Perhaps you
have heard this: “You have fallen away!” Or perhaps, “What are we going to tell
the family?” These are the comments people hear when they are no longer
attending the Catholic Church. People who grew up Catholic and stopped
attending can attest that the saying “once a Catholic, always a Catholic” has
been likely used and probably abused.
For a time in
my life, I heard those words. I was brought up in a Catholic family and
educated in a Catholic school, and I embraced Catholicism as an adult. However,
soon after we were married and had our children, my wife and I started
attending a non-denominational church. My mom and dad as well as many in my
family questioned our newfound faith and the reason why we were seemingly
abandoning our religion.
From my
perspective my wife and I hadn’t converted or abandoned anything; we were
actually embracing our faith and growing closer to God. To us, moving from one
location on Sunday to another wasn’t about converting to another faith but
reaffirming what we knew to be true.
In the
beginning I had more passion and enthusiasm than common sense. I was
insensitive, rude, argumentative, and no fun to have at a party. My wife was
much more pleasant. She didn’t like arguments and was a natural peacemaker. In
time God was able to smooth out some of these rough edges in my life, and my
family eventually forgave me. Surprisingly, and over time, they started to see,
through my gentler and humbler self, that my faith in and love for God were
real. I’ve found this approach to be better when we want to share the Gospel.
St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if
necessary use words.”i
Over the
years I’ve had the opportunity to read and grow and have taken some classes in
theology, the Bible, and history. I’ve learned a lot about my Catholic
heritage. Had I known then what I know now, I would have had better answers to
people who asked about me falling away or abandoning my religion. To me
Catholicism was a great inheritance, and it was in the Catholic Church that I
came to believe the essential truths I continue to believe today. The faith,
the history, the traditions, and even the doctrines contributed greatly to who
I am.
From an excerpt from the book, "Roaming Catholics: ending the wandering to embrace the wonder" by the author. Available at Amazon
