I had a similar experience as a child who was raised Catholic. I never knew what to say in confession, so I made stuff up. And I would leave room for my Guardian Angel when I was in a line at Communion.
I’m sure your Guardian Angel appreciated that and your innocent charity. It wasn’t foolish. And, again we all received poor formation. Bella Dodd biography would be a good read. Check it out.
Jenna, I love your column and read it religiously (pun intended). That said, I am juggling more subscriptions than I can count and I am afraid one day I will wake up to find out my entire budget was blown on subscriptions I forgot I had, never kept track of, and did enter into my check register (the fact that I have a check register gives you some idea how much of dinosaur I am). For now, I appreciate that you provide 80% of it for free and, if push comes to shove, I will track down one of those stealth subscriptions that I now pay for and divert those funds to yours. Meanwhile, keep up the good fight. Rick PS- I don't worry about butt-dialing God. I think of Him (question to self: does God use personal pronouns?) more like Alexa, Siri, my cell phones, and smart TV, not to mention other household appliances. Always listening......................
Honestly I can’t afford a new toothbrush right now, and I start and stop different subscriptions all the time to rotate my support. I have 2-3 permanent ones and that’s it, and I rotated all the others I like through a fourth subscription. So maybe each would get a couple months support from me each year. But somehow I can’t bring myself to stop Jenna’s even though that was my initial intent. 🤣 So she made my fourth position permanent. Lol I feel bad for all the others I read who now won’t get occasional support. The thought of not reading Jenna’s paid day was just too much for me. Arrrruggghh
Today is my last day before leaving work — and a paycheck — for retirement. I currently pay for a handful or two Substack subscriptions. Don’t know what my future finances will look like, but I’ll be hanging onto paying for yours (and Jeff Childers) until the end of time.
Both are keepers. (I also added Don Surber, and the Wise Wolf ( at Jenna’s suggestion, (but now I’m not crazy about him and he kinda scares me)) I’m right with ya! And good luck on retirement.
Jenna- i too am a survivor of Catholic schools and the dreaded confessional.
What i alway found interesting is that when we went to confession as a family, my Mother would be in the confessional for 45 minutes! All i could think is that she committed a lot of sins. Maybe i need to help her bury a body! Then later i realized she was just using the priest as a therapist😳. Or at least i hope that was the case😊.
You forgot to hang up again Jenna, God just texted all of us subscribers.
"I was constantly terrified I had mentally butt-dialed our Lord and Savior. Top Tier there.
Can we have a running reader nominated "Wall of Jenna's Jems" please. Who can forget LingOL I think you should use the Sunday post to recycle one of your fav's from the past. "And on the seventh day," Day of Rest etc.
This is a MUST! It rewards us all with filler for the day we normally don’t get to read you, and we can reread a real gem like today’s and grin wide and laugh hard just like we did the first time. Or … if it’s one we missed we catch up! And you get the day off still. 🙏 Great idea, Tim!
Now if she can figure out how Ai could automate the selection and posting for her … I can hear it now ….
Ai: “Well this didn’t do too well the first time posted, you got 6.9% less comments. I tinkered with a few things for you, added one additional anecdote, and two more jokes, so it should have better yield this time. Enjoy your day of rest.”
Jenna: “get out of my sock drawer, you’re giving me the heebie jeebies”
Since you brought it up, I am compelled to give you this: John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." In other words, your salvation is totally dependent on what Jesus did on the cross for you. Not a preacher or priest, not a canonized saint. Jesus is our High Priest. His resurrection is proof that the Father accepted His sacrifice for our sins. You might want to read "Life Is a Pop Quiz". I wrote it some years ago.
