Being a Cradle Catholic means I was baptized into the Catholic faith while still in the cradle, which also means I’ve heard almost 20 years of stereotypes about the church from friends, family and just plain maliciously-intentioned people.

What really pulled the trigger in my mind was the misunderstanding of the meaning of the sacrifices Christians make during Lent.

Before I address that, however, I need to make it clear that one of the weirdest things I’ve encountered since coming to Bowling Green, is people saying that Catholics aren’t Christian. The definition of a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ and his teachings. I don’t know if this misconception started because of the stereotype that Catholics don’t read the Bible, but our faith is based on Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium, which is a college of bishops. We most certainly are Christian and definitely read the Bible (actually, we read passages during every mass). In fact, Catholics were the first Christians.

Now back to Lent, many people criticized others, saying their Lent promises weren’t good enough or sufficient.

First, the 40 days of Lent represent Jesus’ 40 days in the desert where he had nothing at all to eat. Nothing will ever come close to that kind of suffering, and nothing will come close to his sacrifice of death for us sinners.

Second, the point of giving up or doing something extra is not only to suffer as Jesus did during those 40 days, but to bring us closer to him as we await his resurrection on Easter. Regardless of how menial something someone gives up or does extra for Lent may seem, if that brings them closer to Jesus, then that’s what they need to do.

With that in mind, it’s important to always have the right intentions when fulfilling Lenten promises, to better yourself for God.

It’s also important to remember that everybody is at a different stage in their relationship with God. Some people are far more able to stick to a harsher sacrifice because of their relationship with Christ, but others may be struggling to keep a simple sacrifice. Quite honestly, I’m sick of society’s idea that we should base our self-worth on comparison with others. Someone else having a different struggle than you is never justification for judgment.

One of my favorite criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church is the fact that we wear the cross as a symbol of remembrance and reverence for Jesus’ sacrifice of dying on the cross to save us from our sins. I’ve heard it dozens of times: “Would you wear a guillotine if that’s how Jesus was put to death?”

I can’t speak for every Catholic or Christian, but yes, I would. Regardless of how Jesus was put to death, he was put to death for spreading God’s word and to save all of us from eternity without God. That’s a noble death that’s second to none.

However, Jesus dying on the cross specifically is important to His story. Death on the cross was a form of death worse than the guillotine, used to publicly humiliate someone. So, wearing a cross transforms a sign meant the humiliate Jesus (or a sign of death and defeat) to a sign used to honor Jesus (and a sign of life and victory).

My absolute favorite stereotype is that Catholics are a cult because of the way our mass is conducted, but cults worship human individuals, not God. Mass helps Catholics to celebrate God. I could go on for hours about the meanings of everything we do at mass, but I’ll summarize by saying everything—and yes I mean everything—we do in mass has a reason (yes even the sitting, kneeling, standing: repeating).

One of the most important things I can stress is that science and Catholicism are not at odds. Many people entirely discredit religion because most seem to disagree with the evolution, but Catholics don’t reject the theory of evolution. We believe God created everything and evolution then set in.

Imagine this: God has always existed and always will. Before the physical earth existed, God existed. When you have eternal life, time means absolutely nothing. Yes, the Bible says the world was created in seven days. Our average life expectancy is roughly 80 years. Seven days to us is a week, but to God, who has eternal life, imagine what seven days could actually mean. That could be a billion years in our eyes.

I know I can’t debunk all the misconceptions and stereotypes people have about the church, but my goal is to inform. Just like stereotypes of race, gender and sexual orientation, stereotypes regarding the Roman Catholic Church are also based on false knowledge and a lack of religious education.