_
Caelin Niehoff is a sophomore at DePaul University pursuing a degree in American Studies. Caelin is an Interfaith Scholar and is involved with Catholic Campus Ministry at DePaul.
_
I am a Christian; more specifically, I identify with and practice the Roman Catholic faith tradition. My Catholic “roots” so to speak, came from my grandmother. My grandmother’s experience of Catholicism, however, has been quite different from my own. Growing up in Limerick, Ireland, my grandmother’s encounter with Catholicism was the sight of her strong willed, younger sister receiving physical and verbal punishment from nuns in a classroom. Her experience of Catholicism was the rejection from priests in Perry Square who would not give her mother food. Juxtaposed to this, my grandmother also had positive experiences with the Irish, Catholic Community. Her fondest memories are those of Vincentian priests giving her candy; “they always remembered us children. We were poor, it was all we knew, but they knew we were children all the same”, she would say.
My grandmother’s Catholic history is uniquely different from my own, but I think the important fact is to note this difference. It is my perception and experience that Catholics experience Catholicism and interact with Catholicism in a variety of ways. I, myself, have had a dynamic faith journey as a Catholic that I strongly feel will continue to mold and change overtime.
Something else that I think is important to note is the fact that my grandmother no longer considers herself Catholic; at present, she considers herself a born again Christian. Since her re-visitation of Christianity, my grandmother has been an inspirational person of faith within my personal life. She has told me, “Caelin, God has given you such beautiful gifts; he has a great plan for you”. It is words and thoughts such as these that not only spiritually connect me with my grandmother, but also inspire me to further my relationship with God.
For a long time I assumed our faiths, my grandmothers and my own, to be analogous. Yet, hypocritically, I had never been to her church. I had never before placed myself the environment that culminated her present, Christian faith. That changed this past, winter-break. She was absolutely thrilled when I told her that I would like to join her one Sunday. In all honesty, I thought that it wasn’t that big of a deal. I thought to myself, “we go, we sing, there’s some scripture, a little Jesus and grandma time, it’ll be great”.
Sitting in the pew next to my grandmother, from the instant we sat down, I realized I was that Catholic. I instantly fell into the Catholic stereotypes: I was quite, I prayed to myself, I read through the liturgy… I was disciplined, focus, above all serious, and mentally prepared for an hour and a half of ritual. Well, I was in for a ride. People were charismatic and wanted to know my name and why I was so tall and my grandmother so small and they wanted to hug me and talk with me and oh smiling, so much smiling! The songs were not out of a large bound book, but rather projected up on a screen at the front of the church (I really should have brought my glasses). A band played at the front, where I expected an altar to be. People clapped and cheered and waved their hands. My grandmother’s shy demeanor faded as she bounced back and forth in her seat. The pastor needed no microphone as he spoke of salvation and physically interacted with the parishioners. People interacted with his sermon as they verbally shouted, “YES!”, “Amen!” and “Thank you, Jesus”. I sat there thinking, “we’re free versing it?! Should I chime in if agree??” He led the group through a PowerPoint presentation and the group diligently took notes; I was so ill prepared, should I have brought a pen and paper? Needless to say, the experience was both new and surprising to me. At the end of the service, while somewhat dumbfounded, I was all in all happy; I felt warmth inside of me that I do not think could have been culminated without being present in that moment.
Being a person of Interfaith, I was somewhat embarrassed by what I would consider unawareness to faith diversity within my own family. My mother is the director of a Lutheran preschool and I have attended the services of worship of several different faith communities, but rarely have I attended a non-Catholic, Christian one. Why was I so surprised and mentally ill-prepared for the service? Was I really ill-prepared or should one go into these types of experiences ready to be challenge and surprised? Was I quicker to judge my grandmother’s faith practices than those of other faiths? I think that my experience serves as a reminder of something that I consider a vital component of Interfaith: Intrafaith diversity. As a Catholic, the differences and disagreements within my own tradition are sometimes those of greatest struggle. I think it is important to acknowledge both difference and commonalities within faith communities, such as Christianity. My experience with my grandmother was new; there was much that I took was able to “take away” and reflect upon. I encourage others to think about the diversity not only within your own family, but also within one’s faith tradition, philosophy, or religious community.