I took a deep breath and then, very calmy, said, "It's when a woman decides that she can not or does not want to have the baby growing in her stomach, so a doctor takes the baby out early and, because it is not done growing, it can not live, so it goes straight to Heaven." I realized I was still holding my breath.
With a baffled look on her face, she looked straight into my eyes and asked , "Why can't the Mommy just have the baby and give it to someone who can or does want it?"
"That, my sweet Shaye, would make you a pro-lifer." was what I said out loud. I was thinking, "But sometimes it's not that simple."
Then I looked at her in all of her innocence...
and thought, "Or is it?"
For so long, I have held the belief that our brains and what we know to be true, must, in all common sense, overrule our hearts and what we feel and what we believe to be true.
So what that organized religion had more to do with power when it came to be, if, today, it can bring my family a sense of belonging and comfort and stability in these crazy modern times. If the Catholic powers-that-were created rules and scripture to conviently support their views and ambitions. Don't I technically do the same thing when I comfort my daughters, and myself, with the words - Papa is in Heaven? When I pray for the health of my friend's baby? When I bless myself when I hear an ambulance siren? When I thank God, every night, after my girls are in bed and I am lying in the arms of a man who gave me and shares the life I have today, for all that I do have?
Is it so wrong to formally, publicly, acknowledge my Faith? Faith that there is something, someone, out there greater than I? Can't I agree to disagree with some of the points that the Church and I don't see eye to eye on? Although, the older I get and the more I see, I certainly disagree with some of those teachings less and less.
These are the things that I can't get out of my mind right now.
Girl Scout Sunday is being hosted at a local Catholic church in a few weeks.
We plan on attending.
2 comments:
Thanks for stopping by ;)
Lovely post. Sometimes seeing things through a childs eyes makes more sense than viewing things through our clouded adult perceptions.
That's why Jesus said, in Matthew 18:3-5
"Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Blessings,
Molly
For some reason I lost your blog, and have just rediscovered it, and have read several posts today. My husband and I both grew up Roman Catholic, we still practice but many of our siblings do not. It may be too simplistic, but for me the church is like my family, and what is more important than the rules etc is the community I can be a part of. Although I am very fortunate in that it is a very liberal experience here. I don't know if I could write these things had I experienced what you did as a young woman. I would like to apologize for the ignorance of that poor priest. I may not agree with everything the church says or does, I find the things that make sense to me and ignore what doesn't. Like family I take it with it's flaws. I just don't think I would feel comfortable anywhere else. A ggod friend told me she switched to the Lutheran church as the RC churches were much more traditional in the states where she had moved.
Thanks for the wonderful posts,
I'm glad I found my way back.
Dana
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