Amen and Hallelujah! This helped me figure out that I could talk to Jesus any time and did not need a priest to intercede on my behalf. Stopped being a “true” Catholic and became born again 🙏🏻
I feel sorry for those who have been tormented by Papist errors. The aim of private confession should be the unburdening of the penitent of what troubles him or her, followed by the comforting words of the Absolution. "If only sins that can be named are forgiven, consciences could never find peace. For many sins cannot be seen or remembered." (Augsburg Confession)
Have a good time in CA. But, I think you should take holidays off just like the federal government that has 11 holidays. Even if the holiday is on a Saturday or Sunday, they have a holiday day set aside on the Friday before or Monday after. Maybe later you'll become prolific and be like Johnny Carson and have every Monday as a rerun. Who knows, maybe you'll become syndicated! We will pray for that! (I'm also changing my personal view of you. You are NOT the Erma Bombeck of the Political World. You are the Erma Bombeck of LIFE! Consider yourself PROMOTED!)
Now for the religious part. I grew up Byzantine Catholic in a city that had three Roman Catholic churches. We Byzantines did things differently and I was confused about that. YES we had confessions, Holy Communion (under the real species of unleavened bread and wine), etc. but we also had different customs. For example, you got ashes on your forehead for Ash Wednesday. We already started Lent two days before you and WITHOUT ASHES! We also fasted with NO meat or dairy products on that Monday (before your Ash Wednesday) and Good Friday and Good Saturday. We also got baptized and confirmed when we were infants. There goes those presents the RC kids got when they got confirmed at 7 or 8.
I kept thinking, "Why can't we be like those Latin Catholics?" As I began to realize 60 years later: Suck it up. No big deal. It didn't hurt you. ( I did "convert" to the Roman Rite after a few letter to the Bishop and a few dollars for administrative fees after I got married. It would have been easier if I was an Atheist! )
@David- they're actually Roman Catholics. The word catholic means 'as a whole'. We Missouri Synod Lutherans (I was raised Roman Catholic) are quite similar to the RC church.
Without the Eucharist. Luther was right in many ways, but he married a nun and gave up on the True presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Most Catholics weren’t taught the both and principles . The Eucharistic miracles would be important to research. St Carlo Acutis compiled them on his website before his premature passing at 15.
Humans were corrupting the rules of the church, and yes he was correct in that regard. But he left instead of working to restore it. He made a choice .i understand.
“P.P.S. Yesterday, I asked for resources and prayers for one of my beloved subscribers. Your kindness and generosity, once again, brought me to my literal knees”
Raised RC as well and remember all the same rituals. Lying to the priest in confessional was a personal favourite! 😳😂
In high school, my friend and I would “attend” Saturday mass at 5:30 pm so we could skip the Sunday “dress up” with our families. We never actually sat in a pew, but did sneak in the back and grab a weekly “newsletter” to prove we had at least showed up. 💥😆
Showing up counts!!! Smoking copious Export A’s in the church parking lot likely didn’t win us any Godly mercy or grace.
FWIW, I am a HUGE fan of God, Jesus, and the Bible. I am also still a badass warrior and contrarian, so no organized religion or Sunday timetable worship for this gal. He and I commiserate on a daily basis instead. Location is His magnificent creation of that BIG, Beautiful Pacific Ocean 🌊🙏❤️
Raised Catholic too, went to Catholic and Military schools. (Not actually much different) I had a similar confessional experience because whoever was on the other side must have had a long list of sins and as I was kneeling there forever I thought I must have not heard the priest so I just pretended I had done the confession and left. Then a few minutes later I saw someone leave that side of the confessional and realized the priest had never turned to my side. I too used to use a standard list of sins that included being mean to my siblings and thinking bad thoughts about my Mom. The trauma of being raised Catholic! You remind me of Erma Bombeck and Peg Bracken both, and I have all of their books. I'll keep paying as long as you keep writing! 💕
I was raised born again Southern Baptist. I grew up in a community full of Catholics and we were the only Baptists in our small town. I was forever tormented by all of them in school from 1st grade through high school graduation. They mercilessly mocked and ridiculed me for how we believed, and nicknamed me “Judy the Baptist”. They made sure everyone knew I was going to hell because I wasn’t a Catholic. I can only imagine what teaching they received in their homes by their parents or in their churches in regards to Protestants to treat another classmate that way, but my parents never disparaged Catholics once when I was growing up. They simply explained the differences in how we each practiced/expressed our faith. I just never understood the behavior of those kids and to this day have a very hard time with Catholicism because of living alongside them in my childhood. They really believed salvation came from a priest, and not from the blood sacrifice of Jesus. They really believed it was by works and not by faith. They really believed Catholics were the ONLY ones going to heaven. They didn’t walk their talk about the Bible, heck most of them never knew what it actually said, and just parroted what they were told it said. By the time I was 11 my entire New Testament was highlighted and underlined to the hilt. I was considered a heretic for having learned it all myself at such a young age.
