I think sometimes we need to find a place that makes us happy and uncomfortable. By that I mean uncomfortable with the status quo we may be living in -- uncomfortable with "good enough" -- uncomfortable enough to grow more and step outside our comfort zones where real growth can occur.
Question: are you going to church to please your friend, or are you really after God? After all, the bible does say that persecution is bound to come - even from those who used to be close to you.
What i'm talking about is that he is not feeling comfortable (intimate) going to a Catholic church so if he feels content at another place he should go where he is happy. Be it Hindu, Buddist, Protestant, etc...
Hey ktvoss What do you believe in, as a Catholic, that is different than other Christian denominations? Every church has a youth group that makes you feel good about your spirituality. I bet ya dollars to doughnuts that there's nothing in your group that's specific to Catholicism.
I have an analogy to explain your friend calling your a "traitor" Being Catholic you were a Rockets fan, now that your Christian, you've become a Spurs fan, while you may still be an NBA fan, you're a traitor to him, at least thats what I think he was saying.
Unfortunately the truth is that when you appear before God, you're not going to be judged based on what your friend said about you. You know what you've experienced for yourself is real, and your friend does not understand that. So be patient with him and pray for him, but you've gotta make up your mind to do what *you* need to do.
OK, I don't know that you guys born, raised, living here in the good ol' U.S. of A. have this problem, but most of us from other countries speaking other languages have the following problem but I cannot feel the same way when going to an English mass the way I do with a Spanish one. I don't know what it is, but I don't feel it the same way... it's like there's something missing... I get into the songs more... and stuff... anyone else out there feel the same way?
