Hello All!!
With request by a friend of mine & it is something that I definately come to face daily and I want to thank Jessie for giving me a little push to write this blog!
Jessie's Facebook post to me:
"I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on ecumenism and how you dialogue with people who might not believe the same things as you. That was always a challenge for me in high school, and I know it's something that a lot of young Catholics d...eal with.
Happy blogging! :D"
Ecumenism: now mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater religious unity or cooperation
In all honesty it is one of the hardest things to be a Christian in Public School, let alone a devoute Catholic. Many people dont believe at all, and shy away from people who proclaim The Word Of God.
I have many friends that are of different denominations and it is something that it a very "touchy" subject, because no one wants to step on the other's toes. But for me it is definately hard because I try my best not to do this but it happens, I take any attack on the Catholic Church or anything against it to heart. Its hurtful because its my "home" my "base", but I try my best to defend the faith in a respectful but honest way. Actually I end up finding myself praying through the conversation with the person and asking for God's wisdom through it.
The Gospel reading at Masses this weekend was....
"I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning."
God didnt mean for all of this division. It was Man who did not "like"/"agree" with the Church's Teachings and changed them for themselves to fit what they wanted. Upon this rock I will build my church is in the Bible, right in Peter :)
In all, it is super hard to "fight"/"defend" what you believe in. But it is sooo worth it! :)
God Bless,
Ashley
2 comments:
Warning,I may offend you right now but that is not my intention. I want to impart my thoughts.
I am a Christian and I am not Catholic. I love my brothers and sisters in Christ who are Catholic, however I have a real problem with the Catholic church. Now, I don't mean I have a problem with the individual people, that is not the case, but I have a problem with the institution of the Catholic church. In fact, I have a problem with organized religion. You see, organized religion puts God in a bubble and on many issues there is a "right" and a "wrong."
Faith, is an undoubted personal belief in God and really a personal relationship. We all act with God differently yet the pragmatic ways of organized religion tries to set boundaries with God and thus divides us.
My problems with the Catholic church lie in this reality. Now it is present in every religion, however, it exists more prevalent in Catholicism. The doctrine of Catholicism sets "rights" and "wrongs." If one reads Catholic theology and doctrine, God is placed as a smiting over lord of a King. Unnecessary sacraments are held high and sacred to the point that people who are not baptized will not go to heaven. How can a loving God be this way?
Homosexuality, Abortion, and Contraception are all deemed wrong yet the bible calls slavery a good thing.
There are other denominations that condemn these things and for those people that is right. However, God is a personal thing. Faith is a personal thing. Each of us interact with God in VERY different ways. Where we stray from the path is organized religion. God has a harder time existing, working, and changing our lives when we don't give ourselves an opportunity to listen to Him without preconceived notions of religion.
Ashley, in many ways the Catholic church has set itself up for ridicule from others. Much of the corruption, and unmoving doctrine of Catholicism attacks people in a place they hold dearest, their faith. A personal faith which has no right to be questioned.
Personally I know the loving nature of God. I have felt it all my life. God is love and he can be nothing less. With such a loving Lord and his nature being as such I don't believe he condemns Homosexual relationships, as long as they are sincere and full of love how can they be wrong? A woman's personal choice to have an abortion cannot be damned by God, because she exercises her free will, a God given gift. And she demonstrates love for herself, her unborn child, and for God's plan. If she is compelled to do so and her intentions are good how can she be wrong?
These are some of my personal beliefs, based off who I have come to know God to be. Yet they are not attacks, not jabs are your faith, just mine. And just as I should not attack what you believe you should not attack what I believe. We can all be guides for other people, but in the end we must respect and appreciate what they believe. God is far too massive and expansive for us to fully comprehend who He is. We need to find value in our differences and see a bigger picture, one we cannot make out all together but someday we will witness its beauty.
Hey Anonymous,
After reading your comments about the Catholic Church, it becomes pretty clear that you might be falling into the same attacks against the Church that the mainstream media and society wants you to fall towards, which is that morality should be relative and it should be about personal preferences.
This cannot be the case. Your statement of
" A woman's personal choice to have an abortion cannot be damned by God, because she exercises her free will, a God given gift. And she demonstrates love for herself, her unborn child, and for God's plan. If she is compelled to do so and her intentions are good how can she be wrong?"
is flawed. First, the Church and her wisdom have the understanding that abortion hurts two persons from the action of killing an innocent human being; therefore, the Church's teaching is NOT that God would condemn someone from this action, rather Our Lord teaches us that we must be there for the victims of abortion with arms of compassion, since the action took so much from their human dignity.
To say that a woman is expressing God's plan through killing an innocent life is completely is neglecting the fact that God so chose her to give life to that person inside of her.
When you claim that Ashley's belief to stick up for a human life is not an attack on her beliefs but your own beliefs. Therefore, are we to believe that you believe killing innocent humans is alright?
I would love to hear your comments on when/if life starts or other views on abortion on my blog after I finish writing about the dignity of the human person starting at conception/fertilization. So please feel free to leave me any comments you have on this topic or others on my blog...
Ashley,
Thank you so much for continuing to hold strong on your Catholic faith and witness to life; we need amazing women like you to continue to be great examples of compassion and understanding in a world of hate and mistrust.
God Bless,
Kym
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