Our body is a temple of God
Why do we want my generation if we do not want to listen?
Photo By: Flickr/Roman Catholic Archdioces
Looking to revive my own faith, I decided to go to a parish where no one would know who I was. No one would ask me questions about “why my generation does not want anything to do with the Church”. No one would know who I am and my background. I thought I could pray with a community and be fed. Unfortunately, I was wrong. An older woman would approach me asking me if I would want to be a parishioner.
The sad part comes after being asked if I want to be a parishioner. The woman was not willing to understand where I was on my own faith journey. She was not willing to understand why I am so critical of an institution. She was not willing to listen to me. Deep down, all I wanted was to be heard. The struggles of being Catholic in a fast-paced world is most people do want to be fully present. This parishioner thinks my struggle with my faith is due to the financial and abuse issues plaguing the Catholic Church. While a piece of the struggle is due to the issues plaguing the Catholic Church, my main struggle is just wanting to be heard.
The fact is this parishioner was assuming that I am struggling with the issues grappling the Catholic Church. While this is a piece of my faith journey, the fact is I want to be able to have a conversation outside of the Church. I want to grab a coffee and truly talk about my faith. No one looking at the clock. No one texting someone else about something else. I want to be able to discuss the struggles of the faith and be heard. I wanted to feel as I am just as important as the person who is the founding parishioner of the parish.
My generation is going to be the future of the Church. However, if people are not concerned about my own faith journey, then why should I want to be part of the Catholic Church. The root of the problem is we need to start to listen. Allow me to feel as my faith journey is important to your parish. Listen to my issues and do not try to fix them. Do not tell me that my issues are just forms of venting. Put everything down and just listen. Then, maybe my generation will start to want to come back into an institution when we truly feel as our words are making a difference.
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About the Author
Tess Shore has dedicated her life and career to serving the underprivileged community with Shore Life Coaching. As a motivational speaker and educator, Tess specializes in coaching young adults in building better self-confidence and overcoming body issues. She is a guest speaker for Pathways to Success at her alma mater, helping juniors and seniors find their missions in life. Tess has a courageous commitment to passionately advocate for young adults dealing with issues like bullying and suicidal thoughts. Her work allows her to bring awareness to other young adult issues as well, especially those that come with transitioning into the corporate world. Tess guides her clients in building strong values and leads with zeal, inspiration, and passion. She also volunteers and serves in many capacities in other endeavors.
She can be found at http://shorelifecoaching.wordpress.com where she blogs on various issues on how to live more Christ-like. In her spare time, Tess can be found running and having a zest for life.
