Some Christians really disappoint me

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Christine85

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Hi, I have no idea where to post this. But I’m starting to see corruption in the Church. We know there is corruption everywhere , but what really upsets me is that people such as Priests or Religious or even lay people behave very contrary to how I thought we were meant to be. I love the truth of the Church but I’m finding myself continuously disappointed in the falseness of some people. Yes I have my flaws also, but sometimes I really wonder do these people actually love or care about others, or is it all a show.
I’m very sad by this realization that I have had it’s really upsetting.

Can anyone else here relate ?
 
Christine85 said:
Hi, I have no idea where to post this. But I’m starting to see corruption in the Church. We know there is corruption everywhere , but what really upsets me is that people such as Priests or Religious or even lay people behave very contrary to how I thought we were meant to be. I love the truth of the Church but I’m finding myself continuously disappointed in the falseness of some people. Yes I have my flaws also, but sometimes I really wonder do these people actually love or care about others, or is it all a show.
I’m very sad by this realization that I have had it’s really upsetting.

Can anyone else here relate ?
Click to expand...
We really need more specific information. What kind of behavior are you talking about? :confused:
 
Like people you think are meant to be holy or make a big show of loving God, but if it comes down to it they don’t act what they say. I am continuously disappointed at thinking someone will be good because they’re Christian, but I always end up hurt by them as they are not all that considerate and Jesus like. It’s such a disappointment. And upsetting. Maybe it’s good that I’m seeing this because it’s being a lot more realistic rather than just expecting someone who goes to Church to be a really compassionate and loving person.
 
Unfortunately this has been a problem in the Church ever since Judas betrayed Jesus. Outside of Jesus and His Mother, who never committed any sin, we have all fallen short of God’s expectations. Thank God for the Sacrament of Penance!
 
Christine85 said:
Hi, I have no idea where to post this. But I’m starting to see corruption in the Church. We know there is corruption everywhere , but what really upsets me is that people such as Priests or Religious or even lay people behave very contrary to how I thought we were meant to be. I love the truth of the Church but I’m finding myself continuously disappointed in the falseness of some people. Yes I have my flaws also, but sometimes I really wonder do these people actually love or care about others, or is it all a show.
I’m very sad by this realization that I have had it’s really upsetting.

Can anyone else here relate ?
Click to expand...
I’ll bet there are a great many Priests or Religious or even lay people who feel exactly the same as you.

A semi-wise friend of mine who is pretty good at slinging trite sayings has one that applies here:

An Expectation is just a Premeditated Resentment.

Lower your expectations a little. The Church is a hospital full of sick people, not a museum full of Saints.
 
I don’t mean to sound uncharitable, but I have found in my 64 years that the less I focus on others and their faults and the more I focus on mine, the less the faults of others bother me.

Also, the less I expect of others and the more I permit them to be who they are, the less I am disappointed. Also, the more good I look for in people, the more I find. And many things I once considered soooo important, I now see didn’t even fit the definition of important.

Also, consider the fact that you may be just as annoying to others as they are to you. See, it is all in our perception of things. I have had to learn many things the hard way in this regard.

You will NEVER find a perfect person (even my husband, who claims to be 😉 ) You need to lower your expectations of others and don’t expect them to meet your ideas of what is Christian. Try to see them in a positive light.

Yes, there are people who do not act very Christian, but one eventually learns that the only

Person one can fully trust is God, and that makes it a lot easier to accept the failures of others. And after all, if God thinks the worst sinner was worth dying for, how can I judge others?

Just pray for people who disappoint you.
 
I had these thoughts and a wise priest once kindly reminded me that clergy and hired laity need the Sacrament of Reconciliation too.
 
Christine85 said:
I’m very sad by this realization that I have had it’s really upsetting.

Can anyone else here relate ?
Click to expand...
Here’s what I decided: that nasty, manipulative woman in choir? If she wasn’t in the Church she’d be in prison for slicing up her lover after they robbed a liquor store.

Jesus came to call sinners. He said His Father wants everyone to be saved. Se we get them all, even ourselves. I decided this might be the best they can do and very possibly, it’s such a huge struggle, they are much better in their souls than I can hope to be.

