You can never become Catholic……?!!
Once again the “Week of Christian Unity” , January 18-25, is upon us . One week !? We should be striving towards Christian Unity 24/7, 365 days a year. Jesus is not impressed with one week of a little ” unity”.
My experience of the devastating effects of disunity within the Body of Christ began at a young age, I was about six.
My family was having dinner in a restaurant. Suddenly I noticed that a family beside us was making the sign of the cross over themselves before they ate. This intrigued me ! I asked my mother what that meant, and she said it meant that they were Catholic. “Could we be Catholic too ?” , I sincerely asked.
“No, she replied, we are Protestant. Catholics are born into Catholic families, and because you were born into a Protestant family, “You can never become Catholic”. Since these words came from my powerful (and intimidating) mother, I believed her . It was the first time that I learnt that Christians, all followers of Christ, have found the need to divide themselves into separate groups, and feel it necessary to worship God in
separate buildings. Such separations grieve the Heart of Jesus.