The Trouble With Converts...

Jeff Tucker writes about his feelings in his article, I Hate Converts on Beliefnet. A little bit of generalizing, but he has some good points. Jeff is himself a former Southern Baptist, like myself.

The life of a new Catholic begins with confession and then reception of the Holy Eucharist at the Easter Vigil, when many converts receive the first communion they have ever received in their lives. They are the center of the entire congregation's attention, and the grandeur of the Easter liturgy seems designed for them alone. They are the toast of the Catholic town.

That's also when the trouble starts. Gone is the humility of the confessional, as the pride of having grabbed the brass ring takes over. Many new converts make the mistake of believing that there is nothing else to learn, no more questions to ask, no issues in dispute. Since all seems settled and done with, it is time take on the world?the Catholic world especially. They become know-it-alls who appoint themselves as the fixer-uppers of the whole faith

... Converts should remember that after the Easter of baptism comes the Second Sunday of Easter. In past times, that day was sometimes called Quasimodo Sunday because the traditional Latin entrance hymn of the Mass says: Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabiles, sine dolo lac concupiscite. That means that converts should be like newborn infants guilelessly drinking sweet milk from God.

Newborn infants. That?s the message. Remember the old adage that children should speak only when spoken to? You don't have to take it literally, but it's good cautionary advice. I suggest that converts first live the real day-to-to-day lives of Catholics for a while--and it's not always easy?before they dictate to the rest of us how to live.

This is why I have some problems with certain converts being hired as official Catholic apologists or Master Catechists in their parishes during their first year of being Catholic... I know there is a temptation to want to tell the world about the beauty of the Catholic faith, and that is something we shoudn't suppress at all! But we should be humble about it. In living the faith out, we come to a much more solid and realistic appreciation for it... and speaking from personal experience (as a convert know-it-all), I recommend that some converts seek spiritual direction after their reception into the Church. In fact, I would almost say it should be required that each convert be assigned a spiritual director. I would recommend the same for any Catholic who is serious about developing his/her spiritual life.

It's really sad to see some converts resort to being bitter and critical of the Church and its leaders within only one month after their reception of the sacraments. What does that really say?