Truly Catholic: Beyond the Table - The Call to Belonging

Truly Catholic: Beyond the Table—The Call to Belonging

There are moments in our lives—and in the life of the Church—when we are invited to pause, reflect, and ask deeper questions.

Not just what we believe, but how we live what we believe.
This is one of those moments.

There is a question echoing in the hearts of many today:

What does it really mean to be truly Catholic?

For some, the answer is doctrine.
For others, tradition.
For many, it is identity.

But the deeper question remains:

Are we living what we profess?

I was baptized Catholic as an infant, but I have remained Catholic by conviction.

That distinction matters.

Because to stay in a Church that does not always reflect your full humanity requires more than tradition—it requires faith, courage, and a deep commitment to truth.

As a Black American woman, educator, and theologian, I have experienced both the beauty and the tension of being Catholic. I have known what it means to feel deeply rooted in the Church—and at times, to feel unseen within it.

And yet, I have also witnessed the transformative power of faith when it is fully lived—when it embraces dignity, justice, culture, and belonging.

This is why I wrote Truly Catholic: The Intersection of Social Justice Teaching and the Call to Belonging.

Because being Catholic is not just about adherence—
it is about embodiment.

It is about recognizing that Catholic Social Teaching is not an “addition” to our faith, but a core expression of it.

It is about understanding that every human being is created in the Imago Dei—and therefore, every person deserves to belong fully within the Body of Christ.

If we are truly Catholic, then belonging is not optional.
It is essential.

Catholic Social Teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of every human person, to stand in solidarity, and to seek the common good.

Yet too often, there is a gap between what we teach and how we live.

This book confronts that gap.

It asks:

• What does it mean to truly honor the Imago Dei in every person?
• Why do so many still feel unseen in a Church that proclaims universality?
• How do we move from performative inclusion to authentic belonging?

This is not just theology.
This is discipleship.

The image of the table is central to my work.

Because the table is where we gather.
The table is where we are nourished.
The table is where Christ meets us.

But the question remains:

Who is missing from the table?

And perhaps even more importantly:

Who has been invited—but not truly welcomed?

Belonging means:

• Your voice matters
• Your culture is honored
• Your presence is not questioned
• Your dignity is affirmed

This is the Church we are called to be.

Not simply a table with open seats—
but a community transformed by love.

To be truly Catholic is not to choose between tradition and justice.

It is to live both—fully.

It is to recognize that:

• Justice is an expression of love
• Belonging is an expression of communion
• Inclusion is an expression of the Gospel

We are not called to maintain comfort.
We are called to transformation.

This book is an invitation.

To leaders.
To educators.
To ministers.
To believers.
To those who have stayed… and those who have walked away.

Come back to the table.
Help transform the table.
Make room in a way that reflects the Gospel.

Because in the end, the question is not:

“Am I Catholic enough?”

But rather:

“Am I living in a way that reflects the fullness of what it means to be truly Catholic?”

Welcome to the journey.

— Dr. Toni Reaves