No Puppets

I went to church today. I went to church and really enjoyed it. You might not like this, if you're anti-religion, but maybe read it anyways. I'm not saying you have to agree or like it or even care.. but the message I heard today actually made me think. I'm not shoving my religion down your throat.. and you'll know that by the time you get down to the end.

Two questions that made our visiting priest decide to go to the seminary.

1. Why is there something when there could be NOTHING?
2. Why do I exist when I could not exist? 

He said he questioned these things in eleventh grade. That was the first thing that made me think. What the heck was I thinking about in eleventh grade?

Short list:

Boys (Jordan)

Colleges

AP Classes

Chores

Nail Polish

Shoes

I definitely wasn't weighing out huge theological questions with philosophical conversations over a cappuccino at Starbucks. I thought about which assignments I could ignore and still squeak by the next day. I thought about what I wanted to write for my next article for the paper.. but no. I didn't weigh out the questions of why we exist or why something is something instead of nothing.

He explained how the closest answer he got to why we exist is for love. God created us because he wanted us to love. We should love one another, love our neighbors, our brothers, our sisters, honour our fathers and mothers, and love our God. We exist to love. He explained that the greatest love we will ever know is the love of God, but it's something we have to find for ourselves. We SHOULD have doubt. We should as QUESTIONS. We should Doubt.

God did not create us to be puppets. He created us to love him. He wanted lovers not puppets. We were not created to blindly follow the paved path. We have to carve our own path by asking our questions, having our doubts and seeking the answers.


It was the first sermon since I've come home where I haven't really spaced out or been bored (I know that's pretty bad). It was the first time someone completely held my attention, and it's because for once I wasn't feeling alienated for having questions, doubts, or being unsure. It was the first time that I've been in a Catholic Church where my priest is saying, "It's okay to have doubts, because He made us so that we would."  I don't feel like a reject of the Church anymore.. because I'm not supposed to feel guilty that I have questions. Granted, I'm not so sure I'll ever get answers to my questions... but it's nice to know that it's okay to have them.