Something I've noticed

I have noticed that bad Catholics -- those pew-sitters who dissent from certain moral teachings -- keep calling themselves good Catholics, or at least "good people." It's almost a psychological law that a bad conscience has to keep putting salve on itself to keep a sense of inner equilibrium.

Whereas, practicing Catholics -- those who accept the teachings even if they fall short of perfect daily implementation -- tend to call themselves bad Catholics. I don't mean they see themselves as literally evil, but the great majority of the orthodox Catholics I know, or have read, are very much concerned with how poorly they live their faith, not with how well.

It reminds me of Bishop Sheen's dictum that saints are like pianists who aspire to play like Rachmaninoff, not like their neighbour. The closer you approach inmitating Christ, the more your own imperfections stand out.

Stained glass windows show their flaws more at noon than at midnight.