist - like I have done for years - that they must first grasp who God is and by extension what that means for us and our lives before we can start living, enjoying life, and doing the right thing?
I do not know if we reincarnate as lesser or greater beings based on our karma, or if we remain humans in our next life, or if we reincarnate at all. I do not know if we fall into a deep unconscious slumber until some designated "Judgment Day", or if we are immediately judged to be worthy of heaven or not at the moment of our death. I do not know if our bodies will by physically resurrected, and if so, will I get my 37 year old body or a younger or older version?
To be honest, I find all of these hypotheses (for that is all I see them as) to be a bit far-fetched and too literal. I think what makes spirituality and the divine mysterious is precisely that we cannot explain it in terms of our everyday experiences. We can approximate, but nothing more. I think most religious adherents are simply too literal in their understanding of their faith.
What I actually do think happens after death, and this is a work in progress, always open to adjustments as new information makes itself known, is based on who I think "I" am at my core. I don't think my body is what makes me who I am, eternally speaking. My body has changed drastically since the time I was still in the womb. We shed our cells regularly, and I read that every seven years or so, the cells in our entire body have been replaced with new ones. If this is true (from science), then how can I think that my body is what makes me who I am? There is something else that maintains my sense of self through all of those bodily changes.
I don't think it's our personality either. As we mature, as we have different experiences, as we learn and grow, we see the world in a different light. Some aspects of our personality may remain, like introversion or extroversion, but I cannot say that I am the same "person" that I was twenty years ago. At age 17, I was graduating high school and learning to toe my way into the "real world" (whatever that is) with my best friend Rachel as my guide. I was in a chaotic state of figuring out how to make my life meaningful. I went from wanting to pursue religious life (being quickly discouraged from this endeavor by my family) to joining AmeriCorp (my application missed the deadline) to shipping off for the Army's Basic Training Course.
Twenty years later, my best friend Rachel has crossed over to the other side (of death, that is). I ended up hating the Army and spent a little over one year there. Rather than finding my independence, as I had intended, I found my life's partner instead. We married, enjoyed life as a couple for a while, struggled with infertility for many years, and finally welcomed our daughter two years ago. And instead of religious life, I'm now nonreligious. No, my personality is not what makes me who I am either.
There is something mysterious, something that cannot be grasped with the intellectual faculties, that holds us together and carries us through life. It is something so nuanced that the moment you start to define it, you get it wrong. It's something that intersects who we are as physical beings, emotional beings, and intellectual beings. Many people call this something a "soul", though usually it is thought to be very non-physical in nature. I actually think it is absolutely rooted in the most minuscule particles of existence.
Quantum physics absolutely intrigues me, as it describes concepts such as bilocation and time travel as real, except on the level of quarks. How can we begin to conceptualize God or our true nature as it comes from God, if time is a construct with no basis in reality? Time-space, actually, is seen as a single phenomenon, interdependent. We experience time and space because we live in it. But after death (and for argument's sake, before conception), we are not bound by either. We can be anywhere, do anything. We are not God per se. We are God's fingers, toes, etc.
Teresa of Avila said it beautifully when she said:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
And to continue a bit with the Catholic tradition, in spite of calling myself a "revert to Cultural Catholicism", I actually do currently believe in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the essence of Jesus Christ. And it's not because the church says so, actually! It's because of quantum physics and what I've learned about quarks being able to exist simultaneously in two "time-space" places at the same time. God is outside of time, right? During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we have an opportunity to attune ourselves to a time warp of sorts, where we are given a front row seat at Calvary.
Now, that said, just because I believe this doesn't mean it's not disturbing, or that the rest of Christian theology makes any sense to me. My immediate question is, why would I want to be present at an execution? A torturous one at that, of an innocent man! I'm not some sort of sadist who gets his kicks from watching others suffer. So what I actually think is the point of that part of our religious service is a reminder of innocent suffering (so that we are moved to act to lessen it) and a reminder of the possibility to transcend one's own suffering. I think the same role is played by the image of the crucified Christ at the altar, and the stations of the cross in every Catholic church. No, it's not feel-good religion. It's difficult, but it's real. It can truly lead us to something beyond our mundane everyday experiences, if only we let it.
While we're on the subject of Catholic belief, I also believe in the Virgin Birth. That said, I am not committed to it being unique to Jesus. Because early embryonic cells have the potential to grow into any of the necessary cells that a human needs (hence the interest in embryonic stem cell research), it doesn't sound like a stretch at all for a single cell, Mary's ovum, to somehow have carried the necessary y chromosome in order to grow baby Jesus in her womb. Of course, this isn't something she could've willed into being. This is where the hand of God comes in, and it is best if we leave it at that, because once we start to guess why God may have done such a thing, we end up with religion (aka theories and hypotheses about the unknowable will of God).
