The persuasion of a ‘lapsed Protestant’

This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column.

Michael Commane

I’ve been working as a hospital chaplain for five years and I’m forever saying that what I hear and see every day is certainly the topic for a book. It’s time to start.

The philosophy, theology, the common sense, the stories that I hear from people every day have filled my head with wonder.

I have a list of questions that I don’t ask patients. I never ask a patient what religion they are, nor do I ask them what their occupation is or whether or not they are married. In my job I think it’s important that I don’t put labels on people. It’s a matter of both of us meeting one another as if our stories are beginning at that moment for each of us. The conversation can flow from there and if the story unfolds, well and good.

When it comes to religious classification I was somewhat bemused when someone said to me that they were a ‘lapsed Protestant’. I’d never heard that before and certainly not in a hospital context. Of course I‘ve often heard the term ‘lapsed Catholic’, at least, that was when far fewer people were walking away from the institution.

On a few occasions people have said to me that they are ‘of another persuasion’. When I hear it I feel as if my feet are stuck to the floor. It is said in a sense of kindness and politeness but I keep wondering how really different is our ‘persuasion’.

Only recently before heading to the hospital chapel to celebrate Mass someone used that term to me. I can only presume the person was a Protestant. 

It set me thinking about the Eucharist and what exactly their views and opinions are on the Catholic understanding of the sacrament. Indeed, my mind went off racing and I was asking myself what does the Eucharist mean to Catholics? Ok, that could bring us down a long road of theological discourse.

Then again, what exactly are the distinguishing features that separate Catholics and Protestants? I’ve often been told in order to get a full picture of the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist one would need to be familiar with the metaphysics of Aristotle and his understanding of categories. The theology of grace is another conundrum that divides us. I’m thinking of all these matters that divide us and most of us have not a clue about what we are talking. 

Better said, these issues have no real meaning for the majority of Christians. The ideas and prejudices we have about one another make no sense and are most unhealthy. Mark Twain’s comment: ‘The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also’ is worth a moment of thought.

From my five years working as a hospital chaplain I’ve learned the importance of accepting people where they are, listening to them, trying to walk in their shoes, making a genuine effort to appreciate the stories of their lives. And isn’t it only in that context that any sort of genuine conversation can take place?

Come to think of it, we are all of different ‘persuasions’. And I always find it intriguing when people tell me they are ‘lapsed’. I’m never quite sure what it means. Scratch the surface and you will be surprised at the wealth of wonder and faith you might find.