Besides, I’m not too great, anyway.

It’s never about the people, it’s all about God. YOU + the Trinity, that’s the deal.

Pray for 'em all.
 
Christine85 said:
Hi, I have no idea where to post this. But I’m starting to see corruption in the Church. We know there is corruption everywhere , but what really upsets me is that people such as Priests or Religious or even lay people behave very contrary to how I thought we were meant to be. I love the truth of the Church but I’m finding myself continuously disappointed in the falseness of some people. Yes I have my flaws also, but sometimes I really wonder do these people actually love or care about others, or is it all a show.
I’m very sad by this realization that I have had it’s really upsetting.

Can anyone else here relate ?
Click to expand...
Yes, I can relate. Because you’re describing me, a poor sinner.
 
People try. They don’t always get it right.
They sometimes only get part of being a Christian right, or what they think matters, but it often isn’t the whole picture.

They don’t always succeed even if they try hard.
Do you, do I always live as the good Christians that others might expect?
We are Catholics. How often do we disappoint ourselves or others as Christians?

When Jesus hug on the cross only one of the twelve men who has shared His life, heard His teachings, seen His miracles, was there to support Him.
The rest were scared and concerned for themselves and therefore hid, leaving Jesus to face things alone as if He was worth nothing after all.

The mistake is in expecting perfection of fallible human beings.
 
I am a little bit older than most of you. I grew up in a Jesuit Parish in South Florida when that area was still considered mission territory When I was a boy in the 1940’s, and my mother was the soul of hospitality. Our house became the hang-out for the priests in our Parish to the extent that our telephone number was on the wall next to the telephone in the Rectory-in case someone was dieing and needed a priest.
The monthly inter-parish poker game was played on our dining room table.
It was not unusual for me to come home from school to find Father So-and-So wearing a T-shirt and shorts, sitting in a beach chair in our back yard reading a newspaper.
I grew up with these priests being sort of like uncles. What I did learn from them is to appreciate them as human beings, and not saints.
Very few people on this earth are saints. Our Church is not made up of saints. From its very beginnings, when Christ was gathering the 12 Apostles together, His church was a Church of Sinners. That is what the Crucifixion and Redemption are all about.
So, my advice to you is never, EVER, judge another human being as to whether they live up to the faith. That is in the purview of Christ and the Father alone. Rather, look into yourself and strive to do a good as you can.
If you don’t expect anything from others than you won’t be disappointed. If you do need someone to emulate, that’s what our established Saints are for. That’s why Holy Mother the Church has named them Saints.
 
When our Bishop resigned in disgrace and our Apostolic Administrator came to pick up the pieces, he said something that was very memorable to me.

He said, (paraphrased) “Don’t place your faith in human beings or earthly things, because they will let you down. As Catholics, we place our faith in God and the sacraments of His Church. Rely on these things alone and you will never be wanting.”

It is OK to doubt some human beings and their decisions. But we should have respect for the hierarchy by virtue of their office and their apostolic mission to save souls and evangelize in Christ’s name. Ultimately, our faith can only be placed in God because it is by His will that the Earth continues to turn and we continue our short lives here. It is by His grace alone that we have been saved, are being saved, and will be saved on the day of final judgement.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
I am a little bit older than most of you. I grew up in a Jesuit Parish in South Florida when that area was still considered mission territory When I was a boy in the 1940’s, and my mother was the soul of hospitality. Our house became the hang-out for the priests in our Parish to the extent that our telephone number was on the wall next to the telephone in the Rectory-in case someone was dieing and needed a priest.
The monthly inter-parish poker game was played on our dining room table.
It was not unusual for me to come home from school to find Father So-and-So wearing a T-shirt and shorts, sitting in a beach chair in our back yard reading a newspaper.
I grew up with these priests being sort of like uncles. What I did learn from them is to appreciate them as human beings, and not saints.
Very few people on this earth are saints. Our Church is not made up of saints. From its very beginnings, when Christ was gathering the 12 Apostles together, His church was a Church of Sinners. That is what the Crucifixion and Redemption are all about.
So, my advice to you is never, EVER, judge another human being as to whether they live up to the faith. That is in the purview of Christ and the Father alone. Rather, look into yourself and strive to do a good as you can.
If you don’t expect anything from others than you won’t be disappointed. If you do need someone to emulate, that’s what our established Saints are for. That’s why Holy Mother the Church has named them Saints.
Click to expand...
Excellent post.

