My First Grade Catechism

New Age Spirituality and my first grade catechism are one and the same!  How can that be?  I have taken so much pride in, and been so self-satisfied with all of my reading and communicating with others, to learn about the new spirituality that has caught fire. Then, a “moment of clarity”.  I suddenly realize that the tenets of the spiritualists and those who study afterlife are exactly what the nuns in first grade were telling me more than 50 years ago!

Where is God?  God is everywhere.  So said the first sentence of the Baltimore catechism.  I remember it like it was yesterday, second only to:  See John; See John run; and so forth.  And now, in the 21^st century, as described and pondered by so many spiritualists, mediums, and healers, I have learned that God, although called or named many different things, is…everywhere. 

Those who believe in a higher spiritual being no longer envision a nice elderly man with long, wavy gray hair, shepherd staff in hand and flowing robes, hands held out to heal us.  They envision a powerful energy force or light force, which permeates all of creation and the universe, including our innermost selves, which is God, goodness, love, whatever name you choose to feel comfortable with, and it is…everywhere.  The irony does not escape me that it has taken me two to three years of fairly intense study and mindful consideration, to come to the same conclusion as what I was told in three words as a first grader. 

The difference is, of course, that at the age of six, in the good old days or happy days of the fifties, in conventional Catholic schools everywhere, we were told something, and we were to believe it.  Sisters and priests, as well as parents (amazing thought), could expect to say something and be heard and believed.  So, I did, although I think even back then I was skeptical and found it puzzling that this gray-haired man could be everywhere.  How could he be everywhere?  If he was with me, why didn’t I see him?  And, how did he float around up in the air, and how many millions of miles away was he? 

On the other hand, in my new studies which espouse that the universe is fathered and governed by a force of energy and goodness, this all makes so much sense, I wonder how others can not believe it.  Of course, the world, universe, and people consist of energy.  No one seems to dispute that.  But while there are all forms of energy studied and explained by physicists, astronomers, chemists, and doctors of many disciplines, I agree with those who believe there is also a core energy that is our mind and spirit, the driving force of life so to speak.  Taking it a step further, we are all part of this same force, either within our bodies, or, after carnal death, outside of our bodies.  And, taking the final step, it is this that connects us all, living and dead, and I think is what the Baltimore catechism called God.

 What is God?  God is love.  Of course!  I knew that.  Why have we humans been trying to explain love, define love, find love, curse love, from the beginning of time?  Easy answer is, we got it mixed up with lust…that really confused everything.  Taking lust and sex out of the equation, what does love consist of?  It is an intangible force, is not created by human hands, and once present cannot be destroyed by human hands.  It does not begin or end, it just “is”.  It connects all who embrace it, and the more it is embraced and believed in, the more it envelops our existence.  It supersedes every aspect of the human condition, often felt more strongly and believed in more fiercely in the darkest of earthly situations.  It is often understood so much better by the youngest children than the most educated scholars.  It does not require physical presence, or proof of being.  It is what makes us human, and seems to be what makes life worthwhile. 

Taken within the context of romantic love, true romantic love, it promotes us to our “best selves”.  Our best selves being someone who is giving, honest, sincere, and totally unselfish, maybe the one time when we feel almost “godlike” because of the ethereal feelings inside us, and the confidence that there is something so good about being alive.  The other love that is so tangible and irrefutable, is of course a parent’s love for their child.  Again, mere humans are transformed into beings that embrace a passion they have never felt before.  There are numerous “moments of awareness”, of a parent’s emotionality, love, caring, in which someone can say, “aah, this is what life is all about”.  So, I think, the final analysis of this three word answer, is simply that God, being love, is our humanity, our reason for living.

Who is God?  God is the Supreme Being who made us in His image and likeness.  What could be more simple?  Now, again, this becomes complicated if you are trying to think that our bodies were molded from clay or some poor man’s rib, so we could resemble the gray haired guy with the robe and shepherd staff.  I had to take it at face value when I was a kid.   But, following my beliefs in energy/light/ positive force, it’s not so hard to think about me having at least potential or some small part of this god persona within me. 

I don’t really care if my body has evolved from apes or some sort of primate, or somehow formed as part of a cataclysmic explosion which transformed energy into matter, my body is what it is, and will eventually be gone. But the thought of my soul being a reflection of something good, positive, and full of light and love, once again, starts to make some sense.  It makes sense to me because in an earth-life that is often difficult, sometimes sad, and often noticeably fleeting, I know there must be something that inspires me to keep on going, to do better, and to learn more.  In learning the day’s events of a world that very often seems dark and bleak, there has to be something to balance out the universe, and I think that comes in the form of good people.  Coming full circle again, it is the collective spirit within these good people that makes God visible to me.

 So these thoughts are a small example of my revelation regarding first grade catechism, so simply presented and taught, and learned without daring to question.  After months and years of soul searching, reading, learning, listening, and pondering, I have come full circle.  I like it better that I have taken the time to learn it on my own, that in some small way I understand it better.  What I didn’t expect was for it to make so much sense and seem so logical to me, and for it to be so comforting.  Yes, we are God, God is love, and love is everywhere, for those of us who are willing to search for and recognize it.