For Cradle Catholics

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You left off an important part of Matthew 18:1-4:

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

We must become humble and realize that we exist only because God wishes us to exist. Jesus didn’t mean to stop learning about him to stop trying to develop a deeper relationship with him. What if the great saints would have stopped questioning? Would you tell Sts. Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Benedict, Francis de Sales, or John Paul II, for example, to stop questioning? To stop seeking the truth and “just believe?” I don’t think anyone would, and I think if they did, they would be wrong to do so. Our lives would be far spiritually poorer without their insight. Should we suspend Bible study classes and “just believe?” Again, in my opinion, no.

I think seeking is wonderful. Some people are naturally deep thinkers or seekers. They would never be happy with the answers a five-year-old, with or without Down’s Syndrome, could provide, and I mean no offense to children with Down’s Syndrome. I like them and find them delightful, but I’ll admit, I don’t want to have a theological discussion with them.

There are as many paths to God as there are people. Everyone has to find what is right for him or her. God was talking about faith born of love and trust when he said to become as little children, not blind faith because one couldn’t think deeply. Often a period of intense introversion and questioning precedes true faith. Read John of the Cross. After a period of questioning and usually doubt, the questioner arrives at a deep reverence and trust, i.e., the faith of a child. Does a child trust “just anyone?” No, they don’t.

Some people may not care to share with this poster, and I find the method of questioning a little strange, but I think if this is what he or she needs right now, it’s great!
 
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No, never tempted. I love the faith. Mary and the Eucharist are literally my twin pillars.
“Lord, to whom shall we go?” I have never once encountered a belief, or lack of belief, more attractive or true than the Catholic faith.
 
I’m ‘sort of’ a cradle catholic. I was brought into the church as a very young teenager (13 or 14). It was a major part of my teenage years and I was ‘raised’ in the church in that sense. I was not, however. born into the faith. In my earliest memories, we either went to protestant churches or no church at all.

I was brought into the church because my dad, after divorcing my mother, married a Catholic woman. One of her absolute requirements in the relationship was to have us all become Catholic. My dad was pretty wishy washy. It wasn’t that he wanted to be Catholic, he just didn’t care what church he went to.

I rebelled pretty strongly when first introduced to the church- oddly enough though, I grew into a very sincere faith.

Since that time- my dad divorced that woman too. I no longer have contact with any Catholic family. My sisters who were baptised and confirmed have also ceased going to mass (and I believe may have ceased being Christians in general).

My husband is a very devout Christian, but he is not Catholic. He and his whole family are nondenominational protestants. They are rather fundamentalist.

I confess I occasionally feel tempted to go to a protestant church. The source of my temptation is loneliness. I go to mass, but I don’t have any catholic friends or family. Then I look at my husband’s community and it is very active/social. Protestants have a way of building their whole lives around their faith. It isn’t just church on Sunday, it’s a weekly bible study, bbq nights, close friends, worship (singing parties?), etc etc. It seems very alive and welcoming. For someone who is feeling lonely in their faith environment, it’s all very tempting.

However, I have gone to some of these functions and I ALWAYS wind up feeling out of place- because similar as we are, we are also very different. I definitely feel like the odd ball and listening to them talk about things I believe in too- is odd- because it sounds the same and yet so so different. A lot of their verbiage/terminology is just weird to me. I am often asked questions I don’t know how to answer- such as “where are you on your walk with Christ?” Or someone will go off on a tangent about whatever their latest evangelism attempt is and I can’t help but sit there and feel uncomfortable… privately thinking the person is crazy and harrassing innocents at malls- etc etc.

In the end- I get lonely time to time and I want the bible studies, bbqs etc- I just want them with other Catholics.

It does make me sad that Catholic parishes don’t have more active communities.
 
Irishmom2 said:
for the Real Pre
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I would say that the lack of the Eucharist is the main thing that makes me feel super uncomfortable/weird/out of place in protestant environments.

I could go on all day about little things that make me really believe that the Catholic church IS the direct descendent of early Christianity- but at the end of the day, the Eucharist is the defining difference. For me personally- there’s just an emptiness in Christian worship without it. It’s hard to describe.

And I relate to the ‘home’ feeling too. I go to protestant church time to time w inlaws- and while I LOVE meeting all the great people- I always feel like a guest. It never feels like home in the same way a Catholic parish does.
 
You know- there are a couple of books I strongly recommend. If you like audio books more than reading, I think at least a few are available on audible.

