Catholicism: The Solitary Faith

[laszlo]

But being Christian is also part of being a community. From the beginning, the Christians went out to preach but also came together again to break bread.

And in heaven, we are not going to be living in little hermit shacks. We are going to be worshipping God together.

There is a balance between being individual and being member of the community. We can decide only about which side is more important today.

The Church decided for the I believe against the We believe. This probably means the that the Church and through Her Jesus Christ requires the individual adherence, the individual testimony, we cannot be melted into the community, we had to stand for ourselves, we are responsible for ourselves, and parents for family.

We gather in the Mass, but our mission is solitary.

 

[qOcOp]

There is aTLM I attend at a parish that is described as a commuter parish. Everyone attends then goes home. Today, I’m going to try a new parish which I have heard has more of a sense of community. A friend of mine attended the TLM Easter vigil there and she recommended it to me. They went out to eat after the vigil. Awesome!

Maybe you could organize a potluck at the parish you are already at? Ask your priest if there is anyway you could set up a meet a greet so the parish could get to know one another.

I have found that the Catholic Faith is as solitary as you like to make it. Anyway being a private person myself I have come to enjoy the ability to be somewhat solitary without having to get dirty looks from people that think I’m being uncharitable.

 

[ccl239]

A thought about your child converting: I converted before I left for college. I did not attend any Catholic colleges but they all had Catholic student associations. They provided great support for all of the students!

 

[TrueLight]

I attended a Parish today that had a coffee hour afterward. Yay!

 

[pnewton]

I attended a Parish today that had a coffee hour afterward. Yay!

You sound more cheerful after coffee. My wife is like that.

Parish life is very rich, but often very large. The answer to fellowship is service. Find your niche, or niches and jump in. Choir, maintenance, catechism, office help, KC, you will find fellowship. If you are a social person, then being involved in and helping with the coffee and donuts would be a great use of your natural inclination, and you get more coffee. That’s always a plus.

Remember that Mass itself is structure liturgy. There have been moves to bringing in a greater since of community, but that is always a secondary element of Mass and even that is structured. Worship in liturgy is what we do as a family, a body. It is not fellowship.

 

[TrueLight]

You sound more cheerful after coffee. My wife is like that.

Parish life is very rich, but often very large. The answer to fellowship is service. Find your niche, or niches and jump in. Choir, maintenance, catechism, office help, KC, you will find fellowship. If you are a social person, then being involved in and helping with the coffee and donuts would be a great use of your natural inclination, and you get more coffee. That’s always a plus.

Remember that Mass itself is structure liturgy. There have been moves to bringing in a greater since of community, but that is always a secondary element of Mass and even that is structured. Worship in liturgy is what we do as a family, a body. It is not fellowship.

Ha, Ha. Coffee makes everything better.

But seriously, it is not all about me.

I have see many posts from ex Protestants who are unhappy because of some of these things. I just think the CC can do a better job at welcoming and teaching people. The alternative is the Protestant church filling a need.