Do you hide your Catholicity from others?

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I have done it many times in my life.
My pride got me.

Even now, when I am at lunch with my boss and co-worker, although I may a sign of the Cross, I am sometimes afraid of what others might think. Some other times, I do it confidently.

At other moment, I thought I would die for Christ - would I? I don’t know, I hope I will but only time and when this event happens, then I will know more about myself and how I love Christ.
 
I never hide that I’m Catholic, I’m so proud to be what I am! I always say grace and make the sign of the cross while eating in public, I wear a crucifix, etc. My family, friends, co-workers, everyone knows how I feel about my faith and what religion I belong to. 🙂
 
felicity1 said:
In most cases - I tend to keep it quiet - this isn’t a good thing to do really. I am in the inital stages of trying to come back to the church (not very successfully at the minute) and am unsure about a lot so maybe that explains it - though to be honest I am probably afraid of what my friends would say if i told them (i am in my mid 20’s and dont have any catholic friends where I am now living) in fact I sneak out to Mass and make excuses as to where I am going. This probably sounds terrible - I hope I someday have the courage to not worry about these things and I hope I will one day have full trust in Jesus that it is ok to tell people.
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It can be tough especially if you are just coming back again and your life is still made up of elements from before.

I know because I just came back to the Church in 2005 and I have struggles in certain areas - really, only my work environment remains the last challenge.

Just keep at it and pray for strength and faith. If you doubt or “fail” don’t let it discourage you – just use it in a confession and keep going.
 
I don’t hide my Catholicity from others. Although, it really bugs me when I see others do it. I worked with a guy who would say, “I am a Christian and not a Catholic.” A Catholic is a Christian… duh. He was baptised into the Catholic faith. I also hate it when men say, “I was an altar boy as a kid but…” then they go and tell some fabricated story about how they did something during the mass which was against the rules and got kicked out.":eek:
 
I don’t hide my Catholic faith. I witness when I can. But my favorite place is at my BF’s church when I take out my rosary and start praying. He’s SDA. You should see the eyebrows go up.

Kathy
 
“Benedict XVI Urges Struggle Against Evil, Says This Is The Secret To Christ’s Peace” Castel Gandolfo , Italy, Aug. 19, 2007 zenit.org/article-20283?l=english…"Those who desire to resist the enemy, remaining faithful to God and the good, must necessarily deal with misunderstandings and sometimes very real persecution… Speaking in German, he added, “Christ is not looking for tired conformists, but witnesses of courageous faith, those who burn in the fire of his love.”

I thought it was interesting the Pope is commenting on this very subject recently. Tim
 
felicity1 said:
In most cases - I tend to keep it quiet - this isn’t a good thing to do really. I am in the inital stages of trying to come back to the church (not very successfully at the minute) and am unsure about a lot so maybe that explains it - though to be honest I am probably afraid of what my friends would say if i told them (i am in my mid 20’s and dont have any catholic friends where I am now living) in fact I sneak out to Mass and make excuses as to where I am going. This probably sounds terrible - I hope I someday have the courage to not worry about these things and I hope I will one day have full trust in Jesus that it is ok to tell people.
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I’m in the exact same situation - although I haven’t went to Mass yet.

I’m also afraid of what people will think of me if I start going to church. I wish I wasn’t but I am. I have no problem telling people that I’m a Catholic but I am afraid of their criticisms if I start practicing my faith.

I’m only 20 myself and I am worried about what my friends would say if I told them I went to church and that I disagreed with contraception etc.

Also, I’m afraid that it would make it harder for me to meet women…I mean dating is a tricky business anyway without having to add this.

Maybe it would be easier if I had family or friends who went to church…I guess I’ll have to figure this out eventually.
 
Hubby and I own 3 Catholic stores, so there is no hiding it, not that we would want to. God BLess all of you for standing up for your faith.🙂
 
Well, I don’t go out waving my rosary around in the air, and sprinkling Holy water everywhere I go, but I don’t “hide” my Catholicity, either. If it comes up in conversation, I will talk about my faith, involvement in church, etc.
 
I have to admit that I’m pretty careful about how I word things. Mostly I think that I don’t speak out because I’m afraid of presenting our Church in a negative light—I’m not perfect and I know that too many non-church goers gripe about the hypocasy of those who go to church. On the other hand, I do say grace, cross myself in public, etc.
 
No, I don’t hide but I don’t flaunt it too much. I wear a medal around my neck, I make the sign of the cross, I have icons and pictures in my office, and I get time off at work for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. I mention going to confession, and Mass and talk about Father’s sermon or how much I admire Pope Benedict.
 
mommyof4 said:
Well, I don’t go out waving my rosary around in the air, and sprinkling Holy water everywhere I go, but I don’t “hide” my Catholicity, either. If it comes up in conversation, I will talk about my faith, involvement in church, etc.
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Laughing! I don’t wave my rosary in the air, but I do say it while I’m out walking in my neighborhood, so it’s there for people to see. Since my family converted this past Easter, friends at our previous (Lutheran) church certainly know, but then we were considered pretty devout and a little odd even there. LOL

None of us wear large Catholic jewlery or have Catholic-specific clothing, but we do pray before meals in public. I’m frequently seen reading Catholic books (Saints lives, etc.) while waiting at my dc’s events. No Mary statues in the yard (no real yard to speak of), but we do have a crucifix in almost every room of the house.

