Last night I found out that one of the people who I consider to be a “good Catholic” is a Convert. This caused me to repeat what I have heard so many times and have come to believe: By and large, Converts make better Catholics these days. I tried to explain what I meant, but did not do a very good job.
On the way home, I thought about it and likened it to an inversion of “adoption”. Adopted children often are more aware of the importance and beauty of family because they were chosen to be a part of their family- “Born” children do not recognize the significance because they were always a part of the family. Converts choose to be Catholic and cradle Catholics are born into it. But that still did not sit right because after all – we too chose to be Catholic at our Confirmation.
The more I thought about it, the more I thought – it is kind of like – when you are children and you go to your Grandparents house every Sunday for dinner – it is fun and you look forward to it; you respect them; you like to help cook and even clean up. You learn from them and simply like spending time with them. As you get older, it becomes routine and maybe even a chore. You have other things that think you would enjoy more. You may still go, but you really are not interested in participating. You no longer see the value and beauty in doing so and just go out of obligation or to keep the peace.
But, if someone marries into the family from a family that really never were that close or had that tradition, it is something new, important, and something to cherish. They see the value in it because they never experienced it before. They understand the importance and significance. They are more involved and try harder to do what they can to be a part of and support this new family and their traditions.
Which brings up the questions – how did we get here and what can or should we do it about it?
This is the first of a series of posts inspired by our recent discussions at my Parish.
blessedadorer 