My MIL was aggrieved that we chose New Testament Christianity over Catholicism when we got married. She growled over how we read the Bible together and said we couldn’t possibly understand what it says without the assistance of an ordained priest. Well - then why does God say he holds each of us personally responsible on the day of judgement for our choices in life, which require knowing what His Word says, if some other “man” is to be trusted instead? The priest is not held accountable for our judgment on that day, each of US are. So I think I’m going to read my Bible and trust the Holy Spirit to lead me to the proper interpretation. If Jesus was the only perfect soul, why should I place my eternity in the hands of another sinful man? Why did God say He was sending us His Holy Spirit to help us understand and discern? Why did He tell us that we are to pray to Jesus and He will hear our prayers?
I respect any faith that teaches God is three persons in the Trinity, Jesus was His son sent to die for our sins, a gift freely given and not earned, and that He rose again defeating death once and for all, sits at the right hand of God, and any who chooses to accept Him and believe is saved. They may have additional customs and rituals they decide on to express their faith, but that should not be used to judge others that don’t share in those same traditions and beliefs. The core principles are what should unite us.
Now the Catholic Church does teach all that in theory, which is why I’ve always treated my Catholic friends and family equally, but it has never been reciprocated. Not even in my current community. That tells me there’s additional teaching in “practice” that undermines the theological beliefs. The arrogance and superiority that people in my community carry who are professed Catholics is eerily similar to the indoctrination of the democrats - and it is having the opposite effect God wants them to have in our world.
I would love for the Catholic Church to purge the politics from their clergy. It’s ok to teach how biblical principles impact our political perspectives, it is not ok to use political perspectives to massage and alter biblical principles. It requires true humble leadership, authentic devotion to God’s Word, and extricating one’s personal ambitions and desires from the equation. And it’s not always kindness, turn the other cheek complacency. Our God is not like that. There is a time for everything, even righteous anger and seeking justice.
While I sometimes wish I could have shared in the escapades of growing up in the Catholic Church like friends and family did so that I could laugh along at the memories, in the end I’m glad I didn’t. I grew up in the Bible. Not in a church. I attended church to help me do that, but my spiritual maturity came directly from God’s word. Not from what other men told me it said or how to interpret it. I have the Holy Spirit for that task.
So sorry you experienced that. The way I was taught was that we were lucky to be Catholic because it was the Church Jesus started but to never be mean to anyone else who was a fellow Christian or Jewish or some other faith, for that matter; but to be grateful we were born Catholic. Those kids must have had some other kind of teachers than I had. Much of what you say you were told by them does not align with what I was taught so that seems like a local problem. I had lots of Southern Baptists in my family, and Methodists too, and we all got along great. In high school my friends and I would visit other churches and they would visit ours and I don't remember anything like what you are describing. And I get why people don't like the Catholic church for many reasons, not the least of which is the practice of moving pedophiles to other parishes instead of prosecuting them. Plus Popes say a lot of things many of us don't agree with. Just like any faith, there are many who are terrible representatives of the Catholic faith and it sounds like you lived in a whole community of them. Not all Catholics are like that! Again, so sorry!
