Where Do We Go Now?

A Father's Dilemma
By Mark Marshall

Where do we begin? That is the big question question facing the Church today. Well, since all of the "greats" of the Church have had their say, how about the perspective from a humble man of humble means who just simply loves the Church so much it hurts his heart to the point thinking it literally blistered sometimes?

While I am but a layperson I am a relatively young man who is deeply committed to the very Church of not only my youth, but of the heart and mind. I have a painful disillusionment of a false hope long since past but I still look with great hope to the promise of the future for our Church. I have often wondered what people do when asked about their faith during this seemingly never-ending crisis, but have also often been asked. I often wonder whether my faith is truly a gift as I believe it is for all, or if only the few are granted that grace.

You see, my deepest pain comes from a Church that fights within itself, despite espousing having the same goal as our ultimate purpose. I am not proud to say I have been on both sides of the "warring" factions within our body, both "liberal" and "conservative." I have been given the greatest of all God's gifts, a beautiful little baby girl that will turn 5 in two weeks.

My unbearable pain revolves around the fact I'm scared to death to try to fulfill my baptismal promises (both her's and my own) and raise her in the faith I love so much as while I follow the magisterium daily, I have immense concerns with local leadership in my Diocese and don't know what to do. I cannot in good conscience follow a local leadership that doesn't fulfill its main obligation of faithfulness to the universal magisterium.

How have we, the laity, been put in this position?

Well, there's only one answer to that. However, it seems that to talk of evil and sin is practically forbidden, if not strictly so today, and thus can't even get answered truthfully. I have no special knowledge of God, but I have been to Mass almost every single day since my precious little daughter was born and I know one thing for sure. The one little thing I've been blessed to come to know is that my faith is the most powerful weapon available against this insidious incursion into the very heart of our Lord's Church. I have been given the tremendous, yet ecstatically joyful task of transmitting that great gift to an innocent little child.

She is the granddaughter of the local Anglican Bishop and thus my task is increased in difficulty. To add insult to injury, my child's mother chose to never give us an opportunity to be a family as the culture in which we live says that's perfectly equal to the traditional family and she obviously agrees. My past sinfulness is now haunting my baby and my last several years of virtuous living can't ever begin to suffice for payment of what my daughter is and probably always be subjected too. However, I have made the deepest of commitments to not only her, but myself, and most importantly Our Lord Jesus Christ's Church. This is the baptismal call and must be adhered too through thick and thin, despite the seemingly horrendous circumstances and to quote the old song, "Let It Begin With Me!"

Where else can we start? Why blame local Bishops or even Cardinals or whoever? It makes no difference as there's a frequent saying, "either I live in the solution or I'm part of the problem." You see, what I can do is not only to model the Catholic Christian life I was called to live in my own baptism, but that I vowed to God to pass on to her in her's. If we all did this as laypeople, the rest would obviously take care of itself as to throw one more quip out there, "it's not rocket science."

The most profound spiritual answers are usually embedded in simplicity and I can't imagine anything simpler than that. Like I said at the beginning of this article, I'm bit a simple, humble layman, but I love Jesus and His Church beyond human comprehension, and this is just one man's opinion stated with humility and asked to be given some prayer and contemplation, that's all.

_______________________________

Contact

Layperson
NY, US
Mark Marshall - Lay, 518 393-7573

Email

allisdaddym@aol.com

Keywords

Catholic, Father, Layperson, Lay, Laity

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