Our Bishop Came For A Pastoral Visit.

As always, the Catholics stay quiet, allowing others to criticize the faith. But I am one Catholic who truly believes in the infallibility of Catholicism. There was one mylotter who was surprised to learn here the meaning of the word catholic. He thought it was just a name of a religion and was meaningless. I do hope that with the bits and pieces about Catholicism that I post here, eventually, others would see that the faith has no loophole.

I grew up Catholic, but I never knew (and still don't) the meaning of the word. I have not been active for many years because I got turned off by the repetitious words and actions that occur every week. Some things were not so bad, but when I see "devout" Catholics that go out partying and sinning all week long showing up at church and claiming how good they are, it really turned me off. If all Catholics would live like they really meant what they said (i.e., practice what you preach) then it might not be so bad. Don't get me wrong when I say this, but I feel like by living a good life (i.e. not doing bad things and doing good things for others) and being at peace that I am a lot happier than I was when I was attending services every week. I may not actively "pray" or worship, but I do appreciate the beauty of the world and the fact that we are all God's children. It is more like meditation and "listening" to what he says but I have not been a believer of organized religions for many years.

My parish is called St. Paul of the Cross. It is around forty years old already and I was witness to its real humble beginnings. I can still recall vividly how an aging but very sweet and calm and peaceful Fr. John Turisky would come to our makeshift chapel on a slope, bearing the altar mantle, the Crucifix and the host, to say Mass. Our wooden chapel was protected from the sun and the rain by one small tree. When the winds come, we can only hold on to our veils... But now our parish had grown big, and the population in our community had necessitated the church to conduct eight Masses each weekend. For the longest time, the veil had been nowhere to be seen, but now it is making a comeback, to the delight of some young people. daeckardt, I know there are so many wayward Catholics, just like there are erring Pentecostals and Buddhists, etcetera. I think it is the nature of man to sometimes become abusive of that thing called free will. Yet, I try to find the goodness in my world and move towards it. I joined the choir before not because I can sing, because truly I am off key, but because I want to sing to our God. Then, some of the boys I knew chose to serve and entered priesthood. And they have gone on missions to take care of the needy and feed the hungry and bring Jesus to those who know Him not. The Catholic Church is a universal church, and we who call ourselves Catholics, are not much into arguing about for our beliefs. There is so much to be done for our fellow man. We hear Mass on Sundays to praise our God, but also to re-energize for one hour and have the strength to endure one week of service....