August 16

by David Lins  |  08/16/2020  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

Dear Friends,

I’ve lived and/or worked in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Tucson, the Diocese of Stockton, the Diocese of Orange (CA), and the Diocese of Phoenix. And in that time, I’ve worked with Bishops who I loved and Bishops who I...worked with.

I’ve worked for a total of seven parishes (six on a fulltime basis). In that time, I’ve worked with many priests. Some of them have been the most humble and holy men I’ve ever known behind the scenes. (I won’t give it away, but you are blessed to be at this parish.) Some of them...had struggles.

I’ve met thousands of Catholic families. In that time, some of them were kind, generous, and faithful. Others—to be blunt—were cruel, judgmental, and selfish.

None of those Bishops, priests, or families—good or bad—will ever have any influence on whether or not I remain Catholic.

I will never be Catholic for them.

You and I are Catholic because the Catholic Church houses the sacraments. We are Catholic because we recognize the Eucharist is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are Catholic because we get to actually hear the words, “you are forgiven” when we confess our sin. We are Catholic because it is the Church founded by Jesus Christ. We are Catholic because we recognize you can never leave your family and our family extends to the saints in heaven. We are Catholic because, while we recognize the sins of others in our family, we also recognize our own sin. We are Catholic because in the words of our first Pope, St. Peter, “Where else would we go?”

I’ll leave you with this: my dad once said, “Because I truly believe the Eucharist is Jesus, nothing in the whole world could ever make me leave the Church.”

Questions? Comments? Email David at dlins@oloj.org.

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