Why do Catholics often seem less than involved in their faith?

[ralfyman]

Several refer to U.S. Catholics, but I wonder if they represent Catholics worldwide, especially those who live in poor countries.

 

[JanetF]

Don’t expect to see all the ways Catholics pray, give, and commune with their God. Because this clearly directs them to not be putting on a show for you. And there are quite a few who take that seriously.

How it may seem to the OP when he attend mass, is not necessarily the case though, and I think it’s important to realize that some of us just aren’t outwardly effusive in our prayer styles. But what’s going on inside might be an explosion of joy.

My advice to the OP would be to spend time getting to know his fellow congregants so that he can witness how they actually live their faith, not based on the 1 hour a week he may see them in mass. Same goes for getting to know your priest, invite him over for dinner, ask him to a social event. Our priest loves to go to hockey games, so we invite him when we have extra tickets (especially if they are playing the Black Hawks since he’s originally from Chicago).

 

[Ilkka]

Same goes for getting to know your priest, invite him over for dinner, ask him to a social event

I don’t know. Wouldn’t that be a little… weird, perhaps?

 

[boldlygo]

You mentioned in another thread that you aren’t in a standard RCIA setting, and that you’re taking instruction with a priest…these sessions will be rather informal, and maybe after a few sessions, when you get to know each other, you could invite him for dinner and a session at your place, if your wife would be OK with it…it could benefit both you and your wife.

 

[JanetF]

Not at all. My husband and I have gone to hockey games, baseball games with my priest. They love it!

 

[AlmaRedemptorisMater]

OP, it can seem that way sometimes. My church background was spending early Saturday morning in a Bible study, midday at worship service, after service potluck with over 70% of the church attending, then usually a choir practice or invite over to another church families place where vespers would be held until 10 or 11pm. Then you have prayer group on Wednesdays, Friday night vespers, Sunday games night, etc, etc…

My background denomination demanded activity of all members. If you were in the church, you were expected to do something.

That fosters a real sense of active worship. But coming to my parish now, the Catholic Church at least in my area, it’s just not quite like that.

Cradle Catholics may not recognize the absolute break in terms of community that some others experience. At least for me, the spiritual relationship wasn’t something I experienced on a personal level, but rather on a public or corporate level. I was a Christian, yes, but it wasnt separated from the corporate reality of my faith. I was Christian insofar as I had connection to the other Christian’s in my church. It’s rare in my faith background that someone experiences purely private devotion to Christ, it’s almost unheard of.

So now, I do understand why Cradle Catholics get somewhat defensive at these sort of questions, because typically there just is no comparable context concerning lay Catholics. But it is most definitely not meant to be accusatory to them, it is meant to look for some means of continuity.

In some ways this is why Catholicism seems more private and interior rather than the inter-relational corporate worship I was accustomed to.