|
Hi, Thomas —
It's not that you don't believe anymore.
It's that you are not the you that
you were anymore. You have gone through a deep change.
Of course, you are the same person
since birth, but you have a completely
different awareness. You cannot believe
the way you used to, as a child.
It is time to put away the things
of a child.
One of the benefits of
the old method of teaching, where
children memorized Catechism answers,
is that the words were there for
them to think about later, when they
ceased to accept them as a child
and needed to find them as an adolescent.
Just as a child stops eating baby
food, and needs different foods when
it gets older, you need a deeper
knowledge of your faith. The child
doesn't stop eating because it no
longer accepts baby food. It still
eats food but with more nutrients
in a different form. You need solid
food. The baby stuff you have had
until now doesn't satisfy you. The
first thing you can do is to pray
to God to be with you and lead you.
Bear in mind that teens have a constantly
shifting consciousness, as they rapidly
grow both physically and emotionally,
so there is not much feeling of continuity
between one week or month and the
next. Things seem to change. You
are changing. So you have to stay
in contact with a North Star, God:
- the one who knows who you are
- the one who made you to be who
you are
- the one who loves you no matter
what
The next thing to do is get some
information suitable for your age.
There is some great
reading on our web site, and
there is the Catechism, which is simple, but
not packaged the way a young person
would like it.
So go to a Catholic bookstore and
get some books for teens. Ask questions
of faithful Catholics, but don't
stop eating (believing) because the
food you had doesn't seem right.
Get the food in the format suitable
for a young adult and don't stop
eating (receiving the Sacraments)
because you don't perceive the benefit
immediately. Stay in touch with God!
- Ask God questions.
- Wait for answers.
- Read.
You will be yet another different
person in a year, and again
in another year. When you are
15-16, your rational logic will really
wake up, and you can read real apologetics.
Don't worry. God knows what you are
going through.
Mary Ann
|
