My Magnificent Catholic Obsession

I recently received a private message through facebook from someone who had been reading my posts. The person was worried that I have become "obsessed with Catholicism" and was writing out of concern regarding my frequent posting about Catholic- related topics. Indeed, in my practice of general medicine over the years I have seen a few cases of extreme religious zealotry turn out to be the new onset of bipolar disorder(manic depression) heralded by a new-found religiosity. I remember one of these sad cases was a gent who stayed awake for 7 days at a time and was pulled over by the police for driving 90 miles per hour down Route 95 attempting to get to the White House to share with the president a message he "needed to deliver from God." Unfortunately, once his mania was subdued, so was their faith!

I suppose it is true that I spend a fair amount of time thinking about my Catholic faith, much of it being a sense of gratitude to the Lord for allowing me to find the Church so late in my life- especially after I walked away and trashed it for so many years. It's that "I could've had a V8" feeling that I have written about before. Had I only known how rich and beautiful Catholicism is, I would have done this years ago! It's the constant sense of having found the Pearl of Great Price our Lord talks about in scripture.

Along with this sense of awe and gratitude, I am obsessed with this thought: "Since Catholicism has been such a blessing to me and it took 31 years to discover it, why should I keep it under a bushel and not share it with others?" Heck, if I, a relatively non-emotional Christian middle-aged guy, can be bowled over by the mercy and grace of God found in the sacraments of the Catholic Church, what would it be like for my brethren who were like me, in the dark about what Catholicism is really all about? How wonderful would it be for them to discover Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread as I did? Why wouldn't I want to share this treasure with them, if I truly love my brothers and sisters? If I truly believe that the fullness of Christian faith subsists in the Catholic Church, why would I not want to see others come home to the Church? Shouldn't I desire my Protestant brothers and sisters to experience Jesus as I have knowing it could be life-changing for them too?

So, with a limited amount of time left on this side of eternity, why not spend time in efforts to share the richness of the Catholic faith with those, who through no fault of their own, never had the opportunity to learn about this Church that I have been privileged to discover. So is this a bad obsession? I asked my wife after reading the e mail to her. My wife would tell you it's not. She likes the new "obsessive Catholic me" better than the old not so-obsessed me. I will trust her judgment better than my own.


History is full of men who became obsessed with Catholicism. Here's GK Chesterton:
"It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it. But when that affection has passed a certain point it begins to take on the tragic and menacing grandeur of a great love affair."