difficulty in being Catholic

“Oh dear, it’s very difficult being a Catholic.”

“Does it make much difference to you?”

“Of course. All the time.”

“Well, I can’t say I've noticed it. Are you struggling against temptation? You don’t seem much more virtuous than me.”

“I'm very, very much wickeder,” said Sebastian indignantly.

 - Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

a quote from Hilaire Belloc

"The issue was between two forces. On the one hand was the instinct which we all have within us, that Europe is Catholic, must live as Catholic, or must die; that in the anarchic religious rebellion was peril of death to our art, our culture, to that from which they proceed, our religious vision. On the other had arisen an intense, fierce, increasing hatred against the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament, the whole transcendental scheme; a hatred such that all who felt it were, in spite of a myriad differences, in common alliance. That hatred fed upon an original popular indignation against the corruption of the clergy, and especially against their financial claims. But the hatred was far older than any such late medieval trouble; it was as old as the presence of the Catholic Church in this world."

----- Hilaire Belloc, HOW THE REFORMATION HAPPENED, p. 90

misinformation and good intentions

So today, my mother (of all people) tries to explain about the history of a particular Catholic church in Rome. she blunders up the explanation by giving half-information and to an audience of apostates (some). One particular apostate uses the misquote of my mother to bring it full circle and mock the Catholic Church. Although my mother meant well, the lesson serves that greater damage is done with misquoted/out-of-context statements. Moral of the story: The road to hell is paved with the best intentions.

losing weight

There is a huge amount of difference with what is the Protestant mentality on losing weight and the Catholic mentality. This mentality is typical in Protestantism in many other facets, not just weight loss.

Everything in the Protestant religion is based around doing things quick and fast, with the least amount of hard work necessary. It begins with the basis of the religion itself - salvation. For Protestants, they don't have to work for their salvation. It was all done for them when Our Lord died on the cross. How far from the truth!

But back to the topic at hand - Protestants seem to like good results without putting in hard work. Their culture is rooted in it, from their style of dressing to the meals they cook (or don't cook!). If you want to loose weight, you take pills. Don't bother exercising and eating healthy. If you want to buy food, you eat from a can or get drive-thru. If you want to go to Heaven, all you have to do is believe in "Jesus" (parenthesis put here since their version of Jesus is very different from Our Lord Jesus Christ).

I realize not all Protestants are like this, and it's not good to make generalizing statements but these reflect them as a community.