While my university offers many courses in Woman's Studies, I have never been that enthused with the idea of registering for one. Within the first 30 minutes of class today, the professor, a petite Panamanian woman who counsels victims of abuse, rape and incest, made it very clear she has a dislike of the Catholic Church in Costa Rica. Her main problem is the role that the Church plays in public policy, being the official religion of the country. As she put it, the state cannot go to Mass, so it shouldn't have a religion; religions are for people, not institutions. Her point, I believe, is a valid one. The Church would do well to focus more on ensuring that Costa Ricans are good Catholics, rather than ensuring that Costa Rica is Catholic.
This brings me to the highlight of the class for me. My professor said that she has no respect for what in the U.S. we call "cafeteria Catholics": those that pick and choose the tenets of the faith which they wish to follow. She then proceeded to tell of a couple she had counseled. The wife had gotten pregnant unexpectedly at age 45 and their doctor told her and her husband that there was a good chance that the baby might have Down Syndrome and that they should perform an amniocentesis to verify. At one of the sessions the couple told my professor that after thinking it over they had decided again undergoing the test. Their reasoning was that since their Catholic faith forbade the practice of abortion, the test would not change their decision to carry the pregnancy to term. Several months later, my professor got a call in her office from the husband. He told her that the baby had been born and did, in fact, have Down Syndrome. She asked him how they felt, and he said that they were happy and content with their choice.
The story highlights the positive impression Catholics can make when they practice what they profess to believe. This couple lived by their faith, even when doing so became difficult and not perhaps in their own best interests. They took up the cross they were given and allowed the Lord to transform it into what I imagine is one of the greatest blessings in their lives today.
I think if Catholics wish to be good representatives of the message of Christ, then we are called to be people of joy. Too often Christians, especially Catholics, are painted as a bunch of solemn masochists. While there is a certain amount of self-denial inherent in the faith, in order to better imitate and mold ourselves in the image of Christ, the prevailing message that Jesus taught is one of great joy: through His passion, death and resurrection, death was destroyed and the gates of Heaven were open to all. The world has never known better news! As people who have embraced this revealed truth, we ought to draw others into Christ's love by our happiness. I try to live my life in such a manner that joy permeates through all my words and actions. It is with joy that I can poke fun at myself rather than at others. It is through joy that I can be charitable with my time, talents and treasure. And it is in joy that I can share the gospel. As Saint Matthew wrote, Let your light so shine before men, that they might see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven. (Mt 5:16)
It is naive to think that joy alone is enough to reverse the sin that permeates through our world and ourselves. There are many who lie in wait, ready to pounce whenever a Catholic fails in living out the faith. Jesus warned that those who chose to follow Him would be criticized and scrutinized. The errors we commit are magnified in the eyes of a world that is anxious for any chance to dismiss the Church as a hypocritical obstacle to the modernization of society. The only weapon we have to combat this slander is our humility. Humility is not a denial of our talents or a renunciation of our good works. Rather, the humble person will acknowledge any good done through him is only possible through the grace of God; that all the gifts we possess are really gifts given to us by good to use in His name.
Class reminded me of the joyful obligation I have to always try to act in a way that brings respect and souls to the Lord. How fortunate I would be if everyday was as insightful as today!
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