I don't think Jesus's conception needed to be miraculous (which only means "unexplained by current scientific knowledge") in order for Him to teach what He taught. Yes, I realize that the Christian religion states that it is not so much what Jesus taught that is important, but what He did (namely "take our place on the cross"). Not being Christian, I do not subscribe to this notion. I do not believe in so-called original sin or the wrath of God. Instead, I believe that Jesus's crucifixion was inevitable as far as the natural consequences of being a rebel of thought in his society. The value of his sacrifice (to me) comes in the fact that he was perfectly aware of the consequences of what he taught publicly, but he refused to stay silent. He provided an example that has been followed since, not only in the church-sanctioned saints of the faith, but also in the secular heroes and heroines who have fought for social justice and civil rights, all too often paying the ultimate price for the courage of their convictions. This is not blasphemy. After all, we are told to "be Christ to others".
Finally, we have the Resurrection, another teaching that I do not see any reason for discarding. Countless people "saw Jesus" after his death. What they saw is really moot, other than to say that it was real to them and changed their lives. It doesn't matter if they saw his literal physical body, the one that was nailed to a cross. It doesn't matter if it was some new, transcendent yet still physical body that is now held up as a promise for anyone willing to follow him. It could just as well have been a vision, a hallucination, a dream, a hologram. Why do we assign greater worth to that which can be clearly discerned with our five basic senses, yet ignore the truth that can be known through intuition or discernment?
So for me, Jesus taught very important lessons. He was willing to die for them, because he believed his lessons had the power to transform lives. And they do. And the fact that people experienced (and continue to experience) his presence in some way is only confirmation of the fact that he can continue to teach us these lessons, if we only listen.
I think the reason we are taught to focus on the person of Jesus (rather than his teachings) is simply a way to remind us to do what he said - empty ourselves and deny ourselves and put ourselves last. We cannot go though life polishing our many virtues and patting ourselves on the back and expect to live a transformed life. Jesus called us to go beyond the basic golden rule. Jesus called us to try to see the big picture. I think we are entering an age when that will be more and more possible, with the insights gleaned from quantum physics!
Why do most religions preach helping others? There must be something in the deepest part of who we are that remembers that we are all interconnected, that we are not merely individuals living together on this planet. Where I end and you begin.... there's a transition there that isn't quite as clear-cut as we like to think.
Ok, so is God personal or impersonal? I think that as far as we are persons having a personal experience in this lifetime, God is likewise personal. God encompasses whatever experiences we can imagine, because God is the source of them all. But to say that God is "a person", as in just like us, is to make God in our own image, idolatry! God is beyond simply an elder Father-King sitting in the clouds looking down at us. And this is what I believe was the intention of putting forth the belief in God as a Trinity, this "both-and-neither" answer that simply doesn't satisfy our meager human intellect, when we try to limit our understanding only to what our brains can do! I don't think the point is that God is literally a Spirit-Man (Father), Savior-Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit (like a very important angel maybe?). The point was precisely to stop our incessant philosophizing over the nature of God, as if we have any right to understand God or grasp God's vastness or greatness, as if we have a right to qualify our worship based on our understanding. The Trinity is a western koan! What is the sound of one hand clapping? What does the color red taste like? What is the nature of God?
I actually think we will know everything we need to know once we cross from this life. I think children are still very close to our source and can better intuit God than adults can. I think some of us, probably through mere openness to the Spirit, can indeed experience God's presence without the limitations of human language, either in dreams, or visions, or just through quiet reflection. Sadly, most of us spend too much time paying lip service to how great God is and too little time acting as though we actually believe what has been taught about God by some of the greatest religious-philosophical thinkers of all time (Jesus included). Do we really treat others the way we would want to be treated? Or do we only treat those that aren't too different from us with kindness? Do we look for excuses to ignore people's struggles, or do we look for opportunities to help? That is how we really worship God; not in ritual and lip service, but in spirit and in truth.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Why I am Catholic... part 2 (Mary)
Why do I believe that Mary has an intricate part in our salvific story?
Mary isn’t met with resistance by as many people as the papacy, since our Orthodox Christian sisters and brothers honor her as well. But there are enough people who do seem to not only misunderstand her role, but are downright agitated by any mention of her merits. This pains me, since without Mary, we would not have had Jesus, and without Jesus, we wouldn’t be saved.
The first reason I believe what the Catholic church teaches regarding Mary’s role in our faith lives is that, as Christians, we are to follow Jesus’s example in all things, right? And Jesus certainly loved and honored His mother; therefore, so should I.
