Cafeteria Catholic

[DesiringMore]

How do you get one to see that the Catholic Church does not teach us to be Cafeteria Catholics, where we can pick and choose what to believe and not to believe? In my Ethics class today a Catholic in the class stated that now days Catholics are taught that we can pick and choose what to believe and not to believe and we don't have to go strictly by what the church teaches yet this guy calls himself a devout practicing Catholic. i stated that that may be the case/his experience, but that doesn't mean that the Catholic Church teaches that. But if that is how one is taught, is there anything you can do or say to get them to see that is not how it is suppose to be?

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
3/27 - Fourth Saturday of Lent

DesiringMore,

"Cafeteria Catholicism" is a plague that many have succumbed to in our world, and unfortunately, it is a constant temptation to us all (whether we want to admit it or not). There's a number of things we can each do to show our devotion to Holy Mother Church, and we need to ask ourselves a number of questions...

1.) Do we pray for our priests and bishops? They are messengers of moral authority in our world today and can be a great tool in combating the "Cafeteria Rite" of Catholicism. There are some priests and bishops that we may think do not do a good job of being that symbol of moral authority. Just remember the words of St. Josemaria Escriva: "There is no such thing as a bad priest, only a priest for whom we do not pray enough."

2.) Are we formed doctrinally - that is, do we know our Faith? Do we take time daily to read the Catechism or other books that teach us about our Faith? Responding to the questions of others is a good tool to combat Cafeteria Catholicism.

3.) Perhaps most important is the issue of example - are we living our Faith? How often do we go to Mass? We must go weekly, but we should go daily, if possible. How often do we go to confession? How often do we pray the Rosary? How often do we perform works of mercy in the world (i.e. working at soup kitchens, homeless shelters) and in our family (i.e. visiting sick relatives, healing family wounds)? [i]Personal integrity[/i] is the greatest tool one can use in order to attract others to the truth of the Gospel. One achieves personal integrity by uniting himself to the Cross of Christ, and one does this by the things listed above.

MOST importantly, remember that [i]we[/i] cannot effect conversion in others; at best, we can be tools of the Most High.

St. Francis is quoted as saying, "Preach the Gospel daily - use words only when necessary." I hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono