Keiran on Catholicism

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My mother took this photograph of me shortly after my Confirmation in the 6th grade.

If you follow me, you know I occasionally write about my different interests and preoccupations.

That’s true for my post today. 

While I mentioned being Catholic in my post last year about the movie, Dune, the death of Pope Francis seemed like the time to explore the subject I’ve had on my list for years: that is, “Growing Up Catholic”¹.

See, my parents were both Roman Catholics. Plus, Dad grew up in Chicago, where he got a scholarship to Loyola Academy.

So Dad learned under Jesuits. Therefore, he and mom thought Catholic schools would be a good place to send us.

But more than that, Mom and Dad were just cradle-to-grave Catholics. They (and their three children) were at church every Sunday, no matter the weather or if we were on vacation.

this means that (despite the sin of pride) we felt superior to the other families who came to Church Only on Easter and Christmas. And while mom surely confessed her pride to the priest… I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember saying that in Confession.

Additionally,

lots of my childhood memories include details from growing up Catholic.

I easily recall the smell of the incense

And have an early memory

of walking into Church one Sunday when I was probably a kindergartner and thinking that God existed within and beyond that church building.

And seeing the other women (not Mom) wearing lace on their heads in Church pews.

Or being in church services during Lent, which took place every Friday in the Spring, and seeing a classmate faint because it was really warm and stuffy that day.

Although that girl was a fainter – she went down at the cartoon of the uterine lining while we watched the filmstrip in the girls-only class about menstruation.

Or that one ritual where we went in and a priest blessed our throats to protect us from choking?

which I had to look up because I thought, “Did that really happen, or did I imagine it?”

Plus I wonder – does the throat blessing last for a long time, or should you get it done every year after you get your flu shot?

Or early May reminds me of one of my favorite rituals in grade school, when we paraded the statue of the Virgin May around the church crowned with flowers in veneration.

— but it was probably also because the church smelled like flowers —

And other things. Like,

one time I was at a local eatery and heard someone at another table noting how illogical “the Feast of the Immaculate Conception” is.

He was saying,

It makes no sense – like, hello? Christmas is on December 25 so why do they celebrate December 8 as the day the angel told the Virgin Mary she was pregnant?

And I piped up immediately that the feast celebrated the miracle that the Virgin Mary was conceived and then her original sin was removed by God so that she could bear Jesus Christ.

Even I was surprised by how quickly that came out from the deeper venues of my brain.

In fact, that kind of stuff, and others, is still probably packed in my head.

After all, I (along with the rest of my 6^th grade class) memorized the 175 questions and answers for the night we underwent the sacrament of Confirmation.

I don’t remember them all, but here is some of what we learned:

• the honorifics for religious leaders (priest, Bishop, Cardinal, Pope)
• where the ashes from Ash Wednesday come from
  •             they burn the palms from Palm Sunday the year before
• who blesses the oil used during your Confirmation
  •             the Archbishop
    • Although they tell me here that they bless the oil for three purposes and I only remember learning the one.
• And that when you are Confirmed you “become a soldier for Christ”
  • btw we were taught that “soldier” is not a fighting soldier; it’s supposed to mean you’re standing up for your religion and prepared to “deliver the Good News” or stand up for God. You don’t want to be like St. Peter denying Jesus three times, do you?

So, despite what I learned in history class, it took me years after graduating from Catholic high school to start to really understand why the Protestant Reformation happened.

I mean, our teachers spent a lot of time explaining that all of the saints were not idols that we worshiped.

Actually, they’re supposed to be “intermediaries to God.” 

And I’m a little embarrassed, but I’ve never read all 4 of the Gospels.

After all, being Catholic meant that you memorize all these rules and the Priest explained the gospels to you every Sunday.

Although,

having gone to parochial school means I find what “outsiders” think of Catholics to be slightly humorous.

Like, everyone freaked out when Pope Francis said he believed in evolution.

While taking Religion classes five days a week, we learned about evolution in addition to “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic”.

And there was a papal encyclical in 1950 saying it was ok to believe in evolution.

But then

people also thought that Pope Francis was going to change the rules and allow female priests.

And I was like,

“yeah, I understand we all want that, but, DUDES, no… that’s not gonna to happen.”

Because the RC Church is about 2,000 years old, which means change happens really slowly.

Although, I do feel lucky that I grew up in a church that existed after “Vatican Council II” and didn’t have to listen to Latin mass (like my mom experienced).

However, here’s one last thing:

Or:

Of course I found a way to link this to Frank Lloyd Wright.

One of the Cardinals called to the Conclave (where they will elect a new Pope) is Cardinal Raymond Burke.

Burke was born in the same town where Wright apparently was: Richland Center, Wisconsin.

He’s also under 80 years old, which means he’s on the list for possible future popes.

Update:

shortly after I published this, the Cardinals elected Pope Leo XIV. 

 

 

First posted May 4, 2025
My mother took the photograph of me at the top of the page after I was confirmed. You can see part of the stole I wore with my Confirmation name: for St. Francis of Assissi. I was drawn to that humble, self-sacrificing man. Although unfortunately the title I gave my paper on him was “St. Francis: Lover of God”. Unsurprisingly, I was 12 when I wrote that.

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1. I don’t say that I’m a “recovering Catholic”. I prefer saying that I “grew up Catholic.” It’s more accurate and think it encompasses more of what’s in the subterranean parts of my mind.