{"id":11548,"date":"2015-06-16T13:51:53","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T17:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=11548"},"modified":"2015-06-16T13:51:53","modified_gmt":"2015-06-16T17:51:53","slug":"what-to-do-when-youre-struggling-with-catholicism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2015\/06\/what-to-do-when-youre-struggling-with-catholicism.html","title":{"rendered":"What To Do When You’re Struggling With Catholicism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Pete Socks, the Catholic Book Blogger, is running a giveaway<\/a> for my book,\u00a0Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers that Even I Can Offer<\/em><\/a>, and I\u2019ve stopped by\u00a0chez lui<\/em> to answer some questions about the book and my prayer life. \u00a0Here\u2019s a preview:<\/p>\n

\n

PETE: For those struggling with the Catholic faith what advice can you offer as a convert?<\/b><\/p>\n

LEAH LIBRESCO:<\/b>\u00a0 It depends a little on the\u00a0nature\u00a0<\/i>of the struggle. \u00a0If you\u2019re making your mind up about the Catholic faith, I can give you the advice that Eve Tushnet (author of the splendid\u00a0Gay and Catholic<\/i><\/a>) gave to me: try to seek out both the things that really attract you\u00a0and<\/i>\u00a0the bits that really repel you \u2013 that\u2019s where you have the most to learn.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d add that, while you\u2019re in a period of decision making\/discernment, don\u2019t be afraid to go slowly on actually making up your mind. \u00a0Cultivate that Tushnet\u00a0brio<\/i>, engaging deeply with whatever confuses you, but feel free to give yourself time to come to a conclusion. \u00a0Decisions should be made from a place of consolation, and don\u2019t be shy about doing what you need to get there (taking a retreat, sleeping on a more reasonable schedule, asking friends to think things through with you, etc).<\/p>\n

If you already\u00a0are<\/i>\u00a0Catholic and pretty settled that way, but you\u2019re having trouble\u00a0being\u00a0<\/i>Catholic\/praying\/etc on a day to day basis, I\u2019d say: don\u2019t be embarrassed about making things easy on yourself! \u00a0It\u2019s more important to find a baby step you can take than to wait around until you can do a big, more impressive thing.<\/p>\n

I was really intimidated by\u00a0lectio divina<\/i>, the prayerful reading of the Bible, and I kept not doing it because I didn\u2019t want to be bad at it, so, naturally, I didn\u2019t get any better. \u00a0I wound up just setting a 20 minute timer, promising myself I could stop after that, no matter what, and it gave me a little more courage to begin, since I wouldn\u2019t need to worry about being stuck doing something hard indefinitely or constantly interrupting myself, wondering if I\u2019d done enough.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can check out the rest of our conversation on Pete\u2019s blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pete Socks, the Catholic Book Blogger, is running a giveaway for my book,\u00a0Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers that Even I Can Offer, and I\u2019ve stopped by\u00a0chez lui to answer some questions about the book and my prayer life. \u00a0Here\u2019s a preview: PETE: For those struggling with the Catholic faith what advice can you offer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":11549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat To Do When You're Struggling With Catholicism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pete Socks, the Catholic Book Blogger, is running a giveaway for my book,\u00a0Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers that Even I Can Offer, and I've stopped\" \/>\n<meta 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