Those who, as far as their civil status is concerned, stand in relation to one an other as masters and slaves, inasmuch as they are members of the one Church have become brothers and sisters—this is how Christians addressed one another… Even if external structures remained unaltered, this changed society from within. When the Letter to the Hebrews says that Christians here on earth do not have a permanent homeland, but seek one which lies in the future (cf. Heb 11:13–16; Phil 3:20), this does not mean for one moment that they live only for the future: present society is recognized by Christians as an exile; they belong to a new society which is the goal of their common pilgrimage and which is anticipated in the course of that pilgrimage.

– Pope Benedict XVI

The best and worst thing to happen to Christian development has not been the church or churches, but the cultural baggage that attached itself to them. The church should be a standalone existence outside the temporal norms of individual societies. The Catholic Church has been around for thousands of years through vast human development across the entire globe. It’s remarkable, truly. I don’t know for certain how much of the old church is still present today, but enough of it is that it feels and operates like none of it ever happened.

I’m no fan of rituals, as they created a false way of worship that fools people into believing in the ritual themselves, their supposed power, and not what truly matters, namely an honest genuine relationship with God that doesn’t require anything other than participation in that relationship. Yet, I keep returning to the church and more so every year. Am I running back to home base like in the game of tag? Am I nostalgic for my Catholic roots? Maybe a little of both, but intellectually I’m seeing a soundness in how the church has played the long game.

It’s record is far from perfect, which means the institution is not perfect, hence a human one and not as divine as it deems itself to be, for only a divine place of God can be without fault. Putting blame on individuals and cultural times of each era is only a copout. The church cannot have it both ways, claim infallibility and divine perfectness, but turn a blind eye to its historic mishaps.

Christian’s must reclaim the unity that was the original impetus. One God. One Church. One People.

This doesn’t mean being part of the same church per se, but the same family of believers. Christians are a whole, just like the Jews. Jews are Jews and they are one. How beautiful is that? We are not Jews, we are something else, but equally important; not more or less, but equal. The comparison between Jews and Christians is because we share the same God, the one true God, that’s it, no need to overanalyze it. They do it their way and we do it ours. There are those that convert to Judaism, but I’m not convinced that’s possible. If you are not born of Jewish blood or married into it how can you be considered a Jew? Not for me to comment as it’s not my culture, but theirs to rule over.

We must all be a part of ‘the pilgrimage’ to God.

God is the goal, that is that. Seek Him out. Find Him. Embrace Him. Allow Him into your being. Align your being with His. You can achieve this by still being yourself. Be a part of the family, whilst remaining who God made you to be. Remove the cultural bullshit, but keep the intent of unity. Don’t claim to be a Christian, actually be one, and proud to call yourself one.

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