Welcome! I know how your children feel. I too left the Church. I aged out of Youth Group and did not feel like I fit in with the older generation. I too felt like there was not a place for me.
The Church has always been “bureaucratic.” During Lent, I started reading the Early Church Councils. They were bureaucratic, but for a reason. They had/have the responsibility of protecting the deposit of Faith, passed on to them from the Apostles and their successors.
If the early Church acted like the non-Denominational Church I fell into during that chapter of my life, the Catholic Church would be so watered down today that it would be unrecognizable to what the early Christians believed and taught.
There is still hope for your children. God led me back to the mature Faith of my youth and He can do the same for them. Keep Praying for your Children and share with them the relationship that you have with Jesus. Don’t be preachy, just love.
Right now, I Pray for my Mom, who has walked away from the Eucharist. When she Married my Step-Dad, she became Presbyterian. They now attend a non-Denominational Church (very similar to the one I used to attend). My Mom is a saint though and loves others in an inspiring way. But, it makes me sad that she does not recognize the intimacy with our Lord, that He offers her in the Blessed Sacrament. Maybe one day, she will see Jesus in the breaking of the Bread (Luke 24:30-31a).
Thank you for being here. Feel free to explore some of the past posts and get to know some in the community here.
I am a revert as my user name indicates. I returned to the Church 13 years ago after 45 years as a Protestant (generic term) and 40 of that in ministry. Please don’t be disheartened by those who think that they are “more Catholic than the Pope” that you’ll find on most Catholic Facebook groups and websites. Theses have always been in the Church from Day One and will be until He returns. They will one day have to give account for themselves just as you and I will. Keep your eyes upon Jesus and His blessed Mother, study the Scriptures and the Catechism and grow in the Grace of God provided to us in the Sacraments in the Faith once for all delivered to the saints. May God bless and guide you on your journey.
The cleansing feeling of the sacrament of reconciliation is so refreshing and the feeling it gives you when you eat and drink the body of Christ. The feeling of having Christ within you makes you want to be a better person. It has been said that we are all sinners, Magisterium too with the exception of the Pope.
Sorry, but I knoe a lot of Catholics who are like Homer Simpson! what I mean by this, is watching sports on TV, whatever it may be. It’s more of a higher priority than going to mass, but one thing I will say is we shouldn’t force idividuals to go to Mass
Your language and the way you comment, excuse me , but you don’t seem very empathetic or Catholic at all. In my opinion, you are definitely not reading the articles from US Catholic. I have only been on here a few days, and you sound pompous, very rude as if you don’t care for those people who have less and utilize scientific based care for themselves. My husband of 34 years is a feminist and he has treated me with nothing but love and respect. In 34 years, he has never cursed one word to me, ever. I cook, and he cooks, I do laundry and he does laundry. We both do dishes . He is nothing like the majority of men I have the unfortunate experience of having read , such medieval ideas about healthcare and judging things they know know nothing about. If Catholic men are like this forum, I’m glad I married a baptized Lutheran turned agnostic.
I don’t go to Church because in all honesty, I mortally sin sometimes. There’s many reasons why I don’t go anymore, but mostly it’s to be in line with my beliefs, and one of those beliefs is to not be a hypocrite. I can’t tell you how many Catholics I know that are straight up hypocrites, my Dad being one of them. I don’t tell people to go to Church or find God, because I mortally sin and no one likes to listen to a hypocrite. Hence why I don’t go to Church anymore. At least I hold myself accountable. I practice what I preach, and that’s something I wish more people would do.
Hate to break it to you, but since the fall of man, I do not know one person who is not a hypocrite.
Jesus really disliked hypocrisy too. He would often call out individuals of authority for this.
Church is a place for struggling hypocrites. Just because you don’t go to Church, does not remedy your hypocrisy anymore than saying that there is no such thing as sin gets rid of sin. But, this does not stop people from trying ; )
No…but it shows you that I’m not going to blow smoke up your a** either. You can say what you want about me not going to Church, but I’m not going to tell you what you should or should not do when I don’t follow it myself. I’m a man of principle.
Honestly what it boils down to is respect, which many people don’t have.
I’d like to offer you to move from judging your Dad to Praying for your Dad. When we Pray for others, it not only helps them, but it also changes us. It removes some of the resentment we have for an individual. It doesn’t mean what they do it right. We want to help them to change their ways. We cannot change others, but God can speak to hearts and minds better than we can. I too will say a Prayer for your Dad. And again, welcome to the CatholicTalk community : )
Well…there’s more to my Dad than what I talk about. Let’s just say him and I have some “history.” But yeah, I’ll pray for him. Been praying for him. I doubt though he’s going to change, he’s up there in age. But sure I’ll pray for him. Thanks for welcoming me ;).
Indeed,indeed and so is that with the other sacraments,sad as it is aswell.Whether it may be the sacrament of confession or just plain holly watter which they consider i supouse undefined idolatry!when in fact is one of the moust simple and basic means against the devil.And so is that with evrything within the catholic faith,against which so bravely the fight the last 500 years.Convinced tgat tey are fighting the means of evel that is the gatholic church.
So who is fighting who? in the name of the Bible, wich is by the way a catholic book,and one of the 3pillars of christianity on which true Christianity stands besides the teaching authority and sacred tradition,thru which the Catholic church safeguards the 7sacraments from the begining and the teaching of the early church fathers and the uncorrupted interpretations of Jesus words and not just …and their fruits along the 2000 years of existance and that of the holly spirit.
….and all the way at the end to its fullest extant :Who is fighting who and is on whoes side?knowingly or just plain blind and misled,since the way to hell us pawed with good intentions …As the Do say
My father was and always will be my best friend ever!! His first name was Magdaleno, my mom was named Maria Concepcion and my grandmother was Maria De Jesus. I have an aunt Guadalupe whose first name is also Maria. Pretty Catholic names. I wish your father well. I also believe in karma. I believe karma has no deadline and has your new address if you move.
Never forget that your faith is your own and secondly an important message that Jesus gave us is not to judge others. Basically we all share the same problem in what we say we want and how we go about achieving that goal. The greatest problem we have is “The World,” something we have grown up with, have learned about, and developed attractions, which include sin. It is not a “Catholic” problem, but a measurable problem in our personal distance from the Holy Spirit. If we put that on a scale from non faith to Saint we could conceivably measure how we are doing. But that is not really what we are about, because Christ meets us anywhere on that scale, which is the most important point. To be aware of Christ or his Spirit we have to change our consciousness - the best way is to use those human attributes that will help - Habit. My recommendation is not to walk the longest Camino next week, but take one small step to your local Adoration chapel and sit there for one an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Maybe read one chapter - any chapter from the bible, but read with an insightful inquisitive mind. Place yourself in the situation. Maybe make this type of visit a habit of one a month , or week, but make it a habit. Another easy habit to start is how to start your day. Begin with a prayer or read the gospel of the day, which is available on your smart phone. Keep developing that trend slowly so it becomes natural, which takes 40 days, our naturalisation cycle in time. here are a couple of targets to aim for - personal humility and the value of everyone - everyone! Finally - for now - Learn to Love the gift that God gave us - to become like Him. Understand that only we can create love by giving it away - to someone else - the easiest way is to simply smile - God Bless You
what I mean by this, is watching sports on TV, whatever it may be. It’s more of a higher priority than going to mass, but one thing I will say is we shouldn’t force idividuals to go to Mass