Suggestions for apathetic family

[Wojo42]

How do you stay Catholic when everyone around you is lukewarm at best. My whole family used to be catholic but have drifted away. In particular my wife converted to Catholicism (from Methodism in which she was nominal in practice) a year before we were married. But now is apathetic in attitude. She doesn’t attend church anymore and doesn’t want to talk about religion with me or pray with me. She seems completely apathetic toward religion right now. It’s really bringing me down and I am having a hard time trying to live a Catholic life. Has anyone dealt with this type of situation before? Does you have any suggestions?

 

[missionarygirl]

Sadly, the majority of the people at my church seem that way as well. If I say something about God or the Church, they just look at me like I’m crazy for a second, then promptly change the subject. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Some of them seem to be very sincere in their Catholic journey. Just remember that actions speak louder than words. Try not to judge their hearts. Try not to seem “holier than thou”. Love them. Pray for them. Then start over again. Other than that, I don’t really know what to tell you.

 

[missionarygirl]

Oh yeah. You might also want to find a good prayer group or study group in your church. Someone to provide fellowship who is devoutly Catholic and that you can speak of your struggles to and encourage each other.

 

[Ophelia23]

Oh yeah. You might also want to find a good prayer group or study group in your church. Someone to provide fellowship who is devoutly Catholic and that you can speak of your struggles to and encourage each other.

This.

If you can not get Catholic support from your family, I encourage you to find it elsewhere. We need the support of others!!

 

[cmscms]

Yes, it is very difficult to remain Catholic nowdays when it seems like no one else cares. And my heart bleeds for you because as a single person, I can not even imagine what it would be like to be married to someone like that.

There is a season for everything and the ‘dark’ seasons are no fun to have to live through. It is in the bible that people will NOT like us for following Jesus. And (this is not consolation) but having people who don’t care around you is not neary as bad as people who go out of their way to prove you wrong.

We do not know your wife’s heart. Perhaps she feels betrayed by God and does not know how to discuss it. Perhaps this is a dark season for her and she can not feel close to God and resents that other’s can. After all… nothing hurts me more to see God anwer someone else’s prayers when mine are ignored.

Pray for your wife. Be gentle in how you approach religion with her and if she does need to make a negative comment about the church, adopt an attitude it is OK to be honest as long as she can respect your view point

CM

 

[lerapt78]

Oh yeah. You might also want to find a good prayer group or study group in your church. Someone to provide fellowship who is devoutly Catholic and that you can speak of your struggles to and encourage each other.