The realization of how your actions affected your children because of living a life contrary to the Gospel took us down into the pit of despair. Our journey has been filled with joy but in order to find that joy one must wallow through a lot of pain and sorrow. In fact, you weren’t really living life as a Catholic at all. It actually was a very painful process at times because you begin to realize you weren’t fully living out your faith. Getting to this point was not an easy journey. We began to get a glimpse of what she had found!

The treasure she had found was revealed to us bit by bit until one day it came flooding in. So, when our daughter chose to give up her entire life at the age of 19, to “die to herself”, and to pursue a vocation to Consecrated Religious Life, we began our search for the reason. If so, you will never be happy! You must choose! We need to live in the world but not be of the world. You can’t have one foot in the worldly culture and one in your Catholicism. Otherwise, you are “Catholic in name only”. The Catholic faith is ABSOLUTE, not relative! You either believe everything she teaches our you are not Catholic! You can’t pick and choose like you are at a buffet.

It is very painful to be confronted with the knowledge you really aren’t living life as a Catholic at all. We were so secular and living a life of relativism. We were a Catholic family, attending weekly Mass and somewhat involved in our Parish. She was beautiful, outgoing and living the good life! What possibly could she find attractive about living in a Convent, wearing a traditional habit and basically giving up everything show owned? What a radical move! She was a pre-med student at UNL where she had received enough scholarship money to pay for her undergraduate education. When your daughter comes home for Christmas break during her freshman year of college and tells you she has a calling to become a Consecrated Religious Sister, it causes shock waves! Why would she want to give away her whole life to pursue this vocation? She had everything going for her.

Relativism chris stefanick