Advantages of being Catholic

As you know from my blog name, I am a Catholic! I have been my whole life. I will admit that at age 14 and 15, I was going through a phase where I wanted to look at protestant churches. My parents were actually okay with me going to them as long as I made the Catholic Mass a priority. However, staying Catholic was definitely better for me, as I will let you know from what I have found to be advantages of being a Catholic!

1. The original Church. The first protestant church did not arise until the 1500s by Martin Luther, and back then being an atheist was unthinkable. Everyone was Catholic at the time, so you know your methods of worship best point to God (although when done well, many protestant services have been spiritually uplifting).
2. Similar readings and beliefs. The word "Catholic" means "Universial" (I believe it is Greek, but unsure.) The readings will be the same that week for every Catholic Mass in the world. For instance, if one Catholic Church is reading St. Mark 10:12-23 for the gospel, all the Catholic Churches in the world will that day.
3. You have easier access to your callings. As I have said in previous blog entries, only boys should serve and I think there should be an all-girl activity, such as "Handmaids of the Altar". There's no scripture banning altar girls (or requiring servers or handmaids, for that matter), but men and women are different, and this is clearly shown in the way God calls us to serve.
4. We have more role models. God is obviously the most important role model in our life, but he sent other people to help shape His creation up. We believe Mary prays for us on our behalf and that she was very generous. Back then, pregnancy out of wedlock was unthinkable and she suffered a lot of abuse not only during her pregnancy but by watching her son die on the cross. We also have saints who were so faithful that they allowed themselves to be martyred, saints who specialize in special care (such as St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows), and those not considered saints who were very devout with Christ (such as Mother Angelica). Although you can find a role model in a less formal way for anything, God has put these people on Earth to help us stay faithful regardless of any hardship we might endure. 
5. The connection of being Catholic. While there are different types of masses (such as Latin and Novus Ordo), we tend to find comfort in knowing someone else is Catholic. About a month before my grandmother passed away, she was in a behavioral help center in a hospital (not going into details why), but we saw a nurse who happened to also be Catholic. We prayed a rosary together and, a few days later she went unconscious, but we prayed a rosary around here and another nurse pointed out she was Catholic. Being connected to our medical team through our faith was such a blessing because chances are they have also lost a relative and chose to hang on to God during that time the way we were. 
6. The Sacrements. We have all the Christian Sacraments, such as Baptism, Confirmation, etc. We are able to confirm our faith in different ways, such as confirming what you believe as an adult Catholic (partially the point of Confirmation), recieving the actual Body and Blood of Jesus in our bodies at every Mass, and being able to admit our sins to a spiritual leader (a priest) and knowing our sins are forgiven. We are unspeakably honored to have such benefits.

In short, if you decide to be Catholic, I don't think you'll regret it. I offer my words simply as food for thought. Maybe God had you stumble on His page for some life-changing experiences.