Marriage- the topic of this week's homily

This Memorial Day weekend my regular priest was off with some GW students running around Rome so we had the former Anglican priest. Also the crowd was light, and the regular people who take the collection were not there as well, so I and my Protestant husband decided we would take the collection. Because I normally am not the lead I was trying to figure out at what point in the mass do we walk up and walk our way back taking collection, and we had a 8 mo baby with us, I really wasn't listening closely to the homily.

It didn't help that the priest didn't seem to have his microphone on, but the topic was marriage. I accept and hold the Church's teaching on marriage. I am aware that another parishioner struggles with this teaching, and he and his non-Catholic partner/spouse were in attendance. So I was slightly concerned about them, in between searching on line to figure out when were we supposed to collect the money (I don't pay attention, I just know it comes at the end of the prayers of the people). After taking communion I patted his shoulder to sort of relay, 'hey, I want you to stick around and keep on struggling.'

Because people like to coo over our baby son, and apparently taking the collection with a baby strapped to you is a huge hit, we didn't catch up to the other parishioner and his spouse until we spotted them in the self-checkout. Because they were nearly done and we were just about to start the conversation was very short. My fellow parishioner's spouse said he was asleep during the homily. So it's a non-issue for him. However the parishioner was awake, and they sit close enough to hear an acoustic priest, and he was very sure that the priest was incorrect in stating that cohabiting couples pretend that they are married. My husband and I both strongly disagreed. I have observed it with straight and gay cohabiting couples refer to their partner/boyfriend as their husband. My elder abusing sister in law did it with her baby daddy and numerous gay couples, or one part of the couple, have named their partner as 'husband'. He then responded about something regarding the city's laws regarding common law marriage.

Our conversation didn't last long. Both men were dealing with health challenges and needed to get home. I expect to see one or both next week or the week after that. I appreciate knowing them, even though one of them seems to trap you in conversation.

But on the topic of marriage, apparently common law marriage and getting legal recognition is tricky and not something you fall into. Marriage is also different than shacking up.

Thoughts about my gay catholic friends

Today we went to the funeral mass of a very beautiful man who even in hospice was full of life and faith. Anthony was 78 years old. With G-d's help he remained sober for 31 years. The same amount of time he had been with his same sex partner.
For the majority of the time I've been attending my church, he attended alone. After the cancer, again, when he began getting weaker, his partner John began showing up. Sitting at his side.
I sometimes joke, in my head, that I attend the "gay" mass, and you can't say that I left the Episcopal Church to get away from gays, because if that was so, I failed miserably. I appreciate their presence, because unlike some others who struggle with the Church, they are at least there. I heard a priest once say that you didn't have to agree with 100% of what the Church teaches but you have to be willing to listen to what she does teach.
Homosexuality is not a burden I bear. I have my own struggles and I try to hear what the Church has to tell me regarding my particular sins and troubles.
Anthony loved the Church, he loved Mother Mary. I believe the saints have a job and that is to point us to Christ, Anthony did that too. If you spoke with him, you'd know this.

Pope Catholic.... News at 11

Just in case you weren't sure. The pope is Catholic. He was a priest and an archbishop before that.
But you know, people, including you and me, are going to hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see.
There are those expecting Pope Frankie to have women priests, blessing gender-neutral marriage, promoting contraception and laying off abortion. Basically giving into the sexual revolution and becoming irrelevant like the CofE.
Pope Frankie is trying to make the Church more open and welcoming without tossing her teachings to the side. She is a hospital for the sin sick soul in a world that thinks it's healthy.

