In conversations with non-Catholics, and as a 24-year non-Catholic, I know there are a few aspects of the Church that are off-putting to some. And that's not without good reason.
Last January, Dr. Belle Wheelan addressed the faculty and staff of the college where I teach. This woman is the president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She gave a wonderful talk to kick off the spring semester, but there was one statement that particularly stuck with me. She told a story from her years as an instructor, when a young African-American student was dressed inappropriately, at least in Dr. Wheelan's opinion. (I suppose this would be a good time to point out that Dr. Wheelan is also African-American.) Dr. Wheelan, after debating whether to say anything at all, finally took the young woman aside and explained her concerns over her attire. When asked why she cared so much about someone else's clothes, Dr. Wheelan said "When one of us does something good, it becomes a reflection on that one person. But when one of us does something bad, it becomes a reflection on all of us."
I loved that story. How true it is. Dr. Wheelan was referring to the African-American community when she spoke of "us", but the story can be applied to people of any demographic. If it's a group of which we are not a part, all it takes is one bad example for us to categorize the entire group. Conversely, one good example from that same group will quickly go viral as a "Hey, look at this person who is acting nothing like the other people of his race/gender/country/religion/job/alma mater!" example.
We Catholics are not exempt from this phenomenon. We're guilty of it, and we're victims of it, just like every other group on Earth. All it takes is one Protestant Bible-drill champion talking to a Catholic kid who doesn't know what book comes after Romans to confirm that "Catholics don't study the Bible." Likewise, there are Catholics out there, unfortunately, who wear saint medals and participate in the sacraments and traditions, all without ever establishing a personal, inner relationship with the God to whom those traditions are meant to bring us near. Catholicism must be heavy on superstition, right? No, it shouldn't be.
We have lots of traditions that are intended to help draw us closer to God. The holiness lies not in the act itself, but in God, to whom the act is hopefully helping us draw near. Before I became Catholic, if I wanted to do something a little extra to try and draw closer to God, I might read a devotional, listen to nothing but Christian music on the radio for awhile, or even fast from something. None of those actions will get me to Heaven. But, their value was that they focused my attention on God, which hopefully elicited an inner change.
One problem, I think, with how Catholics are seen by non-Catholics is that our traditions are foreign. We're not just reading devotions. We're hanging pictures in our homes, we're reciting prayers other people wrote, we're wearing medals. And, of course, there will be the occasional "Catholic" who does these things while acting like a complete degenerate. This is wrong. It is just as wrong as a Christian of another denomination getting baptized then acting a fool because, well "Once saved, always saved!" But, just like in Dr. Wheelan's story, those occasional fools will be the ones that give all of us a bad name.
Our catechism is clear in its teachings about superstition:
When we as Catholics wear a medal of a favorite saint, we should not believe that it's the metal (no I didn't misspell that) around our neck that offers us protection. The medal is a reminder to us of a Christian who is now with the Lord, who can continually pray for us to Him. When we go to confession, it's not talking with the priest and doing our penance that brings about forgiveness. It's the inner remorse and contrite heart that asks for the forgiveness and does the penance to honestly show our regret. When we recite prayers because we're told blessings will follow, it's not the words themselves that bring about special blessing. It's meaning them in our hearts and devoting ourselves, once more, to God as we say them.
Christians, whether Catholic or Protestant, all have good and noble things in their style of worship that can turn into problems if we focus on their "external performance" instead of their deeper meaning. Where Catholics have many rituals and traditions that may turn into superstition if we don't approach them properly, other churches have a lack of rituals and traditions that may lend itself to laziness in faith. (Now don't get mad at me, I'm saying this from experience, and about some people!) For example, my husband recently had a conversation with a coworker who has made it clear he does not like the Catholic faith very much, though he seems to like Mike alright. This coworker said to him recently "Well, the Bible I read says that my family can worship God at home just as well as we could at a church." Mike apparently responded, "That's true! So, do you guys have a family worship service at home each week, then?" The coworker apparently grumbled something at him and let it go, clearly not hosting a home worship service each week.
The point is this: Catholics are not allowed to use their traditions and rituals as superstitions, just as non-Catholics are not allowed to use their lack of them as laziness. Both are temptations we deal with, and both groups will have members that have given in to this temptation. But as we try to lead those members back to the right way, let's try also not to use those few negative examples as a reflection on the entire group. Make Dr. Wheelan proud.
