In my observation, converts know what they are doing and very often have to overcome a significant anti-Catholic prejudice. The result is that those who complete the RCIA (the adult conversion process) have a strong faith and not likely to become tepid in their faith.
I was in RCIA over 20 years ago and the drop rate was significant. Many would come to inquire, stay for couple of months and would not come back. I remember several “seeker” types, who had tried everything else, from Baha’i to Presbyterianism that soon were on their way again. One guy was struggling with a drug addiction and was not interested in anything but his condition. Some had a serious problem with one doctrine or another and seemed to expect that someone would tell them that the Church did not really mean it. So the weaker types have many chances to drop off.
Catholicism is not for sissies. It is HARD being a devout Catholic and many just don’t have the intestinal fortitude to live the faith. One thing that attracted me to the Catholic Church was the strict rules and regulations (so to speak) that reminded me so much of the military. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a beautiful blueprint on how to live your life for God and your fellow man, and be the best person you can possibly be. There are no gray areas. It’s either right or wrong. Take abortion for example, there is no abortion allowed and it’s none negotiable. You either believe the teaching of the church on abortion or you have forfeited the right to even call yourself a Catholic. Some Catholics might not know this but it’s true. There is no wiggle room. Whoever said the Catholic Church was the fullness of the faith was exactly right.
I was in RCIA over 20 years ago and the drop rate was significant. Many would come to inquire, stay for couple of months and would not come back. I remember several “seeker” types, who had tried everything else, from Baha’i to Presbyterianism that soon were on their way again. One guy was struggling with a drug addiction and was not interested in anything but his condition. Some had a serious problem with one doctrine or another and seemed to expect that someone would tell them that the Church did not really mean it. So the weaker types have many chances to drop off.
WELL PUT.
They seem to be choosing God the way they would choose a car, a shirt or an entree at a restaurant.
It's pretty sad, isn't it? They were probably brought up by their mother and father was AWOL, just absent.
There are a million excuses, aren't there? I would NOT want to be in their shoes. I am SO GLAD that I had a father who insisted on Mass for his two daughters. We never missed.
When I went away to college (across the bay) I would still come home on the weekends...and go to Mass. It was inculcated into me at a young enough age to "take." God bless him. I miss him still very, very much.