I think it is also a time of life issue. Those of you converting or becoming more devout in your 20’s may be more concious of what others around you are thinking. Since my family (and dh’s) are all church-going in either the Catholic or mainstream protestant churches, we do not get family flack for our devout practices. Most of our friends are church-going also, and although some folks at our previous church were shocked at our conversion/reversion, our closest friends have taken it well.
 
Another thought on this topic is that when we fail to be a good Christian on certain actions, thoughts, etc …, we hide Christ and prevent others from knowing that you are a Christian.
 
The only people who don’t know I’'m Catholic are my husband’s parents. When we had our marriage convalidated in the Church he chose not to tell his parents.

Everyone else knows, though:) At work I mention going to confession and Mass and I have a few religious items in my office.
 
Wow, some of you make me feel like an “old guy”!! I was born in 1950…:eek:

I was raised in an Army family that moved all over the world. While my father was still in the service we always went to Mass wherever we lived. I went to Catechism. All of my friends knew I was Catholic. It was just how it was. We all got along…never any problems.

After my father retired from the Army we returned to FL, and there the fun began. Kids in our new neighborhood in Orlando were for the most part Baptists or whatever…precious few Catholics. We never put up billboards or signs announcing that we were Catholic, but it did come out fairly quickly when everybody wanted us to attend their churches. Had to say no, and when they asked where we went to church…oh yeah…we got the “raised eyebrows”. And shortly after that I started getting the statements/questions…like “Our preacher says you have a tail and a third eye hidden under skin on your forehead, etc, etc.”. Well…proved them wrong, and duly informed them that their preacher was a “crazy person”…and they shouldn’t listen to crazy people… Upset some of their parents, who complained to my parents… and to the other kids parents I simply said… Men of the “cloth” should never lie to children…or adults. It goes against the teachings of Christ. Freaked them out…imagine that, a Catholic child knew something about the bible!!

Anyway…I have never made it a great point of “advertising” it, but when asked… I have never denied that I am Catholic. Yes, it has cost me some “friends”…but then again…if what my beliefs are cause them to dislike me, then they were not friends anyway.

If I am asked, I will answer. I will not deny what I am, nor will I deny what I believe to be the truth. And if questions arise, I will answer them. I will not argue. I simply tell them…Its what I believe, and its not ever going to change.

Some advice from an older person…ouch!, I sound just like my Grandfather…a good Methodist who loved my Catholic Grandmother for so many years… 63 years to be exact…, he drove her to Mass every Sunday, made sure all their children…all four were raised in the Catholic Faith… oops, I digress.

Anyway, for those of you who are young… If you are Catholic, be a Catholic… the friends that you have today…may be long gone tomorrow, so what they think is of little consequence now or even later. If you are honest to yourself and to God…even if they don’t like you because you are Catholic…they still have to “respect” you for your honesty to yourself and God. If not, they are not friends…and they are not people you want to have around you.

In the “hippy 60’s” there was a poster, I had one…it was entitled “Desderata”…here is one version at this link:

hobbes.ncsa.uiuc.edu/desiderata.html

There is some good advice in it…👍 👍 👍
 
catechumen08 said:
This is something I’ve been wondering about. Do people act differently around you after you tell them that you’re serious about your faith? Have you lost friends over this? I’ve sparred with my best friend over this, and in the end, we agreed to disagree. Another good friend doesn’t think I’m serious about it. Sometimes it does get a bit frustrating, to say the least.

So do you tell your friends and acquaintances about your faith? Or do you do it on a need-to-know basis?

Thanks in advance!
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Heck no ! 🙂 if they come into my house they will be left with no doubt, and we still bless ourselves going past the Catholic Church.

Plus I wear the Scapular and Miraculous Medal, I don’t get into much discussion outside of here, but If I do, I hold my own.
 
catechumen08 said:
This is something I’ve been wondering about. Do people act differently around you after you tell them that you’re serious about your faith? Have you lost friends over this? I’ve sparred with my best friend over this, and in the end, we agreed to disagree. Another good friend doesn’t think I’m serious about it. Sometimes it does get a bit frustrating, to say the least.

So do you tell your friends and acquaintances about your faith? Or do you do it on a need-to-know basis?

Thanks in advance!
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I don’t hide it. I’m a Tiber Swim Team Class of '07 Member, though, so it hasn’t been all that long. I think I may already have lost one friend over it—but I seem to have gotten a few more.
 
airforcemom said:
I don’t hide it but I’m living in an area where we are the minority. When we moved here following Katrina our next door neighbor told me they would invite us over for dinner after we got settled - the next day or so he talked to my husband and was inviting us to his church when my husband told him we were Catholic - we still have not been invited to dinner, but he does talk to us when he sees us outside. One day I walked acrossed the street to let my neighbor there know we would be in LA for about a week - I heard her daughter come by the door and she peaked out and then I heard her call her mother - they never answered the door. I made sure I bought the biggest Blessed Mother statute I could find and afford - she sits proudly in my front yard - I have very few friends here and I can’t wait until I go back home to be around more Catholics again. :signofcross:
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Good for you. Hope you wll be home here in LA soon. God bless.
 
CatholicCajun said:
Hubby and I own 3 Catholic stores, so there is no hiding it, not that we would want to. God BLess all of you for standing up for your faith.🙂
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Woohoo! Send one of those stores up my way—I have to shop online. 😃
 
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