Question 1: There have been times when I have questioned my Catholic faith and even my belief in a personal God. At these times, things that I have heard or read have often offered helpful insights. I don’t even know if I realized at the time that it was the Holy Spirit speaking through the words or examples of others.
Question 2: A few years ago, the joy seemed to have left the liturgy for me and, once again, I found that joy at Saint Patrick’s. Was that the Holy Spirit at work again, directing me to a place where the teachings of Christ are more revered than some rigid rules of a hierarchical Church?
The latest edition of Northwest Catholic listed slightly different questions. Their first question is much like our second question and their second question asks what steps the Holy Spirit is inviting us to take to grow in our “journeying together”. I think the threat of closure may be the Holy Spirit forcing us to think about the future of the Church. Should it be a hierarchical institution that is run like a business or something more personal? Should it be ruled by the man-made “Laws of the Church” or should it be a more open and accepting entity? Should the hierarchy continue to protect itself at great cost to us all? What would Christ think about the Church today? I think we are being asked to address these and other questions. At times, these questions seem to overshadow any personal attempts at a more spiritual journey.
Our added question concerning what breaks our hearts about today’s Church could have so many answers but I will just list a few. I feel that the Church has lost its moral authority due to the sexual abuse scandal and coverup. It has failed to communicate its most important messages and has allowed the media to focus on things like discussions of denying Communion to President Biden and declaring Baptism invalid because one word was changed. The rigidity of some members of the hierarchy has turned off so many people that young people are not drawn to the Church - especially young women who are treated like second class Catholics. There was a time when even those who didn’t attend Mass considered themselves culturally Catholic and lived many Catholic values. Who knows what Catholic values are today? Is it all the Catholics on the US Supreme Court?