Thomas and I have discussed going back to church numerous times. We have discussed where to go should we go, and because of my beliefs, I would only want to go to a Catholic Church and Thomas has said he would be very willing to go with me.
Most of my nursing career, I have worked every weekend or every other weekend which isn't conducive to church going, actually working EVERY weekend makes it impossible. I now work every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. It is actually possible to go to church, but I am exhausted on Sunday mornings after working 36 hours in three days.
Thankfully, the Catholic Church has many options for Mass. You can go Saturday evening, any number of choices on Sunday morning (most churches have at least three Sunday morning Masses,) and some churches have a Sunday evening Mass. Unfortunately, some Sunday evening Masses are "youth" Masses, which is not a problem in theory, but I have been to some really bad youth Masses. In all honesty, I have not been to a youth Mass here locally, but I always have a bad taste in my mouth at the thought, because of past experiences.
The other "issue" is of course, we are living in the middle of the Baptist buckle of the Bible Belt. I can get in my car and drive two miles in any direction and I will come across at least one, usually more, Baptist Churches of one variety or another. I wish I could say the same for Catholic Churches, but that is on the other end of the spectrum. There are NO Catholic Churches within two miles of my house, I think the closest one is between 5-10 miles away and is an "old fashioned" Church in the sense that they still ONLY say Mass in Latin. I think the second closest Church is between 10-15 miles from here (and last time I checked on the website, they didn't have a Sunday evening Mass.) Which means that the closest Catholic Church with a Sunday evening Mass is quite a drive.
I know, I know, I shouldn't complain and I should suck it up and deal with it and just drive however far I have to drive. But, to get four children ready for Church, with the three youngest aged three and younger, it would be quite a challenge getting anywhere in the evening, especially since the little ones are getting close to their 7:00 bedtime.
unfortunately, there is no way I can change my schedule to make going to Church "work" better. I have to work every weekend for financial reasons. However, I am feeling the need to go back to Church. I want to go for the spiritual reasons, but also for the social reasons. I guess I will go back to the Diocese website and see what I can find during some down time this weekend at work.
I just ask anyone reading this to say prayers that I can find something that will work for my family. I don't want to go to Church by myself, so it really does have to work for the entire family. Just don't suggest we go to a different denomination because anytime I have looked into that, it has never happened because of my own belief system. Just pray for me during this time of looking to go back to Church.
4 comments:
Good for you! I want to encourage you to keep looking,... but keep in mind, church buildings and church services are man made... you can have church in your living room, under a tree in your back yard, or in your bathtub if you want to. Just seek Him, love Him and serve Him...He doesnt care where you worship as long as you worship.
May I ask you a personal question? I have wondered this on occasion. Since you are Catholic, and Thomas is not, did you baptize your babies when they arrived?
By the way, I am glad that you are posting more.... SOME PEOPLE post once a week or less!
Hey. . .i resemble that remark. ..
I am glad for the resurgence of this search. . .i have been very open to going to church with Kimberly for some time. . .I have assured her that as long as I am not the victim of spritiual or verbal assaults or judging, I will be MORE than happy to go and participate. . .spirituality comes in all shapes and sizes, and I think there is good to be gleaned from all sorts of "spiritual experiences"
I know that church buildings and services are man made, this is why I haven't overly stressed about the fact we haven't been able to go. God knows my heart and mind and He knows that I haven't "needed" church in the traditional sense. Now that I feel the need, I will keep looking.
As for baptism, no the babies have not been baptized. This is one of the areas that I disagree with the Catholic Church. I don't think my babies would go to Hell if something should happen to them. I don't think baptism HAS to occur at any specific age. If we get involved with a Church, we may get them baptized. I was baptized at two weeks old, Drew was baptized at two years old. I don't think our baptisms are invalid, I don't think any baptism is any more valid or invalid than any other baptism.
I am glad I have been able to post more as well. Our schedules are a little different now, so it gives me more time to think about posting.
However, I am at work now, so I should probably end here. Have a good night.
Hi honey, I have never experienced any kind of verbal or spiritual abuse in any Church I have ever attended. Just the opposite in fact, but we have discussed this in detail many times.
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