I think I am in the midst of a religious epiphany. I was born and raised Catholic. I have a HUGE Catholic family with an incredibly religious grandma, the mother of 6 boys, one of which is my dad. I was brought up pretty religious, but not like "hey, we're gonna shove this religion down your throat." Although, my grandma might have done that. We were the type of family that did the program with: mass every Sunday and religious holiday, casual confession attendance, CCD every Wednesday for the kids, ya know, the typical American Catholic family stuff.
As a kid, I never knew how to question the practices and beliefs of the Catholic religion, however, now, with some age and bit more knowledge of Catholicism, I find myself struggling with it. One example is with the practice of confession. Why do I need to go through a priest to have my sins absolved? Seems extraneous that my personal relationship with God would need a mediator to validate my own purity.
Honestly, I think one of the biggest reasons that I struggle with the Catholic faith is based in the fact that I didn't make the conscious choice to join it. I didn't agree with the beliefs or commit to its practices based on my own will, which really bothers me. Just because I was raised Catholic doesn't mean I shouldn't question what its about, or if it's the right religion for me. Questioning what you're about is key to building the person you aspire to be. Hmm I like that. I'll be sure to report back with my findings in my future novel... "Lifting the Veil of Catholicism, Once and for All."
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