Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
I thought this photo was inspiring in so many ways. It was taken at the St. Mary Cathedral in downtown Austin, I've posted about it before here. Every time I enter a Catholic church I'm always humbled by the crucifix which is usually front and center, it's a constant reminder...to behold the image of Jesus hanging on the cross is to recognize the greatest event in history. I also love how this photographer captured this scene, with the praying hands in the darkness but Christ in the lightness. Often when people are tested and struggling (in darkness) we pray and Christ (lightness) always hears and answers our prayers.
A few weeks ago I was prayerfully considering to volunteer as a catechist for our parish's religious ed CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) classes. Catechises is an education in the faith of children teaching them of Christian doctrine with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life. A catechist is one who engages in such religious instruction. The primary catechists for children are their parents. I am so thankful though to my own CCD teachers from when I was a child and also for the ones Madeline has had. I struggle with applying myself to volunteer my time to anything because I feel like I don't have much free time, but I long to give my time. So I emailed our parish that I would love to volunteer, and I figured if God wanted this for me then they would contact me back. Well it looks like I will be aiding another teacher and we will have a classroom full of 3rd and 4th graders! I'll be right next door to Madeline's class. I can't wait to meet and get to know these kids and help them learn about our faith!
"Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is." -- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Catechising kids who are open and willing to learn is much different than catechising those who are not open and willfully ignorant. Earlier this week I posted about some frustration I was experiencing. Some of you may and some not know that I like to engage with Protestants over why there is a division between them and the Catholic Church. You see I take no offense to them objecting or even claiming my Catholic faith is based upon false teaching. What I do take to offense is when they argue over the teachings, they clearly misunderstand the teachings and are not willing to learn what the Church truly teaches. I then find the debate dishonest and lacking integrity. If you are ever going to get to the root of a problem or issue then it must be done in all honesty and with integrity.
"Those who are called to the table of the Lord must glow with the brightness." St. John of Capistrano
So now I am inspired to do a series of posts titled "Misunderstood" about the true teachings of the Catholic Church. Be on the lookout for them in the near future!
2 comments:
I look forward to that series!
Would love to have some discussions with you about your faith. I really don't know anything about the Catholic church, and probably do have some misunderstandings. I guess we are in the "Protestant" category. We're involved in this bible study and church plant and our goal is for every man, woman and child to hear the life-saving message of Jesus Christ. Pretty simple statement, but a lot to take in, also. We've loved our journey so far and are excited about where God is leading us.
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