My brothers and sister were cradle Catholics.
While one brother claims to long to remain Catholic despite his divorce and remarriage - he has yet to take measures to get his first marriage annulled, something I believe should be relatively simple under their circumstances, and he doesn’t attend mass regularly anyway - so I think he prefers ‘pretending’ he’s so Catholic he refrains from the Eucharist out of respect than anything else. I really don’t know where his heart is yet.
My other brother married in the Catholic church to a Catholic woman but divorced her several years into it and remarried to a protestant woman. He has no desire to seek an annulment though I don’t know why. They have home schooled their children from 5th grade on (they are in 9th/11th grade now) because they want them to know Christ in all things. He insulted our mother by chiding her for worshiping Mary the last time my mother visited…and she won’t return. He does still visit our parents but religion is no longer up for discussion.
My sister married a protestant and chose to develop her ‘personal relationship with Jesus’ through the baptist Church her ex-catholic high school friends chose. They have raised their children in that church.
We moved across the country from our home base when my youngest was finishing kindergarten so my children spend 4-6 weeks each summer with their grandparents to keep those ties strong. They get along wonderfully with their cousins, but yes, in the early years I was a little hesitant with what they would be told by them, especially since the cousins are active in their vacation bible programs and my children would join them.
For that reason we explained to them that their cousins do not practice the faith like we do and asked them to be respectful of what they teach while in the program. They have been able to point out the differences to us when they return home, but have respectfully not challenged their cousins over the lessons. We have found that exposure to be a boost to our teaching of Catholicism with our children and their appreciation for it. We’ve explained why we are Catholic and why they have left the church. The point we emphasize most is that ‘they left’, reaffirming with them that we have remained true but they have been disheartened over the years.
Since moving to this area their circle of friends have been either athiest or protestant. Catholics appear to be in the minorty in our town. They have seen for themselves that their cousins and friends are being taught to believe they are right and we are wrong, but that’s just the nature of their religion - and one of the reasons we have remained steady in Catholicism.
As they are all in their teens now, little snippet debates are starting to take place between them, but I am comfortable our children can hold their own. Still, it has motivated me all the more to learn about apologetics so I can offer them more knowledge for their next visit (they opted to stay with us this summer due to the Iraq situation and all the terror threats).
As for me and my siblings…it’s a sad state, really. We get along superficially very well, but it saddens me to see them so comfortable away from Catholicism. I’m in the minority in my own family, but isn’t that what Christ told us would happen? My time on these boards is helping me build up some strength and courage to perhaps speak with my siblings some day about why they have remained away from the church. It’s a conversation I know I’d like to pursue, but my parents (still practicing Catholics) do not want me to raise the issue because they don’t want us to split over it. That puts me in a tricky position because out of respect for my parents I hold back (honor your mother and father), yet part of what I’m learning here is that for the sake of their souls I should be speaking up.