Oh, that's tempting, but no

We're looking around for daycare.
We have no children or even one kid yet. We are not pregnant.
We are in the process of adoption.
Just the process.
But we were advised to get that daycare thing lined up.
So many people have been helpful providing names of places that I or the Help should check out. One was a Catholic school with real live nuns that does infant care. They don't have the day care prices on line but the school tuition looks... if we had a school aged kid I'd totally put him or her in this school without batting an eye... provided the kid couldn't get into a neighborhood charter.
There are discounts for having more than 1 kid at the school and there is a discount for being Catholic, as there should be.
To get the Catholic discount, and it is a good discount, you have to have a letter from your priest. Easy peasy. Be a member of a parish, financially supporting the parish. Also, easy peasy. And most importantly, the kid must be baptized and Catholic. Nope.
With me being Catholic and the spouse being protestant, we have come to an agreement. Kids will be raised as really bad Baptists, until it is decided where the kid flourishes best. As we told our social worker, the child's relationship with Jesus is primary and they will go to the church where that relationship is best. Also I don't want any little lapsed Catholics as children. I also don't want little atheists or agnostics, either. So the poor little dears will have to go to church 2xs a week until I decide where they are best suited.
So it would be really tempting to baptize a baby for the Catholic discount, but I will resist.

This Catholicism thing can be a PITA

Today is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception, or a day when I have to drag my butt to church and it is not a weekend day, a day of obligation.
Yes, I pondered forgetting about it and just confessing missing it later, but when I remembered it (a better person would have put the day in her calendar with an alarm) I had a good 20 minutes to hoof it over to the nearest Catholic church during my lunch hour. An hoof it I did, and when I showed up there was almost nothing but standing room, but after some looking around I managed to squeeze in a pew that had as much leg room as a cheap flight to Florida.
Nothing too hard about it, except my own church as spoiled me with the '30 minutes or your next mass is free' speed. To get a mass to be short it helps to cut out all the singing. The signing did not help because some churches have different music they sing parts of the mass to and since it has been years since I've regularly attended a singing mass, I have no clue. I know the words but the music throws me for a loop. I know I wasn't the only one because I heard a bit of confusion during the bits we the congregation say/sing. It didn't help that the acoustics at times made the speaker sound as clear as announcement on the metro.
I fulfilled my obligation.   Rushing back I was thinking, my schedule was way simpler when I was an Episcopal. But but then again, maybe I was tired. I went to mass on Saturday and then lesson and carols on Sunday....

Events at the Help's Church

I'd been meaning to write about a function at the Help's church. It was fun and interesting, the most interesting part was the belly dancing.
It wasn't a worship event. Apparently as part of an auction one of the church musicians was to host an event of the auction winner's choosing. I guess. I'm not sure all I know, jazz at the big white church with the big flexible space. We went despite having to fly out in a few days, as I don't like cramming too many things in.
The sanctuary is a flexible space. There are no fixed pews. For the event there were tables for sitting and tables for food and drink. There was a live jazz quartet? I don't remember how many musicians and anyway, we were expected to dance. We and several other people danced. When the musicians went on break, as live musicians are want to do, CDs were played, however they weren't exactly jazz. At one point what I believe was middle eastern pop was played. There was a table of South Asians, ranging from hijabed young women to gals in party-hardy western dress who got up and danced. At one point I was standing with the Help and one of the Elders of the church watching the circle of women dancing for their own delight. The Help mentioned to the Elder that I took belly dancing classes and I showed a simple move. The Elder responded by trying the move the best way an older white gentleman can.
At another time, as the Help relayed this story to me, he and a bunch of other fellows from the church were standing around talking about what they were giving up for Lent. A few things. There are several people in the church who left the Church (Holy Roman) and the Help is usually concerned about not acting Catholic, due to my influences. Anyway, in this crowd are the pastor, asst. pastor, and probably an elder. I think the pastor gave up chocolate and someone else gave up chocolate. The asst pastor, spat, "What are you a bunch of closet Catholics?" Then he swore to drink as much alcohol and eat as much chocolate as he could during Lent. If memory serves me right, the asst pastor did attend Catholic U. for some classes.
Anyway a good time was had by all, well except maybe the folks who had to get the church ready for service the next day.

