Catholic by Choice I: An Introduction

St Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy via google.com

Yes, I am a Catholic Christian and I am proud to be one. I was a Catholic by birth and I am a Catholic by choice.

I was Catholic by birth and I am proud to be born one. By being born a Catholic I already shared from the moment of my being the blessed and great history of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church which has been founded by the Lord Jesus Christ upon the Rock who is St Peter, the First Pope [see Matthew 16:18]. From St Peter there has been an unbroken line of Popes with the present Pope Benedict XVI as the 264th successor to him. Part of my Catholic pride is the overwhelming number of Saints and heroes of the Faith who have unselfishly given up their lives for the glory of God and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the multitude of present Catholics who continually express concretely the command of the Lord to love one another as He loved us.

But more than that, I am also a Catholic by choice.

This means that I have - through my own decision - have decided to remain and be Catholic. I have encounters and experiences with friends and acquaintances who are of other faiths and they surely manifest good examples with regards to their Christian faith. Their lives could surely inspire and motivate anyone to leave the Catholic Church and join their assemblies, denominations, churches, etc. 

And yet I decided to stay with the Catholic Church. It is not because my family is like some Catholic families who would ostracize any member who joins another religion. In fact in our family religion is not a central issue in anything. We were ordinary and could even be called nominal Catholics just like hundreds and perhaps even thousands of other Filipino Catholics who because we have been born Catholics probably does not take being Catholics seriously. Being a Catholic was a given. It was already there by birth and not a personal decision and there were no serious activities that many know about - though there were some that were already in place - to make us realize that being Catholics also mean being Christians. Hence for many Filipino Catholics becoming a Christian somehow means joining another religion. And that's what many of my friends did especially with the advent of the Fundamentalists. 

It was convenience at first that made me remain a Catholic. By convenience I mean not having to follow new rules and restrictions which are imposed by new religions. Being a Catholic means having almost all the freedom in the world to do this and that as long as they are not sinful in accordance with Church teachings on grave and venial sins. There are only restrictions and limitations at certain periods of the year but not always like fasting during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday or refraining from meat on Fridays of Lent. Not even entrance to the seminary would make me realize that being a Catholic means so much more than being a Christian by birth. It was still a part of the convenience of being born as a Catholic that made me enjoy the status of a seminarian. And probably if I had become a priest, the same would be the basis of my decision to remain Catholic. 

But being a "Christian" in the way other religions invite you to be means so many restrictions and limitations. One would say it is bad to eat pork, another would say no more drinking, and some would even say you have to eat only vegetables, and many more. Yet I observed that some of those who become or are "Christians" by leaving the Catholic Church or in their own manner by being born into their religion can't also follow their Church's rules and restrictions to the letter. There were even "Christians" who would not celebrate fiestas and even birthdays but they would attend fiestas for the sake of socialization and yet they won't prepare themselves so that others could socialize with them. Those who do not attend birthday celebrations could still eat what has been prepared during the party as long as the extra food is prepared after the celebration already, that is, the day after the birthday itself. Those who belong to religions that do not allow vices drink, smoke and enter into extra-marital relations too as long as their pastor or church leader does not see. 

So what's the point of leaving the Catholic Church if being in another religion would not lead one to have true growth in one's relationship with God and neighbor? 

Then there are the issues that other members of other religions would tell Catholics whom they are trying to convince to their religion: that the Catholic Church is not holy, that it has members who are sinful and are mere false prophets, that it is not the Church which Jesus has instituted upon this earth? If the gauge of being a true Church is the 100% holiness of its members, can one point out even just one church now which could claim that perfect holiness of its members? If the gauge of being a true religion is that its has no members who are sinful, can one point our what religion is that which has not even a single sinful member? If the gauge of being the Church is being instituted by Jesus our Lord, what Church could lay claim to such a privilege?

By looking at the long history of the Catholic Church one can see that she has produced so many Saints and heroes of the Faith. If not for these Saints and heroes of the Faith, the Catholic Church would have already been reduced to nothing. Yes, the Catholics Church cannot claim to have 100% perfection in terms of having holy members, but what church, assembly or denomination could claim that perfection? By serious reflection one could surely remember the Lord's promise that not even the gates of hell could overcome the Church [Matthew 16:18] and that He will always be with His Church until the end of time [Matthew 28:20]. Did he not also left the Church with His Holy Spirit to be its advocate and teacher? [John 14;26]. What Church on earth other than the Catholic Church could lay claim to this? 

The constant encounter with members of other religions who question the Catholic Church's holiness, doctrines, institution, hierarchy, etc only made me realize that it is high time that a serious re-discovery of my Faith should be made. Of course, it is impossible to learn so much about the Catholic Church in so little time but knowing the basics of the Faith surely would assure a Catholic that after all he is a true Christian if he follows what the Church teaches and that he does not have to change religion if he wants to grow in Christian virtue and spirituality. The examples of the Saints and the heroes of the Faith would surely inspire, motivate and strengthen one's resolve to remain Catholic and to be a real Christian without changing religion. 

In the next articles I shall discuss one by one the things which made me finally decide to remain and be Catholic aside from these facts: [1] I have not found any religion which attacks the holiness of members of the Catholic Church to have 100% perfection in terms of the holiness of their members; and [2] I have not found any other religion which could claim to have come down from Jesus Christ our Lord through the Apostle Peter as stated in the Gospel even by those religions which claim to follow only what the Bible says.