A lot of us have siblings. Sometimes you love them with all your heart; sometimes you get really frustrated with them and “hate” them.
Photo Credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1206170/Why-does-caring-elderly-parents-turn-squabbling-children.html
Sometimes your siblings frustrate you on a much deeper level than the typical sibling conflicts. Sometimes, they don’t share the same religious views as you do. Well, I face that reality with my two older sisters, who currently do not practice the Catholic faith. I am a cradle Catholic; my mom was born and raised Catholic and my dad converted a few years after he married my mom. My family went to mass, my siblings and I went to CCD and junior/senior youth group; heck even my middle sister and I went on a few Catholic Heart Workcamps. However, my sisters ultimately made the decision to stop attending Church.
Long story short, my oldest sister stopped attending church when she went to college and my middle sister disagreed with the Catholic Church on many social teachings, so she left as well.
That leaves me. I still try to practice my faith with great zeal. I am active in my Catholic Campus Ministry where I participate in faith-sharing groups, mass music ministry and service trips. I also attend Mass on a weekly basis and heck, I even have a faith-based internship. On a relational level, I pray with God almost every night and read the daily scriptures to see what God might be trying to tell me on any given day. Needless to say, I try to be the best Catholic and Child of God that I can be.
Photo Credit: Jacob Clore
However, I often struggle with my faith in one aspect; evangelization. And I mean the talk about your faith evangelization, not the “do good works so everyone sees Christ in you” evangelization.
I am a people pleaser and I absolutely cannot stand the idea of people being frustrated or upset with me. I also tend to get really worked up and nervous when it comes to talking about intense topics like religion and politics, so I tend to remain silent.
Photo Credit: http://www.heyladypublications.com/jeanna-ellsworth-blog/when-to-hold-your-tongue-an-excerpt
So what does all of this have to do with my siblings who no longer practice the Catholic faith? Well I always feel like I am failing in one aspect of my faith and that is somehow convincing my sisters to start practicing the Catholic faith again. Now I know that it is ultimately their choice whether they start practicing again, but I feel that it is my responsibility to at least talk to them about it.
But I can’t. I am so afraid of breaking the status quo and actually letting them know my thoughts. I am afraid of getting nervous while telling them or making them upset with me and creating a divide in our relationship. I know simply being a “Good Catholic” in front of them isn’t working, but I am fearful of actually talking to them about it.
Photo Credit: http://www.webvitality.co.uk/blog/what-to-do-now-that-penguin-2-0-is-in-town/
So I am looking to you, the readers, who have been in a similar predicament. How have you dealt with having siblings who do not practice the Catholic faith? Have you ever tried getting them to come back to the faith? Have you been successful? Because I sure do hope that I can be.
Jacob Clore – Contributor and Editor
A Walk With Us - A Young-Adult Catholic Blog 