Fifty Shades of Catholicism…Yes and No

I hope that you will be relieved, not dismayed, that this piece has nothing to do with Fifty Shades of Grey since, if we are completely honest and accurate, that book and movie have nothing to do with God, God’s love, or what God wants for us. The paradise peddled by Fifty is not unlike that offered with Eden’s apple, with similar consequences for those foolish enough to take a bite (which, given the topic of Fifty, may not be the best image to use here).

No, this article is about why it is both good, and very bad, that we have fifty shades of Catholicism today. The good part involves the reality that God’s love extends, and is generously offered, to people of every skin, financial, cultural, social, situational, technological, health, and life experience shade. Contrary to some biased secular criticism, God does not play favorites when it comes to the blessings, privileges, promises, and burdens He offers us.

A simple scan of the myriad of saints, our models of holiness, should be enough to remind us that there are many paths to Heaven. That is the good, the “yes” above, to the exciting possibility of Catholicism. There isn’t one way to give glory to God, serve others, and fulfill our eternal destiny.

Now for the “no”, the bad part of this theme. Our secular society has managed to dilute, twist, and distort Catholicism in an obnoxious, arrogant, and even sinister attempt to make it one size fits all. The question at this point, of course, is whether the secular society has managed to do this or, more disturbingly, if we Catholics have allowed it to occur in our haste to fit in, avoid creating issues, make peace, or whatever other euphemism we can drag up to justify and rationalize putting the burden on Christ to fit into this society’s box rather than the other way around. If I hear another Catholic mention the need to be “inclusive” and “open-minded” I will pull my hair out which, given my retreating hairline, would not be a good thing to even consider.

I am not saying that we should not look for ways to connect with folks, to get our message across in a more diplomatic and constructive way. Lord knows I have been reminded to be more diplomatic and cautious by my oldest daughter, who is about to graduate from college and is heavily involved in youth Catholicism circles. She argues that warning a woman entering an abortion clinic that she is going to hell may not be the most constructive way to change her mind about both what she is doing and why she should ever even consider becoming pro-life.

I have slowly come to agree with my daughter that we will probably not change the hardened opponents of what our Faith stands for, but I think that how we approach the middle folks, those on the fence about things, may well determine how many of them move our way. In fact, that middle group approach, if not handled with care, may even further confuse and frustrate those we assume are on our side completely, making things even worse.

The bottom line of all of this is that we cannot have, tolerate, promote, or even consider allowing our desire to reach out to people to become so diplomatic, appeasing, and “open-minded” that we end up, as is increasingly happening today, with fifty shades of Catholicism, in which case we will not really have a true Catholicism at all. Christ did not have five versions of His teaching to make His audience comfortable, nor did He wink at discussions and debates over absolute truths and central holdings of the Faith.

There are many ways to bring glory to God, to serve and love others, and to work for the salvation of souls, both that of others and our own. However, the minute we buy into the lie that Catholicism is a buffet where we can pick and choose the version of our Faith that is most comfortable, we will be only bringing glory to our whim, serving and loving our ego, and working for the salvation of our earthly popularity.

Fifty shades, of people, backgrounds, talents, life stories, that is what the rich tapestry of our faith is all about. However, we must remember that the basic texture of that faith cannot come in fifty styles, fifty messages, fifty angles.

Recall that light can come from many diverse sources but, in order for it to become a beam capable of piercing obstacles, it must come together aimed at one target. The ultimate goal of any light with any legitimate purpose must be a fixed point for, at the end of the day, fifty shades of diffused light is fifty shades of useless.