An said what? A day in the life of An Huynh…

I was catching up on my blog subscriptions in my Google Reader and a few of the Catholic blogs really caught my attention. One of my favorites, Lindy Borer, wrote about some of the reasons she converted to Catholicism – the misconception of what searching for Faith is really about and what it shouldn’t be not about.

“The Christ-centered aspects of mass are especially apparent to former protestants who are Catholic converts. I can recall feeling like a person afloat in a giant sea of denominations, drifting aimlessly from one to another, desperately reaching out for a solid piece of land, and finding again and again nothing but a flimsy piece of driftwood. This process is often known as “church shopping,” and always struck me as rather horrifying, though at the time I couldn’t say why this was so. But now I know…it was all about me, Me, ME! “Try many different churches and see what fits YOU.” For crying out loud, was I looking for Christ or a pair of jeans?”

That kind of related to my previous post about Mass and how many argue/complain that ours is so boring etc. That’s not what it’s about – it’s not about us and how entertained we are. It doesn’t matter if we’re not singing and dancing. It’s about the Eucharist. Among other things, she also wrote about her husband being a “cradle Catholic” and his limited knowledge of his faith yet his strong defense of it.

“…like many life-long, “cradle Catholics” wasn’t always able to provide adequate explanations of his faith (although I think Catholics in general know way more than they think they do), he WAS immovable in his annoying, pragmatic, and logical way, and exhibited a marked resistance to the fluff with which I was presenting him.  And carried off his defense of Catholicism quite well, actually.  Over the course of time, he represented a strong anchor in the sea of options, and I was beginning to envy his stability.”

I realized that’s exactly what I am. I’m a cradle Catholic. I recall many encounters I’ve had with various Christians of other ”Denominations” who like to throw random absurd opinions at me about the Catholic Church to see what my response would be. Honestly? Most of the time; I’d have no clue and or would just shrug them off changing the subject. At the same time – I would still hold my ground as a Catholic, knowing that whatever their argument was, there was an answer – I just personally didn’t know it. This is what’s always made me a tad envious of those who’ve converted to Catholicism rather than raised Catholic. Converts all seem to know so much more and seem to be stronger in their Faith.

My Mom is another cradle Catholic – my Dad converted from Buddhism. When I was a kid; my Dad would always be the one insisting we went to Mass every Sunday – and on time. Not to insinuate that my Mom isn’t committed – she definitely is; it was both of them that made sure my brother and I went to Catholic private schools etc. but my Dad is just extremely devout. I noticed the same thing with my Aunt (she converted as well) – she always makes sure that, even when her family is on vacation, they find a Catholic Church wherever they are on Sundays and attend Mass. I also feel like those that convert are more knowledgeable especially when defending our Faith. I really admire that.

I think what made me more religious was attending Chris’ confirmation courses with him. I received all of my other Sacraments while attending private Catholic schools; this includes my Confirmation during my freshman year of high school. Although I completed all the necessary courses, I don’t think it impacted me as much as it would have had I done it later in life – like Chris. He completed all of his other Sacraments on time as well because he also attended private Catholic elementary schools. After transferring out to public schooling – his Confirmation unintentionally slipped to the back-burner. When we first started dating, I knew he was the man I would marry but I also knew that we couldn’t receive our Sacrament of Matrimony (getting married fully in the Catholic Church) if he wasn’t Confirmed. He had mentioned that he wanted to get Confirmed but just hadn’t gotten around to it; so I took that as a green light, did some research and enrolled him LOL.  He was actually all for it – and just hadn’t known where to start. He wanted me to come with him to keep him company so I attended every class with him; I was amazed by how much we grew and learned as Catholics. I enjoyed asking the millions of questions I never realized I had and absorbing every answer. We even bought a new Bible and each our own Catechism books It was an amazing experience.

Even though I was already a Confirmed Catholic – I really felt as if I was re-Confirmed. Going through all of it a second time really opened my eyes and brought me closer to my Faith. I guess that’s the difference between getting Confirmed as a rebellious teenager (I probably didn’t even pay any attention to it) and doing it was an adult. Combined with a few other life experiences (like some of my close friends having abortions) I’ve made an extra effort in growing my Faith and being more active in my Parish.  As for all of those “random absurd opinions” I’d hear from other Christians from various Denominations; I also made sure to get those answers – now I’m just patiently waiting for them to bring it up again so that I can throw my Catechism book in their faces – oops, I mean politely correct them