I suppose it is understandable why most Catholics who go to Mass don’t believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We are privileged to be able to receive Him every day. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt—or at least indifference. Just look at our family, those we live with every day. They know us and we know them and we take for granted they will be there tomorrow. It’s only when they are not there the next day, that we come to our senses and regret not having loved them better.
Sure, being Catholic is easy, right? Just go to Mass once a week. Go to Confession once a year, and we’re set for heaven. For decades, the Church, including lay people, parents especially but priests and religious as well, have dumbed down our beautiful and rich, spiritually wealthy faith and made it seem unimportant to people like me as I grew up. I was even in the youth group and choir. I loved Jesus and looked faithful. But—and it’s a big BUT—I totally missed the fact of the True Presence. This set the stage for me to be able to wander away from my Catholic faith for a more emotionally satisfying expression of faith. THIS HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE, causing me to make other big mistakes.
Having found an emotionally satisfying faith, I was led down a path where that “faith” did not and could not meet the deep spiritual needs of a prison of a marriage, which led me to reject God altogether.
When the Lord finally broke through the deep darkness, pulled me out of the pit, and embraced me in love and forgiveness–in the Blessed Sacrament–I saw that I had been forgiven much. Therefore, I love much.
Coming back to my Catholic faith after having been in a variety of Protestant expressions has shown me the height, depth and breadth of His Kingdom of Love hidden within the Catholic Church.
During the time I was on my journey back to Catholicism, I invited a girlfriend who had two little kids to swim at our community pool. We went back and forth between the kiddie pool and the big pool. My mind ruminated on the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism.
I saw the kiddie pool as Protestantism and the big pool as Catholicism. Protestants have the Trinity, and can even have experiences with the Holy Spirit, in a sense, splashing around, having a good time. My intention here is not to sound condescending because these are real and genuine experiences which I and other people who love God have had. But because of the way they have decided to interpret the Bible, the whole foundation is faulty, and they can understand only so much.
Catholicism, on the other hand, is more like the big pool. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Catholics both created and have interpreted the Bible since then, nearly 2000 years. Whereas Protestantism has only existed for 500 years and, for some reason I cannot fathom, all but completely ignores 1500 years of Christianity. Therefore, Catholics can go farther and deeper, be challenged more, learn more and experience love more deeply and truly.
In fact, as I continued to think about this, I had to alter the metaphor. Faith in God is like the ocean. Because of how they interpret scripture, Protestants limit themselves, staying closer to the beach. They play in the waters of the Holy Spirit and some even snorkel.
On the other hand, Catholics go scuba diving and even go into the dark depths of the blackness of the ocean in single occupancy submersible vessels to explore what no one else sees. I’m thinking about those saints who tell of their dark nights of the soul, but they get through it with amazing revelation of God and His love for them and us.
Unfortunately, there are too many Catholics who only look at the Church as if it were a cruise ship, enjoying a variety of entertainment only appreciating the ocean as a backdrop and occasion for pleasure and relaxation. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying socializing in the company of other Catholics, which I what I prefer, this cannot be our only reason for ‘going to church.’
I don’t know who it was, but some wealthy person said something to the effect of, “Your only as wealthy as the people you associate with.” Meaning, people of wealth hang with other people of wealth.
So why not hang with the God of the Universe? The so-called wealth this world cannot compare to God’s untold wealth in His Catholic Church. And it starts with the Blessed Sacrament. It’s all there. We have Him at our fingertips. Most of us just don’t know it because no one impressed it upon us enough or lived it in a noticeable way.
Please, dear Catholic, let me impress it upon you now. Ask God to begin to show you all that He has FOR YOU in the Blessed Sacrament. Just because He loves you. God has so much more for you than the pittance you are settling for. Let Him show you the wealth of His Kingdom.
