Religion

"Religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell; Spirituality is for those who have already been there." I do not know who this quote is from or who wrote it. A friend of mine posted it on her facebook status the other day. Being a practicing Catholic my whole life, I was, at first, offended. Then I read it again and the meaning started seeping in. I began realizing some things that I wasn't aware of before. Maybe it was because I have closed myself off for so long into believing that I was all that because I practiced my religion and was teaching my children to do the same. Recently, I have started questioning that very religion and feel like I am doing a complete 180.

Please realize that I strive everyday to make GOD number one and I feel that I have a really good grasp of what GOD wants from me and what I know him to be. The problem is in the interpretation that is presented inside the Catholic Religion. It seems that somehow the religion has skewered its teachings to that of exclusivity. The bible is read and spoken in our Mass and the interpretation is usually a good sermon but the exclusivity comes from the way they do things. The Catholic schools are all about achievement and grades in the three R's. There are so many children that can not be successful students in this system. Their self esteem becomes deflated if they can not "make the grade". They are left feeling inadequate about themselves because it is all about the grades. It is about making everyone the same and not recognizing uniqueness, in fact, there is no room for it. You either excel in your grades or you are nothing! And it doesn't matter how you get those good grades, just as long as you get it!

Then there is the constant request for money. It is done in a way that shows no faith. Having faith in Jesus Christ and His father means believing that He is our provider and that as long as we recognize Him as our Father in heaven, He will fight our battles for us. However, this is not the attitude in the Catholic Church. Constant raising and talking about money is normal. We have an auction every other year to raise money. What the event has become is a Who's Who of the neighborhood with people throwing money around so that all can admire them. The event makes the people who do not have money to throw around feel inadequate and low. It is just a bunch of people showing off. The people who have all the power in the Parish are the people who have the most money. Is this oppression what Jesus has intended when he died on the cross for us? Is this exclusivity that reigns in the Catholic church what Jesus would have wanted? No way! It seems that this religion talks a good talk but doesn't do the walk.

Sounds like I am a little off about this. But think about the quote from above and ask yourself, does religion (any religion) give people the satisfaction that their relationship with GOD is fulfilled just because they are attending the services of that Religion? Are they just riding the waves and taking the path of least resistence until something happens in their life that takes them to "hell" where they push themselves to find the deeper meaning of GOD?

Here is what I think. The real understanding of GOD is so complex that it sometimes takes a lifetime to understand. More than likely, all religions started out with the intention of teaching people about GOD and Jesus Christ but it has been through man's interpretation that finds people's beliefs so far away from the original message. GOD is LOVE and Love is the way to GOD! Where there is exclusivity and partiality, there is no GOD because you can not be loving other people when these exist. You are no better than anyone else if you go to a Catholic school or any school for that matter. You are no better than anyone else if you have a certain job making a certain income. Yet the Catholic Church seems to incorporate this partiality and I feel that the way they do this is in their Catholic Schools. We have eighth graders right now, at this very minute, waiting for letters to see if they were "accepted" to the school of their choice. What kind of a message does that give to the kids. Other eighth graders in non Catholic schools do not have to wait to be accepted into the high school. This is a Catholic thing. The molding starts very early. Then we wonder why there is so much unrest in this world. We are teaching our kids that partiality matters!

You might be wondering what I am going to do in the future about my religion? I really do not know at this point. I sometimes think that people can really go to the next level with their relationship with GOD and unwrap themselves from their organized religion. It doesn't come from something taught but from something sought. When that happens, organized religion loses its luster because you can then become "beyond" it. Coming beyond it doesn't mean being better, it just means thinking and learning differently.