"Communicative sex life"

In an article in the Washington Post today there is an article about Catholic women being supportive of the Church's position on artifical birth control, "communicative sex life." That is what NFP (less so that and more TCOYF ) has given the Help and I. He plays a part. In the morning he measures my tempurature. Every morning. And he records it, along with other information that relates to our attempts at pregnancy. He is very aware of my cycles and what's going on, and I am more so now. A little less so on the cervical fluid part, as I haven't gotten past the "ick" factor. But I'm aware of it and more aware of my body than I was when I was on the pill from big pharma.
The idea in there is that NFP needs to be brought into the 21st century. It has, because there is an app for that. I just don't know if I want to pay that much for an app, and the free/cheap ones look like a waste of space on my phone.
We do communicate. The tempurature measurement is a daily thing, a first thing in the morning after the alarm clock goes off thing. Okay, thwacking him on the chest and mumbling "measure me" is not the most romantic thing, but it makes him an equal partner. With the pill, it was just me. A solo thing, in my then solo life. Guys only cared if you were on it, not if you were actually taking it every day or going along to doctors visits for the depo. Here he is a true partner, and active partner.

Still Catholic and Republican

I'll be happy when the primary rolls around so I can vote for a guy who has a snowball's chance in Hell of winning the nomination. I am going to buy into the notion that my vote on national matters don't mean a hill of beans, all politics is local, which has it's level of crazy. But it is local so there is a chance of confronting my local Councilman, in person.
Today, after a nice nap we went to church and engaged in the low impact aerobics that is Mass. The priest is still male and  I'm pretty okay with that. If female priestly leadership was ever a main concern of mine, then I would have remained in the Episcopal church. But I found I really like a male presence in the church and my criticisms of the Help's conservative PCA church is the music can be too feminine. The male leadership is one of the few things keeping it from breaking out in to all out girlishness. Those praise songs are sung in a key that is too high. First it starts out with the girlie music and then before you know it you'll have church dancing and an overwhelming female congregation and female leadership. Okay, I'm making that up, I just despise the praise songs.
On the radio and other media the Left is claiming women will leave the church and the Republican party. Nope. No plans on leaving. I left the party once, mainly because it was on a RHINO witch hunt and you know, I didn't need that crap. This, some radio loudmouth and Republican candidates supporting "traditional family" (soon you're gonna tell me the Pope is Catholic) does not shake my preference for the GOP. Not leaving the Holy Roman Catholic Church anytime soon either. Of course if Fr. Watkins starts giving long and mind-numbing homilies I might start shopping around for another Roman Catholic Church.
I like CS Lewis' the Great Divorce and listen to the audiobook often. In Lewis' Heaven, there are no 'rights'. We do not have a right to anything the Lord grants us. Heaven is not a democracy and the Triune G-d is not elected by the citizens. There is no difference between Greek or Jew, slave or free, male or female, but I don't think this means "equality" as we have been defining it. It doesn't mean we're interchangeable. It means, to me, that it does not make a difference in his love for us. His love is for all.

Pointing out sin and failure is no excuse to impose policy

Hopefully by now that whole 98% of Catholic women use birth control bs has been examined and debunked. I've been a Roman Catholic for about 3 years now, and have not used any sort of birth control, of course, I'm trying to get pregnant so that sort of defeats the purpose. It has been well over a decade, guessing I stopped sometime in 1998 in grad school, since getting depo provera shots, and the last time I was on the pill, I was an undergraduate, so lets say 20 years ago. And when I was a broke college student with no insurance, somehow I managed to afford it (generic), so I don't see why there is a big deal to make women pay for it themselves if they so need to have it.
And while on birth control I was not engaging in an activity that would be approved by the Roman Catholic Church, nor was it in line with the commandments. I wanted "love" and "stuff" and the path of sin seemed to be an efficient road to both and I got neither. My faith walk has greatly improved since being an undergrad in the late 80s, early 90s, but still there is lots of room for improvement. So that's why three years ago I threw my lot in with the RC church, to enrich my faith and to feed my desire for the risen Lord. I trust the Church not to support anything that will make me trip and fall into sin.
Another difference between then and now is Jesus (and the whole Trinity for that matter) is in more parts of my life. Before he was limited to Sunday visits in a building. Now he's in my home, he hangs out in the kitchen, the living room where we watch movies and TV, and in the bedroom. His presence is becoming greater in our leisure time and our checkbook.
I cannot judge anyone elses' walk with the Lord, because thankfully I do not have the window into people's lives as G-d does. However, I don't think failure of many American Catholic women, regardless to the adherence to their faith, to abstain from big pharma birth control, should give the state license to dictate to the Church how to run its schools and hospitals and other faith based initiatives. But then again, the Church shouldn't have gotten into bed with the State over mandated health insurance in the first place.

