{"id":5234,"date":"2011-09-28T07:23:47","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T12:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=5234"},"modified":"2011-09-28T08:19:53","modified_gmt":"2011-09-28T13:19:53","slug":"the-catholic-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/09\/the-catholic-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Catholic Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, I feel like other Catholics measure another\u2019s \u201ctrue pedigree\u201d with a pre-determined checklist of items.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you pro-life?\u00a0Check.<\/p>\n

Do you use NFP instead of artificial birth control?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Are you against the death penalty and euthanasia?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Do you homeschool?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Are you against co-habitation?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Do you participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Did you cancel your cable?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Is your OB\/GYN a practicing Catholic?\u00a0 Check.<\/p>\n

Have we really gotten that bad about judging another\u2019s faith life?\u00a0 CHECK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fifteen years ago, when my husband and I were preparing for marriage, we struggled with several Church teachings, primarily artificial birth control.\u00a0 As a convert, I found reconciliation particularly daunting.\u00a0 If I\u2019d been given a grade back then, it probably wouldn\u2019t have been very favorable.\u00a0 As our years together have increased and our family size grown, I\u2019ve come to realize that imaginary\u00a0 checklist gets longer and more scrutinizing.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s social media and our desire to one-click our way into someone\u2019s faith life, that makes us self-appointed authorities on the authenticity of someone\u2019s walk with Christ based on a tweet or status update.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s what makes me so sensitive to this false sense of being a \u201cperfect Catholic.\u201d\u00a0 It just doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I think the whole checklist thing is ludicrous.\u00a0 Don\u2019t we all reflect the often referred to, \u201cCafeteria Catholic?\u201d \u00a0Haven\u2019t we all struggled with a teaching (or two or three) in our faith\u00a0 journey?\u00a0 Who am I to judge another\u2019s struggle?\u00a0 Instead of meeting people where they are, some alienate themselves in a Catholic bubble, surrounded by others that are equally like-minded and quick to throw out a judgment when another family doesn\u2019t fit their \u201cchecklist\u201d of Catholic principles.<\/p>\n

Do I believe there are absolutes in our faith?\u00a0 You bet.\u00a0 But, I also believe some take a little longer to get there.\u00a0 For me, I\u2019m always intrigued when a friend says they were baptized Catholic or were confirmed, but then left the church.\u00a0 The seed was planted, but perhaps fell on infertile soil.\u00a0 How can we cultivate it?\u00a0 Bring it alive?\u00a0 Nurture it?\u00a0 Help it bloom?\u00a0 Life experience has taught me that you never know a person\u2019s spiritual baggage.\u00a0 As I reflect on my faith journey the past fifteen years \u2013 and even in the past two \u2013 I am amazed and humbled at God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 If someone had shoved it down my throat, said something condescending or even scoffed at a remark I made, I may not have been so open to God\u2019s plan for my life as a mother, wife and friend.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m grateful I fell off the wagon.\u00a0 I\u2019m thankful I argued with God, a lot, on so many topics.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s awesome I have a great number of friends who challenge my beliefs daily.\u00a0 All those things have made me a better Catholic, but they\u2019ve also made me a more compassionate Christian.\u00a0 One who realizes that my timeline usually isn\u2019t God\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, I feel like other Catholics measure another\u2019s \u201ctrue pedigree\u201d with a pre-determined checklist of items.\u00a0 Are you pro-life?\u00a0Check. Do you use NFP instead of artificial birth control?\u00a0 Check. Are you against the death penalty and euthanasia?\u00a0 Check. Do you homeschool?\u00a0 Check. Are you against co-habitation?\u00a0 Check. Do you participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,90],"tags":[62,168,104],"class_list":["post-5234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","category-faith-blog","tag-evangelization","tag-holiness","tag-religion-and-spirituality","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":124040,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/a-response-to-what-sucks-about-the-catholic-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":5234,"position":0},"title":"A Response to “What Sucks about the Catholic Church”","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"June 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Every spring brings the Church a batch of shiny new Catholics, and every year I see the same list of complaints. 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