Being Catholic is Hard

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I came to this realization (again) after getting myself ready to go to confession and mass today. A convert of 3 years, I understand why many grow weary and faint of heart on the journey. It is a lot. We are constantly under spiritual attack. And today, the mass readings reminded me that while I can do nothing on my own, His grace is sufficient:

usccb.org/bible/readings/062015.cfm

I also realized (and the priest said something similar during the homily) that it is a HUGE grace to even have the desire to go to confession or to keep going. To pray when my heart isn’t in it.

Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.
 
Praying to the Holy Spirit to give you guidance, direction, strength, fortitude & wisdom in your time of need.
 
Wow! Sounds to me like you have a very healthy understanding of the walk of faith for a “babe!”

Seriously, many folks just don’t expect or accept that the walk with Jesus will be hard at times and require both faith and effort.

He did say to take up our cross and follow him. That’s hard. But he also said:

*"I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble, but take courage,
I have conquered the world.” * - John 16:33

Wise advice you received too. It IS a great grace to have the desire and willingness to get to confession- just think of all those who do not and will not. And as for praying even when we don’t “feel like it,” check out the catechism. There is an entire section called “the Battle of Prayer!”

You sound like you’re on the right road. Pray, smile, read your bible and keep your eyes on Jesus!

God bless you. 👍
 
I needed to see this post. Today was one of those days for me. I’m a new convert, baptized and confirmed at Easter this year. And I try to be a good Catholic. I try to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet and hour of mercy most days, Rosary every day, Confession mostly weekly, Mass weekly or more. Read the daily readings and my Bible, etc. Pray for everyone.

But sometimes it just feels like so much. Today I was thinking, I should go to Confession. But I didn’t want to, and to me that’s the reason I should go, right? But ultimately I talked myself out of it. I just feel burnt out, just feel like I give so much time to this- it’s way more time than I ever spent daily as a protestant- and lately I’ve been going through a bit of spiritual dryness anyway and so I just didn’t go.

Your post helps me put things back into perspective. I’m looking forward to Mass tomorrow to hear what our Pastor says on this topic.
 
Dodge_pursuit said:
Wow! Sounds to me like you have a very healthy understanding of the walk of faith for a “babe!”

Seriously, many folks just don’t expect or accept that the walk with Jesus will be hard at times and require both faith and effort.

He did say to take up our cross and follow him. That’s hard. But he also said:

*"I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble, but take courage,
I have conquered the world.” * - John 16:33

Wise advice you received too. It IS a great grace to have the desire and willingness to get to confession- just think of all those who do not and will not. And as for praying even when we don’t “feel like it,” check out the catechism. There is an entire section called “the Battle of Prayer!”

You sound like you’re on the right road. Pray, smile, read your bible and keep your eyes on Jesus!

God bless you. 👍
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Thanks for the encouragement! I know even the saints didn’t have an easy time. I’m so far from sainthood–why should I expect any different? 🤷
 
AKDee said:
I needed to see this post. Today was one of those days for me. I’m a new convert, baptized and confirmed at Easter this year. And I try to be a good Catholic. I try to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet and hour of mercy most days, Rosary every day, Confession mostly weekly, Mass weekly or more. Read the daily readings and my Bible, etc. Pray for everyone.

But sometimes it just feels like so much. Today I was thinking, I should go to Confession. But I didn’t want to, and to me that’s the reason I should go, right? But ultimately I talked myself out of it. I just feel burnt out, just feel like I give so much time to this- it’s way more time than I ever spent daily as a protestant- and lately I’ve been going through a bit of spiritual dryness anyway and so I just didn’t go.

Your post helps me put things back into perspective. I’m looking forward to Mass tomorrow to hear what our Pastor says on this topic.
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littlenothing said:
I agree! Loved your post!
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I think it’s common to want to go “all in” as a convert but it’s easy to get burned out. Our faith is a rich treasure trove of sacramentals, prayers, devotions, the Sacraments–we cannot do it all. For me a good day is prayer throughout the day and saying a rosary. I try to do some spiritual reading daily and adoration weekly. If I can get back to daily mass, that will take care of the scriptures. Sometimes I try to do Compline. It’s noble to want to do it all but we can’t. God bless you!
 