Lent 2012

We are not giving up anything this year but taking up the Bible and prayer.

The Help wants to read from Psalms everyday. For Lent I will actually remind him. Of course, I can see some logistical problems with taking this on. The Help doesn't think too far out in the future, so I'll need to ask him how he wants to handle those times of the week when the readings won't work.
For myself I will take up one more prayer a day. My days have 4 prayers (3 prayers before meals and our night prayers), 5 would be best. I'm on auto-mode in the morning for any thoughtful prayers in the AM.

I used to listen to a (catholic?) podcast of prayers and I can't remember the name of it. It was something with pray or prayer in the title. I do remember they all ended with "In the name of the father, and the son and the holy spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now..."

Anyway, as a couple we are taking on Lent and trying to make this year about growing closer to G-d and less about losing weight.

State vs Church

I can't believe the Roman Catholic Church in America didn't see this coming. Or too blind to think that governments can be confused with social non-profits. No the state is amoral. The same taxes that fund food programs is the same taxes that fund bullets, bombs, secret prisons and black ops.
I hope that not only the RC in the USA gets it,, I hope the Pope gets it too, and remember that we are not to put our faith in princes and principalities.

The Help and I joked that we'd like to raise our future children Baptist (worked out well for me), where they'd go to Black Baptist churches where there are black Jesuses. However the Black Baptist church has mistaken our President as a Black Jesus. Who is he? Not Jesus, just the democratically elected prince of a very large, very powerful principality.

Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Agnostic

Those are my choices.
The Help invited me to a bible study with some people from his church and I had a good time but a minor, very minor issue was the fact I was Catholic and everybody else was Presbyterian. At one point during the eating/meal part of the gathering one fellow was telling how his father led others to Christ and how the people of the town were not Christian. The people were Catholic and engaging in some odd little patron saint thing, which I guess was to illustrate their idolatry. I wasn't offended, as so much, I don't know. I decided to interpret it as the people being wrapped up in a cultural activity that had very little to do with the Gospels. The job of the saints is to point us to Christ, apparently this saint wasn't doing his job.
The more I think of it I know well in my heart I am not a Presbyterian, nor will I ever be. For one, I can only take the worship services in occasional bites. The sermons are too long to me. If you can't make your point in 10-20 minutes, you're droning. That's what drove me from the Baptist church. The sermons were long and at times didn't seem to have a point. They lost me. Thank G-d, literally, he manged to sweep me up into the crowd going to St. Augustine's Catholic Church in Gainesville, when I was on a mission to go to Burger King. It was either my freshmen or sophomore year (as I was still living in the dorms) and by that time, not going to church. When I was living with my parents, I kinda went to church, but I remember there was a point when I stopped going altogether. College, didn't go at all, until that weekend when I got swept into St. Augustines.
I did RCIA but didn't take the plunge. I was also checking out Grace Episcopal in G'ville. And come to think it is amazing I stuck with the Episcopal church then because my first encounter was with huggy hippies at the Episcopal student center across the street from campus. Ewww, hippies. My desire was to get the F*ck away from them when I saw their idea of the peace. I'm older now, now, I'd be firmer with extending my hand. Grace was cool. Grace was downtown, away from the campus. I liked them and got something out of it. I alternated between Catholic and Episcopal during my undergrad and my grad programs.
During my second grad program I didn't get to church often. I tried St. Andrew's in College Park, but didn't care for it, and didn't find it worth dealing with the metrobus in PG County nor the hills of Hyattsville to keep going. I tried to make it to St. George's in Virginia Sq, where I had been going prior to grad school, but Sunday's on a fractured green line, was a no go. So I really didn't go to church much those two years. I wasn't thinking much about theological issues much either.
After grad school I moved closer to a metro rail line. St. Andrew's was still uninteresting and I think, I'm not sure, returned to St. Georges. I can't remember when I returned to St. Georges. It might have been when I moved into DC, when going from the green to the orange lines on a Sunday morning was less a pain in the ass. But still a pain.
Somewhere in there I met up with Roland who then pointed me to the Church of the Really, Really Blond People and the Church of the Gay Lawyer (which upon last visit seemed to be getting more hetro). Though longer than I'd like, I did enjoy the CotGL, but the CotRRBP was a straight shot from the house on bike, had the best coffee hour, a kick-ass adult forum and a cool soup kitchen.
My appearances at Baptist churches pretty much came down to weddings, funerals, and instances where I had no choice (see, relatives). There are things about the Baptist Church that I enjoy, but my interest in the Lord, falls asleep, like the rest of me would if it weren't for dumb mind games I play to stay awake during the sermon. Sadly I found myself doing the same at the Help's church.
At Anglican/Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches I feel myself growing closer to G-d and I genuinely enjoy worship, even when the music is crap. At the black Baptist churches of my family, the music is good. If someone died, so is the food. The sermons are 'eh' and remind me why I left. At my grandmother's funeral (the mean one) I stayed interested in the sermon by picking out everything that was wrong. The pastor saying that she not saying one unkind word to anyone was the biggest lie. A kind lie, but a lie none the less. Note, she was the mean one.
And with the Baptist church I have all sorts of familial ties that make it a choice over any other protestant denomination outside of Anglicanism (and maybe the Lutheran church on a good day). My favorite uncle is the deacon of the baptist church where my grandfather served as deacon. My half-sister's husband is the pastor at some small baptist church in Florida. My father, just recently turning his life over to the Lord, serves on the men's choir and some church board at the baptist church where I was baptized. It is the same church that it seems many of our family has attended for decades (dare I say 100 years?). My mother serves on the usher board at another baptist church. Closer to here my aunts belong to a baptist church about 5 blocks from my home, and in helping one aunt with church activities, I've been dragged to that church and other baptist churches in DC ever since I was a teenager visiting. If it weren't for falling asleep and loosing interest, I might have remained a Baptist. If it weren't for the draw and the utter joy I feel in participating in the mass or the holy Eucharist in the RC and Anglican church I might have become an agnostic. But there is nothing (short of my struggling love of the Help) that would have drawn me to the Presbyterian Church.

Different?

I'm asked if I feel any different now that I'm Catholic. Um, no. Except now I actually get up to accept the host, as opposed to keeping my butt firmly in the pew. Besides that it just feels like I just switched churches, something I've done before. And it is not like I've actually left the Church of the Really Really Blond People. I plan on still showing up there for one reason or another. I like the people, the music is good, the programming is excellent, why leave?
I've told a few people of the change. I ran into a fellow I knew from the CotRRBP on the Circulator. He mentioned how he no longer goes to the CotRRPB but instead now attends another Episcopal church up the street from CotRRBP. I then admitted that I now am Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering (I really need to make up a new name, Our Lady of Diversity? Immaculate Pew? The Church of the Holy Dashboard Charm?). I gave my cop out reason of being able to roll out of bed 15 minutes before Mass, as the charm of Our Lady. I pointed to the church and he mentioned how he knew of Fr. LEV.
I just thought of another charm of Our Lady, no dress code. Most of the time I do make an effort. But ya know there are times when you don't have time to change or anything to wear, or you're in the middle of something (and taking a break to go to Mass) and dirty jeans will have to do.

