Traditions

 I read an article today on Urban Christians that had me thinking about traditions. It was titled;

More Evangelicals Converting to Catholicism 

       Granted it was written over a year ago in July 2010, am not sure if this school of thought still applies today. These days, ONE YEAR is a long time for change to happen. With twitter and Facebook, we are learning about events as they unfold through videos and live commentators like twitter.

This is not a post about religion and faith. Nor is it about who is a "better" christian. I brought this article up because it uses the same reason for why some Catholics left the church and others are converting to Catholicism. Tradition. Unlike other denominations that have unique forms of worships, Catholics all over the world worship the same way. The scriptures, fellowship, praying of the rosary and etc have withstood the test of time in this new generation where the motto is "Go Big + Loud or go home". Don't get me wrong as a christian, I will worship in any church that believes in God and professes that His Son Jesus Christ came down to save us from sin. But I like being part of the catholic church because of its history, its practice of liturgy in the same manner the first Christians and apostles did hundreds of years ago. We as a church, have always had our share of controversy. Whether is the issue of birth control, abortion or child molestations. Those have always been part of the church's "cross to bare". In thesame light, recently there has been an increasing rise in men of God in popular evangelical churches, "disappointing" their congregations by "sinning". Maybe there lies a reason for the conversion to Catholicism. I don't know. What I do know is not to put my faith and trust in man but in God. These men/women are human. And Like all of us, struggle with certain demons in their lives. Putting them on a pedestal is the mistake most members of evangelical churches do. I've never been surprised by any of the controversies surrounding religious leaders in the past and nor will I be in the future.

 As for traditions, there's something unique about values that are handed down from generations to generations. Whether it is a family recipe, a once a year get together, family reunions or celebrating a special holiday. It speaks volumes about the bond the people who partake in these traditions share with each other. Especially when it continues long after the individual who started it has passed.

As a child, my family moved around ALOT. I was constantly learning a new language, trying to fit in into a new school or understand a culture that was different from the one I had previously inhabited. Don't get me wrong. There were good perks. Starting over. Discovering a new place that many would loved to visit but did not have the opportunity. In some places, it was even cool to be the new kid because you brought something different to the homogeneity that existed.Yet, I yearned for traditions, routines that were unique to my family, as I saw in other families. Now that I have more control of my life, I try to instill rituals and traditions in all my relationships.