Serving God vs serving my parents?

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Brockman1996

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I recently started attending the local Catholic parish and have started the conversion process. I am under 18 and my parents still want me to go to their church. So every Sunday after mass I go to my old church to make them happy. Last week my Mom signed me up to be Joseph in the Christmas play without asking me. I don’t even consider my self a member of this church anymore. Practice is on Wednesdays at 6 but I normally go to mass on wednesday at 6 because I fell like God wants me to. So I want to obey my parents but I want to obey God more. So would disobeying my Parents be acceptable in this instance? I’m going to tell them I serve God first not them and I will not be in the play and I will go to mass and they can punish me if they want because Jesus said blessed are you if they persecute you because of me.
 
No you should not disobey your parents and attempt to use God as your excuse.

Mass on Wednesdays is a nice thing to do, but it is not obligatory even for Catholics. You are not disobeying God. In your new found faith you are being a bit over zealous and you should not do so in a manner that is disrespectful to your parents. They have not asked you to do anything sinful.
 
Remember, when Jesus was 12 he knew he should be in his Father’s house so he went there, but when his parents found him after a frantic search for him-- he went home with them and was obedient to them.

You need to follow Jesus’s lead on this one.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I recently started attending the local Catholic parish and have started the conversion process. I am under 18 and my parents still want me to go to their church. So every Sunday after mass I go to my old church to make them happy. Last week my Mom signed me up to be Joseph in the Christmas play without asking me. I don’t even consider my self a member of this church anymore. Practice is on Wednesdays at 6 but I normally go to mass on wednesday at 6 because I fell like God wants me to. So I want to obey my parents but I want to obey God more. So would disobeying my Parents be acceptable in this instance? I’m going to tell them I serve God first not them and I will not be in the play and I will go to mass and they can punish me if they want because Jesus said blessed are you if they persecute you because of me.
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Wait, so you are under 18 but you already go to your own church? Are you living alone?

If you live in your parents household, you should go to the same parish as they do. If you have moved away/have joined another parish and are already active in it, I’m not sure what they are doing in your business.

This is a strange situation, could you give me more context?

Also, you say that you have “started the conversion process.” Does that mean you are converting to be Catholic and your parents are not?
 
I agree with 1ke. You are serving God by obeying your parents. It’s a Christmas play, not anything immoral. It’s lovely that you are drawn to attending Mass but we are not required to attend during the week (even though I like to when I can). You have plenty of time to learn about and begin practicing the Catholic faith. In the meantime, participating in their church’s Christmas play will make your parent’s happy.

By the way, are you in RCIA?
 
Hi , I’m 16 nearly 17 , former atheist like yourself ,and atheist parents and I am in RCIA at the moment .
My advice would be . Obey your pearents and be in the nativity- don’t make this a big thing your still serving god it doesn’t matter what building it is. Going to mass on a Wednesday is great and its really good you want to do that especially since your a young person … We need more young people !
The practices will only be for a few weeks and then you can go back to going to mass on a Wednesday - you may even enjoy the play , it’s still for god . Although it was wrong for your parents to not ask you they probberly still think of this as a phase and that your still apart of their church so you could say I don’t feel or consider myself apart of your church anymore, the Catholic Church is where I want to be and is now what i consider to be my church , I will go with you somtimes if there is a special event but god wants me alsewhere and I want you to respect that , so say that if this is the case .
Hope I have helped in some way , if you have any questions feel free to private message me
Good luck Chuck
 
1ke said:
Yes, the OP and his parents are not Catholic. The OP is interested in becoming a Catholic.
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Ok. Well this is interesting. I don’t see any harm in him obeying his parents, and I see a great deal to lose if he disobeys them. It seems there is a danger of letting religion become an excuse to break a relationship.
 
