R
redbetta
Guest
Basically, I will be a senior in high school this fall and I have this summer to prepare to be kicked into a world that is looking increasingly like a minefield every day once I graduate. I have been reading about the Faith, but I cannot help but feel discouraged when I think about how I might be put on the spot. From reading on this forum and in comment boxes all over the Internet, how am I to respond to anger and/or indignation people will feel towards me if they find out what I believe? How am I to respond to individualism? People will tell me they are happy following their own rules and not answering to anyone else and, I get the feeling that the idea out there is that personal happiness is the highest good to strive for in life.
I would try in my defense to make a point that just because it makes you happy, it does not mean that it is good. But, I have a feeling that people are just going to tell me, “How would you know? You have no friends and are rarely happy yourself.” This idea haunts me because I have a lot of personal insecurities and a lot of tension between my mother and I. Since we are all home on the weekends, I often go to mass in a foul mood from something that happened earlier that morning or the previous day. I feel as though that I am either not being a good Christian because I am not filled with the joy I ought to have or people will take me as evidence against my religion. A visitor at mas might see me so grim and conclude that it is all a sham. There was another thread in which someone asked why a lot of Catholics look less than happy at mass and it hit me that I might be hurting my cause, but I do not know how to stop.
And there is that blurry line between compassion and permissiveness. I know that we should have compassion for others, but I find it hard to be emphatic since I do not have a lot of close relationships and I do not care much for pathos. But what am I to do if I disapprove of something as immoral, when asked my opinion, and someone tell me I lack compassion?
By the way, how important is happiness anyway? How good is it as a measuring rod for life? It seems to me that finding and understanding Truth and learning ought to take precedence over personal happiness. I really distrust emotions, as I have mentioned in previous threads. I have often contemplated being single the rest of my life and never bother dating since the world seems like a mine field and people will get pissed of me even though I try to avoid trouble and keep my mouth shut.
I want to be a good Catholic, but is life really that bad in the real world? Are people just going to get mad at me or say offensive things toward me frequently? I do not go out much and I am only 17, so I am fearful, but unsure about what I will encounter on my own. Right now, nobody in school knows how orthodox I am, and if it comes out, my senior year at high school would be hell.
Please pardon any typos, this is kind of rant-like, but the tension has been building up for a few days thinking about how bleak my future might look and I am the type that worries about everything. If I was inarticulate about anything, I can explain it later. Any encouragement, answers, etc. is appreciated. Thanks.
I would try in my defense to make a point that just because it makes you happy, it does not mean that it is good. But, I have a feeling that people are just going to tell me, “How would you know? You have no friends and are rarely happy yourself.” This idea haunts me because I have a lot of personal insecurities and a lot of tension between my mother and I. Since we are all home on the weekends, I often go to mass in a foul mood from something that happened earlier that morning or the previous day. I feel as though that I am either not being a good Christian because I am not filled with the joy I ought to have or people will take me as evidence against my religion. A visitor at mas might see me so grim and conclude that it is all a sham. There was another thread in which someone asked why a lot of Catholics look less than happy at mass and it hit me that I might be hurting my cause, but I do not know how to stop.
And there is that blurry line between compassion and permissiveness. I know that we should have compassion for others, but I find it hard to be emphatic since I do not have a lot of close relationships and I do not care much for pathos. But what am I to do if I disapprove of something as immoral, when asked my opinion, and someone tell me I lack compassion?
By the way, how important is happiness anyway? How good is it as a measuring rod for life? It seems to me that finding and understanding Truth and learning ought to take precedence over personal happiness. I really distrust emotions, as I have mentioned in previous threads. I have often contemplated being single the rest of my life and never bother dating since the world seems like a mine field and people will get pissed of me even though I try to avoid trouble and keep my mouth shut.
I want to be a good Catholic, but is life really that bad in the real world? Are people just going to get mad at me or say offensive things toward me frequently? I do not go out much and I am only 17, so I am fearful, but unsure about what I will encounter on my own. Right now, nobody in school knows how orthodox I am, and if it comes out, my senior year at high school would be hell.
Please pardon any typos, this is kind of rant-like, but the tension has been building up for a few days thinking about how bleak my future might look and I am the type that worries about everything. If I was inarticulate about anything, I can explain it later. Any encouragement, answers, etc. is appreciated. Thanks.
