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and faithful to the Magisterium. Don't be afraid to question but remember that you can learn as much from conservative Catholics as from liberal ones. Actually, you can learn more from conservatives because they challenge your assumptions and biases. If you were conservative to begin with, I'd advise you to listen more to liberals! That does not mean I think everyone should be moderate. As Jim Hightower says, there's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos. Joking aside, it does mean we should listen to each other and not dismiss anyone's views without hearing them and considering them.
No surprisingly, the Catholics I most admire include a lot of people like Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Sr. Joan Chittister, and all the priests, religious, and laity who put themselves on the line for God, demonstrating against violence and being arrested and imprisoned for it, working with the poor, the sick, the lonely. Naturally I respect the work of the Catholic Worker Catholics and the Pax Christi Catholics, but I also see some loopy stuff going on on the left; as with a magnet, the opposite poles attract some loose screws as well as the pure bits of ore like St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis of Assisi, two of my favorite saints.
I also admire every ordinary Catholic who lets his faith make him a better person in his home and at his workplace, and who looks for ways to serve others. We're called to be saints but many work hard to be holy but they never try to act holier than thou and don't make a splash about what they do. I suppose this is where the Little Flower (St. Therese of Lisieux) has her niche, since she preached about doing ordinary things well out of love for God. You don't hear much about ordinary Catholics but every now and then you catch a fellow parishioner doing something wonderful, without even seeming to realize what a great work of mercy she is doing.
Welcome to the Catholic Church! It's not perfect but it's real, as the rabbit in "The Velveteen Rabbit" became real through being loved very much. :hug:
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