The Church as seen from middle age

For my first article for Catholic365.com, I’d like to give you, the reader an idea of how I see the Church as a life-long, and recently married, Catholic male in his early 50’s.

Unlike most people, I don’t view the Church as a liberal or conservative institution; it’s obviously neither! Secular society and those outside the Church (especially the secular news media) have been trying to control and pigeonhole the Church into something it can never be since the time of Christ! Conservatives tend to see the Church as authoritarian and being about nothing but rules, mostly the “Don’ts”, and ensuring the rest of us follow those rules, or else we’ll go to Hell! Liberals tend to see the Church in terms of “sharing the wealth” and making sure the poor get their fair share, even if it means breaking the rules to achieve those goals.

Neither side gets it!

Jesus didn’t come to be a conservative or a liberal. In fact, if you have a need to put some moral or political label on Jesus, He can best be described as a Moderate, or an Independent!

History is clear that Jesus was a threat to both sides of the political and moral spectrums of His day! The Pharisees’ didn’t like him because he was a threat to their power and elite status in Jewish society, and the Zealots were convinced that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah that was going to help them kick the Roman occupiers out of Israel!

Obviously, He was neither! I was well into adulthood by the time I realized this.

As Catholic Christians, we’re called to follow Christ and follow the moral code He expects of his followers (yes, follow those rules!). AND, we’re also expected to carry out works of charity as He taught us to do, given our gifts of time, talent, and treasure!

So, to those on the outside of the Church looking in; it’s BOTH/AND, not EITHER/OR! I’ve considered myself to be a political Independent since my mid-20’s, so I’ve been able to see the good both sides have to offer, as well as those things that both sides negatively and obsessively focus on, to the detriment of the mission of the Church.

The Church doesn’t have any kind of a moral or political mission; its mission is spiritual! We all have a place in it in our daily lives!

I tend to anger people on both sides on the political spectrums regarding the opinions I hold on various moral, social, and political issues. I hope readers of Catholic365, especially those who, like me, also grew up in the Church during the 10-20 turbulent years following Vatican II, will read my articles with an open mind, and consider the issues I’ll raise in them. My first few articles will deal with events in my spiritual life, and how they’ve shaped me spiritually, emotionally, and morally over the years.

Happy reading!