Liberal Catholicism

Well that got your attention didn’t it? It seems lately that our church, known for it’s conservative values and resistance to change, is undergoing a revolution. Or is it?

Pope Francis has made no apologies for speaking directly and passionately about issues and mindsets that he believes are limiting the love and beauty of our faith. As most men in a position of authority, he is also taken out of context quite a bit. When my liberal, protestant extended family starts contacting me on my opinion of the Pope’s endorsement of gay marriage, abortion, and divorce, it creates a great opportunity for me to pause and look deeper into what the Pope is saying, what our church is teaching, and what we believe is moral truth.

A Little Thing, Yet Not So Small

In the car…again. Driving to the 6th event of the day. In a hurry cause we were late leaving the last event…my fault. Tailgating the car in front of me…it stops short at a yellowish light that I would have zoomed through. Hit the brakes…come to a jerking stop. Tension fills the car. A comment is given…snide in tone and intent. I snap back, intent the same. The sound of silence the rest of the trip…many words, none loving or of good will, tossed around in my mind though.

Later, thoughts of this experience bring remorse.

A little thing, yet not so small.

Mary

By Fred Vilbig

Growing up in Dallas surrounded by well-meaning evangelical Christians, I often heard the criticism that “you Catholics worship Mary.” I really had no response at the time. My parents were good Catholics. We went to Mass every Sunday as a family; my mother went to daily Mass when she could. But we didn’t pray the Rosary at home as a family or talk much about our faith, much less about Mary. As I grew up, I kind of left Mary to the side so as not to offend my Protestant friends.

Many years later, that changed. I was going through a particularly tough time with work, bills were mounting, and I was really desperate. I was driving home one night, and it occurred to me that I should pray a Rosary. I didn’t have one in the car, but I had 10 fingers. I really only vaguely remembered any of the mysteries, but that first night, I did the best I could. When I got home, I did some research and figured out how to pray the Rosary.

The Power in Heaven? Yeah, I did that….

So I had this crazy dream the other night. I’m at the French Quarter having a few beers with Saint Michael the Arch Angel. Yes, the French Quarter. Hey, you have your divine revelation your way, and I'll have mine. What started as just casual chit chat about the kids, work, and the Cardinals, led it’s way to some weightier subjects.

I guess it started off as a complaint of mine:

“You see Mike, I just have trouble understanding why God, Jesus, Mary, all the angels and saints, don’t just come down here and kick butt for us, and save us from all of this misery and brokenness.  Or better yet, why even allow evil to be in the world in the first place?  The horrible things that happen down here are incomprehensible.  What we are capable of doing to one another, it’s heart breaking.  What is the point of all of this?”

Fuzzy Lining

Anyone who has siblings can appreciate the little rivalries between those who share the same home growing up. During times of interaction with a rival sibling it seems to be vastly important to establish that you are right – doesn’t matter what your level of knowledge is on the subject being argued or where the real truth actually lies. There have been times where my children will assert their opinion as absolute truth in defense of their position, when in fact it later comes out that they did not really know for sure what the truth was. In our family this mode of argument has come to be known as “Fuzzy Lining,” and it is often used as a verb, as in “Kevin, are you fuzzy lining again?”

As I watch what is going on in our society today, I wonder if there is some fuzzy lining going on…