by Chase Hawkins
Before the tailgate this past year, I wandered around on the football field in a mob of high school guys. I searched for some of my friends as we waited for our turn in line to overload on brats, hot dogs, burgers, chips, fruit, and triple the proper amount of desserts. As I latched onto a group to pass the time, I apparently had jumped right into the middle of a substantial conversation.
Right as I joined, one of my classmates continued the conversation by saying, “I hate the Church. The Church is so [screwed] up” (expletives censored). I did a double-take and waited for his explanation. I heard – to my disgust – the rest of the group chuckle and agree blindly. I walked away with my jaw hanging, baffled as to how someone could say such a thing. The first thing I could think of was ‘The Church is not [screwed] up!’ The only way that the Church is even remotely screwed up is that She is made up of a millions of sinners. We, as sinners, are “[screwed] up” sometimes. But the essence of the Church, Herself, is not.
Many people that I have encountered throughout high school disagree with the views of the Church in terms of homosexuality, abortion, immigration, capital punishment, and other hot topics. I have heard high school students say that the Church is restrictive and a hindrance to their love of Jesus.
‘How could you think that the Church is so [screwed up]?’ I thought when I heard the student’s view on the Church. The Catholic Church is the only church founded by Jesus Christ. To “love Jesus, but dislike the Church” is preposterous in and of itself! Jesus – who was historically proven to have lived, suffered, died, and risen – founded this, the Catholic Church. Our blog’s namesake is based off this: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
I just could not comprehend the belief that a Church founded centuries ago by Jesus Christ, that has been formed and analyzed by 2,000 years of scholars and theologians, that has been tweaked by educated Church leaders, and is the primary source of all social relief worldwide could be “[screwed] up”. To many people, the Church seems like a mean, old kindergarten teacher who tolerates nothing less than total obedience. If the Church only tolerated total obedience, She would have zero members (that’s why we have Confession!) However, the Church is not a mean, old kindergarten teacher. She is a loving mother who kneels in the filth and the gutters of the world to pick up the broken pieces of her children. She is the Bride of Christ.
But what does this Church have to offer for me? I’m not in the filth or the gutters of the world!
The answer to that question can simply be summed up as follows: the Church offers us the true presence of Her spouse and founder: Jesus. Jesus’ presence is at the center of EVERYTHING the Church does! The biggest ways in which the Church offers to us Jesus’ presence are (1) Mass, (2) Adoration, (3) Sacraments, (4) service.
MASS
You cannot get ANY closer to Jesus on Earth than by receiving His Body and Blood in the Mass. The Mass is where Heaven and Earth touch. God extends his Heavenly breath upon the bread and wine and provides the ultimate sacrifice on the altar: His only Son. And we get to consume this ultimate sacrifice!
ADORATION
In Adoration, we are again, exposed to the true presence of Jesus. In Adoration, Jesus’ body is displayed on the altar before us. We kneel humbly in His presence and join with the unending choir of angels and saints singing “Come, let us adore Him!”
SACRAMENTS
A Sacrament is “an outward sign of inward grace”. Every single Sacrament was instituted by Christ. How much closer – besides Mass and Ad - oration – can we get to Jesus’ presence? In Baptism, we are baptized just as Jesus was. In the Eucharist, we receive His Body (we already discussed this). In Reconciliation, the priest acts in persona Christi – that is, “in the person of Christ”. In Confirmation, we receive the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised to us. We could go on about the Sacraments, but I think the point was made.
SERVICE
The Catholic Church is the NUMBER 1 provider of relief and service in the entire world. That could be enough to prove this point, but I’ll go on. As the longest-surviving institution, the Catholic Church provides service through Catholic hospitals, universities, missionaries, high schools, and other relief services. When we serve others, we are the hands and feet of Christ! Whatever we have done for the least of us, we have done for Christ.
Continuing on...
In other words, like Christ who dined with the tax collectors and sinners, who came “not to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt. 9:12), and who washed the feet of His apostles, the Church does not receive glory in forcing people to follow rules, rather She kneels down with the sick in the streets and cares for them. The Church – while being the supernatural Bride of Christ – also lives in this world as the physician to the sinners and the good Samaritan to the broken.
To those who don’t understand, don’t care for, or don’t know the beneficial power of these workings of the Church, She can seem like a roadblock to eternal life. However, the Church is not a roadblock on the road to salvation. Rather, She is the narrow detour off of the temptations of our world, on which, we have the opportunity to partake in the glorious transubstantiation of bread and wine into Jesus’ body and blood. We have the opportunity to raise our hands in adoration of the one, true Savior and to receive the outward sign of God’s grace in the sacraments. Along this narrow road, we have the opportunity to serve others, to be the Good Samaritan, to kneel down and wash our neighbors’ feet. By taking advantage of all these opportunities of the Church, we realize that the Church never was a roadblock, but rather a detour that takes us to eternal life.
So, why then, could someone say that the Church is so “[screwed] up”? If the Church gathers us weekly to celebrate in the presence of Christ through Mass and Adoration, draws us closer to Christ through Sacraments, and helps the poor, lonely, and broken of the world through its social services, how could it possibly be “[screwed] up”?
Well, people come up with many reasons. Like I mentioned earlier, people believe that the Church restricts people in topics of homosexuality, abortion, immigration, or capital punishment. Instead of laying down rules as restrictions, the Church uses its 2,000 years of tradition and teachings to show us the right path, the path established by Jesus Christ. The path of TRUTH. Not the path of comfort. Although personal opinions are not bad, it seems ridiculous that a teenager (or any person, for that matter) swayed by the evils of society and backed by only a few years of experience can challenge the longest surviving institution that has lasted through 2,000 years of challenges and heresies.
So in the end, yes, people will still believe that the Church restricts its followers. Indeed, many people will still believe that the Church works its way into every issue with nonsensical doctrine just for the sake of disagreeing. Of course, many people will still believe that the Church cannot help them grow in their faith.
Despite this, I will still believe in what I know to be true. Because of my experiences with Mass, Adoration, Sacraments, and service, I know that the Church is not a shackle on the ankles of its followers. I know that the Church is deeper than simply one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. The Church is also the bearer of many good gifts, the bearer of Good News, the Light of Christ, an illuminated pathway in the darkness of the world, and the way to liberation through Jesus Christ.
St. James, ora pro nobis.
St. Francis of Assisi, ora pro nobis.
St. Margaret Clitherow, ora pro nobis.
-Chawkins
"Defender" by Kings Kaleidoscope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETswsebezcs