Leaving The Church - Not Me - No Way!

St. Michael the Archangel

I was born on November 3, 1952 and based on my size and the fact that I was two months premature I was baptized immediately because there was no guarantee that I would live.  Obviously I did survive and have thrived over these almost sixty-three years.  I was formally baptized on February 14, 1953 even though I had been properly, legitimately, and fully baptized at birth.  I am literally a cradle Catholic, having taken no more than a dozen breaths or so before the cleansing waters of Baptism cleansed my soul of original sin.  I was given the name Michael Joseph. I know this is all the stuff that great movies are made of (not).  But I wanted my readers to know that I have never known a day when I was not a Catholic. 

I have three siblings, two younger sisters and one younger brother. They don't have very much to do with me, why I do not know, but I am sure that their reasons are good.  My two sisters and I attended Catholic grade school.  I have to say that I never saw a nun hit a child but some of my classmates said that this went on back in the sixties.  Anyway we were brought up in the Catholic manner, we received (or in my case offered) a good education and we all learned the Baltimore Catechism (still available for free on Kindle)  and we received our first communion and confirmation. 

Of the four of us, as far as I know, I am the only one that practices the faith.  I know for a fact that the sister that was born right after me goes with her husband to "Willow Creek" a feel good, "Church of Whats's Happening Now" place very far removed from the Catholic Church.  My baby sister practices no religion and has been vocal about how she dislikes memories of her school years. 

Being the only one that has remained Catholic makes me wonder, why?  Comparing my experience in Catholic school to my sisters experience you would think I would be the one that left the faith in the dust of the past.  I did not have a good relationship with many nuns.  You see they expected me to do homework and I was not very interested in meeting their expectations. I had a learning disability and this caused frustration which caused me to dislike extending the school day by doing homework. 

I did, however, pay attention to religion class.  I remember the story of how Jesus went after the one lamb and carried it back on His shoulders.  I always got excellent grades in religion.  During my youth I did rebel and stop going to church for awhile, but there always was inside me the feeling that Jesus was near and eventually while I was still in high school I returned to the Church. 

To leave the Catholic Church is a thought that frightens me. I know that even if I were to run away from home I would still be a Catholic.  There are so many benefits to being a Catholic including the assurance that I do not have to guess at what Scripture is telling me, I can be sure of what to believe.   I also have the benefits extended to me by virtue of the sacraments especially the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. 

This blog over the next couple of months will explore the Church and all of the things a Catholic receives that people who are languishing in the denominations, such as Willow Creek, do not 

So tune in and see what you have been missing! 

Please remember that I will answer serious questions about the Catholic faith - hate mail will be ignored.