When Jesus was a boy and He traveled to Jerusalem Nazareth
Jesus again obeys His mother even as an adult, when the two of them are at the wedding in Cana . In John 2:3, Mary points out to Jesus that the newlyweds had run out of wine. At first, Jesus tries to argue with His mother by saying that His “hour has not yet come” (verse 4). But verses 6-8 show Jesus nonetheless performing His first miracle precisely at Mary’s urging.
These are just two specific examples of how Jesus honored and respected His mother. If we believe that Jesus was fully human except for sin, then we know that He must have perfectly kept all commandments, including the one about honoring one’s parents. Therefore, how can any Christ-follower dare to ignore Mary, Jesus’s mother, as if she were no different from any other human being? We ought to honor Jesus’s mother just like we are to honor our own mothers. Yes, we are to respect everyone and be charitable to everyone, but we are to honor our parents in a particular way. If Jesus is our brother, then Mary is our mother, and we ought to honor her.
Another reason why I honor Mary is because she is the first in the Communion of Saints. Hebrews 12:22-23 says, “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect”. I don’t know about you, but to me, the underlined part very clearly signifies what we Catholics commonly call “saints”. And was not Mary the first Christian saint?
In Luke 1:38, after the angel Gabriel announced to Mary God’s plan of salvation, she replied: “may it be done to me according to your word”. In other words, Mary agreed; she said “yes” to God. This means that she had the option to say no. After all, who would believe her that she was pregnant due to a miraculous conception? In fact, Matthew 1:19 tells us that Joseph, Mary’s husband-to-be, did indeed want to break off their engagement when he first heard the news of her pregnancy.
But it wasn’t just her reputation that was at stake. If Mary got pregnant without sleeping with Joseph, then the logical conclusion was that she must have slept with someone else, which was clearly punishable by death by stoning (see Deuteronomy 22:23-24). As we read in Luke 1:30, God had already recognized Mary’s righteousness (the angel Gabriel says that Mary has “found favor with God”), and this is why He chose her for this extraordinarily special ministry of mothering the Son of God.
This is all fine and good, you may say, but it still doesn’t explain why Catholics worship Mary; saint or not, we are to worship God alone. You would be completely right to say this, which brings me to my third point. The way that Catholics and Protestants view worship is different, and this is where we get into a misunderstanding. Most Protestants view worship as praise, prayer, singing, evangelizing, and/or righteous living. These are all great ways to show love for God, but Catholics do not equate them with worship.
Many if not all Protestants at some point in their lives ask a fellow Christian to pray for them. It’s not because they don’t want to or can’t pray themselves directly to God. It’s because in prayer like in a lot of things, there’s power in numbers. Protestants talk of “storming the gates of heaven with prayer” because it is understood that God is more likely to respond to a multitude of requests than to a single, isolated request. Catholics see asking Mary to pray for us simply as a conversation that involves both sides of Heaven.
We honor Mary as Queen in that she is the Queen Mother of Jesus Christ, our King. 2 Kings 2:14 illustrates the honor biblically bestowed on the mother of the king: “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah; the king got up to meet her and bowed before her; he then sat down on his throne; a seat was brought for the king's mother, and she sat down on his right.” When we pray to Mary, we ask her to do what she did at the wedding in Cana , and put our requests to Jesus. We do not do this instead of going directly to Jesus; we do this in addition to pleading with Jesus.
To better understand the difference between what Catholics view as worship and prayer, I will have to address the third big difference between Protestants and Catholics, the Eucharist, which will require a post of its own. For now, suffice it to say that we believe that during Mass, Jesus becomes really present, body and blood, soul and divinity, right there in the sanctuary, and invites us to literally take Him into our bodies, His temples. When we stand in the very presence of God, only then can we be said to be worshipping Him. Everything else we do may help us lead godly lives, remind us of His graces, and encourage us to do His will, but it is not worship. Therefore, when we have the Eucharist as the perfect way we worship Jesus, a prayer to Mary is merely that – a prayer, not worship. But that’s a topic for another day, so let me not get ahead of myself.
I want to bring your attention to the most popular prayer we address Mary with, so you can see for yourself how honoring her in this way is one of the ways we seek to please Jesus.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee
(see Luke 1:28, the angel Gabriel addresses Mary this way at the Annunciation)
Blessed are Thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.
(see Luke 1:42, Elizabeth
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
(hopefully I’ve shown why Mary deserves to be called holy, and by virtue of giving birth and mothering the Son of God, she is therefore mother of God-the-Son, Jesus)
pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
(essentially, all we ask of her is that she intercede on our behalf to the Lord)
Amen.
Finally, I want to share Mary’s prayer, as found in the gospel of Luke, called the Magnificat, with which she responds to Elizabeth
Luke 1:46-55
My soul exalts the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrances of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.
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