The stress on obeying the elites in their PC agenda as the only way to be a Christian ignores how most people live and ignores teaching people how to be holy in the ordinary duties of their daily lives.
But part of being an American Catholic is that we have a lot of "pelagianism"in the religion: this means we are saved by works. But in reality, what Catholics believe is sort of what James said: The idea that faith is useless without works. (and dogmatically we are supposed to be saved by "grace". But I figure this is true only because it is via prayer and God's grace that we get the energy to do the works).One needs both: the relationship to the deity and the relationship to one's brother.
But some of us are lucky enough to be in a profession where actual caring for those who are in need can be done full time.
this BBC article on how Catholic missions do more than their share of development work in Africa schools, hospitals, etc. (personal note: I worked in Africa as a young doc many years ago).
This is one reason the Pope is popular in poor countries including here in the Philippines: because he embodied the idea of caring for the poor and vulnerable, which is recognized as the core of our faith.
...by being part of the Catholic Church people are part of "a social institution that provides a lot of support and security in places where precarious living is very common and widespread," Dr Manglos-Weber says."The Church provides hospitals, schools, [and] other social services. [These are ] things that post colonial governments in… Africa have had a difficult time providing on a widespread scale."
The role of Catholics in offering such services "far surpasses what either Protestant churches or Islamic communities have been able to", Dr Manglos-Weber adds.
But if religion is only "good works", it degenerates into a bureaucratic cold charity, or socialism that means more taxes on ordinary folk and more jobs for the bureaucrats...or worse, as we see in the USA, a way to bully people into obeying the wishes of an elite planning to force people into utopia.
That is my objection to the Pope's plans for the future of the Catholic church: he is pushing the idea that the church should be part of a man-made NGO to help people, where God is absent, while letting the "reformers" destroy the little things that help you recognize God as part of your daily life...
So what about the rest of us?
For ordinary Catholics, it means caring for one's family and others: which is why in the USA (and here in the Philippines), nursing, caregivers, nannies, being a parent, firemen, cops, and soldiers are considered noble professions, not just a way to earn a paycheck.
In contrast to the USA, where acts of charity imply caring for only strangers, here in the Philippines religion and charity is personal: God is part of the extended family: God the Father, Mama Mary, and Kuya Jesus.
So your daily life includes your table of statues decorated with sampagitas, and candles that are next to all those photos of family members. The rosary is a prayer many families and especially older folks still say every evening, sort of your 15 minutes with Jesus and mama Mary in a country where the poor may not be big at reading books: and charity means letting your cousin or your friend's son or daughter board with you so they can attend classes at a better school than is in their village, or maybe even finding a job overseas to support your family and pay their school fees.
Finding a decent job is a way to support one's family.
Alas, because of corruption, the middle class have trouble finding decent jobs at home: so everyone here in our small town has family members working elsewhere. Our own family has either migrated or has worked as an OFW in a dozen countries (USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Italy, Germany)..and don't forget those who work on ships.
and too often, this means having your extended family help raise your children.
so happy Grandparents day:
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