“Serious” Catholics

“We may never be faced with the big decision for or against Christ, but we are faced fifty times a day with the little decisions for or against Him.” – Dr. Kevin Hughes

Recently I was talking to a friend and we were lamenting the appearance of brochures in parishes that are “Voting Guides for Serious Catholics”. We remarked how sad it is that we even have to distinguish between serious Catholics and non-serious Catholics, or Full-Buffet Catholics and Cafeteria Catholics. Typically, I’m one of the least politically minded people I know. I avoid political debates as though it were my job, but with this election, and so much on the line – including, but not limited to our religious freedom – I won’t keep silent anymore. As Blessed Mother Teresa once said, “words that do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.” I’m done contributing to the darkness with my silence.

I get it. Being Catholic isn’t always easy in the world today. Who really wants to stand up be mocked for believing that artificial contraception is bad for a woman, for men, for marriage, and for the good of society? Who wants to stand up and say that marriage actually should be between one man and one woman? I was recently in Seattle and the friend I was with said how shocked she was that a car sporting a “Pro-Traditional Marriage” bumper sticker hadn’t been keyed. Who wants to stand out on the street corners in any city and say that abortion is wrong? Maybe all of those things would be a lot easier if we didn’t live in a culture that seems to be hell-bent on contraception, abortion on-demand, and free love for everyone, whether you call it a civil union or a marriage. However, we don’t live in that world. We are, as Dr. Kevin Hughes states, faced with little decisions each day for or against Christ. These decisions are ours to make.

The time has come, my dear friends, to be a serious Catholic. Are you increasing the light of Christ or adding to the darkness? Are you picking and choosing Catholic teachings or are you professing and living them all out to the best of your ability? I won’t pretend to judge you from my nice little keyboard. I don’t know you and I don’t know your heart. What I do know is that it is time to be serious, it is time to believe what you live and live what you believe. I have a very good friend who loves and respects the Catholic Church. He often talks about how he will someday be a Catholic, but that he refuses to stand up and make the profession of faith when he doesn’t believe everything the Church teaches. That is respect. I respect him for his stance and he respects the Church by not pretending to be a Catholic when he isn’t ready to take on and live out all of her teachings.

Being a serious Catholic is serious work. It is seriously hard, but infinitely worth it. When you go out and vote this week, ask yourself if your vote is adding to the light of Christ or increasing the darkness. But this issue of being a serious Catholic goes far beyond the polls, it should penetrate our whole lives. In talking about the Year of Faith Filipino Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that the new evangelization must be accomplished by new saints and that we must be those saints. God wants to make you a saint. He wants you to be serious, to take your faith seriously and be willing to live it out in the public square, or where ever it is that He calls you. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Cap., sums it up brilliantly when he writes,

“Here’s the moral of the story: Catholic witness has a cost. When we’re willing to pay it, we prove who we are as disciples. When we’re not, life’s a lot more comfortable. But that was never the point of the Gospel.”

Other articles for your consideration:
Thomas Peters’ post on Religious Liberty.
Leila Miller @ Little Catholic Bubble on Why It Is Not A Sin To Vote For Romney