The Separation of Church and Faith

Recently, in my life, I have found myself encountering a lot of fallen-away Catholics. And it saddens me. When I have the courage to inquire, I usually find out that these ex-Catholics have left the church because of human failings or a disillusionment with "organized" religion.

I don't doubt their sincerity of their reasoning, but I am completely at a loss as to why people's personal relationships with Jesus are at all defined or effected by humans at all. I have always been very clear that no priest, no church, no bishop can get in the way of me and Jesus.

The more I research the early church, the more I come to believe that the Catholic church is the most in line with what the Apostles had enacted. The mass as we know it today was already in place within one generation of Jesus' resurrection, which means, if you study, that it had to have been put in place by the apostles. Non-adherence to the traditions and teachings of the Apostles was not allowed as it quickly created heresy. Which means the men who walked with Christ understood the meaning of Jesus' Last Supper and took as literal Jesus' statements in John that we must consume his flesh and blood in order to have eternal life. And that they converted that understanding, post the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them during Pentecost, into the Eucharistic celebration.

So many people search for God in so many places. And so many Catholics, unaware of the miracle afforded them every Mass, look elsewhere for God's presence when it is on the altar right in front of them.

No priest, no man, no woman, no bishop, no human is going to get between me and the sacraments Jesus formulated and the Apostles instituted. If I believe in Jesus, where else would I go? Where else would I be closer to the truth than in Mass? If I believe in Jesus I have to believe what he said. And if what he said was that we are required to consume him, as the Jews had to consume the lamb during the first Passover, in order to be saved, who am I to argue? And where else am I going to find that?

In a forest? In a church where the last supper is merely symbolic? In other sin-stained human beings?

God is everywhere, yes, as God's creation is everywhere. But, God's real, tangible presence, per his own words and deeds, is available to me in the Mass.

I am saddened by those who do not realize it and have looked elsewhere. Looking for Jesus outside of the Eucharist is like asking a blind guide to show you an art gallery. You may stumble across Jesus on occasion, but the path will be fraught with error.

The older I get the more I am thankful for the gift of time. Because, every day I try to convert the sum of my life from being a good person to being a holy one. It will take every second remaining in my life to get me close. After all, as Jesus said in the Gospel Sunday of John the Baptist...

"Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

If John the Baptist is less than the least of heaven, then where does that put me?