As a child of a hippie, single, 100% Sicilian mama, naturally, I grew up Catholic. Although my mama raised me Catholic, taught Catechism, and participated in our local Parish, she did not shove religion down my throat.
Instead, she reminded me that it’s about a personal relationship with God, that it is an individual choice, and that the path is a spiritual one. My mom taught me to follow what Jesus had commanded his disciples to do because the Kingdom of God, he said, was to be found deep down within our Spirit, not through man-made laws.
After my mom passed away, I vowed to carry on her legacy to my sons. I taught Catechism for many years for both of my sons, and my husband and I were very involved with our local parish volunteering for everything and anything including the annual fair which we loved to be a part of.
It was a good time in our family’s lives and because of our commitment to our Parish community, we received a ton of support from our Catholic church members for our business as we got off the ground. It was not our intent, but it surely was a happy side effect to grow into a profitable family business as a direct result of our dedication to service.
According to experts at Catholic Answers, “The word pope comes from the Latin papa, meaning father. In the Catholic Church, the pope serves as the spiritual father and servant leader of the universal Church (Matt. 23:11). As the Bishop of Rome, he holds the highest teaching authority, safeguarding Catholics in faith and morals under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, i.e., when teaching in a definitive manner.
The Pope’s Role in the Church
Catholics believe the pope continues the mission of Saint Peter, whom Jesus Christ made the foundation of his Church. As Jesus declares in Matthew 16:18,
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.”
In saying these words, Jesus establishes Peter’s unique role among the apostles, and he also guarantees the Church will endure until his Second Coming. To accomplish this mission, Jesus institutes a visible leadership structure founded on Peter and the other apostles (Eph. 2:19-20), one which continues in their apostolic successors (Acts 1:15-26; see Isa. 22:15-25),”.
Furthermore, the BBC writes about why the Pope is important to the Catholic Church, saying, “The papacy is an additional source of authority for Catholics. While many Catholics often turn to the Bible for guidance, they are also able to turn to the teachings of the pope.
The pope is important as he represents a direct line back to Jesus. In this sense, Catholics see Jesus as being present in the papacy.
The papacy has been very politically active throughout history. One aim of the modern papacy is to tackle injustice and poverty,”.
What is the relationship between individual and God?
Because my mom taught me that my spiritual life was a personal relationship between an individual and God, that my journey in this life was to grow in the likeness of Jesus’ teachings and to love others as He loved us, I was able to trust people in the rooms of Twelve-step recovery.
People in the rooms talk about a Higher Power, a Supreme Being, a Creator, a God of our own understanding – it made me feel welcome, loved, understood, and hopeful. They were inclusive, never exclusive, and said they would love me until I could learn to love myself. Here was hope, a new way to travel and one that felt “right.” I felt as though I was home at last.
Bible Study Tools writes about how the Kingdom of God is within us by noting, “It is a challenging spiritual concept to grasp, one that confused the disciples and continues to stump Christians today. Adding to this promise of living in God’s kingdom is Luke’s inspiring statement that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Jesus’ teachings about God within us contrasted sharply with the extensive body of rules to follow in the Jewish Torah. In the first century after Jesus’ death, Luke and Paul wrote to the early church, attempting to explain the meaning of the kingdom of God is with you,”.
In a well-known recovery book that I feel was Divinely written, there are personal stories in the back where people share how they came to a new relationship with their Creator, with God.
One of my favorites is written by a woman author who titled her story “The Keys to the Kingdom,” and this following paragraph caused me to weep with peace in my heart, hope in my thoughts, and love in my actions. It still sends chills through my body each time I read it.
This author writes exactly how I felt when I first read the book, “I stayed up all night reading that book. For me it was a wonderful experience. It explained so much I had not understood about myself, and, best of all, it promised recovery it I would do a few simple things and be willing to have the desire to drink re-moved. Here was hope. Maybe I could find my way out of this agonizing existence. Perhaps I could find freedom and peace, and be able once again to call my soul my own.
Now there is a sense of belonging, of being wanted and needed and loved. In return for a bottle and a hangover, we have been given the Keys of the Kingdom,”.
What does inclusion teach us?
The sense of belonging, being wanted and needed, has completely transformed my life. To add to my sense of belonging and knowing in my heart, I was finally on the right path, the Eleventh Step prayer comes from the Catholic Saint Francis of Assisi in the Prayer for Peace, which asks the God of his understanding the following:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
I was taught that when we are on the path the God of our understanding wants us to be on, there are no more coincidences; rather, “God-winks,” and this prayer was a huge God-wink for me because it was my mom’s favorite prayer.
I wept again, releasing all my prejudices against religion, anger, and doubts, knowing that the God of my understanding was with me and my mom was, too, even though she had been deceased for more than ten years at that point. Hope is a wonderful thing!
Why is the Pope important to the Catholic Church
In conclusion, the Pope’s role is vital to the Catholic Church, providing spiritual guidance, unity, and leadership to millions of Catholics worldwide. The Pope’s influence extends beyond religion, impacting global issues and promoting peace.