Quote:
Originally posted by kafromTN
I'm Catholic in the South and haven't "walked away" per se from the church, but I don't go nearly as much as I should.
I keep reading about how all the other Catholics have had terrible priests & experiences but I guess I have been lucky not to have experienced that stuff. The only problems I have had are with the type of people who go to my church, but it's not so bad I would stop going. I guess that is one of the good things about being a Catholic in the South, you have to have good priests since Catholicism isn't huge down here.
Just my $.0135694 worth,
Mark
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Mark I have had a similar experience as you. My parents baptized my brother and I Catholic but didn't force us to attend church afterwards. They both had rather strict religious upbringings and in a sense, walked away a bit. My mom still receives communion if we do go to church but my dad just sits back. The rest of my extended family is Catholic but beliefs aren't thrown on us because we don't go to church on Sundays. My grandma wants her grandchildren to all be married in the Catholic church (even though my older cousin and I have said we don't really want to be) but I'm not told I'm going to Hell every time I say something against Catholic belief.
And I guess that's why I didn't like traditional Catholic churches. I felt guilty for being there. Luckily, my Catholic high school teachers weren't too archaic. They had their beliefs but at least they let us ask questions. And some professors even questioned our OWN faith. It was an interesting experience.
I didn't attend masses during college. I went to something called "Celebration" once in a while. Basically it was a church that played out like a Christian Rock show. We sang worship songs for about an hour. No communion, no homily... just singing. And people got really into it.
These days I find myself at the Catholic Newman Center. It's not a church... more like a rec hall. But there is a traditional alter and decor. I like it there because it still follows tradition but with a couple additions. Last night at the student mass, we meditated instead of the priest giving a normal homily. But the community is strong and partly around my age. I wonder why I didn't go to this place before. And I feel welcome and questions seem welcome. So I found my place.