“You Catholics Make The Faith Too Complicated. It’s Supposed To Be Simple.”

My husband was talking with a guy the other day who happens to be a Baptist. The guy had just finished praying with my husband over some work-related issues which was a very kind gesture. As they were talking, the other guy said, “I’ve come to respect a number of Catholics but there are quite a few things I don’t agree with you on. For one, you make what’s supposed to be a simple faith too complicated.”

Because of a time constraint, my husband could only reply with, “Well, you know, I’d be happy to talk about this later with you.”

My husband told me about this conversation when he got home and it hasn’t left me. Today, at Mass I was praying about what to write about and this conversation came to the front of the mind.

Christianity is supposed to be a simple faith? Says who?

Usually, when someone says the Catholic Church makes things too complicated, they are referring to all the rules they perceive the Church imposes on its followers. I know this because when I was Protestant, I used to think the same thing. In my mind, there was a scroll that stretched a mile long that contained all the “man-made” rules that Catholics had to adhere to.

“All you need is a personal relationship with Jesus,” was my common throw-back to my husband, a cradle Catholic.

But, is it really that simple?

There is so little in this world that is simple. All relationships are complicated to some degree. Finding your way in this world is, oftentimes, difficult. The universe is vast and elaborate. Nature is intricate and marvelous. The Bible is no simple read. Understanding God and all that surrounds Him is anything but simple. If theology were simple, we’d have no need for scholars and theologians. There’s a reason that there are no scholars of basic math–it’s just too simple. The struggle with sin is not simple in the slightest. Ask anyone who has tried to cast off a deeply entrenched sin and they will tell you that it’s not simple or easy.

But, what about all the rules of the Catholic Church? Who gets to decide what is too many or too few? Is the Catholic Church not allowed to have any rules for its followers?

There are actually only six precepts that apply to lay Catholics throughout the year. They are:

1. To attend Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation.
2. To confess your sins at least once a year.
3. To receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
4. Observe the days of fasting and abstinence (from meat) established by the Church.
5. To help provide for the needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.
6. Observe the Church’s rules regarding the Sacrament of Marriage.

Now, there are many other practices that Catholics can engage in to help them along their earthly pilgrimage. We all know that it’s not simple and easy to live our faith in a culture that can be quite hostile to Christianity. There are numerous practices that strengthen us and guide us on our journey, such as praying the Rosary, visiting an Adoration Chapel, praying Novenas, and blessing ourselves with Holy Water. Not a single one of these things is required of a Catholic, but they are helpful and fruitful practices that provide lots of grace. We all need as much grace as we can get and whenever we do something that draws us closer to Christ, we are showered with graces.

To an outsider, it may seem that the Catholic Church is complicating the faith, but it’s not, it’s just drawing out the richness and fullness. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get. I can’t do every practice that the Church offers, but I can find those things that work for me and my life. There truly is something for everyone.

Our faith in Christ is not just about a simple personal faith with Jesus. That’s highly unbiblical. St. Paul talks about the Body of Christ in numerous places. As baptized Christians, we know that we make up Christ’s Body in a mystical way. We are meant to work together to help bring about His Kingdom here on earth. We know that the Apostles and their disciples did not have a private faith. At Christ’s command, they went out “into all the world” to “preach the Gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

We are charged with the same thing; we are meant to let people know about Christ. If you have ever tried to evangelize you know that it’s not simple. It’s darn hard, in fact. It’s part of our calling as Christians, though.

In 2013, I visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. The upper church is magnificent and grand. Your mouth hangs open in awe. However, downstairs, there is a crypt church that captured my soul even more. It is dark, rich, and dimly lit. Incense fills the air and deep organ music resounds in your chest. I had never been to such a place in my life and the feeling it gave me was an ancient one. It’s hard to explain but I felt immensely connected to all Catholics throughout time.

As I sat and prayed in the crypt church, I realized that our faith is profound, challenging, and mysterious. I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is simple and easy to follow the world and live for yourself. We are naturally inclined that way. It’s easy to just believe in the natural world and ignore or dismiss the supernatural. There is nothing hard about following the ways of the world. In fact, you will be applauded by a great multitude of people.

To follow Christ, though, isn’t simple. There are simple things about it, sure. But, who hasn’t wrestled with doubts? Who hasn’t struggled to pray? Who hasn’t battled to forgive and love their enemies? Who has read the Bible and found it hopelessly easy and simple? Who hasn’t been brought to their knees over what Christ did on the Cross? Who hasn’t drifted into the meandering area of a lukewarm faith? Who finds it simple to keep Christ as the highest priority? If we are being honest…nobody.

A lot of this belief in simplicity harkens back to Sola Fide (Faith Alone). It is the belief that faith in God is all you need in this life to be saved. This idea that anything more added to the faith complicates it. However, this was not a belief until the 1500s. Once Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church, he adopted this belief that faith is all you need. By what authority? His own, I guess. What this basically means is that for 1500 years the Church was in error until Martin Luther came along and saved the day. Yet, even Christ said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. But, Sola Fide is a topic for another day, but if your dying to know what the Catholic Church teaches, you can read about it here.

We are meant to live our faith 365 days a year, 24/7. This is no easy task as there is plenty out there to trip us up. The Catholic Church provides very real ways to help us on our journey and, quite frankly, we need them. The beginning of the universe and time was no simple matter. The story of God and His relationship with His people is not a simple one. Christ’s miraculous Conception, Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension are not simple realities. There is so much to learn and contemplate. You could never know it all in this lifetime and that, in a way, should excite us–we can always go a little deeper. Just because something is intricate and complex doesn’t mean it’s bad. It may be what draws us closer out of curiosity, a deep hunger, and a desire to know more about the supernatural.

Every day, Catholic Pilgrims, we are invited into a divine relationship with the Creator of the Universe that loves us eternally and unconditionally. I love that our faith is complex, intriguing, supernatural, and deep. St. Josemaria Escriva once said, “To begin is easy, to persevere is sanctity.”