Similarities and differences between Cradle Catholics and Converts

  • Thread starter Thread starter aidanbradypop
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

aidanbradypop

Guest
So a friend of mine (Cradle Catholic) cannot understand my love and passion for the Church. He attends Mass, Confession…etc, but only out of obligation (his words not mine). He is in Aww of how passionate I am about my faith.

Do you think a cradle Catholic is more inclinded to take the Church for granted rather than someone is seeks the truth and converts? I am a Catholic convert myself now for about 20 years now and my desire and passion for the faith and Church has only grown. I have my days of excuse like the rest, but I grow and love the Church more and more everyday.

I would love to hear from both converts and cradle!!!
 
I think it is very dependent on the person and their own journey in faith. I know many “cradle” Catholics who have a very deep devotion and faith life, who are active and “on fire”. I know converts who are not either because they converted for non-religious reasons or because their faith has simply waned. Of course, I know many like you and your friend also.

Many converts have gone through years of study and difficult situations (from non-Catholic family for example) in order to convert. They would more naturally continue to be devout and on fire for their hard-won faith. But as I said before, many cradle Catholics have grown up with examples in front of them of deep devoution and have carried a strong faith throughout their entire lives.
 
Thank you Mrs. Sally (feel like I am in school again :p) I know many converts that are Catholic by way of marriage. They simply converted because of marriage. Some are very devout while others go on Christmas and Easter. Thanks for pointing that out!
 
I think many cradle Catholics don’t have the passion for two simple reasons…
  1. They haven’t studied the historical and scriptural basis of our Faith.
  2. They haven’t spent time in other denominations, and don’t realize how ‘weak’ those denominations are. They just don’t stand up to intensive scrutiny the way Catholicism does.
 
aidanbradypop said:
So a friend of mine (Cradle Catholic) cannot understand my love and passion for the Church. He attends Mass, Confession…etc, but only out of obligation (his words not mine). He is in Aww of how passionate I am about my faith.

Do you think a cradle Catholic is more inclinded to take the Church for granted rather than someone is seeks the truth and converts? I am a Catholic convert myself now for about 20 years now and my desire and passion for the faith and Church has only grown. I have my days of excuse like the rest, but I grow and love the Church more and more everyday.

I would love to hear from both converts and cradle!!!
Click to expand...
 
I always heard that "converts’ make the ‘best’ Cathoics…although I believe like the next person commenting on yr statement…that it is all dependent on the individual…but…I too am a cradle Catholic and I am totally in love with our Church, the Holy Eucharist, and the list goes on and on…unfortunately there are many people (I’m sure it’s the same with Protestant churches) that just go through the motions…may God Bless you and welcom home/Rome
 
It is true that many Cradle Catholics follow the rituals, the “shoulds” and "should nots’’ of Catholicism more as matter of family tradition than true devotion.
As Mrs. Sally mentioned, it is not necessarily true of all cradle Catholics. Conversion is a lifetime process that requires a personal decision on a day to day basis. Sometimes there is a crisis in a person’s life that leads a person to seek God on a deeper level than mere obligation; and to truly discover the depth of God’s love for each of us.
On the surface, it can appear that new converts have a deeper faith and more devotion than cradle Catholics. They have gone through an inquiry process. They have questioned what they believed before and have accepted the Truth that the Catholic Church proclaims.
For cradle Catholics, the Truth has been ingrained from birth. They may never question what they have been taught. On the other hand, they may challenge themselves to learn as much as possible about what the Church teaches.
I know that as a cradle Catholic, I have the advantage of the example set by my parents. Prayer, especially the rosary, was part of the daily rhythm of life. I never left home without kissing my mother and receiving her blessing on my forehead.
 
aidanbradypop said:
So a friend of mine (Cradle Catholic) cannot understand my love and passion for the Church. He attends Mass, Confession…etc, but only out of obligation (his words not mine). He is in Aww of how passionate I am about my faith.

Do you think a cradle Catholic is more inclinded to take the Church for granted rather than someone is seeks the truth and converts? I am a Catholic convert myself now for about 20 years now and my desire and passion for the faith and Church has only grown. I have my days of excuse like the rest, but I grow and love the Church more and more everyday.

I would love to hear from both converts and cradle!!!
Click to expand...
The truth of the matter is that we “ALL” need to be converted craddle or not! 👍

Then maybe we can be the salt of the earth 😃

God bless!
 
