Here are 10 good reasons to shout for joy that we are Catholic.
1. The Blessed Mother. She was at the foot of the cross and understands how to console suffering victims and still love the wayward. And through the rosary, our Blessed Mother can do some real damage to the evil one.
2. We get to call out sin. Sin has to be done in secret or we’ll notice because we aren’t the sort of church that says, “Yeah, so what?” Sure, there’s some mind bending going on, but we’ve got the teachings and know how to use them.
3. The angels and saints aren’t going anywhere either. Feast days, intercession, lives of the saints, novenas to them…. Our heavenly family is hanging tight with us because guess what? They are Catholic too!
4. Catholic media rocks and so do their listeners. Who is at the forefront of wanting to get to the truth no matter if it hurts? Catholic media! And us too. That’s a sign of health; be not afraid to get to the root of the problem.
5. St. Michael the Archangel. I know the angels and saints were already mentioned, but this guy has his own prayer and kicks butt. St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!
6. Humility. When we are down, faith and the saints teach that it’s a holy place. Whether it’s sneers over scandal or just a run-of-the-mill downturn, rather than feel like we missed the mark on the Prosperity Gospel, we make can ourselves comfortable as we rest in the Lord, who humbled himself. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross, (Philippians 2:8).
7. Nuns in habits. This might seem awfully random here, but whenever I see one, it makes me feel good to spot a family member. You go girls!
8. The Holy Eucharist. The body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, the source and summit of our Christian life—right here.
9. Universal. Same Mass, same readings daily around the world. Huge.
10. We’ve got it all. We aren’t short-changed a bit. We have all seven sacraments, devotions such as Divine Mercy and the Rosary, adoration, holy water to bless the hell out of things… the all-inclusive package. But even still, holiness is not exclusive to our Church. We’ve simply got less excuses: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked,” (Luke 12:48).
So, indulge your Catholic love. Even in the midst of bad news, we still have good news. And among those who know that well, it’s not hard to keep on keeping on. It our only route.