Me too…it was the opposite for me being Catholic they thought I was not Christian and would certainly go to hell. When asked what church I go to their answer was Oh, I go to a Christian Church, we are Baptist. Yes I would smile and say nothing… No matter, I treasure anyone who loves the Lord and yes born again can happen for a Catholic…dig deep…talk to a revert or especially our precious converts..those are my favorites. What I found is I knew nothing about the Catholic faith…until I did. Have to stop talking about the abuse…evil is everywhere, more so in families, schools, other denominations, sports, businesses and pretty much world wide…if you knew of all abuses it would sear your mind. God bless you.
“I too used to use a standard list of sins that included being mean to my siblings and thinking bad thoughts about my Mom.”
I mean those were true and the guilt - well it can be hurtful but I would venture a guess that it kept some thoughtful and perhaps less prideful?
Also, we the parents are supposed to be the primary teachers. I had no idea . I’m stupid. All of us made the mistake of entrusting education and religious teaching on who we thought were experts. Later in life, I think we all have learned from that and at least try to seek the Truth.
Praying your time in CA is well spent with family and has a bit of leftover room for your guardian angle and some fun... In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti, Amen... ;)
I had a similar experience as a child who was raised Catholic. I never knew what to say in confession, so I made stuff up. And I would leave room for my Guardian Angel when I was in a line at Communion.
I love this. So much.
@Roberta- I made the priest snicker once.
I’m sure your Guardian Angel appreciated that and your innocent charity. It wasn’t foolish. And, again we all received poor formation. Bella Dodd biography would be a good read. Check it out.
Absolutely
“…I was constantly terrified I had mentally butt-dialed our Lord and Savior.” I’m dead. 🤣🤣🤣
I LOVE being a paid subscriber ❤️
Have fun in CA you beautiful bad ass! 😘🤬🍑❤️
I'm reminded of this scene from "O Brother, Where Art Thou". (It's a fabulous movie and excellent soundtrack, btw!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9cCcGIstCw
@Justin- GREAT movie! Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro actually sing their parts.
The best. I was gob smacked as the British say the first time I experienced that movie
Jenna, I love your column and read it religiously (pun intended). That said, I am juggling more subscriptions than I can count and I am afraid one day I will wake up to find out my entire budget was blown on subscriptions I forgot I had, never kept track of, and did enter into my check register (the fact that I have a check register gives you some idea how much of dinosaur I am). For now, I appreciate that you provide 80% of it for free and, if push comes to shove, I will track down one of those stealth subscriptions that I now pay for and divert those funds to yours. Meanwhile, keep up the good fight. Rick PS- I don't worry about butt-dialing God. I think of Him (question to self: does God use personal pronouns?) more like Alexa, Siri, my cell phones, and smart TV, not to mention other household appliances. Always listening......................
Honestly I can’t afford a new toothbrush right now, and I start and stop different subscriptions all the time to rotate my support. I have 2-3 permanent ones and that’s it, and I rotated all the others I like through a fourth subscription. So maybe each would get a couple months support from me each year. But somehow I can’t bring myself to stop Jenna’s even though that was my initial intent. 🤣 So she made my fourth position permanent. Lol I feel bad for all the others I read who now won’t get occasional support. The thought of not reading Jenna’s paid day was just too much for me. Arrrruggghh
I'm trying not to let my Catholic guilt get triggered and instead just be grateful! I appreciate you so much, Juju!
Today is my last day before leaving work — and a paycheck — for retirement. I currently pay for a handful or two Substack subscriptions. Don’t know what my future finances will look like, but I’ll be hanging onto paying for yours (and Jeff Childers) until the end of time.
Both are keepers. (I also added Don Surber, and the Wise Wolf ( at Jenna’s suggestion, (but now I’m not crazy about him and he kinda scares me)) I’m right with ya! And good luck on retirement.
@Julie- ENJOY!!!! It's an adjustment, for sure.
Jenna- i too am a survivor of Catholic schools and the dreaded confessional.
What i alway found interesting is that when we went to confession as a family, my Mother would be in the confessional for 45 minutes! All i could think is that she committed a lot of sins. Maybe i need to help her bury a body! Then later i realized she was just using the priest as a therapist😳. Or at least i hope that was the case😊.
