For most of my life, I have been more of a cultural Catholic than a practicing Catholic.
I gave my life to the Lord at a very young age, but I never learned a lot about my Catholic faith. This was true even through my confirmation, which I completed in the sixth grade. I am of the generation that our religious education classes were focused on “God is love” and not very much on how God teaches and forms that love in us through the sacraments of the Catholic Church. As my wife and I raised our children, they participated in faith formation classes in our parish, but we never had the more recent formation ourselves.
That began to change when a friend invited me to pray with the Liturgy of the Hours almost 20 years ago. I started to read letters from the fathers and doctors of the Church. This continued to evolve when our children started to have Catholic doctrine classes in their school, which was a Christian nondenominational school. Through conversations with our children about what they were learning, our desire to learn more about the faith we claimed started to increase. We became more involved in our parish life. I became a lector and an extraordinary Eucharistic minister and have been serving in these roles for more than 15 years. I served on our parish council for eight years. Through that time, I have been learning more about the grace, blessing and richness of our faith tradition and sacraments.
I began to realize that when I engaged in discussions about faith and religion, I was embarrassingly unable to explain why I am Catholic. When I was pressed with questions about why I believe confession to a priest is necessary, why infants are baptized, why confirmation as a young adult takes place over a two-year formation, and whether the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Jesus, I would flounder to give a good answer. I would often ultimately say, “It is what I believe to be true.” I started to think about reading apologetics but never made the time.
When my wife and I listened to the “Bible in a Year” podcast, this deepened our understanding of the tenets of our faith — for example, why we do what we do to celebrate the Mass and the meaning behind different parts of the Mass. We started listening to the “Catechism in a Year” podcast, and the desire to discuss this with others became overwhelming. Therefore, my wife and I decided we should finally participate in The St. Paul Seminary Catechetical Institute in St. Paul. I wanted to better understand why we (Catholics) worship God the way we do. I want my faith to be from the depth of my heart, not simply mechanics that have been passed on to me. This experience has led to greater understanding of the sacraments.
We have authority and responsibility to live in apostolic mission, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. That is why I am Catholic.
Bittner, 56, is the parish administrator and a parishioner of St. Bonaventure in Bloomington. He and his wife, Christine, have been married for 36 years. The Bittners enjoy Sunday “Family Day” visits with their five children and 11 grandchildren and outdoor activities including hiking in the mountains and long walks.
