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St. Ann
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| Posted: June 12 2010 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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I may ramble a bit here, so please excuse me if I am totally incoherent...
In December, I met a woman close to my age with 2 young children (4 & 6), who is:
1. very interested in homeschooling
2. a SAHM
3. loves all things homemaking and gardening
4. very devoted to christian living
5. speaks perfect English!!!!
We really hit it off and our 6yr old daughters love playing together.
Now, I must add something very important to her person. She is Lutheran.
We are in Germany.
She is as Lutheran as I am Roman Catholic. That may be what attracted us to each other. She studied Theology and has read almost every book by Cardinal Ratzinger and has great respect for his theology. She knows much more about Catholocism than I do about Lutheranism. I must admit to wanting a crash course in the Reformation, but then again no. We have such a respectful tone regarding the Faith of the other and are both so thankful for this friendship, that we avoid any kind of evangelization attempts. (although here I can admit to praying for her and her dh's coming "Home")
Only in this friendship have I felt the pain in some small way of this "scism" in our Church.(Dh says it is not really a scism, but...) What a total mess this separation has caused.
Perhaps my own Catholic identity has been strengthened in this encounter with my dear friend. I have realized how important the fortification of my own Catholic identity has been and must remain in the future. It can so easily get washed out if we are not attentive. I am so thankful for the support and friendship of you wonderful ladies who have offered so much guidance and advice in Catholic mothering and education.
I guess my point in posting this is just to let you know what has been on my mind and maybe someone else has such a tender friendship, and how it has affected your own faith.
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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guitarnan
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| Posted: June 12 2010 at 5:04pm | IP Logged
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I have a few friends who are not Catholic. In fact, my very best friend is United Methodist (you've seen my prayers for the conversion of her and her husband here on occasion). I learn a lot about explanation and apologetics when she asks me about Catholic beliefs. I hope she keeps asking...
I have another friend who's LDS. She converted from Catholicism, although she grew up in a very secular European country and I'm not sure what kind of religious education she had there. She's always surprised when I mention something I know about the LDS church (we had LDS neighbors long ago, and we were like you and your friend, Stephanie - lots of respect and lots of Q&A time). I think she gets a lot of bizarre questions from other people! (Besides, I'm a history wonk - it is hard to study U.S. history without learning about the LDS church...)
You're so right, Stephanie, the schism caused by Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII, etc. is still a source of great pain and division, and I don't think anyone expresses those concerns more eloquently than our Holy Father.
I try to imagine the people who don't know much about MY church or who are full of misconceptions about the Catholic faith whenever I'm talking about faith with non-Catholic friends. I try, too, to really live my faith and help my children do the same, believing that if these friends see my joy in my faith they will want that for themselves.
I'm thankful that your friend can see your happiness in your chosen faith and lifestyle through your friendship. Maybe this is how, brick by brick, the German people can tear down the no-homeschooling wall - one friendship at a time.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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St. Ann
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| Posted: June 14 2010 at 7:22am | IP Logged
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Nancy, your reply was so very thoughtful and encouraging! If no one minds, I would like to chat a bit more :-)
It pains both my friend and me when we notice the different celebrations that we can't share together with our children. For example the Marian Feast days and Corpus Christi. It is funny, but if she were indifferent to the Faith it would be easier on those occasions, but that is not at all the case. Did you know that the Lutherans use the same Church Calendar (liturgical texts) that we used up until the changes after VatII?
In regards to homeschooling, she is truly dreading sending her dd to 1st grade, and she has been a source of homeschool support for me within Germany. She does have contacts. Just this weekend there was a conference in Duesseldorf about Education of Our Children. Speakers included Dr. Gordon Neufeld (Hold On To Your Kids) and a german Homeschooling proponent, Mrs. G. Neubronner. What is interessting, is that it was not some obscure baptist group meeting, but rather a very high profile event. This whole weekend conference was sponsored by Stephanie Freifrau von Guttenberg, who is Catholic and who is the wife of our national minister of defence. The Guttenbergs are a very respected noble family in Germany, also historically politically active. She is also active in the protection of children abuse victims.
We were not able to attend because of prior commitments, but I will try to find out any feedback...
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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stacykay
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| Posted: June 14 2010 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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Stephanie,
I can completely relate, as I have been feeling the same things, too, about all the splits from Christ's church.. My very "best" friend, of almost 40 years!, is Presbyterian. In only the last few years has she asked about difference between what Catholics believe as opposed to Presbyterian. I am taking that very slowly.
I have a "newer" friend, of 10 years, now, who is Catholic, has 6 boys, too, and we are quite close, and I love the fact that we can discuss so many things we face within the context of our faith and offer encouragement to each other along those lines. My "older" friend and I always pray for each other, and while that is wonderful, it still isn't quite the same.
And now I have run into, on four occasions, a girl I knew from high school years, who attended Bible study with me (we were both Episcopal at the time-I converted in college.) She lives nearby, and now attends an evangelical Methodist. Our last chat, she mentioned the changes in the Episcopal church here in US, and that she was feeling more interest in Anglican, as it was more "conservative." Of course, I was thinking in my head, "If you're going to switch, why not come all the way into the fullness of the Catholic Faith!"  I would love to talk with her more fully, but I am also concerned about being too forward with info, or, even worse!, not having a right answer for her about the Catholic Church. She is very Bible smart.
Oh, and the Episcopal church also uses the same liturgical reading calendar. I didn't realize it until I converted and my mum would mention their readings and I would say, "Hey, those were our readings, too!"
Your words about formation, too, have inspired me to sign up for our church's "mom's summer retreat." It is just four days over the summer. I am sending prayers for you and your friend.
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 14 2010 at 10:53am | IP Logged
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It's a wonderful thing to have friends that can share without pressuring others to change. I have some friends like that and I don't think it could have been better for my faith and formation in the Church. Because if I'm asked a questions.. these are friends.. I can say.. gosh I don't know, let me get back to you.. and then I can look it up and figure it out.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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St. Ann
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| Posted: June 14 2010 at 3:01pm | IP Logged
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When I kept myself in my "Catholic Ghetto", I never really thought much about this division and the reasons for the Reformation. On EWTN I heard Fr. Charles Connor say that a Moral Reformation should have taken place instead of a Theological Reformation. Through a Catholic blog I read a Lutheran Theologian's take on the Reformation, calling Reformation Day "nothing to celebrate" and the Reformation itself a "failure", because of division...
This friendship and this newly felt "pain" has strengthened my own Catholic identity. I am convinced more than ever that I need to surround myself with quality Catholic books and inspiration. Not that I didn't try to before, but I would often mix in some other non-catholic inspirational writers. Not that others aren't talented or inspirational enough, but that a certain fullness is missing and frankly, I just don't have the time or the intellectual equipment to sift through everything out there. Just like my friend would pray the Angelus without the Hail Mary...I want the Angelus WITH the Hail Mary - the works!
Stacy, let us know how the mom's summer retreat goes. I will be looking for something similar here. I found a Benedictine convent a couple hours from here that offer personal retreats with spiritual direction from one of the nuns.
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Catholic friendship
