Where Would We Go, Lord?

[lead dropcap="yes"]I have to be honest, I don't get all the angst about staying Catholic. Don't get me wrong; this may be my own moral failing, an inability to get sufficiently upset at how bad things are. But when I read other Catholics write about how they struggle with staying Catholic despite all the scandals and how it's the sacraments that keep them in the pews and that the constant drumbeat of bad bishops, faithless laity, and narcissistic priests has them one foot out the door ... I don't get it.[/lead]

I mean, have you seen humanity? Have you read the Bible? When has it ever been different?

Yes, what bishops and popes and priests do is important. Yes, I fully support airing out the dirty laundry and confronting our sins. Lord knows, I've been writing about it professionally and personally for the past 20 years.¹ But what does that have to do with my faith?

God is still God. He's still in Heaven. Jesus is still Jesus. He's still in the tabernacle. The Holy Spirit still fills my heart and soul. The saints are still the cloud of witnesses; they still inspire and educate through their example and intercede in their prayers. The sacraments still fill me with grace. My prayers still ascend. I still talk to my children about the Light of Christ within them.

Why should some news story suck that out of me? Why should the loss of a priest threaten that? Or a bishop's failure to govern or to attain personal holiness? If Christ cannot be found in the newspaper stories or articles shared on Facebook, He can be found in my brother on the street. The face of Christ is in my sister panhandling on the corner.

In the end, what could possibly separate me from the Church, the Body of Christ? Nothing, that's what.

A couple of years ago, I decided I would no longer argue about theology or the scandals or Church controversies online.² Because, what's the point? Will I change someone's mind with a well-crafted bon mot... or more likely an attempted barrage of invective? No, I doubt it. Yes, I read to be informed, but I don't need that break in my peace any more because I know that Christ is still king no matter how much we endeavor to screw up the Church down here. And if God wants the Church to be fixed and the pews to be full of people, He will do it. And if He wants the pews to be empty for a while, that's His prerogative. As for me, there's nowhere else to go. There's nowhere else I want to go. Where would I go?

1. This blog, especially in its first 6 years, was a compendium of the rot that had entered into the Church. ↩
2. Which I have managed, with notable lapses. ↩