😂😂😂
“Mom! I didn’t know you used to dye your hair brown when you were little!” Hahahahaha. :)
And after Catholic school, blondes are more fun...
@Justin- why does your comment remnd me of the Billy Joel song "Only The Good Die Young"?
You forgot to hang up again Jenna, God just texted all of us subscribers.
"I was constantly terrified I had mentally butt-dialed our Lord and Savior. Top Tier there.
Can we have a running reader nominated "Wall of Jenna's Jems" please. Who can forget LingOL I think you should use the Sunday post to recycle one of your fav's from the past. "And on the seventh day," Day of Rest etc.
LingOL! I actually love this idea. Maybe I will!😊
This is a MUST! It rewards us all with filler for the day we normally don’t get to read you, and we can reread a real gem like today’s and grin wide and laugh hard just like we did the first time. Or … if it’s one we missed we catch up! And you get the day off still. 🙏 Great idea, Tim!
Now if she can figure out how Ai could automate the selection and posting for her … I can hear it now ….
Ai: “Well this didn’t do too well the first time posted, you got 6.9% less comments. I tinkered with a few things for you, added one additional anecdote, and two more jokes, so it should have better yield this time. Enjoy your day of rest.”
Jenna: “get out of my sock drawer, you’re giving me the heebie jeebies”
Hahaha! :)
Since you brought it up, I am compelled to give you this: John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." In other words, your salvation is totally dependent on what Jesus did on the cross for you. Not a preacher or priest, not a canonized saint. Jesus is our High Priest. His resurrection is proof that the Father accepted His sacrifice for our sins. You might want to read "Life Is a Pop Quiz". I wrote it some years ago.
Amen and Hallelujah! This helped me figure out that I could talk to Jesus any time and did not need a priest to intercede on my behalf. Stopped being a “true” Catholic and became born again 🙏🏻
be both
Keep pitchin’, Pollyanna!
I feel sorry for those who have been tormented by Papist errors. The aim of private confession should be the unburdening of the penitent of what troubles him or her, followed by the comforting words of the Absolution. "If only sins that can be named are forgiven, consciences could never find peace. For many sins cannot be seen or remembered." (Augsburg Confession)
With respect to paid subscribers, I am one and very happy to support your #1 choice of employment!
My litmus test is whether I read a stack consistently. If I do, I pay for the privilege. It seems like a small price to pay!
Jenna,
Have a good time in CA. But, I think you should take holidays off just like the federal government that has 11 holidays. Even if the holiday is on a Saturday or Sunday, they have a holiday day set aside on the Friday before or Monday after. Maybe later you'll become prolific and be like Johnny Carson and have every Monday as a rerun. Who knows, maybe you'll become syndicated! We will pray for that! (I'm also changing my personal view of you. You are NOT the Erma Bombeck of the Political World. You are the Erma Bombeck of LIFE! Consider yourself PROMOTED!)
Now for the religious part. I grew up Byzantine Catholic in a city that had three Roman Catholic churches. We Byzantines did things differently and I was confused about that. YES we had confessions, Holy Communion (under the real species of unleavened bread and wine), etc. but we also had different customs. For example, you got ashes on your forehead for Ash Wednesday. We already started Lent two days before you and WITHOUT ASHES! We also fasted with NO meat or dairy products on that Monday (before your Ash Wednesday) and Good Friday and Good Saturday. We also got baptized and confirmed when we were infants. There goes those presents the RC kids got when they got confirmed at 7 or 8.
I kept thinking, "Why can't we be like those Latin Catholics?" As I began to realize 60 years later: Suck it up. No big deal. It didn't hurt you. ( I did "convert" to the Roman Rite after a few letter to the Bishop and a few dollars for administrative fees after I got married. It would have been easier if I was an Atheist! )
ALWAYS HAPPY to read your column.
@David- they're actually Roman Catholics. The word catholic means 'as a whole'. We Missouri Synod Lutherans (I was raised Roman Catholic) are quite similar to the RC church.