Fat Tuesday & Lent

Tonight I had a $50 meal as a celebration of Fat Tuesday. It was Bambi with a chestnut mashed potato thing and perfect green beans, and a good glass of red. For tomorrow I give up meat. And I will take on reading. A book that is. I will sit down with a book, and I will read it. This means I will be cutting back on the computer usage. And that is what I'm doing for Lent.

Mass but harder

Second time at Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering (aka Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church)'s Latin Mass. I don't think I've cursed so much in my head (not like I'm actually going to let the words escape) as I do with the Latin Mass. The Latin Mass has some things going for it over the Saturday Mass (29 minutes or less or your next mass is free). For one, there are songs I can sing. Saturday, no singing. Sunday there is a sheet but no music, and I need to see the music even though I am semi-musically illiterate. Unfortunately tonight someone decided that one of the hymns should be sung in Latin.
Okay, Latin. I took Latin in college as a mistake. That was the semester I learned you should add classes before dropping them,, during Add/Drop. I got a C. I made up shyte and the instructor didn't care because she couldn't get tenure so what was the point of trying. Once I get comfortable with Latin, I'm sure I will hear it as a beautiful language. But for the time being, I'm thinking Iuesus f* what the f* was that, where are we now? Imagine that while I'm flipping through the missal trying to match up the rhythm of what Father is saying with the English portion of the page to find the Latin side of the page and match up whatever the f he's saying with the funky Latin pronunciation that's screwing me up.
As I wrote, this was my second Latin Mass. I'm sure after a dozen Latin masses Il have it down and will be able to sing the Nicene creed without resorting to mumbling 'whatever.'

For added linguistic fun I've been listening to the French Canadian band Mes Aïeux (guess whose blog I've been reading) but the remix of Dégénérations here and here.
Regular with English Subtitles

Oh but the Big Ben Looks so lovely from the Thames

Today I had a lunch meeting/appointment with Fr. LEV of Our Lady OPS. It was a good talk. However, afterwards I feel less ready to cross the Tiber. Yes, there's like gang warfare over on the Thames side of things, but really, is it that bad? There's actually a nice peaceful part where you can hardly see the waters churning.
I'll probably try a one on one RCIA, see how that works out. It may work out, it may not. Let's see.

A bit more comfortable with some ideas

My movement towards Catholicism seems to be based a bit more on some theological concepts, than being annoyed with the Episcopal Church. The idea is to run to something and not away from something else.
I can say that today, Monday, Labor Day, I'm now comfortable with the Assumption of Mary. Let's just say last year I wasn't convinced. I was open to being convinced, but I wasn't buying it. Now, this bit is in the okay pile. Now I gotta tackle the known 'eh' pile and deal with the unknown to protestant me pile.

I'm not going to church today

Woke up feeling not so great with the tummy, but now I've eaten and feel a tad bit better, but still not feeling like getting dressed & biking to G'town. Besides I did drag myself to Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering yesterday. If I just got the converting to Catholicism over with, my weekends would be so much more simpler.
Also this week I'm going to an Orthodox Church with Dr. So N Soh (Roland), so just not feeling the deep need to go to the Church of the Really, Really Blond People today. And today would be the screamy baby service. Nope. Not going. Yes, there is the 5pm service but I'm guessing my natural laziness will kick in and keep me home.

Mass. THE MUSICAL!

