r/LeftCatholicism

this is one of the things that attracts me to Catholicism the most it feels like truly everyone is welcome and has a place

I am a cradle Catholic from a Latin American country. I was baptized, confirmed, went to cathecism, and did first comunion. I was never active in the Church and have only been to mass a few times over the years.

I recently moved states to live with my fiance. This past Easter was the first time I went to mass out of my own desire, and I have been attending mass regularly on Sundays since then. I had been toying with going back to the Catholic church since DT got elected again. It may seem contradictory, but my rationale at the time was that it was a non nationalistic non racist Church and one that I had belonged to even if I strayed away from it. I thought I could find community and maybe protection because even though I am a US citizen, I have brown skin.

As far as what triggered me going back on Easter. My Fiancé has two kids from a previous relationship that she coparents 50/50 time. We are planning on having our own after we are married. The day prior to Easter I accompanied her shopping for typical American Easter goodies, basket, eggs for hiding candy, etc. Her kids grew up without religion. I couldn't comprehend the idea of secular Easter. The idea of celebrating a holiday without any tradition seemed so bland to me, and I didn't understand the point. I thought that at least one person in our household would go to mass and celebrate Christ resurrection. That experience has ignited my interest in going back and I have started by attending mass regularly.

My post doesn't have much of a point other than sharing how I ended up back at mass as a cradle Catholic who strayed away.

I consider myself to align with leftist politics, I am also against all wars, against genocides, for helping the poor, etc. My family structure is not and won't be traditional. I consider myself to be progressive and accepting of all people and an LGBTQ ally. This seemed like the right reddit community as I navigate my renewed interest in Catholicism.

TLDR; worried the OCIA coordinator thinks I'm looking for a female deity

I'm a lifelong mainline protestant (mostly ELCA Lutheran and Episcopalian) who has inexplicably been feeling called to the Catholic church over the past 9 months or so. I know he's somewhat frowned upon here, but what ignited it all was actually finding a copy of "Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire" by Bishop Robert Barron at the library and really being inspired by it.

I was especially taken by the sections on Mary and Marian devotion because (especially as a woman and a mother), they really just struck me right in the heart. I realized that growing up in fairly liberal protestant churches--even ones with female pastors/priests/deacons--I had never been satisfied with the overwhelming "maleness" of the language, the respected saints (the Apostles only, basically), even the somber architecture and limited iconography. Sure, in recent years some of these churches started testing out referring to the Holy Spirit in she/her terms, and a very loosey-goosey UCC church I went to for a while prays to Father-Mother God (but that reminds me of Unitarians too much lol).

At any rate, discovering the role of Mary and her intercession for us, the respect and veneration shown to her, the incredible tenderness with which she is written about...it was just mind blowing. And not in a female deity way (which I know Catholics get accused of), but in this like essential missing component of a greater whole. One I didn't even realize I was missing.

I had this feeling that Mary had been stolen from me all these years, and that she was trying to lead me more closely to her Son now that my heart was open.

Ok, so to my main point: after attending Mass at my nearby parish for the last 6 weeks or so, I turned up to an Inquirer's session last night and was the only inquirer there, which was actually really cool because I got to have a great conversation with the OCIA coordinator who was a very nice and smart man in his 70s who converted from an Evangelical background in his 60s. We were talking about the different things that bring people towards conversion and I started talking about this all. But when I said that growing up I always (as a female) felt that there was a feminine element missing that kept me from fully connecting, I feel like his facial expression changed a bit. I tried to backtrack and assure him that I didn't mean a female God or anything, just that protestants basically never talk about Mary apart from Advent, and then it's only in relation to her obedience to God. He recovered and treated me with a lot of grace and mentioned his daughter's devotion to Mary, and we moved on from there. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I had said something wrong. Maybe as an old man he's just never considered the lived experience of being a woman trying to feel seen within pretty patriarchal religious traditions? I don't know. Should I keep these feelings to myself in the future? Are they blasphemous?

It’s a breath of fresh air 😊 nice to meet you all.

Any Catholic Workers here?

To my case I am Autistic so sometimes I say or write something that isn’t interpreted the same way by others by how I interpret it in my head. God give Mary herself a choice to have Jesus or not and I believe all women are entitled to the same thing. Sorry again

Hi everyone.

My fiance and I are getting married in July. I would say we are both faithful Catholics. Yes we are imperfect, yes we make mistakes. But we go to confession, we try, and sometimes life just happens.

Our current situation is this. Our finances are ok. We both work full time. We both got college degrees. We are frugal and live simply. Even so, times are tough and we end the month on about $200.