Last January, Dr. Belle Wheelan addressed the faculty and staff of the college where I teach. This woman is the president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She gave a wonderful talk to kick off the spring semester, but there was one statement that particularly stuck with me. She told a story from her years as an instructor, when a young African-American student was dressed inappropriately, at least in Dr. Wheelan's opinion. (I suppose this would be a good time to point out that Dr. Wheelan is also African-American.) Dr. Wheelan, after debating whether to say anything at all, finally took the young woman aside and explained her concerns over her attire. When asked why she cared so much about someone else's clothes, Dr. Wheelan said "When one of us does something good, it becomes a reflection on that one person. But when one of us does something bad, it becomes a reflection on all of us."
I loved that story. How true it is. Dr. Wheelan was referring to the African-American community when she spoke of "us", but the story can be applied to people of any demographic. If it's a group of which we are not a part, all it takes is one bad example for us to categorize the entire group. Conversely, one good example from that same group will quickly go viral as a "Hey, look at this person who is acting nothing like the other people of his race/gender/country/religion/job/alma mater!" example.
We Catholics are not exempt from this phenomenon. We're guilty of it, and we're victims of it, just like every other group on Earth. All it takes is one Protestant Bible-drill champion talking to a Catholic kid who doesn't know what book comes after Romans to confirm that "Catholics don't study the Bible." Likewise, there are Catholics out there, unfortunately, who wear saint medals and participate in the sacraments and traditions, all without ever establishing a personal, inner relationship with the God to whom those traditions are meant to bring us near. Catholicism must be heavy on superstition, right? No, it shouldn't be.
We have lots of traditions that are intended to help draw us closer to God. The holiness lies not in the act itself, but in God, to whom the act is hopefully helping us draw near. Before I became Catholic, if I wanted to do something a little extra to try and draw closer to God, I might read a devotional, listen to nothing but Christian music on the radio for awhile, or even fast from something. None of those actions will get me to Heaven. But, their value was that they focused my attention on God, which hopefully elicited an inner change.
One problem, I think, with how Catholics are seen by non-Catholics is that our traditions are foreign. We're not just reading devotions. We're hanging pictures in our homes, we're reciting prayers other people wrote, we're wearing medals. And, of course, there will be the occasional "Catholic" who does these things while acting like a complete degenerate. This is wrong. It is just as wrong as a Christian of another denomination getting baptized then acting a fool because, well "Once saved, always saved!" But, just like in Dr. Wheelan's story, those occasional fools will be the ones that give all of us a bad name.
Our catechism is clear in its teachings about superstition:
- Superstition (defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church): The attribution of a kind of magical power to certain practices or objects, like charms or omens. Reliance on such power, rather than on trust in God, constitutes an offense against the honor due to God alone, as required by the first commandment.
- The Catechism acknowledges that some worshipers may wrongfully practice superstition instead of true worship: "[Superstition] can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition." 2110
When we as Catholics wear a medal of a favorite saint, we should not believe that it's the metal (no I didn't misspell that) around our neck that offers us protection. The medal is a reminder to us of a Christian who is now with the Lord, who can continually pray for us to Him. When we go to confession, it's not talking with the priest and doing our penance that brings about forgiveness. It's the inner remorse and contrite heart that asks for the forgiveness and does the penance to honestly show our regret. When we recite prayers because we're told blessings will follow, it's not the words themselves that bring about special blessing. It's meaning them in our hearts and devoting ourselves, once more, to God as we say them.
Christians, whether Catholic or Protestant, all have good and noble things in their style of worship that can turn into problems if we focus on their "external performance" instead of their deeper meaning. Where Catholics have many rituals and traditions that may turn into superstition if we don't approach them properly, other churches have a lack of rituals and traditions that may lend itself to laziness in faith. (Now don't get mad at me, I'm saying this from experience, and about some people!) For example, my husband recently had a conversation with a coworker who has made it clear he does not like the Catholic faith very much, though he seems to like Mike alright. This coworker said to him recently "Well, the Bible I read says that my family can worship God at home just as well as we could at a church." Mike apparently responded, "That's true! So, do you guys have a family worship service at home each week, then?" The coworker apparently grumbled something at him and let it go, clearly not hosting a home worship service each week.
The point is this: Catholics are not allowed to use their traditions and rituals as superstitions, just as non-Catholics are not allowed to use their lack of them as laziness. Both are temptations we deal with, and both groups will have members that have given in to this temptation. But as we try to lead those members back to the right way, let's try also not to use those few negative examples as a reflection on the entire group. Make Dr. Wheelan proud.