This summer, CatholicMom.com is hosting an on-line book discussion group for Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples. Each session will focus on one chapter of the book, and yours truly is participating. Hit the link above to see all of the participants, and to find the discussion questions.
Session 3 of Lawn Chair Catechism is looking at Chapter 2 of Forming Intentional Disciples: “We Don’t Know What Normal Is”.
In this chapter, Sherry Weddell talks about the three journeys that are supposed to be normal parts of being Catholic:
1. The personal interior journey of a lived relationship with Christ resulting in intentional discipleship.
2. The ecclesial journey into the Church through reception of the sacraments of initiation.
3. The journey of active practice (as evidenced by receiving the sacraments, attending Mass, and participating in the life and mission of the Christian community).
I’ve written quite a bit about the “personal interior journey of a lived relationship with Christ“; it’s become one of my things. But Sherry Weddell makes the point that in many of our parishes there’s something like a code of silence about the interior life. It’s something you don’t talk about. Instead, those who are actively pursuing it tend to assume that other Mass-going Catholics are doing the same; and those who aren’t aware that the interior life is even a thing remain unaware.
This is a Bad Thing. Because becoming Catholic and going to Mass every week and not actively pursuing the interior life is like getting married and kissing your spouse once a week and never, ever talking to him or her; and those who don’t know that more is possible are seriously being cheated.
Each time I read this chapter I get all excited. There’s this neat thing I know about that others may not, and I’d like to share it with them, and I’d especially like to share it with others in my parish. Alas, I’ve no real idea how to go about it. One of this week’s discussion questions is, “Are you comfortable talking with others about your relationship with God?” And the answer is, well, yes and no. I’m comfortable talking about my relationship with God. And I’m comfortable talking about it to others once the subject has been broached and I know they are interested. But as an introvert, I’m not all that comfortable talking with others, and I’m not very good at starting conversations with others without some reasonable pretext. If there’s a store called “Small Talk ‘R’ Us”, I don’t work there.
This is one reason I became a Lay Dominican: to have companions on the journey that I can talk to about spiritual things.
(In the unlikely event that anyone from my parish sees this: Hi! Feel free to raise the subject!)
The View from the Foothills 
I like your analogy of the marriage relationship. We talk about the great things our spouse does for us and try not to complain about the things they do that we don’t like or understand. The same is true for our relationship with God. Why not tell our friends how great he is and how he blesses us? We don’t brag about our accomplishments, but his goodness to us. If we don’t understand what he is doing in our lives or why, we can refrain from complaining until we see the outcome. We can trust him to give us what we need even when it’s not what we want. But this attitude depends on surrendering our life to God and trusting that he will use us for his glory. Never mind what others think about us, for we are planting spiritual seeds that will bloom later. Anyway, it’s not between us and them, it’s between us and God.
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Alas, submission and obedience are “bad” words in our culture. But it makes sense to submit and obey to one who truly does know better and whose love is unquestionable.
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I’ve been skipping around through the linked posts on Catholic Mom, and this is the third one I”ve found that mentions introversion. (Mine is one of them). We feel fine discussing faith when we are comfortable with other people who are comfortable talking about faith, Jesus, etc. But that leaves us preaching the choir, I guess. The trick is how to start these kinds of conversations with relative strangers, when we find it hard to start ANY kind of conversation with relative strangers?
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For me, it’s a matter of the occasion. We’ve had a series of Adult Faith Formation presentations over the last year, few of which I’ve been able to get to because they are on Tuesday night, which is the worst night of the week at our house; had I been going to those, it’s possible that conversations might have started. (I’d at least know who to think about starting them with!)
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