When I first re-converted back to my Catholic faith, the only person that I knew who was a devout practicing Catholic was my mother!
When I was starting to investigate homeschooling, one of the local Catholic homeschool moms invited me to come to one of their meetings so that I could hear what homeschooling was all about. When I got to the meeting, the moderator wanted us all to sit in a circle. She announced that we were going to start with some praise and worship music, and then we would all say the rosary.
I think I rolled my eyes and started to laugh. Where the heck did this lady think she was going to find 30 rosaries for this group? The rosary was for old ladies. No one my age said it any more!
The moderator started the music. It was pleasant contemporary Christian music. But as I looked around the room there were women who were really praying to the music they were hearing. These gals had relationships with the Lord just like my mom. I was moved, impressed and a tad jealous! Prayer seemed to come so easy to them. It flowed.
My biggest shock came when the music stopped. The moderator sat down and pulled a rosary out of her pocket – and every other woman in the room was able to bring a rosary out of her purse or pocket – everyone that is but me. Another gal kindly lent me hers as she had two!
That evening made a huge impact on me. I saw that what I desired for myself as far as a relationship with the Lord wasn’t just a theory or something for when I hit 60, but something that others my own age and younger had! They were living it. This group of women became very important in my own spiritual journey but also in how I was able to turn our home into a Domestic Church.
First of all, their love and support was very important. I was never mocked for being in the Catholic cafeteria line for so long. They answered my questions, and as I became more involved with the group, invited me into their homes so that I could see their routines and religious practices. I was an apprentice soaking it all in.
And that example was very important to me. I had not seen a Catholic family with many small children before. So just in a practical sense of getting kids to mass, attending daily mass, saying prayers, going to confession etc. it was important for me to see how to do this from other folks who were doing it.
But maybe most importantly, my children had a chance to make friends with other children from these homes. These were kids who wore their scapulars and said nightly rosaries with their families. When our group was together it was awesome to hear 100 people including many small voices recite the prayer before meals. That all left a big mark on my own children’s spiritual development.
There were some other “mentors” for me along the way too. Much to my surprise, my BFF, my high school girlfriend, was having her own spiritual journey and she was having a very glorious time rekindling her Christian faith and growing in the Lord. My friend is not Catholic, but I gained so much enthusiasm from listening to her go on and on. I found that I was able to ask her questions about prayer and trust and all sorts of topics. She really inspired me.
There were several older women who were mentors for me as well. Our church is blessed to have a wide variety of “church ladies.” These are the gals who go to daily mass, are members of the Legion of Mary, are their every Sunday etc. As I volunteered more and more at church I had an opportunity to know these women and I learned much from them. Most importantly I learned that age differences should not be a barrier to friendship! These women had had husbands, and raised children. They were a few stages of life ahead of me, but if I was willing to listen, they had much to offer.
My music teacher was also a strong inspiration for me. She was not Catholic either, but she had a strong spirituality. Some of it was a little wacky I thought, but she had a severe desire to know God and she was very interested in quiet prayer and meditation. She taught me much about just being at peace. Her sons told me that watching her die had been a very beautiful experience for them. They thought she was in her deep meditation when she passed – they didn’t even know for a time that she was gone. I think she died the way she lived – it must have been beautiful.
Having a spiritual, God-centered home isn’t easy, but it gets easier if you can get a little help, inspiration and ideas from others.
1. Surround yourself with friends and acquaintances who are also God-Centered and trying to live holy lives in their own Domestic Churches.
2. Be attuned to maybe what some of your current friends are going through spiritually. Maybe you can inspire each other and grow together in faith.
3. Seek out holy men and women at church and be open to the experiences and advice from Christians who are older. Don’t let age hold you back from making new friendships!
4. I know however, that when you have a lot of little kids, it’s hard to get out sometimes to make new friends, or to volunteer at church. When I was starting out 18 years ago I didn’t have the internet. What a welcome reprieve that would have been! Take advantage of some of the wonderful forums and blogs on line for inspiration and friendship. The 4RealLearning Blogs, Catholic Moms Online and St. Blogs are great places to start!
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