Any good Catholic publication should start with a parable. So let’s begin…
Several blind men come upon an elephant; the first touches its trunk and compares it to a palm tree; the second touches its side and compares it to a hard wall. One man claims that an elephant is like a piece of rope after feeling its tail. Everyone is persuaded that their own explanation is accurate and that the others' are incorrect after coming into contact with a different aspect of the elephant. They are all only experiencing one piece of the same elephant, and none of them realize that their explanations are incomplete.
Sadly, this is an appropriate way to describe why many Catholics don’t understand their faith, and why many have walked away. What is needed for many of us is a Reboot of our Catholic faith. This involves looking at the whole picture, not examining the way a blind man tries to figure out an elephant.
Let’s be clear about one thing from the start – this is about the reboot of the faithful, not of the Catholic Church itself. Catholic Reboot is a guide for lapsed Catholics, people curious about the Catholic faith, and practicing Catholics that aren’t sure what it means to be a Catholic.
Step by step, Catholic Reboot will guide you through the major concepts of the faith. Whether you are a cradle Catholic that lapsed in your faith and you are trying to “fill in the blanks” as to what led you to stray, a curious Protestant looking for a Catholic perspective on various beliefs, or even a “died in the wool” agnostic/atheist just wanting to know what us Catholics are about – here is the place to get a clear, concise overview of the Catholic Church and its believers.
There is a very good chance, as you read through these topics, that you will say to yourself something like “That isn’t what we learned in Catechism” or “That is not what the nuns taught us,” or perhaps, “That isn’t what our preacher told us about the Catholic Church.” (Assuming from a different Christian denomination.) That is on the poor job the church has done at both Liturgy and Catechesis over the last few generations and the failure of practicing Catholics to effectively defend their faith.
Why People Leave The Catholic Church
“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
Fulton J. Sheen
The fact of the matter is that people are leaving the Catholic Church (and Christianity overall and religion in general) in many Western countries, and even many of those that identify as Catholics barely practice. Why is this happening? There are several important issues:
- After Vatican II the teachings and approach to Liturgy of churches became, well, “blah.” The church tried to overly “relate” to the world and many of the faithful just thought “what is the point?” This was not the fault of Vatican II, just its implementation.
- Disinformation from other Christian churches that aren’t getting refuted by Catholics.
- Uninspired and poorly delivered homilies when Catholics do actually go to Mass.
- The dark cloud of the child abuse scandal in the church, even though priests had the same percentage of abuse as in public schools, family environments, or any other significant institutions, and the church followed the medical community’s recommendations at the time dealing with pedophilia.
- The explosion of relativism, secular ideologies, “identity” heresies, and other cultural forces opposed to God and religion in general.
The Catholic Faith’s Stunning Reality
The fact that many are leaving the church, and so many more don’t know their faith is nothing short of a tragedy. The Catholic faith is unlike anything the world has ever known, and when you dive into its mysteries, is both stunning and sublime. It is not, however, some domesticated, wishy-washy movement. Jesus was a troublemaker, and his beliefs turned everything upside down. Consider:
- No other major world religion (speaking about Christianity in general), has, as its central figure, someone claiming TO BE God.
- You cannot view Jesus, who claims to be God, as someone that is just a wise teacher, or a philosopher to be followed. This statement is based on a formulation called the “Trilemma” surmised by C.S. Lewis and others that states Jesus was either the “Lord” (God), a Liar, or a Lunatic. There is no gray area here.
Here is a good overview of the differentiation between Christianity and other belief systems based on the claim of Divinity by Jesus, and the Trilemma:
What It Means To Be Catholic
What is so critical for Catholics to understand is that this is not a club or an organization. It is not the following of some wise philosopher or a prophet that we feel has some insight. Pope Benedict XVI said it perfectly:
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
Pope Benedict XVI
The early believers believed, at the peril of death, who Jesus was, but today, many have lost the fact that Jesus “compels” us to make a decision:
The Most Popular Religion Today
But is Catholicism the most prevalent religion in the modern world today? Not even close if you really take a deep dive into what the modern person believes. The most common form of religious belief today is the one you very well might be a member of and don’t even know it. It’s called Sheilaism.
Sheilaism came out of a book by sociologists in 1985 called the Habit of the Hearts. It quotes a woman, whom they named Sheila who summed up her religious beliefs:
I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheilaism. Just my own little voice… It’s just to try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself. You know, I guess, take care of each other. I think He would want us to take care of each other.
This sounds harmless enough, but the sociologists were correct in pointing out the problems with Sheilaism. It involves complete self-absorption, it has no dimension at all to building a “community.” It demands that all of our institutions conform to each one of us. It defies any objective good and worships “the self.” Hundreds of millions of “Sheilistic Gods” are out there, all with their own ideas of what is right and what is wrong. This religion has taken root since the middle of the last century. What has been the result? Well, in direct statistical alignment with the rise of this “religion” is a shocking rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide. As this Sheilaism has peaked, so has the fact that we have never been so unhappy. Turn on the news, and talk to friends and relatives. How many happy people do you know?
There is no difference between the Sheilaists out there and the story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man. They decided they would be the judge of good and evil- they worshiped “creation” instead of the “Creator”. It is time for a renewal of faith, and to put things back in the order they were intended.
Sheilaism is the false promise of having an “open mind.” In the words of G.K. Chesterton: “Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.”
The Reboot
God came to our rescue by becoming man and dying for our sins. In cycles throughout history, we keep forgetting that. But let’s put all of the dogma and doctrine aside for a moment. Let’s “Reboot” and consider first what this Catholic faith is all about:
- Jesus didn’t come to “fix” us. Jesus came to love us.
- God did not become man to make bad people good. He came to make dead people alive.
- No matter how much, in our pride and our arrogance, we run from the Father, because of the crucifixion and resurrection, we run into the loving arms of the Son.
- God’s forgiveness is infinite. We have to ask.
- Catholics aren’t Puritans. We love the sensual pleasures of the world. We simply only worship the Creator, not creatures (the world).
- All of the so-called “rules” of the Catholic faith are “no’s to no’s.” They stop us from being a divided self, they prevent us from turning away from God. Like the banks of a river, they provide guidance and structure to get us headed in the right direction.
- God is “Closer to us than we are to ourselves.” You are never alone.
- God never pushes us away. As C.S. Lewis suggests, “the doors of hell are locked on the inside.”
Now let’s “unplug” like a computer and start back up again to fix some errors. Let’s start this reboot and really dive into what this “Catholic” thing is all about.
Next up… a discussion about the very basics of the Catholic faith- God and Evil.
Next Topic >> Catholicism on God and Evil
Synopsis
People are leaving the Catholic Church due to a lack of understanding and misunderstanding. Being a Christian means accepting that Jesus is God. You simply can’t just think he was a wise man or a great teacher. If He wasn’t God, he was either a liar or a lunatic. Most people today believe in a religion where they are their own God and decide completely on what is right and wrong.
Suggested Reading
“Return” by Brandon Vogt
“Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith” by Bishop Robert Barron
Top Image
The first representation of the Eucharistic celebration is found in the fresco Fractio Panis (The Breaking of Bread), which dates from AD 100 to 150.
It wasn’t until 1893 that renowned archeologist and expert on religious art, Fr. Joseph Wilpert SJ, made the discovery.
The moment the President or Bishop breaks the bread is when the Eucharistic feast is represented.