I came into the Church at the age of 8, 56 years ago from no religion. I guess I am considered a “convert”. I have waned, but always came back to the teaching of the Church and am a faithful as I know how to be. However, I know of so many people who, when I say I was baptized into the Church at age 8, give me this long, OOOOHHHH, your a convert. Their reaction has always made me feel like a “2nd class Catholic.” I don’t know if any of you have ever felt that way, but I have all my life. I try to avoid, at all cost, having to tell anyone that I am a convert. I feel that many “cradle” Catholics, at least the ones I have come into contact with over the years, seem to give the indication that you are less of a Catholic because you were not baptized as a baby. I don’t feel that these people do it deliberately, but I know how they have reacted to me when I tell them I am a convert and how I feel afterwards. I feel that I am just as faithful a convert Catholic as a cradle Catholic regardless of being baptized at the age of 8.
It would be nice if cradle Catholics would just treat the convert Catholic the same way that they would if they were talking with another cradle Catholic. We are all Catholics and as faithful as we can or cannot be regardless of the fact that some of us are converts and others are cradle.
 
lakotak said:
I feel that many “cradle” Catholics, at least the ones I have come into contact with over the years, seem to give the indication that you are less of a Catholic because you were not baptized as a baby. I don’t feel that these people do it deliberately, but I know how they have reacted to me when I tell them I am a convert and how I feel afterwards. I feel that I am just as faithful a convert Catholic as a cradle Catholic regardless of being baptized at the age of 8.
It would be nice if cradle Catholics would just treat the convert Catholic the same way that they would if they were talking with another cradle Catholic.
Click to expand...
Lakotak,

I’m sorry you’ve been treated that way. If anything, I treat converts with a little more awe as I know they’ve chosen the Faith and haven’t ‘just’ grown into it as so many cradle Catholics have.

I’m not sure what I am, cradle or revert? I left the Church for 8 years but didn’t go anywhere else because I knew the Catholic Church was the one true church, I just felt I didn’t belong and I was too stuck in my sinful ways. When I returned my faith was stronger than ever.
 
Mary_Ellen said:
Lakotak,

I’m sorry you’ve been treated that way. If anything, I treat converts with a little more awe as I know they’ve chosen the Faith and haven’t ‘just’ grown into it as so many cradle Catholics have.

I’m not sure what I am, cradle or revert? I left the Church for 8 years but didn’t go anywhere else because I knew the Catholic Church was the one true church, I just felt I didn’t belong and I was too stuck in my sinful ways. When I returned my faith was stronger than ever.
Click to expand...
My mother and I came into the Church at the same Easter Vigil, and I thank God that I am a convert, that God called mom into the Church, considering the fact that I had never been baptized or even went to Church before that. Cradle or convert, it makes no difference, we are all part of the same True Church, and I think this is what should be kept in mind.
 
JerryZ said:
The truth of the matter is that we “ALL” need to be converted craddle or not! 👍

Then maybe we can be the salt of the earth 😃

God bless!
Click to expand...
This is what I was going to say. Cradle Catholics are born into the faith but at some point they have to stop going through the motions and choose it for themselves. When they choose it for themselves their passion will ignite but until then they can seem very lukewarm but BLESS THEM for going through the motions. At least they are encountering Christ in some way. 👍
 
This is what I was going to say. Cradle Catholics are born into the faith but at some point they have to stop going through the motions and choose it for themselves. When they choose it for themselves their passion will ignite but until then they can seem very lukewarm but BLESS THEM for going through the motions. At least they are encountering Christ in some way.
Click to expand...
I think you will find this attitude is why many (not all) “cradle” catholics react the way they do to converts. I am a cradle Catholic and, for me, it is very grating to hear about all of the things from their “old” faith that are just like the catholic faith. Call me a little jaded, but when you convert you reject the old faith as a false religion and accept the one true religion of God.

I have noticed on the radio when I listen to Catholic stations almost 100% of the hosts and many of the guests are all converts. While this is nice, I can’t help but feel that many of the hosts bring along aspects of their old faith and use them on air. I find myself wanting a tradition hour that only addresses the history of the Catholic faith. Maybe it is out there and I just don’t hear it from my local station.
 
I’m a convert and I go to Confession (once every week or two) and talk about the faith all the time to anyone who will listen.

I work with a lot of cradle Catholics and they have remarked to me a lot how they think converts make great Catholics.

I don’t feel like a 2nd class citizen either. I had thought about signing up for our local chapter of Catholics Come Home, but since I am so new I didn’t know if that would work. The lady who teaches RCIA said to me, “Nonesense! You are as Catholic here as anyone else and always will be!”

👍
 
moon1234 said:
I think you will find this attitude is why many (not all) “cradle” catholics react the way they do to converts. I am a cradle Catholic and, for me, it is very grating to hear about all of the things from their “old” faith that are just like the catholic faith. Call me a little jaded, but when you convert you reject the old faith as a false religion and accept the one true religion of God.

