(no subject)
My entries have been uber-Catholic-y lately. I apologize to my non-Catholic readers, because this entry will be much in the same vein.
I finally got around to starting to read the recent documents released by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The one I've read is entitled Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist (pdf file) and there are some parts of it that disturb me, particularly under the subsection of who should refrain from receiving the Eucharist.
I was always taught that in certain matters, as a Catholic, what the Church says goes, no question. Those matters are things like basic Catholic doctrine, like the Creed and statements of papal infallibility (which isn't used near as often as one might think; it's been a couple of hundred years). That makes sense. If I don't believe in things like Jesus is God, then I'm not really a Catholic, am I? I was brought up believing that I need to pray on things like moral teachings, that they're good guides, but if I pray and find the Holy Spirit leading me to believe something else, then I need to go where the Spirit leads me. That also makes sense; if God tells me one thing and the Church tells me another, God's going to be the right one in the matter. I also understand that under this line of thought, it would be easy enough to trick oneself into believing that the God is telling us something that God's really not saying. As a mature Christian though, it's seems as if one should be able to discern the truth with honest prayer.
However, the USCCB says the following:
"If a Catholic in his or her personal or professional life were knowingly and obstinately to
reject the defined doctrines of the Church, or knowingly and obstinately to repudiate her
definitive teaching on moral issues, however, he or she would seriously diminish his or her
communion with the Church. Reception of Holy Communion in such a situation would not
accord with the nature of the Eucharistic celebration, so that he or she should refrain."
With the things that I disagree with the Church about, I am frequently praying for guidance. I still pray about being gay and asking God to guide me in my ways, so maybe I'm not "obstinately objecting the defined doctrines of the Church"...one could argue that because I'm still seeking guidance from God, I'm still really asking God to lead me back to Church teachings. The thing is, I'm not really asking God to lead me in that direction, just to lead me in the right direction.
I talked to other-Karen about yesterday morning and that conversation just frustrated me more. She said (or at least, what I heard) was that when we have dissenting views, we should discuss them with the clergy and then reach a decision based on the outcome of the conversation. I think that we need to take into account what the clergy says, but I also think we need to follow the Holy Spirit. I think I'm mostly frustrated because I was looking for conversation with a person and I ended up with approximate Catholic doctrine repeated back at me. I feel like a rebellious little child. I think we should question the Church when our conscience leads us to! I think that's healthy! There have been things I've questioned and ended up a stronger Christian because of. I love other-Karen, but at times like this, I miss Rick.
As a side note, I know that there are at least three CCMers that read my lj. I feel comfortable venting to you, but please know that this (particularly the bits about other-Karen) is just venting; it is not meant to defame her character. That being said, I would rather her not hear my views from people who are not me. Thank you.
I finally got around to starting to read the recent documents released by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The one I've read is entitled Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist (pdf file) and there are some parts of it that disturb me, particularly under the subsection of who should refrain from receiving the Eucharist.
I was always taught that in certain matters, as a Catholic, what the Church says goes, no question. Those matters are things like basic Catholic doctrine, like the Creed and statements of papal infallibility (which isn't used near as often as one might think; it's been a couple of hundred years). That makes sense. If I don't believe in things like Jesus is God, then I'm not really a Catholic, am I? I was brought up believing that I need to pray on things like moral teachings, that they're good guides, but if I pray and find the Holy Spirit leading me to believe something else, then I need to go where the Spirit leads me. That also makes sense; if God tells me one thing and the Church tells me another, God's going to be the right one in the matter. I also understand that under this line of thought, it would be easy enough to trick oneself into believing that the God is telling us something that God's really not saying. As a mature Christian though, it's seems as if one should be able to discern the truth with honest prayer.
However, the USCCB says the following:
"If a Catholic in his or her personal or professional life were knowingly and obstinately to
reject the defined doctrines of the Church, or knowingly and obstinately to repudiate her
definitive teaching on moral issues, however, he or she would seriously diminish his or her
communion with the Church. Reception of Holy Communion in such a situation would not
accord with the nature of the Eucharistic celebration, so that he or she should refrain."
With the things that I disagree with the Church about, I am frequently praying for guidance. I still pray about being gay and asking God to guide me in my ways, so maybe I'm not "obstinately objecting the defined doctrines of the Church"...one could argue that because I'm still seeking guidance from God, I'm still really asking God to lead me back to Church teachings. The thing is, I'm not really asking God to lead me in that direction, just to lead me in the right direction.
I talked to other-Karen about yesterday morning and that conversation just frustrated me more. She said (or at least, what I heard) was that when we have dissenting views, we should discuss them with the clergy and then reach a decision based on the outcome of the conversation. I think that we need to take into account what the clergy says, but I also think we need to follow the Holy Spirit. I think I'm mostly frustrated because I was looking for conversation with a person and I ended up with approximate Catholic doctrine repeated back at me. I feel like a rebellious little child. I think we should question the Church when our conscience leads us to! I think that's healthy! There have been things I've questioned and ended up a stronger Christian because of. I love other-Karen, but at times like this, I miss Rick.
As a side note, I know that there are at least three CCMers that read my lj. I feel comfortable venting to you, but please know that this (particularly the bits about other-Karen) is just venting; it is not meant to defame her character. That being said, I would rather her not hear my views from people who are not me. Thank you.