Advice to Catholic fish

3,796 Views | 27 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Goodbull_19
Goodbull_19
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Have the opportunity to speak to some kids that are about to be fish in the Corps in the fall and at St Mary's Connect retreat this weekend. About to be 5th year senior (and was in the Corps) here. Anyone have any words of wisdom, good quotes to share or otherwise advice for the occasion?
chimpanzee
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There's a Lenten Friday joke in there somewhere, but it escapes me at the moment.

Not sure if the cadet angle makes a difference, but to me, when men and women go off to college, they really get to test what their faith means to them. There's no family routine that gets you to church on Sunday, and some very large proportion of their peers will be immersing themselves in their independence that is completely decoupled from living out a Christian faith.

It's a pivotal time in their faith, they really get to examine what it means to them beyond the routines of their childhood.
Zobel
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I would suggest to them to find a spiritual mentor as soon as possible - whether that's a priest, family member, whatever, and set up a regular (every few weeks/months) meeting. And make a routine of morning and evening prayers.
dermdoc
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k2aggie07 said:

I would suggest to them to find a spiritual mentor as soon as possible - whether that's a priest, family member, whatever, and set up a regular (every few weeks/months) meeting. And make a routine of morning and evening prayers.


Agree. Wish I had done that.
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RebelE Infantry
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Pray the Rosary daily.
RAB91
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chimpanzee said:

There's a Lenten Friday joke in there somewhere, but it escapes me at the moment.

Not sure if the cadet angle makes a difference, but to me, when men and women go off to college, they really get to test what their faith means to them. There's no family routine that gets you to church on Sunday, and some very large proportion of their peers will be immersing themselves in their independence that is completely decoupled from living out a Christian faith.

It's a pivotal time in their faith, they really get to examine what it means to them beyond the routines of their childhood.
Sorry for the derail, but just curious..... did y'all find college to be a harder time to stay engaged with your faith or your 20's when you were out of school? For me it was those first 2-4 years out of school.
Redstone
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PURPOSE OF LIFE

The telos (end, purpose) of life is theosis (becoming) to Logos (Reason and Order of all creation, the Incarnate Christ). Suffering and trial are essential and unavoidable so that one may unite sufferings to God.
chimpanzee
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RAB91 said:

chimpanzee said:

There's a Lenten Friday joke in there somewhere, but it escapes me at the moment.

Not sure if the cadet angle makes a difference, but to me, when men and women go off to college, they really get to test what their faith means to them. There's no family routine that gets you to church on Sunday, and some very large proportion of their peers will be immersing themselves in their independence that is completely decoupled from living out a Christian faith.

It's a pivotal time in their faith, they really get to examine what it means to them beyond the routines of their childhood.
Sorry for the derail, but just curious..... did y'all find college to be a harder time to stay engaged with your faith or your 20's when you were out of school? For me it was those first 2-4 years out of school.
My family's church attendance tailed off when I was in high school to the point that I rarely went, ever.

I didn't start back until late in college when someone asked me to go to St. Mary's with them.
Aggie95
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Tell them they have a very unique opportunity to experience one of.. if not the best parishes they will ever have.

I am 45 and reflect on my time at St Mary's quite often.
Ordhound04
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Best advice I could give about being a fish in the corps, and being catholic is to remind them that their faith will be questioned. They will be asked to defend & explicate their faith to those who do not know or understand Catholicism.

So my advice would be to learn about why their faith is true, learn about the history of their faith, and be prepared to answer those questions.

Also, never ask for, or accept, "sophomore privileges". It's a trap.
Mark Fairchild
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Along with the Rosary, time spent in Adoration. Have to make an effort to get started, but well worth it! I look at God and God looks at me.
Gig'em, Ole Army Class of '70
Render
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Don't expect you'll meet your spouse at St. Mary's.

Don't leave mass because you feel "guilty" about your sins. That's not God talking.

Get out of your comfort zone and talk to other Aggie Catholics. They're just as nervous as you.

Don't compare your spiritual life to others.

Get to confession early because the lines fill up fast.

Watching WordOnFire YouTube videos are a quick, fun way to learn more about Catholicism.

Don't feel guilty if you don't like Christian rock.

"Catholic guilt" is unhealthy. We are an Easter people! Feeling guilty about your sins just gives more power to them.

Turn your attention to the blessings God has given you in those moments. There is a difference between self-reflection and unhealthy guilt.

Avoiding sin is the start of the spiritual life, not the end.

A spiritual life is a personal relationship with the living God.

Some men you just can't reach. Don't think you have to "save" everyone. It's not all riding on you.

Catholicism has a rich intellectual tradition. Many do not know this.

So, the logic of the faith (for example, Aquinas' work) may be more compelling for some than the usual emphasis on grace (for example, "God loves you", "He gives me strength", etc etc).

Having a spiritual life, knowing the faith, participating in the sacraments, and attending mass will give you a peace and joy that nothing else can give. You will be happy.
Mark Fairchild
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Blue Stars for you!
Gig'em, Ole Army Class of '70
Zobel
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Avoiding sin is the start of the spiritual life, not the end.

X1000
KJN86
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College for sure. Quit attending Mass in December of '84 through August of '87 when I graduated. Thanks to my mother's watchful eye, I started attending Mass again right after I graduated.
Ordhound04
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Render said:



Watching WordOnFire YouTube videos are a quick, fun way to learn more about Catholicism.