It’s an “all you can eat” buffet! Look around and take what appeals to you. But no one is gonna make you eat everything. 😉

Some do morning rosary and evening liturgy of the hours. Some do morning prayer and rosary in the evening. Some are always praying novenas to this saint or that one, while others never do. Precepts are one thing- basic requirements like mass on Sunday and confession at least once a year. But when it comes to private devotions, there are many rich traditions from which we may pick and choose!

Dig in.
 
AKDee said:
I needed to see this post. Today was one of those days for me. I’m a new convert, baptized and confirmed at Easter this year. And I try to be a good Catholic. I try to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet and hour of mercy most days, Rosary every day, Confession mostly weekly, Mass weekly or more. Read the daily readings and my Bible, etc. Pray for everyone.

But sometimes it just feels like so much. Today I was thinking, I should go to Confession. But I didn’t want to, and to me that’s the reason I should go, right? But ultimately I talked myself out of it. I just feel burnt out, just feel like I give so much time to this- it’s way more time than I ever spent daily as a protestant- and lately I’ve been going through a bit of spiritual dryness anyway and so I just didn’t go.

Your post helps me put things back into perspective. I’m looking forward to Mass tomorrow to hear what our Pastor says on this topic.
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We are all called to be holy. Holiness requires hard work. It is not easy. But don’t be anxious. A journey of thousand miles starts with a single step.

You are doing well. Does your parish have some faith group you may join? Such as Bible study, small church community, etc? It helps to have like minded companions on our faith journey.

If you are not able to find a desirable group to join, a good book for spiritual reading may help. I recommend Ralph Martin’s The Fulfillment of All Desire. It is a modern classic, a collection of many Saints’ work with good explanations. It talks about prayers and different stages of spiritual journey. I find it very enjoyable. You can make friends with St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese, St. Francis de Sales, St. Bernard, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Paul II, and other Saints throughout the book. It is written in a language easy to understand.
 
InLight247 said:
We are all called to be holy. Holiness requires hard work. It is not easy. But don’t be anxious. A journey of thousand miles starts with a single step.

You are doing well. Does your parish have some faith group you may join? Such as Bible study, small church community, etc? It helps to have like minded companions on our faith journey.

If you are not able to find a desirable group to join, a good book for spiritual reading may help. I recommend Ralph Martin’s The Fulfillment of All Desire. It is a modern classic, a collection of many Saints’ work with good explanations. It talks about prayers and different stages of spiritual journey. I find it very enjoyable. You can make friends with St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese, St. Francis de Sales, St. Bernard, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Paul II, and other Saints throughout the book. It is written in a language easy to understand.
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Thank you for this post. I know that we have a Bible Study group at the parish but they meet during hours when I’m at work. It was actually suggested to me that I start an evening group myself but for the time being I prefer to be in the background and learn more about my new faith. I have thought that at some point I may want to join some sort of a group, like Opus Dei perhaps. It seems like there are a lot of different groups but I don’t know which ones are represented in my local community yet. I know my sponsor is a member of some group and I will have to ask her which one it is. I will definitely add “The Fulfillment of all Desire” to my list of books to read, thank you for the suggestion.
 
Anything worthwhile is hard. Being a mechanic is hard if taken seriously. Being a good mother is hard, and we know what being a lousy mother is … doing nothing. So actually whatever it is that we want is hard to attain and takes real effort if success is realized.

May Jesus always be close to you.
 
It is the Holy Spirit that causes us to grow spiritually. We are not pure spirits, nor pure animals, we are Incarnate spirits, like Jesus, who is the Word Incarnate. Our Christian lives are integrated in all that we do, praying, contemplating, cooking, working, assisting, guiding, nursing, intructing etc We sanctify all that we do. When we suffer dry spells, or spiritual arridity, we can divert from the spiritual part of our christian life, and become involved in Christian works, activities. We sanctify the moment where we find ourselves. By keeping the two greatest commandments Jesus gave us, we will find ways to avoid spiritual arridity. There will be some dry times, but they shouldn’t last long if we employ our whole selves, and not just our mental, spiritual life. Our spiritual life, involves our whole being. A simple thing like cutting the grass offered to God, is growing in the spirit, so is singing, and not just church songs. You can even sanctify modern songs by substituting worldy lyrics, and putting God in the place of a man or woman idolized by the lyrics. You can enjoy nature, as it is always praising God in all it’s activities. The Holy Spirit is always present, and life can be very interesting in recognizing His Presence.
 
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