P
pasancharan
Guest
Essh I have a feeling this is going to turn out a bit of a sap story, so hold on to your seats, ladies and gents…
This is also going to be an extremely long post for I feel the need to vent…
My parents are divorced and neither of them are Catholic. My Mom works a grueling full-time job that pays the bills but leaves her intellectually and emotionally drained. She drinks heavily and smokes between 2-3 packs a day, which is starting to seriously affect her health. Since the divorce last year, she is extremely lonely and depressed, and I fear, suicidal. She talks about “giving up on life” when I “no longer need her” (which she presumes will be approximately my 18th birthday). She has few friends due to a lack of self esteem from an emotionally abusive marriage to my father. She is a vehemently cynical atheist who loves to taunt me and persecute me about my faith. I am repeatedly called names, insulted, and made fun of by my own mother whenever I ask her if I can do something for my parish or youth group (I am in high school, so I live with her, need her permission to do these things, and cannot drive myself).
Yesterday I had a day-long youth group event that only occurs once a month and is one of my favorite things to do. It started with me being called a “zealot” and an “extremist” whose life is “out of balance.” That should give you a taste of what I deal with.
God never abandons us and always gives us the grace that corresponds to the size of our crosses. Somehow, despite being virtually alone in my faith for years upon years, these things have never shaken my beliefs.
What isn’t so rock solid is my filial duty and love for my mother. I do love her, but it is so hard to maintain that loving relationship when she says these things to me. She is so far from God and the Church but I know He can reach her somehow. There is no other way I see for her life to turn around, as I am sure we are at rock bottom. I’m asking: When we fight because I want to go to Mass or some other Church event, do I sin? When I become angry at her for this, is it justified? How can I get through to her and help us improve our family?
Advice would be appreciated, but difficult to give. Prayers would be, I think, the best solution.
Thanks for putting up with my in(s)ane verbosity
but anyone who has been in this kind of relationship knows that there is always so much to say when explaining it to others!
This is also going to be an extremely long post for I feel the need to vent…
My parents are divorced and neither of them are Catholic. My Mom works a grueling full-time job that pays the bills but leaves her intellectually and emotionally drained. She drinks heavily and smokes between 2-3 packs a day, which is starting to seriously affect her health. Since the divorce last year, she is extremely lonely and depressed, and I fear, suicidal. She talks about “giving up on life” when I “no longer need her” (which she presumes will be approximately my 18th birthday). She has few friends due to a lack of self esteem from an emotionally abusive marriage to my father. She is a vehemently cynical atheist who loves to taunt me and persecute me about my faith. I am repeatedly called names, insulted, and made fun of by my own mother whenever I ask her if I can do something for my parish or youth group (I am in high school, so I live with her, need her permission to do these things, and cannot drive myself).
Yesterday I had a day-long youth group event that only occurs once a month and is one of my favorite things to do. It started with me being called a “zealot” and an “extremist” whose life is “out of balance.” That should give you a taste of what I deal with.
God never abandons us and always gives us the grace that corresponds to the size of our crosses. Somehow, despite being virtually alone in my faith for years upon years, these things have never shaken my beliefs.
What isn’t so rock solid is my filial duty and love for my mother. I do love her, but it is so hard to maintain that loving relationship when she says these things to me. She is so far from God and the Church but I know He can reach her somehow. There is no other way I see for her life to turn around, as I am sure we are at rock bottom. I’m asking: When we fight because I want to go to Mass or some other Church event, do I sin? When I become angry at her for this, is it justified? How can I get through to her and help us improve our family?
Advice would be appreciated, but difficult to give. Prayers would be, I think, the best solution.
Thanks for putting up with my in(s)ane verbosity
but anyone who has been in this kind of relationship knows that there is always so much to say when explaining it to others!