I can personally attest to Bishop Barron being instrumental in the re-invigoration of my faith, and in my commitment to the Catholic Church. The WordOnFire ministry opened my eyes to Aquinas, the Church Fathers, a fuller understanding of Catholic moral teaching, divine simplicity, GK Chesterton, and it even re-acquainted me with Fulton Sheen.
TRL-Ag
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Render said:

Don't expect you'll meet your spouse at St. Mary's.

Don't leave mass because you feel "guilty" about your sins. That's not God talking.

Get out of your comfort zone and talk to other Aggie Catholics. They're just as nervous as you.

Don't compare your spiritual life to others.

Get to confession early because the lines fill up fast.

Watching WordOnFire YouTube videos are a quick, fun way to learn more about Catholicism.

Don't feel guilty if you don't like Christian rock.

"Catholic guilt" is unhealthy. We are an Easter people! Feeling guilty about your sins just gives more power to them.

Turn your attention to the blessings God has given you in those moments. There is a difference between self-reflection and unhealthy guilt.

Avoiding sin is the start of the spiritual life, not the end.

A spiritual life is a personal relationship with the living God.

Some men you just can't reach. Don't think you have to "save" everyone. It's not all riding on you.

Catholicism has a rich intellectual tradition. Many do not know this.

So, the logic of the faith (for example, Aquinas' work) may be more compelling for some than the usual emphasis on grace (for example, "God loves you", "He gives me strength", etc etc).

Having a spiritual life, knowing the faith, participating in the sacraments, and attending mass will give you a peace and joy that nothing else can give. You will be happy.

this is great for any Christian
Krautag81
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RebelE Infantry said:

Pray the Rosary daily.
This!
waltonloads11
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Get "lost" for the first 2 years. Don't go to mass, etc. Feel some sort of emptiness with faith.

Go on Aggie Awakening and get a rejuvenation of faith and find that something to fill the emptiness.

Join the Knights of Columbus council at St. Mary's and build a good foundation for your faith.


The above was my Catholic journey while in college. I think it would of been differently if I quickly joined a ministry at St. Mary's. If I found the Aggie Knights sooner as a Fish and surrounded myself with other dudes who have something in common with me, I probably would of likely been involved with my faith for the first 2 years.
Goodbull_19
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Thank you everyone, such great advice! I believe the talk went well!
Goodbull_19
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Render said:



Avoiding sin is the start of the spiritual life, not the end.




Could you clarify what you mean by this?
dcAg
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Make sure you drop a lot of F Bombs.
94chem
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If you find yourself choosing between church and some other activity, that's not a real choice. I mean, you can miss every so often, but you know what I mean.

If your parents expect you to be home every other weekend and not have a spiritual life at college, they are wrong.
JoeAggie5
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Spiritual Direction is the key. I wish i had done that while in school. Would have helped quite a bit. Need to have someone you can ask all your "stupid" questions to.
diehard03
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Quote:

did y'all find college to be a harder time to stay engaged with your faith or your 20's when you were out of school? For me it was those first 2-4 years out of school.

For me it was out of school, but this 100% due to peer group. My peer group in college was fellow believers and we established a cadence of going. My peer group after was similar age/life stage co-workers who were a mix of beliefs.

(I then moved out of Texas and re-established myself into church since it was a blank slate, essentially)
DirtDiver
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1st year. Find a group of people to read your Bible with until you understand what's it's saying.
2nd year. Dig deeper
3rd year. try to teacher sound doctrine to younger classmen.
4th year. Go on a short term mission trip.
FTACo88-FDT24dad
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Awesome post. I am going to steal from it quite a bit!!!
Render
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Goodbull_19 said:

Render said:



Avoiding sin is the start of the spiritual life, not the end.




Could you clarify what you mean by this?
(This is a long post, but hopefully it's clear. Christian theology is complex, so it doesn't lend itself to terse explanations.) There is a popular narrative that Christian morality is puritanical, anti-fun, repressive, etc. But that narrative is not true. The purpose of avoiding sin is to surrender to God. The human being that is fully alive-who is living at a higher intensity-is one who has surrendered to God.

Because when you surrender to God, you are actually participating in the divine life of God. And that's why God created you and I - in His great love, He wants us to participate in His divine life. When Catholics make the sign of the Cross, we are acknowledging this. Starting at the forehead: "God, the Father, so loved the world...", moving down to the chest, "He sent His only Son all the way down...", moving from left to right shoulder, "That we might be gathered into the Holy Spirit." So when Christians talk about the spiritual life, we are not using the language metaphorically. There is a mystical, transcendent, noncontingent factor (i.e. God) at work.

So how do you know when you are "gathered into the Holy Spirit"? An example would be if you have the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are not the usual psychological emotions, but are deeper realities. (The short video I posted below does a great job explaining this.)

In sum, God does not give us arbitrary morals. They are actually rooted in metaphysics. By avoiding sin, you are participating in the divine life of God, which is the end-goal of the pursuit of happiness. As St. Augustine said, "You have made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in You." So the point of Christian morality is so much more than simply "doing the right thing", and it's also not anti-fun or repressive, but rather, the point of Christian morality is all about creating human beings who are living at a higher intensity.

I reference Bishop Barron's video on The Holy Spirit for much of this response, because he puts things so enjoyably and succinctly. I encourage watching it to get the full effect of his explanations.



Goodbull_19
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Great response, thank you! I have learned so much from Bishop Barron's videos and books.
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