I get what you guys are saying but the play isn’t really the nativity it’s completely different. Every year it’s like modern Mary and Joseph in New York City and one year it was a Charlie’s Angels spoof where Charlie is God and the angels are actual Angels! My Mom I know hates me becoming Catholic and signed me up for the play when she knows I go to mass every wednesday and that I’m serious about converting and am starting Rcia in January. I am trying to be obedient but it’s getting ridiculous.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I get what you guys are saying but the play isn’t really the nativity it’s completely different. Every year it’s like modern Mary and Joseph in New York City and one year it was a Charlie’s Angels spoof where Charlie is God and the angels are actual Angels! My Mom I know hates me becoming Catholic and signed me up for the play when she knows I go to mass every wednesday and that I’m serious about converting and am starting Rcia in January. I am trying to be obedient but it’s getting ridiculous.
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That is pretty weird. Maybe you should talk to your parents and tell them why you don’t think the “nativity” is a good thing to participate in.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I get what you guys are saying but the play isn’t really the nativity it’s completely different. Every year it’s like modern Mary and Joseph in New York City and one year it was a Charlie’s Angels spoof where Charlie is God and the angels are actual Angels! My Mom I know hates me becoming Catholic and signed me up for the play when she knows I go to mass every wednesday and that I’m serious about converting and am starting Rcia in January. I am trying to be obedient but it’s getting ridiculous.
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Umm… if it’s not to personal to ask… what denomination is the church your parents attend?
 
Well, until you are a self-supporting adult you are required to obey your parents - barring anything illegal, etc. However, this is a good time for you to spend in prayer and study as you grow in faith. I will keep you in my prayers and wish you well. Hopefully, your parents will come around. :signofcross::highprayer::grouphug:
 
@Brockman 1996:

Unless your parents tell you to do something actively sinful you should obey them.
Firstly because you have a duty to do so.
Secondly because your situation will not last forever. In God’s good time you will be free to join the Church.
And finally, do you really want your parents to think the Catholic Church encourages children to defy their parents? That’s what they’re likely to think if you refuse to do what your mother is asking.
 
Thank you guys for all your answers. I just talked with my Mom about how she knows I am becoming Catholic and she signed me up for the play anyway. I told her I go to mass on Wednesday and I can’t go to practice etc… And how she should get me out of it. She said she will think about it which means she doesn’t like it but she will do it!
 
Glad to hear things are looking up at least she knows your serious about it and a few events at your family’s church won’t hurt ! Good for you , hope you get on okay 🙂
 
Brockman1996,

It is absolutely wonderful you are planning on becoming Catholic! They joy and consolation that you find in Mass is a great blessing. Unfortunately as long as you can make it to Mass on Saturday or Sunday, you will have to do as your parents wish. Back when I lived with my mother due to her bad health, I attended her church and even participated in her church choir while still attending Mass. I did it so that I could show my Catholic faith to them. Maybe you could use this as a opportunity to show your faith to others?

You could try speaking to them about it. I really hope that everything works out. My prayers are with you as you make this courageous decision to come into the Church of Jesus Christ.

Oh I just saw that you did talk to them AWESOME!
 
Brockman, as long as you’re tapped with playing the role of Joseph, don’t think of this play as a parental torture. Think of it as a great way to spread some Catholic knowledge tidbits.

Here are two excellent summaries of the Catholic histories about Joseph, Mary, and the brothers of Jesus (who are NOwhere named as “sons of Mary and Joseph”).

Brethren of the Lord - Dispelling the belief that Mary and Joseph had other children
Mary: Ever Virgin - Supporting the belief that Joseph never even touched Mary carnally

Who knows… if you talk about the Catholic perspective on Joseph enough, they may decide someone else is better suited for the role. :highprayer:

Now go have fun educating the Baptists!
 
Brockman1996 said:
Thank you guys for all your answers. I just talked with my Mom about how she knows I am becoming Catholic and she signed me up for the play anyway. I told her I go to mass on Wednesday and I can’t go to practice etc… And how she should get me out of it. She said she will think about it which means she doesn’t like it but she will do it!
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‘I told her … how she should get me out of it’? Sorry, but unless your parents are commanding you to sin or do something that is physically or otherwise dangerous and you cannot sort it out any other way, you as their dependent teenage child don’t get to tell them how they should do anything. And neither of those apply here.

I understand that you have reservations for different reasons - but a mature adult way to handle it would have been to find common ground that she can relate to. In this case perhaps discuss the reservations you had because of the nature of previous Christmas plays.

It sounds instead like you made it very much an ‘us versus them’ ‘Catholic versus Baptist’ ‘you never let me do what I want’ whiny pouty teenage tantrum. It may have worked, but that does not make it anything other than a very immature way to deal with the problem.
 
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