Something has really been bothering me lately. I was raised Catholic, and my fiance and I have decided to have a Catholic ceremony so that my family friend, who has married almost everyone in my family, including my parents, could marry us. And every time the wedding comes up, people ask where it is. When I answer, "Saint Joseph's Catholic Church!" people freeze up. It's like I said I was having it in a pool, or a public restroom, or Dante's fifth level of hell. Here are some responses I've gotten.

"Oh. OH! It's a Catholic service. That's...nice. Right?"

"Ah. What's that going to be like?"

"Do I have to memorize all your prayers, like, the ones to Mary?!"

"Oh man, your poor guests. Sit, stand, kneel! You better warn them. Ha Ha!"

(It's actually not funny, but thank you.)

I am getting sidetracked. This article is not in defense of Catholic weddings. It is in defense of Catholicism. See, I understand that I live in the Bible Belt, and that to other religions, Catholics are the strict aunts and uncles you see once a year at holidays, who yell at you to take your shoes off as soon as you come in and slip in remarks all evening like "In my opinion, children should be seen and not heard." And that's just not it at all.

It hurts me to see the false perception people have about the Catholic religion. So, here are some clarifying facts and tidbits.

1. We do not worship Mary, you fools.

For the 80 thousandth time, no, we do not worship Mary as Jesus. However, the Catholic church admires her willingness to follow the word of god, and she is the woman who delivered the son of god, so we believe she deserves some attention and admiration. She is a prime example of servitude, sacrifice and loving and trusting god without question. But no, no, no, we do not worship Mary.

"But what about the prayers to Mary?"

We are Catholics, people, we have prayers to everyone. All the saints and archangels, I mean; most of the VIPs up there. When I lose things, I still repeat the prayer my grandmother taught me: "Dear Saint Anthony, come around. Something is lost that can't be found." This is because Saint Anthony helps us to find or recover lost things. Where does it originate? I don't know, man. But just because we have prayers to other holy figures does not mean we have named them our savior.

In fact, catholics have three types of worship.

Latria – this is adoration which is given to god alone. Giving this type of worship to anyone else is considered to be a mortal sin and it is the idolatry condemned in the Bible.

Hyperdulia – this is a special type of worship given to Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is only given to her and it is not considered to be idolatry as it is not adoration, merely reverence.

Dulia – this is the special type of worship given only to the saints and angels/ It is also not idolatrous as it, too, is a form of reverence.

(Source: listverse.com, Jamie Frater)

2. We are Christians.

In fact, Catholics are the first Christians. When reading over early Christian writings, you can see that their doctrines and teachings are the same as the Catholic church's today. You hear of bishops, virgins living in community (nuns), priests, confession, baptism of infants, the Bishop of Rome as head of the Christian religio, and reverence for the saints. The Lutheran, Methodist and Baptist churches are all branches of the mother religion: Catholicism.

3. We are not mean, rigid, opposed to change, or unaccepting.

My grandparents, the most Catholic people I know, are generally liberal. They talk of changes that need to be made in the church. They love Pope Francis' openness and the progress he's made. They spend their lives saying "Who am I to judge?" (Granted, this usually comes after passing around a juicy or biting piece of gossip, but that is not because they're Catholic, it's because they're Italian.)

I spoke to my dad today about this, and he said something very true: "You know, the Catholic church doesn't have prejudices against other religions like they have against us." And it's true. Once, on a mission trip with a "non-denominational" church, we were working on houses and a few people went out to evangelize. Upon return, they told tales of running into "three atheists...and a Catholic."

*GASP* NOT A CATHOLIC!

But honestly, I knew what they meant immediately. I knew what was said about us. However, I grew up in the Catholic church, and I have no deep-seeded feelings about any other religion that have stemmed from this upbringing. It's not that I don't have any; however, these feelings have been gleaned from a lifetime of my own experiences, not prejudice in the church.

I just wanted to remind everyone that we are people too. We are not overly strict, fire-breathing dragons who condemn people and hit children with rulers. We are a big family of wonderful, tender-hearted people.

However, I say with confidence that we are much more formal than most religions. It is unlikely that you'll see a rock band in a Catholic church. The priests wears robes. We are very reserved in our worship. There is a book given out each year with pre-planned readings, and our priest speaks on the gospel given; he is not allowed to choose just any scripture to work from.

Please do not confuse reverence with strictness, nor formality with rigidity. I am so proud of the way in which I grew up, and when people make judgements based on rumors or silly stereotypes it makes me feel like I should be ashamed of this big piece of me. Please don't stare when I make the sign of the cross after saying grace. Do not see my rosary as a hipster fashion accessory. And do not make assumptions about my loved ones, my holy family.

Thanks for listening! In no way am I saying that I'm being persecuted or treated unfairly, and I would not imagine comparing my struggle to the many larger racial and religious ones in America right now. I just wanted people to have a better idea of who we are and what we stand for.

Peace be with your spirits! Or, as my sister Alyssa says when that part of mass comes up, "Deuces fam."