My friend Chris wrote
me a letter after reading my blog were I mentioned him. He gave me permission
to use his letter. (See "I Challenge You, Deacon Bill") In it he wrote:
“I left the Catholic Church when I realized the
child sex scandal was real and that the Catholic Church struggled and still
struggles with taking full responsibility for this perversion. I am a broken
man who sins everyday and as such I could no longer look to the Catholic Church
as my moral leader.”
As a minister of the Catholic
Church, I deeply regret and apologize for the sins associated with it. But, these are human
failings not the failing of the Church.
We all struggle with sin;
the biggest struggle is to recognize our sin. I am a sinner and as I grow in
Christ, I recognize my sins even more. I recently visited Chicago Chicago
“Some preach Christ
from envy and rivalry, others from good will. The latter act out of love …; the
former present Christ out of selfish ambition, not from pure motives…. What difference does it make as long as in
every way whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed? And in
that I rejoice. Indeed I shall continue to rejoice.”
My friend Chris and I have
the same beliefs and that was the whole point of that blog. It is not the
differences that make us Christian but Christ proclaimed that makes us the
same. It is the love and peace that he gives us to share with the world. It is a mission we share to bring Christ to the world.
Chris
also says,
“I became a Christian in
the fall of 2005. Before this time I
merely attended church services every Sunday in Catholic and Lutheran churches out
of obligation in place of desire or purpose.”
“I began to feel a
relationship to Jesus and God like never before. It was a personal relationship. I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior
and I realized he died for my sins and on and on and on. I no longer looked at God as a disciplinary
figure but that of a friend, a counselor and someone I can always go to for
comfort. In essence I became a “Born
Again” Christian.”
To be "born
again" means true conversion. Someone who is truly "born again"
in the Holy Spirit as Christ promised under goes true conversion. This baptism
in the Holy Spirit allows us to witnesses by our lives. It is not to argue who
is right or wrong or what apostle we follow because we follow Christ and realize
that in Christ we are all saved. The Holy
Spirit opens our eyes to see Christ in every other person, no matter how hidden.
However, as St. Paul
I became Roman Catholic
through the witness of several very holy men. I studied the Catechism and made
my decision to become Catholic as an adult. It is where I heard the whisper
that is the voice of God speaking to my heart. After being a passive Christian for years, now I truly feel the Holy Spirit at work in me and I am able to see Christ in those I
serve.
This week, a young woman
had a baby. There were some problems and the baby was placed in neo-natal ICU. The
young woman’s grandmother, a woman of devout faith and a Baptist, asked if she
wanted their pastor to visit. She said she wanted Jennifer’s daddy (Deacon Bill) to
come and pray with her for her baby. The grandmother asked me to come. Visiting
the young woman and baby, I prayed over them and then offered a blessing for
both. But really, it was a blessing to me.
There are differences
out there that keep us from being one in Christ. This difference does not exist
in the Church Christ desires. We are to be Christians, one in Christ and this is our creed, one holy catholic church.
A spiritual director
told me once to be a servant and soldier of the Church that is Jesus Christ, the Church of all believers, not a Church of bricks and stone. So to my friend Chris, to myself, and to everyone, let's strive for this.
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