I am a cradle Catholic, but when I was confirmed (and honestly before that) I chose to make my faith my own. There are many Sundays I drive myself to church because my dad and I have different work schedules. I've fallen in love with my faith, and I choose to be Catholic for more reasons than one. Here are a few of those reasons.

1. The Church is universal.

The word Catholic literally means universal. You can go almost anywhere in the world and have a Catholic church nearby to attend. The only struggle you might have is finding masses in your language depending on where you are. You know what else is awesome? Even if you go to mass across the world, you can be sure it is the same mass. With the Church, it’s the same tradition and the same belief everywhere.

2. It's available.

There isn’t only one mass time. The church I attend provides six English masses and two Spanish that go from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. All of them satisfy the Sunday obligation. Plus there are two times everyday for mass on weekdays. There are confession times every Saturday, and you can even schedule an individual time if you can’t make it then. The Church is completely available to everyone, and there is no excuse of being too busy.

3. Confession

Some people may see the sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) as more of a burden than a blessing. That is a surface level understanding of it. Confessing your sins to a priest is definitely difficult, but the overwhelming feeling of peace and relief afterwards makes it an amazing experience. I see it as our sin being chains that hold us down, and when we go to confession God is breaking our chains by using a welding iron so they melt and fall off. It’s going to be hot, and you might sweat a little beforehand, but you’ll be thankful that the chains are gone. I go to confession usually once a month or more on my own accord. You know what they say, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow.

4. The Eucharist

Catholics have a chance to fully receive Christ every time they go to mass and that’s incredible! It’s what makes mass so important. The bread and wine turn into the actual body and blood of Christ every time we go. There is nothing else like it. It’s a reminder of Jesus’ death on the cross and His unconditional love for us.

5. The Church has a team.

The Catholic Church recognizes an army of saints in heaven that are praying and fighting for us. Instead of there only being God and that is it, we can pray that saints (like Mary) intercede for us and our intentions. To intercede means to intervene on behalf of another. I see it as another voice in heaven asking for something to happen. It’s reassuring to know that heavenly beings are on our side and working for our good.

6. It has high expectations.

The Church takes sin seriously. We mentally address our sins and express sorrow for committing them every time before mass. We have to go to confession at least once a year, and immediately if we commit a mortal sin. We are not allowed to receive communion if we are in a state of mortal sin. It sounds (and sometimes feels like) a burden, but the truth is that we need these rules for guidance. These high expectations give us something to strive for. God knows that we will break the rules occasionally, but they are important. Without them, we risk becoming lax in our faith and okay with sin. In Revelation chapter 3, God makes his stance clear on becoming lax in our faith by saying, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” I'll take being held to high expectations over being spit out of God's mouth!

7. The Church allows some things to remain a mystery.

While providing resources upon resources on our faith and the Catholic perspective (like the Catechism, the Magisterium, the Bible), the Church embraces that, in our faith, some things will remain a mystery. I love that the Church provides so many answers, but it does not overstep or make things up. It knows where the boundaries of our current knowledge of God lie. The Eucharist is even referred to as “the mystery of faith.” Human beings will never fully understand God, his ways, and the world, but if we did- how could it be that great? I think it's amazing that we serve a God so incredible that His ways surpass our limits of understanding.