That's a difficult balance we're walking in every situation. It's why we've got to put our best foot forward on these issues. There's our local parishes and then there's the world. When I attend mass I never want to leave. But at the end of the day, we've got to put our coats back on and walk. When we face the world we've got to show people what we're willing to do every single day. Ordinary tasks can go a long way.Lost Memories wrote:The main point here is, catholics (and all christians) in the united states, having their faith corrupted, by national politics, and/or by the need to conform to their historical oppressors, to avoid the pressure of social stigma. By conforming to people and values which are un-christian, if not even anti-christian.
Catholics that belong to both sides of the aisle have got to affirm each other's humanity. Now, I am a Democrat. I had a Catholic friend who was a Republican during the past presidential election. We agreed on a lot of policy after we sat down and examined possible solutions to the problems of our country.An alternative explaination to the Stockholm syndrome, is that part of the catholics in america are converts.
And those converts still retain their same old political allegiance, totally unchanged, on both political sides, and they would rather fit their new catholic faith around their old political positions, which distorts their faith, rather than re-evalue their politics from the new point of view their faith gives them.
Not like there is a way to solve that, since catholicism isn't compatible with the limited prepackaged presets american political choices.
To him, it didn't matter that we prayed in the same church on Sunday. For a good while, he was very angry with me. It wasn't the best way to reach someone, so after a tense conversation we got to the subject of personal sins and I did not judge him for a moment. That's the ticket, the imitation of Christ. That isn't to say that I don't get mad at people or get into heated exchanges, the difference is that I've learned when to embrace people.
There's a lot of men and women out there who never got to know Christ very closely. They've been judged by others including their fellow Catholics for their whole lives. That's got to stop. That's why we've got to put the Christ back into Christianity because if we don't, we're going to have a very poor church.
In case this is even needed, I am not talking specifically about the people using this forum, this is more of an observation and conclusion from: observing various reactions and discussions over different sites, and from looking at what the media usually seem to focus on more.
And well, yeah, obviously the internet isn't very representative of reality, most of the times. You tell me, how far or close I got, to your living experience of the reality in the United States of America.
The search for truth always starts from ignorance, it's normal and not ashaming to make mistakes.[/spoiler]
Well, my real experience with the church has been positive; it's now the best part of my life.
Before I got involved with Opus Dei I was spending so much time trying to solve questions that can only be answered through living. I would test the limits of love because I did not feel its boundaries. I would waste time because I didn't know how limited it was, how every second is an opportunity. I ignored the freedom I had because I never saw the gift that it was. Still, I fall into certain errors at times
The first Catholics I met were excited to discuss Aquinas and Distributism. But what really preserved my interest in the faith was its beauty. The stories of its martyrs, the history, and the beauty of its practice. I later met a woman who deeply knew the way of Christ and her virtue spoke for itself. Since then, she chose the religious life. But she was the one who directed me to St. Josemaria Escriva and the personal prelature of Opus Dei.
