Catholics have the fullness of truth, the awe of all things beautiful and ownership of everything that is good, but this spectator remains humbled by how much better other religions put these ideals into practice. For example:
1. Taking time for prayer
Our Muslim brothers and sisters dominate the skies with prayer storms on a daily basis. Salah, the Muslim practice of formal worship, is prayer practiced five times a day for any Muslim who has reached puberty and is in a state of ritual purity. This very intentional approach to prayer pleases Allah and it makes the average Catholic like me seem like a spiritual slacker.
However, if you pray the Liturgy of the Hours, you pray seven times a day… just sayin’.
2. Face-to-face evangelization
Jehovah’s Witnesses take on a huge ministry that has gathered many to their congregation. Their site explains quite simply:
“Jesus told his followers to ‘make disciples of people of all the nations.’ (Matthew 28:19, 20) When he sent out his early disciples, Jesus directed them to go to the homes of the people. After Jesus’ death, first-century Christians continued to spread their message both ‘publicly and from house to house.’ We follow the example of those early Christians and find that the door-to-door ministry is a good way to reach people.” (source)If you’re like me, you’re probably on their “don’t knock on this Catholic guy’s door” list. But regardless, their ministry is quite impressive.
3. Reading the Bible
Most Protestants I know are Bible geniuses. Many have an incredible mental capacity which allows them to keep several verses from the Bible (including chapter and verse numbers) in their long-term memory far longer than the majority of their Catholic brothers and sisters.
However, this trend is changing among the Catholic faithful. Since Vatican II, the Catholic laity has experienced a renewal in their Bible study practices, especially since so many protestant converts have had such a good influence on us cradle Catholics recently.
4. Fasting
Once again, it is the Muslims that outshine the Catholic faithful. They take fasting to another level, especially during Ramadan. This time of fasting lasts an entire month and consists of eating a small breakfast (iftar), a medium-sized diner and a light pre-dawn meal (sahur). In between meals, they cannot allow anything besides their own saliva to be swallowed:
“During this month of fasting, from dawn to sunset, from dawn until dark, the Muslim will not put a drop of water or food in his or her mouth. Nor will that Muslim feed the hunger of sex during the daylight hours. Out of our love for Almighty God Allah and obedience to what He has ordered for us in the Holy Qur’an we carry out His discipline.”
5. Understanding Missions as part of one’s spirituality
When it comes to actual mission work, nobody matches the Catholic Church’s ardent zeal to go where no man has gone before and spread the good news. However, when stressing the importance of missions in each person’s spiritual journey, the Mormons have everyone beat . While Catholics are encouraged to serve their local parishes, Mormons put a special emphasis on participating in missions:
“We affirm that missionary work is a priesthood duty—and we encourage all young men who are worthy and who are physically able and mentally capable to respond to the call to serve.” (source)5 Things that Catholics do better than other religions
1. Honoring those that Jesus honors
Jesus gave us a huge gift in His Mother, Mary. Since Jesus was perfect in his obedience toward the Mosaic law, then it is obvious that He honored His Father and Mother. We imitate Jesus by honoring Mary and others that He honored, like the Apostles and the Saints, with every prayer of intercession we utter.
While Muslims, too, honor the Blessed Virgin, the spiritual community that calls her Queen, namely Catholics, reigns supreme by giving eternal glory to the King.
2. Organization
2,000 years of Catholic generations could never have survived if our leaders would have been willy-nilly, spur of the moment planners. Through the development of the Liturgical calendar, the ecclesiastical hierarchy, formation programs and proper catechesis, the members of the Catholic Church are the longest lasting echo of 1 Corinthians 14:33 in that Our God is a God of order.
3. Redemptive Suffering
The Way of the Cross is kind of our thing. We love Calvary. We watch the Passion of Christ and whimper like tiny babies. We read the biography of any Saint and are not surprised when the first line reads “He gave away all of his money and sold all of his possessions to help the poor.” We believe we can help heal the world by suffering for it. It is a paradoxical, crazy idea, but Christ Himself showed us how it was done and we follow suite every time we offer prayer and sacrifice for the redemption of sinners.
4. Liturgy
Giving “right praise” to God is our religion’s main concern. Hence, the ancient tradition of the Holy Mass is of the utmost importance. This communal conversation between God and His children is the channel by which we become connected to God’s grace. While contemplating His word and eating His Body and Blood, we envelope our souls with the Gospel like a warm quilt on a cold, winter’s day.
5. We have an extensive vocabulary