Despite Our Myriad Differences, We Are Called To Unite

The Holy Church has survived and thrived through 20 centuries. Jesus knew that for the Church to survive the ages, there would need to be a structure in place to maintain consistency of His message, order in a world that can quickly become disorderly and oversight of the treasures entrusted to her by God. By treasures, I am talking about the Word of God, the Eucharist, apostolic succession, tending to widows and orphans and the list goes on.

On the other hand, God can be worshipped in many ways (within reason) and standing behind the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there are devout Catholics who are uplifted by praise worship or other forms of prayer. This, of course, is fine with the “free spirit” crowd but it can cause angst and skepticism from the magisterium crowd.

The simple fact is that there have always been and will always be extremes on both ends of any spectrum, including the Church. The reality is that our balance is found somewhere in the middle. My wonderful mother has always told me to find a happy medium. 

No matter how we feel most comfortable in finding God in our lives, we are all called to come to the table of prayer and reconciliation with one another in the spirit of love to create a strong Church for ages to come. It is the combination of the strength and steadfastness of the hierarchy of the Church combined with the vitality and uniqueness of the laity that continues to make the Catholic Church vibrant and alive in today’s world.

Each of us is called with specific and unique purpose to incorporate the teachings of Mother Church into our lives and spread the Gospel message in our own way, based on the gifts we have received by God.

As example of this, we look to Christ who had a clear message that He did not shy away from and yet He chose very diverse personalities to help spread this message (the apostles seem to me to have been somewhat of a motley crew). 

If we truly believe what we profess, then we are all one body in Christ. We are all one family, brothers and sisters, united by the unique bond of Baptism and reformed each time we receive the Holy Eucharist. Each time we say the Creed, we profess our beliefs in the ideals of an institution, divinely created, that has endured the winds of time (although not without scars and scratches).

It is incumbent upon us to take a look at those issues that the Holy Catholic Church stands firmly upon and work in every realm of society to integrate those teachings in our own unique way. 

The issues are abundant. From abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia and religious freedom to immigration, the breakdown of the Christian family and our interactions in what is increasingly becoming (or has already become?) a secular society, we must as Catholics educate ourselves and begin to look through the eyes of God, taking a more universal view of the myriad of issues that face our society today. I think everyone, if they are honest with themselves, has an issue here or there that they have some trouble working through. We are called to see these issues through the lens of the Church. These positions were not simply thrown together without reasoning, but are rooted in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Take the time to research the Church’s position on issues you struggle with in your lives, the history of the issue, your reasoning behind the matter and prayerfully reflect on God’s vision.  Remember to be open to the outcome of this discernment! 

I will admit that I thought I knew the Church’s teaching on a particular subject only to have a younger cousin of mine school me recently regarding the correct teaching. I had to go back and research the subject, then prayerfully discern how to incorporate that new information into my way of thinking. I had to give up some of myself to allow God to work in my life.

The Church is gloriously diverse in many ways. However, we cannot let our diversities overrule those foundations that make us uniquely Catholic. We are called to unite against opposing voices of this world who wish to push aside the teachings of God. Our voices must be united as one…as one crying out in the desert, hearkening the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.