I disagree about judging about living up to the faith. If I am not living up to my faith, it is helpful for others to tell me. In order to do that they have to make a judgment. Priests must be judged on their faith by other humans; if not we would have a lot of terrible priests. If you mean telling them they are destined for hell then I agree 100%.

We are not supposed to judge anyone for anything, including being weak in faith. That doesn’t mean we can not recognize their weakness of faith. We are also not supposed to seek vengeance.

Yes this does mean our whole judicial system is dead wrong. Every countries is, ours is better than where they just kill you for suspicion.

Our prisons should protect society while rehabilitating the inmates. Instead they throw people in cages for petty things and make their bad situations worse all for the sake of money. Then they justify it with terrible logic and make the taxpayers pay them for this great service they provide.

What is disappointing me in Christians is their feelings about what not judging people means. I feel we really need to re educate people on this. It is causing a large fraction of our problems.

Back on topic - The Church has been Satan’s main target since the beginning. How much do you think has changed back then?

Don’t fall for that “satan can’t do anything anymore” ****. Satan inspired people to think that. It sounds good so people go with it.

Every Sunday while in service you have to deal with the fallen angels being annoying trying to mess it up for everyone.

Yes they can enter the Church…another misconception that Satan tricked people into thinking. They don’t always possess people they influence them.

They likely influenced you to think this way.
 
Elizium23 said:
When our Bishop resigned in disgrace and our Apostolic Administrator came to pick up the pieces, he said something that was very memorable to me.

He said, (paraphrased) “Don’t place your faith in human beings or earthly things, because they will let you down. As Catholics, we place our faith in God and the sacraments of His Church. Rely on these things alone and you will never be wanting.”

It is OK to doubt some human beings and their decisions. But we should have respect for the hierarchy by virtue of their office and their apostolic mission to save souls and evangelize in Christ’s name. Ultimately, our faith can only be placed in God because it is by His will that the Earth continues to turn and we continue our short lives here. It is by His grace alone that we have been saved, are being saved, and will be saved on the day of final judgement.
Click to expand...
Another excellent post.

No human is infallible. The Church is comprised of humans. I can buy into the Pope being infallible through God’s grace depending on the situation and topic though definitely.

There are a lot of Catholics that seem to have been trained to never question the Church or the application of its teachings. This is extremely counter-productive to our goals.

It is not the teachings that need questioning, it is the way the teachings are being taught that needs some serious fixing.

You must admit priests do not spend much time reminding people that Satan and the legion infiltrate the Church on a regular basis so we have to be vigilant and question everything.

It leaves people thinking the Church is perfect and to question a teaching or an application of a teaching in the Church is in some way similar to questioning God.

Satan then uses this false mentality to further his agenda and keep people from the Church.

Question everything the Church says. I did. I found out it isn’t the teachings that are wrong, it is the teachers. I would have never found that out without questioning the Church’s core teachings in the first place.
 
Now you know how Moses felt when he came down from the mountain.😃

I also wondered why God did not place all the upright souls on one side and the below par on the other side. It would be a greater demonstration of God.

But all I learned is why God has been refereed to as Mysterious.

This divide is done with perfection and has tick me off at times.
I’m just glad God has taught me not to lie to God or myself about such issues.
 
I suppose people may really hurt us but we have to forgive and love. And not let that ruin us and make us become bitter. It can just hurt because I had hope that people in the Church would be different to non Church people. Actually to be honest it seems that I have been less hurt by secular non Christian people
 
Linusthe2nd said:
We really need more specific information. What kind of behavior are you talking about? :confused:
Click to expand...
We don’t need any information.

Catholics are people, and people are, well… people.🤷

None of us will be perfect 'til we step through those pearly gates (after a spell in purgatory).
 
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