You Call Yourself a Catholic?

3. Saints? I was introduced to a few saints during my journeys through other religions, St. Padre Pio and St. Teresa of Avila—my namesake—among them. And the idea of spiritual intermediaries is familiar to me because my Hopi in laws and friends had “katsinas” who served the same purpose in their belief system, and my Yoruba ancestors had the “orishas.”

But my parents found having statues of and praying to saints reminiscent of the “hoo doo” practiced down South. In fact, my mother recoiled in horror from the incense and incantations the one and only time she went to Mass with a friend, and feared God would punish her for attending.

I need Mass like I need food to eat and air to breathe. And Padre Pio’s prayers, most notably, have become daily sources of comfort and guidance for me. But Catholic friends seem to have a saint for every situation—angels, too, but let’s not even go there. I check out the “Saint of the Day” via several sources and have found a few more whose lives inspire me. There are just so many!

I think that’s a good thing, though. There’s a saint story to speak to almost every situation you encounter. It’s like having a host of heavenly guidance counselors always at your beck and call.

4. I don’t vote solely based on a candidate’s views on abortion and religious freedom. I’m pro-life, but I’ve seen women stare that decision in the face and it’s never a simple one. I also believe that everyone in America should be allowed to worship as he or she pleases. But when my worship infringes on someone else’s rights, I get a little queasy.

This means I sometimes have to pray very hard before I darken the circle next to a particular name or issue on the ballot. In fact, I became an Independent long before conversion because I was tired of people assuming that as an African American I was probably a Democrat who marched in lock step with all of Obama’s decisions.

I also vote early, so that I can sit down with my mail-in ballot, reread a few articles about the candidates, weigh all the possible outcomes, pray for forgiveness or clarity…and then I do what I’m “told.”

And sometimes what God tells me isn’t what some Catholics believe. Yes, I said it. I listen to Him first and foremost and act accordingly. It reminds me of how Pope Francis asks us, in Amoris Laetitia, to be open to seeing things in a less “one size fits all” way in today’s world.

Could it be Satan in disguise? I don’t think so. You may think so, though. And in this free country of ours where I am so grateful to even have the right to vote as an African American woman, you have the right to believe, think and say whatever you wish. So do I. So I have.

Do I call myself a Catholic? Yes. A proud, joyful, grateful and vociferous one. Jesus invited me, and I’m staying.

Because I think there’s room at His table for all of us.

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