March 17: Matholic, Pope Francis, New Cartoon

I categorize myself as a Matholic.  I was born and raised Catholic, and I still got to Mass every Saturday night.  When I met my future wife twenty years ago, I started going to worship services with her at a United Methodist Church.  I have been attending both churches ever since.

There are things I love about the Catholic Church.  I love the traditions and history.  There's something incredibly beautiful about the Catholic liturgy.  I love the focus on sacraments and the concept of transubstantiation.  I love the idea that I can go to a Catholic Mass every weekend and witness a miracle--the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  I don't know if there is any other religion that offers a weekly miracle matinee, so to speak.

There are things I love about the United Methodist Church, as well.  There's enough focus on liturgy to make me feel Catholic comfortable, but there's also a freedom when it comes to Methodist worship.  In the Methodist Church, worship centers on the best way to communicate the message of Christ to non-Christians or seekers (people who are looking for something to fill the God-sized holes in their lives).  That may include modern music and songs, drama, films, poetry, visual art, or dance.  Whatever spreads the Word of God most effectively.  I love the embrace of the arts in the Methodist Church.

That is not to say that the Catholic Church doesn't embrace the arts, as well, but I have found the Methodist Church a little more accepting.  I have done poetry readings and workshops at the Methodist Church.  I will be doing a poetry reading this Thursday at the Methodist Church.  I have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in during Catholic Mass, but I have also felt the Holy Spirit in Methodist worship services, as well.

Some of my family members don't get my dual spiritual life.  When I'm doing something at the Methodist Church (where I'm head of the Worship Committee), they shake their heads or mutter.  I truly believe I have preserved my Catholic faith because of my participation in the Methodist faith.  The two are not mutually exclusive.  They both feed my soul.

This morning at the Methodist Church, a friend stopped me after worship.  He's a wonderful man, full of a real love of Christ.  He grabbed my hand and shook it.  "I think you guys picked a good one," he said, smiling.

"What are you talking about?" I said, staring at the shamrocks on his St. Patrick's Day tie.

"Well," he said, "I know you didn't get to vote for him, but I think they picked a winner."

I finally realized what he was talking about.  "Oh," I said, "you mean Pope Francis."

"I like him," my friend said, "a lot."

I nodded.  "Taking a bus instead of a limousine.  Stopping to pay his hotel bill himself."

"And asking the people in St. Peter's to pray for him," my friend said, shaking his head.  "He's going to do some good at the Vatican."  My friend looked full of hope and admiration.

That's why I love being a Matholic.  It's about shared belief in humility and prayer and mission.

Now, if Saint Marty can just get elected at the next conclave, he may be the first Roman Matholic pope.

Confessions of Saint Marty