cms@dragon.uucp (08/17/90)
I have heard many Protestants speak of being Lutheran. Some of them are
members of the Lutheran Church. Some simply mean they subscribe to the beliefs
and philosphy as expounded by Martin Luther. It isn't always clear which they
mean although, if asked, they'll generally politely answer that they are in
fact Lutheran (as in Lutheran Church) or Presybterian or Baptist, etc. Some
say they are Lutheran as opposed to Calvinist. While Catholic may be confusing
to some, I often indicate that I am Episcopalian because I know this, however,
I will not call myself "A Real Live Protestant in Georgia" because I am not,
never have been, and never will be a Protestant. On the day I was Confirmed, I
made a sincere commitment to Jesus Christ; I consecrated my heart to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is the day I became a Catholic. Protestants
would say, "This is the day I became a Christian." I say, "This is the day I
became a Christian." It is the same statement. I regard some Protestant
practices as heresies; hence I specify the Catholic expression of my Christian
faith. I pray the Rosary today and pray to Mary often (including for guidance
on this matter). As a member of the Society of Mary, an Episcopalian society
dedicated, as it says in our official manual, "to the Glory of God, and in
honour of the Holy Incarnation, under the invocation of Our Lady, Help of
Christians," I take my Catholic faith very seriously. It is more important
to me that I am a Catholic than that I am either Roman Catholic or Anglican
Catholic. I wish to express that which is of central importance to my faith.
Hence, I declare my Christianity in my name, but not my particular
denomination. Thus, I call myself Catholic, meaning a disciple of Jesus Christ
in the tradition of the Church he founded on earth (one, holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic) without specifying my denomination.
Certain people have expressed the desire of the Roman Catholic Church to hoard
the name "Catholic" for themselves and themselves alone. As Captain Kirk said
to the adolescent boy, Charlie, in the Star Trek episode, "Charlie X" :
"There are a million things in this world you can have, and there are a
million things you can't have; it's no fun facing it, but that's the way things
are!"
--
Sincerely,
Cindy Smith
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