Without the Eucharist. Luther was right in many ways, but he married a nun and gave up on the True presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Most Catholics weren’t taught the both and principles . The Eucharistic miracles would be important to research. St Carlo Acutis compiled them on his website before his premature passing at 15.
@Immaculata- Luther simply got rid of the man made rules that were corrupting the Church
Humans were corrupting the rules of the church, and yes he was correct in that regard. But he left instead of working to restore it. He made a choice .i understand.
@Immaculata- how many centuries later and people STILL can't fight the Catholic Church?
Sorry I can be a dimwit. What do you mean ? Thank you for clarifying in advance.
“P.P.S. Yesterday, I asked for resources and prayers for one of my beloved subscribers. Your kindness and generosity, once again, brought me to my literal knees”
Wait! What did I miss yesterday???!!!
Being a rerun, this probably related to the original posting...
Good to read this a second time!
Raised RC as well and remember all the same rituals. Lying to the priest in confessional was a personal favourite! 😳😂
In high school, my friend and I would “attend” Saturday mass at 5:30 pm so we could skip the Sunday “dress up” with our families. We never actually sat in a pew, but did sneak in the back and grab a weekly “newsletter” to prove we had at least showed up. 💥😆
Showing up counts!!! Smoking copious Export A’s in the church parking lot likely didn’t win us any Godly mercy or grace.
FWIW, I am a HUGE fan of God, Jesus, and the Bible. I am also still a badass warrior and contrarian, so no organized religion or Sunday timetable worship for this gal. He and I commiserate on a daily basis instead. Location is His magnificent creation of that BIG, Beautiful Pacific Ocean 🌊🙏❤️
Read John 6:6 it might change things up a little.
Sort of makes my point! Doesn’t change a thing for me, but, okay. Perhaps I am missing something. Who knows!
My relationship with God is direct. Humans consistently use organized religion for their own benefits. Not interested in following humans.
Raised Catholic too, went to Catholic and Military schools. (Not actually much different) I had a similar confessional experience because whoever was on the other side must have had a long list of sins and as I was kneeling there forever I thought I must have not heard the priest so I just pretended I had done the confession and left. Then a few minutes later I saw someone leave that side of the confessional and realized the priest had never turned to my side. I too used to use a standard list of sins that included being mean to my siblings and thinking bad thoughts about my Mom. The trauma of being raised Catholic! You remind me of Erma Bombeck and Peg Bracken both, and I have all of their books. I'll keep paying as long as you keep writing! 💕
I was raised born again Southern Baptist. I grew up in a community full of Catholics and we were the only Baptists in our small town. I was forever tormented by all of them in school from 1st grade through high school graduation. They mercilessly mocked and ridiculed me for how we believed, and nicknamed me “Judy the Baptist”. They made sure everyone knew I was going to hell because I wasn’t a Catholic. I can only imagine what teaching they received in their homes by their parents or in their churches in regards to Protestants to treat another classmate that way, but my parents never disparaged Catholics once when I was growing up. They simply explained the differences in how we each practiced/expressed our faith. I just never understood the behavior of those kids and to this day have a very hard time with Catholicism because of living alongside them in my childhood. They really believed salvation came from a priest, and not from the blood sacrifice of Jesus. They really believed it was by works and not by faith. They really believed Catholics were the ONLY ones going to heaven. They didn’t walk their talk about the Bible, heck most of them never knew what it actually said, and just parroted what they were told it said. By the time I was 11 my entire New Testament was highlighted and underlined to the hilt. I was considered a heretic for having learned it all myself at such a young age.
My MIL was aggrieved that we chose New Testament Christianity over Catholicism when we got married. She growled over how we read the Bible together and said we couldn’t possibly understand what it says without the assistance of an ordained priest. Well - then why does God say he holds each of us personally responsible on the day of judgement for our choices in life, which require knowing what His Word says, if some other “man” is to be trusted instead? The priest is not held accountable for our judgment on that day, each of US are. So I think I’m going to read my Bible and trust the Holy Spirit to lead me to the proper interpretation. If Jesus was the only perfect soul, why should I place my eternity in the hands of another sinful man? Why did God say He was sending us His Holy Spirit to help us understand and discern? Why did He tell us that we are to pray to Jesus and He will hear our prayers?
