Given all of the attacks on the Church from without by Her detractors, and damage done from within by sinners in Her ranks, it can be easy to lose sight of what made many of us want to join the Catholic Church, or return to her, in the first place.
Those of us who entered the Catholic Church from elsewhere did so, often at great cost, because we found a sense of truth and peace there that made all the struggles of the journey worth it. Those who came back after falling away from the practice of their faith knew that there was only one place that they could truly call home, and so they returned, like the Prodigal Son, sowing tears and reaping joy.
It might be easy right now to air our complaints about the Church on social media and in private conversation, but what do you love about Her, that has made you want to sacrifice everything to call yourself a Catholic? What are some of the things that have drawn you, in spite of everything else, to be a part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church?
In short, what do you love about being Catholic?
Here’s what some of our members and readers have had to say:
*****
“I am humbled to be Catholic…to be in His body the Church. I’m humbled to recieve Him body, blood, soul and divinity despite my lowliness. I am so grateful for His fullness of truth and for the peace that can only be found in Him. I love Him and the richness and the beauty of His Church.”
Patty M., via Facebook
*****
“What’s *not* to love? We have the Eucharist. We have Peter. We have a family of about 1.5 billion. We have Mama Mary. We have the full deposit of faith – scripture, tradition, and magisterium. We have a great variety of beauty that expresses the one faith. We have the saints that not even death could truly take from us. I could go on.”
Charles F., via Facebook
*****
“So, so, so, so much! In short, I love the richness of Catholicism: the richness of her theology, her sacraments, her treatment of the human person as fully embodied, her spiritual theology and monastic orders, her architecture and art and music and history. Too much!”
Ken Hensley, Pastoral Care Coordinator, The Coming Home Network
*****
“Knowing I am home at last. I never felt like I belonged anywhere until I met Jesus and entered his house on earth. I will never leave because no good Catholic made me convert and no bad Catholic will make me leave. I love the Church that Christ established and died for — a Church filled with sinners. It does need cleansing from the top to the bottom; be active in the cleansing but keep your eyes on Jesus and trust God in the hours of darkness.”
Violet F., via Facebook
'I will never leave because no good Catholic made me convert and no bad Catholic will make me leave.' Share on X*****
“Very simply, because it is the WHOLE truth and not just bits and pieces of it. I was looking for that for so many years, 35 to be exact, but in my Protestant traditions nobody could every agree to what it was which made me sometimes a bit despondent and apathetic. I love the confidence of reading the Cathechism and knowing that it is the real deal and that I can believe 100% of everything within its covers. That is a security I never had in my never-ending search for truth within Protestantism.”
Jennie Fraser, CHNetwork Community Forum Moderator
*****
“What I have recently loved to learn are the early teachings of the early Church – particularly the Didache. It warns us against all those sins facing us today. How rich and beautiful it is to be Catholic! May God have mercy on us all, and strengthen our faith through this trial. The water runs clearest at the mouth of the spring.”
Kristen S., via Facebook
*****
“I love that as a Catholic, my family extends around the world and across time. I love that in her communion of saints, the Church has kings like Stephen of Hungary and beggars like Francis of Assisi, scholars like Thomas Aquinas and simpletons like Joseph of Cupertino. That she has cloistered monks and nuns, and also globetrotting missionaries. I love that the Church has room for me, a sinner, but isn’t content to let me to stay that way. I love that Christ offers me mercy through the sacraments and His abiding presence. I love that we’re still here despite Satan’s strongest attempts to thwart us. And I love it all so much more today than I did when through the mercy of God I entered the Church 14 years ago.”
Matt Swaim, Communications Coordinator, The Coming Home Network
'I love that as a Catholic, my family extends around the world and across time.' Share on X*****
“The Church Fathers! While reading their works, St Augustine’s works on the psalms for example, having the proof right in front of you that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic because the faith has not changed. Realizing you are walking on the well worn path of many many Saints rather than lost in the wilderness of your own opinions.”
Michelle M., via Facebook
*****
“I now have a real, current, growing relationship with Jesus through the Eucharist and through the prayers of the Church.I have direction and purpose in my spiritual exercises and words to pray when the forces of darkness and challenges of life make me speechless. I have an undiminished drive to evangelize both inside and outside the Church because I want everyone to have what the Lord is giving me through the Catholic Church. My wife, my children, my grandchildren and my friends have gotten a better me as a result because I can face reality rather than running away from it.”
Howard Hampson, CHNetwork Community Forum Moderator
*****
However big or small your reasons for loving your Catholic faith, we want to hear them. What are the little things that you love about your faith? What are the major aspects of your Catholic identity that you couldn’t imagine ever turning your back on? Please share your thoughts in the comments below, and invite others in your circle to weigh in as well! We hope to use some of your responses, with permission, in an upcoming issue of the CHNetwork newsletter.
