Pope Mobile (sorta)
The Pope’s not looking too good these days. The other day he was rushed to the hospital with breathing problems, which piggyback on his Parkinson’s and arthritis. He’s even too sick to do the Ash Wednesday mass that’s coming up.
I admire and pity him. Despite his illness, he carries forth and continues to symbolize with heartfelt accuracy his beloved Catholic Church: It too is decrepit and falling apart, resembles a shadow of its former self, can barely hold itself upright, and finds itself part of a world that must prepare to outlive it.
I don’t write of his illness with glee, I’m not a sadist. But I was raised a Catholic, and have almost grown out of, maybe even resent with my entire being, the remnants of my childhood faith. And that’s okay.
The Catholic faith, in its steadfastness and constriction, is like a pair of handcuffs. No, wait, too free… it’s like being put in the stocks…no, too arcane a reference for this or any audience. Ah–
The Catholic faith IS the White Rabbit’s house in Wonderland. When you’re real small, you find yourself scared inside this institution that you didn’t freely choose. You see a bottleful of liquid, and though there’s no sign, you follow the sway of your own will and drink it because you think to yourself, as Carroll writes, “I know something interesting is sure to happen.” You begin to grow uncontrollably until you stop, and when you do, you are WEARING the house, your arms and legs sticking out like toothpicks out of a piece of fruit. It’s comical and absurd. Absurd.
Alice’s remedy was to eat a little cake, for her to shrink back down to size. In reality, you can allow your spirit to devolve and shrink to its childhood size. Or the house must be destroyed. All at once, piece by piece, whatever’s clever. Whatever works. Pragmatically.
The essential truth about the Catholic faith, the one I’ll never outgrow, no matter what I disagree with, is that despite its borderline nonsensical demands of faith, it’s essentially a practical ideology:
Anxious Heathen: *sniffling* Woe is me.
Catholic: *walking by, whistling* What’s the trouble, Pagan chum?
Anxious Heathen: I’m having a bad day. I fear death.
Catholic: *shining an apple on his shirt* Oh? Not me!
Anxious Heathen: Wha??
Catholic: *biting the apple* I’m not gonna die. Well, I am, but right afterwards I’m gonna be reborn! Into ETERNAL life!
Anxious Heathen: Wow. I never thought of it that way. I can choose to be happy if I want. Where do I sign up?
It makes sense for us to believe everything’s gonna be okay. Practically, physiologically. Most of us are happier when we’re happy.
But when people get involved, sick twisted evil people, sick twisted evil people with no disposable income of their own but who contain the same desire to have and to create and to procreate, the beautiful message becomes full of static. You’re watching spiritual television with rabbit ears. OUTDATED.
This fear of letting go of the past, letting go of what’s comfortable and sedative – this is what I hope dies and rots before any member of any Church.
3 Comments »
February 7th, 2005 at 4:32 am
With all due respect, I cannot let this post go by without adding my two cents.
Transforming the suffering of Karol Wojtyla, the man the world knows better as JP II, into a metaphor for your own struggles with or rebellion against the faith in which you were raised is a grave disservice to all the man did with his life. An accomplished poet, philosopher, and playwright (one of his plays was made into a movie starring Cliff Robertson), he was instrumental in the liberation of Poland, and a leader of active resistance against the Nazis in WWII. He was a leader in providing care for AIDS victims before the rest of the world would even touch them.
Whether you can look back fondly on the faith of your childhood or not, even the secular world has acknowledged the tremendous good Karol Wojtyla has brought to this world. The world (never mind the Church) will be a more impoverished place when he leaves it.
February 7th, 2005 at 9:18 am
I like your other posts, but this one misses the mark ing a big way.
Religion is all about having a code of behaviour to follow for a good life. Each religion lays out what they think is their version of the “good life”. As long as you follow the rules, you get your reward at the end.
The Catholics (or any religion) aren’t afraid of “letting go” of anything comfortable – they MUST hang onto their ideas – that’s what they are! By definition, they have to stick to their tenets, as outdated or irrelevant as they may seem, or else they aren’t a religion at all, right?
Maybe your thoughts could apply to religion in general, rather than pinning these critiques to Catholics only (although a lot of what they preach I disagree with).
At least JP was consistent with Catholic virtues, and relentlessly pushed them. I figure that’s his job.
-A
February 7th, 2005 at 8:47 pm
you can write whatever you want about catholocism, i don’t care. i just find your observations to be a little too obvious this time. case in point: “Most of us are happier when we’re happy.”
good to see you understand this crucial idea. i know i’m happier when i’m happy, and sadder when i’m sad. i’m even angrier when i’m angry.
-Meri