Modernizing The Catholic Church
Modernizing the Catholic Church
As I began brainstorming ideas for this paper, I contemplated researching a religion that i knew very list about. As time went on, rather than become an expert on a foreign religion, why not focus on my own course of faith? I was born and raised in the Catholic Church. My parents grew up in strict Catholic families and carried on the tradition with their own children. We attended mass every weekend, and went to PREP (Perish Religious Education Program) class every week.
Until recently, I never questioned my faith or whether Catholicism was the correct faith for me. I was baptized as a baby, received first communion in second grade and was confirmed in eighth grade. This appeared to be the norm, since most of my peers from church were doing the same. However, years down the road, I do not feel as though these few sacraments alone have brought my faith to another level or that I have heightened my relationship with God as the Church promised. I feel there is more that can be done to bring mass to a more personal level for me.
When I attend mass, I listen to the same gospel readings and homilies that I've been listening to since I was a child. I recite the same prayers, kneel with the congregation and take communion, but I feel as though mass has become habitual than a renewal of faith. Unfortunately when mass is through, I do not leave with a feeling of renewed faith. As I go about my daily life, I do not contemplate how all my actions reflect the previous Sunday's sermon. I have grown to discover that the reason for this is that the sermons, gospels, and homilies do not reflect on my life and they do not relate to the issues I deal with, in today's times.
I have struggled with other aspects of the Catholic Church as well, in particular those referring to sacraments, women, and priests. I feel as though the Catholic Church is hanging on to old traditions and practices. Now, granted it...
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