May 28, 2025 “I knew the individual words they were saying, but I didn’t know what they meant when used in those combinations,” I told my friend. “I had no idea what they were talking about. I felt like I didn’t belong in the discussion. I was in a room full of Catholics who are like fine wine – people who are mature and developed in their faith – while I sat in my corner feeling like a Capri Sun juice pouch.” It happens to me far more frequently than I’d like. If it’s not a Catholic term that I don’t know but everyone else does, it’s a prayer, a song, or the name and/or content of a book, document or encyclical. I’ll have no idea what it is, what it means, or why and how everyone else seems to know about it. “I am surrounded by people who are smarter about this stuff than me and who are holier than me, and I include you in that,” I told my friend. “I know it’s not a competition, but I can’t help but feel like I’ll always be miles behind everyone else. I feel like I’ll never be as Catholic as the people around me.” My friend’s response left me choking on my words. “I feel that way about you,” she said. We went on to talk about the holiness we see in one another. I told my friend that she radiates Christ’s peace in her prayerful, calm and even temperament. I told her I aspire to trust God the way she does. She told me I reflect the joy of the Gospel. She told me she’s inspired by my boldness and humor and the way I see Jesus in everyday happenings. I guess God knew what He was doing making us each different. I’m grateful to God for those people in my life who know so much about Jesus and our Catholic faith. They’ve helped me grow in knowledge, and they inspire me to continue learning. But if God wanted my knowledge to be like theirs, it would be. Instead, God gave me different experiences, knowledge and gifts. He uses those, too. If we’re doing our best to go where God is calling us and do what He’s asking of us, then we’re probably the kind of Catholics He wants us to be even if we’re not the kind of Catholics we want us to be. Juice pouches aren’t so bad. |
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