Catholic Christianity

This Saturday I was able to leave the baby home with my husband while I went to my daughters’ softball game. I was actually able to sit in my chair, rather than chase my toddler around the ball field.

Neither of my girls were up at bat, so I was half-watching the game, half-reading an article in Catholic Digest about Walden Media’s upcoming “Prince Caspian”, when I was startled by a question.

“Are you a Christian?”

I had just finished the last sentence of the article, so I was not annoyed at the interruption.

I looked up at a tall, gentle-looking man.

Unthinking, I instantly answered, “Yes, I’m a Catholic.”

Then I wondered to myself, “Why did I just qualify my answer like that? Am I saying Catholic is a special brand of Christianity?”

So many things went on in my brain in the moment between registering the question and verbalizing an answer.

Why was he asking me this? I bet 90% of the people on this ball field consider themselves to be some kind of Christian. Must have seen the name of my magazine. But then he must have noticed it said “Catholic” Digest. Was he going to attempt to proselytize me into his Protestant sect?

“I noticed there was an article about prayer. That’s nice.”

“Yeah.”

Prayer is nice? What do you say to that? Why was he reading over my shoulder? I wasn’t even reading that article. I was reading about the movie producer.

Turns out he had two daughters on the team, just like me. They were the youngest of his brood of six children. He pointed to his older children, some in high school and one in college.

There was no more religious talk, and I was relieved. After all, I was here to enjoy the game, not get into a theological argument.

“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. . .A time to be silent, and a time to speak”
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b