... a/k/a "A &P" catholics (ashes and palms).
You are absolutely right! For many years, I fell prey to the humanist concept that "I am a good person" and didn't need to supplement it with guilt driven sermons delivered by some 'out of touch' priest.
It was the son of friends who brought me back by asking me to be his sponsor at Confirmation. Not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings, I accepted, though I had not been inside a church in years. The day of his confirmation, I walked into the local church, sat down and was immediately transformed. Wait, that sounds too melodramatic. It is difficult to find words that describe the emotions that overwhelmed me that day. The parable of the lost sheep would be an apt description. I even soaked up every word of the pastor's homily; I couldn't get enough. When it was over, I didn't want to leave.
Fr. Corapi described this emotion quite well the other night. He cautioned and I agree, that the first wave is one of sheer delight, like the bride and groom on their honeymoon. One must be prepared, though, for the letdown that will come at some point in time, and it does. St. Therese learned how to deal with this. I have not read her book about the levels of faith, but she addresses this there. Mother Theresa knew best how to deal with life and its pressures. She insisted that the members of her order invest a minimum amount of time in prayer each day. If they were delayed, attending to the dying, they were not exonerated from their daily prayers. They went directly to the chapel at 2 or 3am to invest in personal prayer. Mother insisted that the harder the work, the more prayer one needed.
It's a beautiful feeling to come home, but you have to work very hard at maintaining your faith strong.
I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat with your story. Thank you for sharing!
It's a beautiful feeling to come home, but you have to work very hard at maintaining your faith strong.
We ALL have to do this.
I suppose this is true, but after more than two years back in the church, I haven't felt the let down yet. I know I need more prayer time, that's my biggest problem right now. I try and justify praying in the car to and from work as acceptable, but I know that I need to carve out some time each and every day for God.
God bless!!!