Catholic Identity: The Life of Grace

“Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Jesus poses this question to his disciples at Caesarea Philippi after finding the disciples' responses to his earlier question— “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13)—unsatisfactory. As Catholics we know the answer to the question, and we also know who gave that answer, but I’d like to imagine the pause before Peter gives the answer. Jesus wants to know who people say he is; the disciples give the best speculations of the crowds that have encountered him: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. None of these is the correct answer so Jesus poses the question directly to those closest to him.

I’ve asked a room full of Catholics a question about the faith and gotten blank stares before, and I suppose this was like one of those times. Perhaps a few disciples thought like Peter did, or perhaps the “people” who said that Jesus was John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets, included a few of these disciples.

This silence after Jesus rephrases the question must have been awkward indeed. The disciples might have thought “I might have the right answer, but I’m afraid to get it wrong.” I’m feeling a little like the disciples today as I write this blog. Today the question asked is not about who Jesus is, but rather about who I am.

My Catholic Identity

How do I understand myself as a Catholic? What does it mean to live a Catholic identity? I have an answer, but like the disciples, the question gives me pause. Is it satisfactory? Do I really live up to it? My suspicion is that both my answer and my efforts are insufficient, but G. K. Chesterton once quipped: “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” G. K. Chesterton (What's Wrong With The World, p 254.)

Catholic Identity Activity

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Understanding Catholicism

I’m a student of religions, having completed my undergraduate work in Religious Studies at Regis University, and this shapes my understanding of what it means to be a Catholic. I think Catholic identity comes down to three key fundamentals: creed (what I believe), code of conduct (how I act), and cult (how I worship).

The fullness of this participation in grace during this life is mediated through the Sacraments instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the Church that he established. This participation, while an invitation to me, is not exclusive to me. God desires “everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4) so I should expect to be connected to a wider community of believers with whom and for whom I am intertwined, called to live together and hold “all things in common” (Acts 2:44). Yet I know that my intellectual assent is not the whole of what it means to be Catholic. St. James even reminds us that devils can believe all the right things too. “You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.” (James 2:19)

Code of Conduct

The code of conduct that Jesus gives those who wish to follow him is the law of love. I think it’s most beautifully presented on Holy Thursday as we recall the Lord’s Supper and how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples who would later abandon him, and one would even betray him.

We also call this day Maundy Thursday, a word that finds its origins in the Latin mandatum, which means “mandate.” This level of love and service is our mandate: “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:13–15)

The foundation of this law is the intrinsic dignity of every human person, a dignity that each person has by the very nature of being created in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). St. Pope John Paul II taught that “the person is the kind of good which does not admit of use…. [and] the kind of good towards which the only proper and adequate attitude is love.” (St. John Paul II, Love and Responsibility)

United with this is the recognition that groups of people form societies; thus as Catholics we’re called to work for the common good of all societies. The common good cannot be reduced to the most good for the most amount of people but rather: “The sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.” (CCC, 1906)

These two elements (the dignity of the human person and the common good) are the essence of the code of conduct for Catholics so much so that Jesus can say to the scribe who affirmed these cornerstones: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

Still, we know that actions are not enough. Jesus continually reprimanded the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, referring to them as “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27) because they had all the right external actions, but their hearts were still far from God.

Cult

Our worship sets us apart from other religions of the world. When you experience a Catholic Mass, you know you are in a Catholic Mass. Between the art, architecture, smells, bells, and postures, the Mass is unmistakable. In fact, if I find myself in a situation where one of those things seems off or absent, I have to double check to make sure I didn’t mistakenly visit a schismatic church.

For the Church, the celebration of the Mass, and in particular the reception of Holy Communion is the “source and summit of the whole Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11). It is in the sacraments where we participate in the fullest way possible, this side of heaven, in the divine communion, because we receive within ourselves that very communion in the Eucharist. This reception draws us deeper into filial relationship with God, unites us more perfectly as the mystical body of Christ, and converts us more perfectly to the image of Christ giving us an increased commitment to one another, especially the poor. It is the food that sustains us for eternal life and for our mission in this life.

All the Sacraments are acts of worship to God and yet it is God who blesses us in our acts of worship. In Baptism, he brings us into new life in him, Confirmation strengthens this life and commitment, Eucharist sustains it, Penance and Anointing heal the spiritual life from fault and infirmity, and Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony give it decisive direction. Yet the Second Vatican Council reminds us that “the sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 9). For this reason, our personal prayer lives and conformity to the Gospel are of tantamount importance for they prepare us for and enhance our participation in the sacraments of grace.

Practicing Catholicism

I love the phrase “a practicing Catholic.” It gives the idea that I’ve not perfected it and I need continual coaching. I hold my practice central to my life, but simultaneously I recognize that I am a selfish-broken-sinner, who even on my best days is a poor example of Christ, and I work for the Church. As the Coordinator of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Las Vegas I am continuously surrounded by Catholic Identity.

Where I work Apostolic Successors roam the hallways, my ministry is intrinsically tied to the deeper understanding of the creed and evangelization of peoples, I can participate in Mass, celebrated every day during my lunch hour, and our cathedral is positioned in an area of town where the needs of common good, especially those of the poor, are on ready display.

But the truth is that I feel gravely inadequate for this vocation. While I may do well in one or two essential areas of the faith, rarely do all three line up in my practice. Perhaps I’m not wrestling with a question in the creed, but how much am I doing to promote the common good?

Our freeways are replete with construction, cut-offs, and collisions. Do I treat those I share the road with as if they are “the kind of good towards which the only proper and adequate attitude is love?” Do I bring the gospel to my children and wife as readily and fervently as I do parishioners of the Archdiocese? Then there are times in my life when I know I’m living out the code to the best of my capabilities, yet does my prayer life suffer? Am I truly present during worship or am I just going through the motions? These are the things I struggle with, and I don’t think I am alone. I take comfort in the words of Christ: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

Knowing that Christ calls me in my sin, he heals me, and it is he who unites me in communion with the Father, this is the source of Christian hope, and Christian hope “does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5). I don’t know it’s origin of the adage, but its sentiment is palpable: “Justice is getting what you deserve, mercy is not getting what you deserve, and Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.” This is the life of Grace, and dependance on this is what it means to be Catholic. Keep practicing.

In Summary

This article is third in a series on Catholic identity. Visit the Sadlier Religion Blog to read previous and upcoming guest posts written by individuals who serve the Church in many ways. Each author will reflect on what Catholic identity means to them personally in their life and work.