St. Augustine's Confessions has caused me to look at the decisions
that I have made in the past, and reflect on whether or not I have developed a
sense of purpose in my life. Since I was a child, my mother has always
been very religious. Much like St Augustine's own mother, my mother found
Catholicism to be a very integral aspect required in both the lives of my
sister and I. She enrolled us in Sunday school during my early youth, hoping
that it would be a huge influence on our lives. However, as soon as I completed
my First Communion, I did not find it necessary to go back. In my perspective,
it was just another thing to mark off of my checklist. It was not for another
eleven years that I began to feel a need to return to the Church.
I find it very
problematic when parents try to force their children to believe in something
that they don't understand fully. I am not accusing my own mother of doing
this, for when I decided to stop going to Church, she never tried to make me go
against my will. She merely introduced me to the faith, and let me follow the
course of my own beliefs. I think that I was not ready for a religious
commitment in the same manner that St. Augustine was not ready for it either. I
finally reached a point in my life where I found that religion was essential to
my identity. To understand my humanity and my relation to others and to God has
enriched my perspective on what I am meant to be doing. Therefore, I have
realized that there has been a complete reorientation of the manner in which I
make decisions.
Sometimes it’s
difficult because I am aware of how young people my age are, and I hear so many
people say "We're only young once". However I disagree with this
motto to a degree where the severity of our mistakes is disregarded. There
comes a point in our lives when you have to stop making decisions only in
relation to yourself, and think about it in perspective to the world that you
live in. My faith has allowed me to realize that I live in a community of
people and that we are all united in that we share the same life. After reading
Confessions, I am glad to have discovered this early in my youth as opposed to
so much later in my life like St. Augustine. He realizes the amount of time
that he has lost indulging in the immediate pleasure of his youth in comparison
to the joy which his relationship to God has given him. I have definitely found
this realization to have come at a great time in my life, and therefore St.
Augustine’s reflection has allowed me that it is important for me to have this
sense of purpose now, rather than later in my life. It ultimately makes every
decision of mine much more significant to myself and my developing identity as
a Catholic.
It is amazing how much I can relate to what you have said here especially in the last paragraph. This new fad that has developed with constant use of "YOLO" really disturbs me. We have learned in this class about how our decisions and our sins affect others and the fact that errors in judgement are not being taken into consideration and not being seen as a lesson to learned. Its troubling to see the careless disregard that is developing in our generation. However, I am glad that with our participation in this class, we are able to understand the gravity of our actions and how we are not only affected, but also the members of our community who we are to have love and respect for.
ReplyDeleteI had a very similar bringing up where my parents forced me to complete confirmation, however, after that it was up to me to decide whether or not I wanted to go to church and whether or not I chose to believe in God. I believe that this type of parenting is best, and actually the most compatible with Church teaching, because it teaches us about personal responsibility. It is really interesting how you found your faith so early in life.
DeleteI believe your blog post raises an essential component of developing one's faith, especially for when families introduce their children to religious practice at a young age, which is that religion should be a choice, not an obligation. Your first paragraph speaks a lot to me in that it reminds me of my childhood experience of Catholicism, where my parents were stringent about church attendance, and foolishly forced the concept of religion on their four kids. One by one, my siblings and I abandoned our religious affiliations, due in part to our overbearing parents, leaving us lost in our pursuit of spiritual actualization. Based on my own personal experiences, I believe you've written an enlightening account on Augustine's Confessions, and how it helps to stress the idea that parents, like Monica, shouldn't suffocate their children with religious ideologies for it will fall on deaf ears. Instead, they should be guides in one's search for a spiritual epiphany.
ReplyDeleteYour post raises the question of whether or not it is right to "force faith" on the youth. It sounds as if you and I share experiences when it comes to developing faith. My parents, too, required my brother and me to attend mass every Sunday. After awhile, though, they let me make my own decisions when it comes to faith. I, too, took a turn from the Church and stopped going to mass. However, today I would consider my faith the strongest that it has ever been. So do you think that my parents and yours raised us right by introducing the faith to us but not forcing it upon us? Or do you wish your parents made you go to mass every Sunday throughout your entire life. Do you think you have wound up with a different perspective?
ReplyDelete