Going to college for four years only to learn that there is no such thing as normal behavior is not normal behavior.
To the extent that I am “political”, I support candidates and policies that promote Catholic values. To the extent that I am “moral”, I am informed by Catholic ethics. To the extent that I am “dogmatic”, I worship and pray and believe by referring to Catholic doctrine. And here’s the thing: I actually do all this without asking for permission from anyone.
I honestly believe the wealthy “prosperity-gospel” preachers on TV are frauds. There are lots of reasons why serious Christians (I’m talking to you, Catholics) should avoid them. But for me, the most obvious reason is that these hucksters seem to be quoting from a Bible that never says anything about the hard challenges of authentic discipleship, even though the Bible I read is full of such passages.
I’m not a traditionalist. I don’t want to participate in Latin Masses. I just want Catholics to get the English-language Masses right. You know…reverence and beauty. That sort of thing. But mostly, I want our music and our preaching to focus on God rather than on ourselves.