I respect any faith that teaches God is three persons in the Trinity, Jesus was His son sent to die for our sins, a gift freely given and not earned, and that He rose again defeating death once and for all, sits at the right hand of God, and any who chooses to accept Him and believe is saved. They may have additional customs and rituals they decide on to express their faith, but that should not be used to judge others that don’t share in those same traditions and beliefs. The core principles are what should unite us.
Now the Catholic Church does teach all that in theory, which is why I’ve always treated my Catholic friends and family equally, but it has never been reciprocated. Not even in my current community. That tells me there’s additional teaching in “practice” that undermines the theological beliefs. The arrogance and superiority that people in my community carry who are professed Catholics is eerily similar to the indoctrination of the democrats - and it is having the opposite effect God wants them to have in our world.
I would love for the Catholic Church to purge the politics from their clergy. It’s ok to teach how biblical principles impact our political perspectives, it is not ok to use political perspectives to massage and alter biblical principles. It requires true humble leadership, authentic devotion to God’s Word, and extricating one’s personal ambitions and desires from the equation. And it’s not always kindness, turn the other cheek complacency. Our God is not like that. There is a time for everything, even righteous anger and seeking justice.
While I sometimes wish I could have shared in the escapades of growing up in the Catholic Church like friends and family did so that I could laugh along at the memories, in the end I’m glad I didn’t. I grew up in the Bible. Not in a church. I attended church to help me do that, but my spiritual maturity came directly from God’s word. Not from what other men told me it said or how to interpret it. I have the Holy Spirit for that task.
So sorry you experienced that. The way I was taught was that we were lucky to be Catholic because it was the Church Jesus started but to never be mean to anyone else who was a fellow Christian or Jewish or some other faith, for that matter; but to be grateful we were born Catholic. Those kids must have had some other kind of teachers than I had. Much of what you say you were told by them does not align with what I was taught so that seems like a local problem. I had lots of Southern Baptists in my family, and Methodists too, and we all got along great. In high school my friends and I would visit other churches and they would visit ours and I don't remember anything like what you are describing. And I get why people don't like the Catholic church for many reasons, not the least of which is the practice of moving pedophiles to other parishes instead of prosecuting them. Plus Popes say a lot of things many of us don't agree with. Just like any faith, there are many who are terrible representatives of the Catholic faith and it sounds like you lived in a whole community of them. Not all Catholics are like that! Again, so sorry!
Me too…it was the opposite for me being Catholic they thought I was not Christian and would certainly go to hell. When asked what church I go to their answer was Oh, I go to a Christian Church, we are Baptist. Yes I would smile and say nothing… No matter, I treasure anyone who loves the Lord and yes born again can happen for a Catholic…dig deep…talk to a revert or especially our precious converts..those are my favorites. What I found is I knew nothing about the Catholic faith…until I did. Have to stop talking about the abuse…evil is everywhere, more so in families, schools, other denominations, sports, businesses and pretty much world wide…if you knew of all abuses it would sear your mind. God bless you.
“I too used to use a standard list of sins that included being mean to my siblings and thinking bad thoughts about my Mom.”
I mean those were true and the guilt - well it can be hurtful but I would venture a guess that it kept some thoughtful and perhaps less prideful?
Also, we the parents are supposed to be the primary teachers. I had no idea . I’m stupid. All of us made the mistake of entrusting education and religious teaching on who we thought were experts. Later in life, I think we all have learned from that and at least try to seek the Truth.
My mom was actually abusive, so there's that. One of my siblings got up the courage to hit her back and we were all happy about it.
That is terrible. She should not have abused her children. That is unacceptable.
Praying your time in CA is well spent with family and has a bit of leftover room for your guardian angle and some fun... In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti, Amen... ;)