I love everything written by Scott Hahn. He writes a lot of great books that really shine light on how the church IS the church Jesus founded with Peter. Seriously, I have had ‘mind blowing’ wow moments while reading his books.

Why Be Catholic and Surprised by Faith are also really good. I always hear Patrick Madrid recommend them on the radio. I was curious, as someone with a protestant husband, so I picked them up and read them for myself. I don’t think I could ever get him to read them- but I leave them around the house, so who knows. For me, I like having them because picking them up and reading them really helps when I’m going through bouts of loneliness and tempted to go to protestant church for fickle reasons.
 
obvious_ron said:
e for yourself.
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Maybe I can help you over some private messages. It would help if I knew where your specific areas of doubt and concern are. My life has been a spiritual roller coaster. I actually left the church when I was about 20 and go into Wicca for about 5 years. Coming BACK to the church was a period of a lot of emotional turmoil for me. Heck- leaving the church initially was traumatic- it’s like sawing off a spiritual limb. I had myself pretty well convinced the church was evil there for a bit- and even then it was very difficult for me to look myself in a mirror and say “I don’t believe in Jesus”. I don’t believe I every really sincerely was able to- I think God’s presence lived there in the back of my mind all those 5 years until I finished growing up and rebelling/ came back to my senses. I like to tell people that I went through teenage rebellion in my 20s instead of my teenage years because of how sheltered I was growing up. 😛

But at any rate- I wasn’t simply raised into the faith and accept it as something I’ve always known. I had to go through a period of conversion twice in my life to get to where I am now.

I understand feelings of doubt if not out right disgust at times. In the end… I feel like I have walked a thousand miles on this journey and the conclusions I’ve finally reached are so solid, I can’t see myself questioning ever again. I’ve been through too much to prove to myself that this is real.
 
I never did have doubts,sometimes I was doing the wrong things/lifestyle but still went to confession and mass ,never stopped going.I think that is what kept me anchored,and daily rosary.
 
Since I had one parent who was Catholic and one parent who was Protestant, I got to experience the teachings of both sides growing up. All I ever wanted to be was Catholic. And I am so thankful and blessed that God has kept me Catholic all these years and that He laid it on my mother’s heart to convert so that she is now Catholic as well.
 
I was born in the month of May, baptized in month of June, and that was the beginning of a life long relationship with the Catholic church. Went to a catholic school where I was taught by Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, who were, wonderful… then Catholic High school …I was never tempted to leave the Catholic Church for I have always believed the teachings that Jesus left us. Does my mind drift once in awhile when tragedy has hit my family ? Yes, I would think, are you really there Jesus…those thoughts did not last long. for I found comfort in His Merciful Heart. What keeps me anchored?? " I am the Way, the Truth and the Life " and I will follow the Way. know that He is the Truth and live my Life as a Catholic 🦋🦋🦋
 
I think doubt and temptation to leave the Church are a necessary part of the spiritual journey back to God. St. John of the Cross, my favorite saint, certainly experienced his “dark night,” and so did St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Calcutta. Most of the saints have experienced great doubt.

Like Lily, I grew up in a home with two religions. My father was Catholic, and my mother was Jewish. (Her mother was German Jewish and her father Brazilian, so she was born in Brazil. I have a convoluted family tree!) I was glad I was Catholic, but was fascinated by the Jewish holidays and customs. I loved their sense of community and caring for one another, something I’ve always found missing in the Catholic Church. As a Jew, I would join my Jewish brothers and sisters if I did not have to deny Christ was the Messiah. That, I will not do.

I have had several periods of great doubt, and I actually cherish them because they end up bringing me closer to Christ. It is kind of like being separated from someone we love greatly. When we are, we long with all our heart and soul to be back in our loved one’s presence. St. Teresa of Calcutta lived many years with intense doubt. At one point, she didn’t even pray any longer, though she longed for faith. Her confessor told her doubt like this was, in itself, faith.

I think of what Robert Turnbull said: “…as the most beautiful night is born of darkness, so the faith that springs from conflict is often the strongest and the best…”. I believe this. Who do we admire more: the person who had no problem sailing through life, or the one who was tortured by doubt, yet persevered out of love? For me, it would be the second.

I think doubt is really necessary for an advanced spiritual life. So, when I go through these “dark nights” I am not troubled by them, and it is my love for Christ that keeps me in the Catholic Church. Sometimes I do feel like leaving though because I see so much hypocrisy there. Not from the priests, who seem very dedicated, but from the day-to-day members, who are supposed to be Christ’s Mystical Body, but, with few exceptions, don’t act much like it.
 
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