Editorial

I wrote this for my AP Language and Composition class... thought you all might like to read it as well...

           Voltaire’s “Crush the Infamous Thing” still resounds through the centuries as a portent of animosity toward organized religion. The Catholic Church has done itself no favors in refuting Voltaire’s assertion. Her tumultuous history ranging from the crusades in the thirteen hundreds to the modern day sex scandals make it easy to forget the true meaning of the Catholic Church.  In fact, most people, including some Catholics, tend to overlook both the infallibility of the institution, and the good its people have wrought. There is no doubt in my mind that the Church, as instituted by Jesus Christ, is infallible. Any organization, no matter its purpose, is run by humans and therefore susceptible to mistakes; it is not the greater organization making these mistakes, but rather the people inside it that falter and fail. It is the same way with the Catholic Church. The Church has not failed; the men inside it sinned against what they swore to uphold. But even with these occurrences, the beauty of the Church’s mission has not faded, but rather grown more mature and prominent in spite of these atrocities.

            One of the most tangible factors of the Church’s influence is its insistence on education. There are 223 Catholic Colleges in the United States alone, 8,102 Catholic schools, nearly seven thousand of which are focused on grades K-8. These schools not only give excellent education, but they also instill moral values and tendencies necessary in both a good Catholic and a good citizen of the United States (Center of Education Reform. K-12 Stats)

The Church’s focus on education is not a recent development. Before the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, the ruling class saw no need for an educated peasantry. Because of this, only the Church offered any form of education at all. Saints like Thomas Aquinas and Ignatius of Loyola transformed Church thought, and St. Ignatius also founded the Jesuit order, instrumental in the Counter-Reformation and is now prominent in education as well.

More than half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world’s population are Catholic. As a universalizing religion (global, appealing to all people), combined with technological advances and continuing globalization, it has become easier for the Church to spread to wide areas while in contact with all regions. The Vatican has ensured that all churches read the same readings and perform the same Mass each day. This is a major unification point within the Church. The ability for a person to comprehend what is going on during the mass, no matter what language, brings the entire faith together into one unified being.

World Youth Day also signifies a gathering of the church family. Thousands of young Catholics from all over the world travel to a specific destination every three years to both celebrate and learn the faith, and to “build bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples and cultures.” We are the future, and as the body of Christ, we need to learn to work in harmonious unison to better serve God and the world. (WYD FAQS)

 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, sponsored and promulgated by Pope John II as one concise guide to major Church doctrine, states that the Church is “in her very nature missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations… especially to the poor.” Mother Teresa manifests herself in this quote. Her drive was to serve the poorest of the poor, the starving dying in the streets, lepers lying abandoned in alleyways—this was her life, her calling, and she spread it all over the world. She was quoted saying “The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” This is a happy miracle indeed, as her Missionaries of Charity have spread to more than 100 cities throughout the world. (CCC 767, 886)

            Catholic Charities is another institution representing the Church’s willingness to help those who cannot help themselves. Located in the USA, CC is dedicated to “eliminating poverty, supporting families, and empowering communities,” and they gave aid to more than 12.5 million causes in 2005 alone. As a non-profit organization, more than 90% of all donations go to serving others, making it one of the most efficient charities in the country. (Catholic Charities USA)

            Despite the fallacies of the past, the Church is now larger than it has ever been. Even in the United States, the percent growth is astounding—16 percent from 1990 to today. Bishop Fulton Sheen, a prominent Catholic evangelist, once stated, “Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is.” Catholics have been working to change that viewpoint, and although there have been pitfalls, the Church has made many advances and helped so many lives that the negatives are little more than small pebbles scattered throughout thousands of grains of sand.

yeah... needs some work... but i'm lazy.....

A friend and I visited the nursing home today. Every Tuesday she goes and plays piano for singalong. Today, she invited me.

I had forgotten how hard it was. Being in the nursing home setting brought back memories of my childhood. When my grandfather's alzheimer's grew to be too much for my grandmother, he went into a nursing home for vets. I have vivid memories visiting him, sitting at a table with him.... searching for some semblance of the man who had taken me out for doughnuts and was never without a chuckle for a little girl.

But I also recalled how he never forgot my name. No matter how bad he got, he never forgot my name.

This last summer, we did missions work at a nursing home several days before attending the steubenville conference. I was asked to go into the mental ward and help lead the singalong. Perhaps it was God nudging me toward there, asking me to remember why it was that I care so deeply for the elderly. These people were so joyful, so happy at just being able to participate in an activity with one another. Their look at having the undivided attention of several gentle youth is something I shall never forget.

Today, unsure of what to expect, I nervously entered the nursing home, flute on my shoulder, grinning outwardly; hiding an inner turmoil. Seeing person after person... my fears seemed about to be realized. I slipped into my "auto" mode, the mode where I place total control over to God, to not let my fears and reactions control my being. Slowly though, as the first chords sung out of the piano, as the first words of "Jesus Loves Me" tenuously began to become audible, I realized that these people were like children. God's children, who have more wisdom and experience then I can ever imagine. The words grew louder as the songs progressed. When we reached "Amazing Grace"... i did not think it was possible for them to sing any louder. I have that song memorized, so i spun around while playing, receiving many winks and grins for my troubles.

But seeing the other ones was hard, the ones that just kinda sit there. I was curious as to what they think about, and I really didn't like the conclusion that I came to, until I realized that there was the possibility that they were seeing God. I pray that God is slowly revealing Himself to them, that as their mind and faculties lose focus and ability, that they come to know how much He really loves them.

The greatest joy I had, was when one sassy elderly lady told me it would "cost" me to turn the page in her book. When I asked "how much" the cost was... well it had the entire room chuckling with the answer.

I know it was Devine inspiration that prompted my friend to invite me. I relearned something I had forgotten, something I dearly needed to remember. God does not choose our paths, we choose our paths to God. He knows what we were meant to do, He knows the only vocation that we will truly make us happy. But it is up to us to hear His hints, to follow His calling.

Acts 20:24

"Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace."

Need I say more?

The first time I read this passage, I had been praying to the Lord about my vocation. I was extremely confused due to various circumstances of my true calling... or if I even had purpose.

This verse taught me that my life alone truly had no purpose. That as a human being, I was nothing more than another insignificant creature walking the earth. But as a Daughter of God, I was a vessel through which God could fulfill His purpose, if that makes any sense. That I was created to do nothing more than God's will.... and the only possible way for me to be happy here is to follow that will. I pray every day that I may discern correctly God's calling for me, and that his trust may not be misplaced.

Meditation

St. Catherine of Siena wrote, in her Dialogues, that "All the sufferings the soul bears or can bear in this life are not enough to punish one smallest sin. For an offense against God, infinite Good, demands infinite satisfaction; not all sufferings given in this life are given for punishment, but rather for correction, to chastise the child that offends."

By accepting our suffering and giving it up to Jesus, bearing it with "desire, love and contrition of heart," each person may grow in understanding of Jesus' sacrifice. He died so that we may know God. He already paid the infinite price of our shortcomings. But by accepting our chastisement, we grow stronger in our faith, stronger in our Love and Trust of Our Father.

Lord, let me bear my corrections with the dignity of one of Your children. Help me to change my sinful ways and lead my heart and mind closer to You and Your will.