Today I attended the Our Lady of Purpetual Suffering regular Sunday mass. I have mainly attended the Saturday masses so that's what I have to compare with. On Saturday Fr. Whatshisname (I do know his name but before I just kept forgetting) would do most of the singing, as it is his job, without musical accompanment. Understandable, it is Saturday, not regular Sunday mass, but I couldn't help but notice he takes great, great joy in singing. Good for him. For Martin Luther King weekend he had the congregants sing with him a patriotic hymn. I was confused a bit by the choice of music, but whatever. And once again a great obvious joy with a tinge of showiness.
Okay, Sunday and the number of congregants, very small, no more than the Saturday evening bunch. There is music, as expected. The vocals were done by one operetic soloist, singing the music as spirituals. She was amazing, we clapped (and in church you don't clap), she was great. And as it is his job, Fr. Whatshisname, sang, but there seemed to be a bit more to it today. I'm going to call him Fr. LEV (Lift Every Voice), as whatshisname is not a good descriptor. One optional song he sang in honor of the congregation was just plain theatrical. Imagine a guy on Broadway, on stage singing the big hit, with all his might and all his joy... now throw on clerical robes. BOOM! Sunday at Our Lady.
It is Mass, The Musical! Fr. LEV will break out in song, for any reason (and maybe bug you to sing along. Come on everyone, you know how it goes, okay now just the left side...). The leading lady St. Mary, our lady and holy mother of our lord and saviour, she really doesn't do much, but the supporting female singer is a knock out with her delivery. It's Catholic so there is no breaking out in dance.
Our Lady of Purpetual Suffering is becoming dearer to my heart. I like music. Fr. LEV loves music. I guess I need to attend another Sunday to see if it wasn't a fluke. Mass. The Musical! I loved it, and will want to see it again and again until the 2nd coming.

Catholic mass is making me lazy, and still your issues not mine

Okay I got to the screamy baby service late. I should have left the house 10 minutes earlier than I did but I really didn't care. No really, did, not, give, a crap. I had already had the old & new testaments and the gospel from the priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering with a homily, so the first 1/2 of the Episcopal service is nothing but a re-run for me anyways. Besides, the screamy baby service homilies, are only good because the potential for chaos to rein supreme gives it a kick. I got there pretty much at the end of the homily. As I wrote, re-run. 'Cept there was a chick telling the story and not a dude.
That was one of the issues I had to deal with after the Catholic mass when I and a friend got dinner at a new joint, round the corner from Our Lady. I asked to meet at the church because I saw no reason to head back to my house, meet there and then head back over to that part of town where there were eatery and bar choices. So because of the meeting outside the church I had to explain why my Episcopal self was doing at a Roman Catholic church.
I prefaced the part explanation with the fact that I tend not to vocalize my faith so I tend not to have the language to explain it well enough. Also, something I did not say, is that these things sometime come across as a challenge for me to convince the other person that RC is the true faith and answer all their questions. No, that's what a Catholic information service is for, do I look like a Catholic Information service booth, didn't think so. And once again, it tends to be other people's hang ups with the RC, not mine.
First question, how could you belong to a religion that says that women are unholy and too inferior to become priests? Good lord where do I start? There are several assumptions there, one being that I give a s**t about an integrated priesthood. I like the female priests I have encountered, but I don't really consider their femaleness essential to my salvation. I have no desire to become a priest, maybe a nun (different lifestyle and duties), but not a priest, so the whole female priests thing, not my issue. Also there are Catholic theologians, saints, teachers, etc who are women.
Then there was the priest sex-abuse scandals and celibacy. Knowing how much the RC church asks of its priests, church life can put a strain on family life. And sexual predators are attracted to certain vocations that put them in contact with children, like teaching and coaching and the priesthood. I have no major issue with priestly celibacy. If the RC ever decided to change that I gather they would take a cue from Eastern Orthodox.
I explained, the stuff he brought up were not my struggles with the RC and it is not like I haven't encountered the RC before. I'm getting annoyed (maybe it is the PMS) with having to address other people's problems with the Roman Catholic Church and the assumption that I haven't heard of or considered the cons. I am considering the cons, MY CONS. The issue of the Bishop of Rome as the head of the whole church, the RC churches past sins of indulgences and questionable theology that just seemed to ask for the Protestant Reformation and a variety of minor theological interpretations, not policies.
I also tried to explain the big Episcopal tent, not so well.
While I'm at it, what is it with this constant consensus vibe I keep getting. That we all have to be in agreement almost all the time. Can't we respectfully disagree and stick to the things we do agree on.
Ok this is getting long, I quit.