Catholic with a Lowercase “c”
‘Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.’ Jesus replied, ‘Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.’ (Mark 9: 38-40)
I lived in Appalachia Kentucky for sixteen months at a Catholic Mission. The county I lived and worked in was one of the poorest in our country. The poverty I found there was incomprehensible, especially given the fact that Kentucky is located in the richest country in the world. When I had previously gone on a mission trip to Honduras, I was expecting to see this struggle and suffering, but not here in the USA.
Another revelation for me while living in Kentucky is the lack of and distance between Catholic churches. I grew up in a city which had at least 20 Catholic churches of all different origins. For instance, some were mostly Portuguese, while others were Spanish, Polish, Lebanese, or other nationalities. On Holy Thursday, I easily participated in the practice of visiting seven churches to pray and keep watch with Jesus. Unfortunately, this was not possible in Kentucky, because it was at least a 45 minute drive between the two churches of the mission and probably another 45 minutes to get to the next one.
Many of the churches in the area were in fact built by Fr. Ralph Beiting, the blind 88‑year‑old Catholic priest that I was blessed to care for and serve as his driver. Fr. Beiting was very big on working hard and ecumenism. He strongly believed and often said, “We needed to stop with all the bureaucracy and be catholic.” The word catholic, lowercase “c,” means universal. Before working with Fr. Beiting, I wasn’t aware of the negative attitude I had about different Protestant denominations and how I only saw the differences between us. Thankfully, God opened my eyes through my experience in Kentucky.
I remember very clearly a day where I was struggling, having come from Massachusetts and a very supportive young adult group, YHOPE, where I had such amazing Catholic friends, and finding myself alone day after day working at a thrift store in Lovely, KY. I was standing in the store packing food for the food pantry when I prayed, begging God, “God I need something, I need connection.” Just then a man who worked at a different mission, helped at a different food pantry and came from a different denomination walked in and asked me if I wanted to join their interdenominational Bible Study Group. I immediately said, “Yes.” Come to find out, not only was I the only Catholic there, but I was also the only single person in the group; all the other participants were couples. Month after month I joined them, and month after month God showed me how it is not us against them, but a collective us against sin and evil. I was able to share my deep love of God with them and at the same time grow what I hope will be some lifelong friendships. The people in the group forever changed my life for the better.
When I first moved to Kentucky, I was battling my fair share of demons, and in many ways, I was not winning those battles. I was suffering from depression with suicidal ideation, and I was afraid of nearly everything. I questioned constantly why God would make me this way and I had no hope things would ever change. Little by little, though, God used these amazingly ordinary people to bring long lasting healing to my heart which helped me become the woman God wanted me to be. Today, I love my life, and even though I have struggles, I know God is with me through it all.
Tender, Loving Father, thank you for all of the blessings you have poured out upon my life. Thank You for all the people You have sent me to lead me closer to You. Thank You for the struggles that remind me of my longing and desire to be with You forever someday in Heaven. Please reach Your hand out to any of your “little ones” out there who are struggling with the same feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness that I once had. I ask all of this in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
