Here at Clarifying Catholicism, we like to have a little fun and get creative sometimes (even though Theology is, of course, ALWAYS fun). Nick Jones, our resident expert in memes, has creatively compiled a smorgasbord of the best that the Catholic community has offered in December 2019. It is because of his creativity and steadfast efforts that we confer upon him the title of “Meme Maker.” He hopes to one day attain the rank of Meme Lord, or perhaps even the coveted Meme Master…
by Nick Jones, Meme Maker
“Give me a soul that knows not boredom, nor grumbling, sighs and laments, nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called I. Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor. Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke and discover in life a bit of joy, and to be able to share it with others. ” -from a prayer by Saint Thomas More, English Martyr. Here we have the perfect introduction to this listicle. Even as our world reels from the wound of sin, we know that it is still good. We know that there are joys and consolations in life. One of the best of these is humor. Everybody loves a great joke. To me, some of the best jokes are those about the things I care the most about. Likewise, to me, memes are some of the most effective means of expressing humor. The amount of shared culture which becomes implicitly integrated into the minds of those who view the memes is remarkable. Man has always been a symbolic creature, and memes help reinforce that reality. They evoke a certain unspoken feeling, indescribable and yet common to those familiar with them. They manage to express fundamental truths in a much more down-to-earth sort of way than a Catechism, for example. Bearing all this in mind, Catholic memes are very near and dear to my heart, because of their humor and the universal truths they proclaim. Without further ado, and in no particular order, I present some of the best Catholic memes that I’ve seen lately. Note that when no source listed, it’s because I couldn’t find one for the meme. Clarifying Catholicism IN NO WAY intends to take credit for any of these memes.
Credit: SpongeBob memes with Catholic themes, on Facebook
We start here with an absolute zinger! It’s easy to fall into a mentality where we consider certain habitual sins “just venial” and dismiss them, underselling the reality of their nature. We know that in the Garden, Christ was agonized as He saw every sin that had or would take place. Our sin, no matter how seemingly slight, both grieves Him deeply and offends His righteous justice.
Credit: Catholic Memes, on Facebook
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve had to pray Grace Before Meals as Grace during Meals, my mouth full of food. It’s always a great practice to be mindful of the bounty of God’s Providence, whereby He gives us every necessary temporal good which we are privileged enough to receive.
Credit: Catechesis Memes, on Facebook
Modern rules for fasting and abstinence for Roman Catholics have doubtlessly never been easier to follow. In the United States, we are obliged to slightly alter our diet, going meatless, only seven times throughout the whole year, on Ash Wednesday, as well as all the Fridays between it and Easter. We have to sacrifice the equivalent of roughly 1.5 meals only twice, fasting only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We’d all do well to consider making abstinence our Friday penance and to try to incorporate more fasting into our spiritual lives.
Credit: SpongeBob memes with Catholic themes, on Facebook
Another zinger! Consider Our Lord’s message in the synagogue of Nazareth, as found in Luke 4:16-21. Without Christ, we are truly oppressed and held captive by our sin. Without Him, we have no hope of salvation. But despite our iniquity, no matter how deeply bogged down we are in sin, He comes for us every day. We ought to work to root out sin, so as to not defame the great gift of salvation we’ve received from Him.
Source unknown
Ash Wednesday is always an awkward day for non-Catholics. But, it can also be a great opportunity for evangelization, even if it doesn’t have a verbal aspect. The best thing we can do when we have ashes on our heads is not to flaunt it, but rather to accept humbly what they symbolize, our own mortality.
Credit: @litcatholicmemes, on Instagram
Everyone always likes to judge that one person whose phone goes off during Mass, until they themselves are that person. All of us would do well to just look at our phones as were kneeling down and ensure they’re shut off. When someone’s phone does inevitably ring, try to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Credit: @litcatholicmemes, on Instagram
Good priests, as good fathers, seem to have a knack for Dad Jokes or puns. Depending upon your humorous tastes, Father is either the next great comedic mind in show business or is as cringey as your dad when he sees his buddy in the supermarket. No matter what, let’s all pray for our priests, so that they will unwaveringly preach the Faith with joy and deference to the truth.
Credit: @thesimplecatholic, on Instagram
Short, sweet, and to the point. I like this one because it expresses something that a lot of people miss today. The fullness of Truth, as revealed by the Almighty to man, can only be found in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Any attempts to find Jesus, no matter how sincere, will be incomplete without coming into the only Church He Himself established.
Credit: SpongeBob memes with Catholic themes, on Facebook
The Word of God as revealed to man is expressed in two fundamentally important ways, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. These to work in tandem, perfectly complementing one another without any contradiction. Those communities of believers who eschew Sacred Tradition are missing a huge part of the Faith. It’s worth noting that the earliest beliefs of both the Jews in the Old Testament and the Christians in the New were proclaimed and safeguarded originally as oral, Sacred Tradition. They didn’t have the luxury of the ubiquity of books.
Source unknown
I’d like to leave this list on a simple note. Just because it’s Lent, it doesn’t mean we need to stop discerning marriage. If your date is concerned with observing the Precepts of the Church on the date, then you’re already in great shape!
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