I have noticed on the radio when I listen to Catholic stations almost 100% of the hosts and many of the guests are all converts. While this is nice, I can’t help but feel that many of the hosts bring along aspects of their old faith and use them on air. I find myself wanting a tradition hour that only addresses the history of the Catholic faith. Maybe it is out there and I just don’t hear it from my local station.
Click to expand...
Although I did not covert from another religion, I find my faith strengthened by the way the Holy Spirit has turned these converts away from false religions and has opened their mind to the True Church. Cradle Catholics are supposed to be taught the faith and grow up in the faith with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. However it is to the Glory of God when someone, convert, is enlightened by the Holy Spirit and decides to follow and become a convert to the true Church. I like to see God’s work within the lives of the people that do convert as a testament to the power and love of God to act in each person’s life to bring him/her to the Truth.
 
lakotak said:
Although I did not covert from another religion, I find my faith strengthened by the way the Holy Spirit has turned these converts away from false religions and has opened their mind to the True Church. Cradle Catholics are supposed to be taught the faith and grow up in the faith with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. However it is to the Glory of God when someone, convert, is enlightened by the Holy Spirit and decides to follow and become a convert to the true Church. I like to see God’s work within the lives of the people that do convert as a testament to the power and love of God to act in each person’s life to bring him/her to the Truth.
Click to expand...
I do aas well. What I didlike is the constant referral to how they did things before and how great it was, etc. Maybe I just notice it more than others, but it bother me none the less. Just something I live with and don’t normally express unless it is a semi-anonymous discussion board. 🙂
 
moon1234 said:
I do aas well. What I didlike is the constant referral to how they did things before and how great it was, etc. Maybe I just notice it more than others, but it bother me none the less. Just something I live with and don’t normally express unless it is a semi-anonymous discussion board. 🙂
Click to expand...
I think this speaks volumes about the power of the Holy Spirit. Consider if these people considered how great their beliefs were in their old religion, then consider the power of the Holy Spirit in their life to be able to change what they considered great and false into something great and True. By their testaments I try to appreciate how they felt their life was before and how God was able to change their life and help them to see the real Truth.
 
moon1234 said:
I think you will find this attitude is why many (not all) “cradle” catholics react the way they do to converts. I am a cradle Catholic and, for me, it is very grating to hear about all of the things from their “old” faith that are just like the catholic faith. Call me a little jaded, but when you convert you reject the old faith as a false religion and accept the one true religion of God.

I have noticed on the radio when I listen to Catholic stations almost 100% of the hosts and many of the guests are all converts. While this is nice, I can’t help but feel that many of the hosts bring along aspects of their old faith and use them on air. I find myself wanting a tradition hour that only addresses the history of the Catholic faith. Maybe it is out there and I just don’t hear it from my local station.
Click to expand...
I have met few converts who rave about the way things were done in their previous faith. Usually they RAIL against the untruth they experienced in their previous faith. 🙂

Please remember that although the Protestant faith does not contain the fullness of truth it does contain bits of truth.

The zeal of a Baptist shouldn’t be sneered at but rejoiced in!
The passion of a Pentecostal shouldn’t be scoffed at but enjoyed!
The careful study of the Bible of literalists shouldn’t be ignored but embraced!

I’m not sure why certain aspects of the Protestants faiths SHOULD annoy you. So long as it’s not in opposition to the Catholic faith it can be a good thing!
 
aidanbradypop said:
So a friend of mine (Cradle Catholic) cannot understand my love and passion for the Church. He attends Mass, Confession…etc, but only out of obligation (his words not mine). He is in Aww of how passionate I am about my faith.

Do you think a cradle Catholic is more inclinded to take the Church for granted rather than someone is seeks the truth and converts? I am a Catholic convert myself now for about 20 years now and my desire and passion for the faith and Church has only grown. I have my days of excuse like the rest, but I grow and love the Church more and more everyday.

I would love to hear from both converts and cradle!!!
Click to expand...
It sounds like your friend has not gone through a deep conversion in Christ.

I am a cradle Catholic. I have always loved God and have always maintained my prayer life, which my mother (a convert) taught me how to pray and to trust in Jesus. My father was a cradle Catholic who NEVER missed Mass but also never taught me how to pray and I remember the day he quoted Scripture to a friend in need on the phone, I nearly fell off the couch!

But I did at one time fall into the “out of obligation” faith and until encountering the Living, Eternal God who loves me so much, would still be going to Mass out of obligation instead of WANTING to go.

I don’t know… if a cradle Catholic takes it for granted anymore that a Protestant who refuses to enter Her doors?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top