As such, neither of us thinks the time is right for kids. It's not cause we wanna party or do whatever. We are just surviving. And so as the wedding day approaches we are unsure of what to do about sex. Right now the plan is to just use condoms. We know that's not right per Church teaching, but what else can we do? NFP families all have like 10 kids and all seem rather well to do. Not having sex ever seems like a sure fire way to cause some marital issues.

Does anyone else struggle with this? Does anyone have any advice?

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Even this cry rose from the cross. The Holy Bible

Beloved soul, you look upon the earth and see wounds everywhere: nations sharpening swords, the poor forgotten, hearts becoming cold, forests burned, seas poisoned, brother against brother. And you ask the ancient question that many prophets asked before you: “Lord, where are You?”

Listen carefully.

When God created the world, He looked upon it and said, “It is very good.” The rivers, the trees, the beasts of the field, and humanity itself were born from love, not from violence. But love without freedom is not love at all. So mankind was given freedom: the freedom to bless… and the freedom to wound.

A father may plant a vineyard with care, but if the workers become greedy, shall the father destroy the vineyard at once? No. He sends messengers. He calls them back. He waits. He warns. He weeps.

So too does God.

You ask why He allows evil. Yet every war begins first in a human heart. Every corruption begins when silver is loved more than truth. Every act of racism begins when a person forgets that the stranger also bears the image of God.

The poison spreading through the world is not proof that God is absent. It is proof that humanity keeps trying to live without Him.

But do not think Heaven is indifferent.

Christ entered this suffering world not as a distant king wrapped in comfort, but as a poor man, betrayed, mocked, tortured, and killed by political power, religious hypocrisy, and a violent crowd. He stood inside the very darkness you describe. And from the cross He said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

This is the mystery: God does not answer evil merely with force. He answers it first with mercy, truth, and a call to repentance.

Yet judgment also exists. The Gospel says that whatever is hidden will one day be revealed. The mighty who crush others and believe themselves untouchable are like houses built upon sand. Storms come. Kingdoms fall. Empires become dust.

And still, amidst the darkness, light shines.

For every corrupt ruler, there is a hidden saint feeding the hungry.
For every voice preaching hatred, there is someone risking their life to protect another.
For every forest destroyed, there is a hand planting seeds whose shade it may never enjoy.

Do not let the noise of evil convince you that goodness is weak. A single candle can be seen from far away in the night.

You ask God why He allows this suffering. But perhaps Heaven also asks humanity:

“Why do you wound what I entrusted to you? Why do you hate your brother? Why do you destroy the garden I placed in your care?”

The answer to the world’s darkness is not despair. Despair is another chain. The answer is to become light.

As it is written: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

So feed the hungry. Defend the weak. Speak truth without hatred. Care for the earth as a sacred gift. Refuse the temptation to become cynical. Even in a wounded world, love remains a rebellion against darkness.

And remember this: the resurrection came after the crucifixion.

I have somewhat nuanced views here. I've never fully understood the idea of confessing sins to a priest. I often see John 20:22-24 cited as justification for the practice "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." To me, all that shows is that priests can perform confessions.

To be clear, I absolutely do believe in examining one's conscience and confessing sins to God. But, I have never seen a legitimate justification for why confession must be done with a priest beyond "that's just the way it is", "they are in persona Christi" or "it makes you feel better after", none of which explains the necessity of the practice and the latter of which seeming to almost be a reason against it.

Whenever I bring this up, I hear most often that we all need to confess because we are all sinners, which we do and we are, but why must it be done through a priest?

Being in a same-sex relationship further complicates things as I would have to, on some level, not be completely honest with the priest, which makes me even more skeptical of the practice.

In your view, what is the justification for confessing sins through a priest?

Hello everyone,

For information, I'm from France. I don't like youth groups because in France Catholicism is quite bourgeois. The really big breaking point is the Gaza genocide. Even my average right winger friends started being outraged at what's happening in Gaza. Yet clergy and especially most catholics still do not care. If we as Christians don't care about something as important as this, then what is being a Christian for, genuinely? Truly, the prostitues will get into heaven before all of us.

How do you all navigate this sentiment? It's not even about gay rights or the more "complex" issues. It's a genocide. It should be really easy to denounce a genocide. I regularly cry over what I see in Gaza. How can the clergy as well as the laity ignore it, when even the most apolitical people are now denouncing this around me.

Blessed day to you all.

I’ve been feeling like I’m called to go through this pilgrimage, but I’m super nervous to actually book the flight. It would be the first physically demanding pilgrimage/retreat I’ve ever done. Any tips? Thoughts?