I seem to have a steady business in helping formerly non-practicing Catholics return to "the practice of the faith," as we call it. It happens so often that I have this advice for anyone who is concerned about the state of the souls of their loved ones who seem to be spiritually wandering:
Let's never give up on anyone. I have too often ministered to adults who rediscover "the pearl of great price" later in life. Lots of times, the wanderer will say that they don't agree with the Church on this or that teaching. To that I'd like to share a great piece of wisdom from a professor I had in the seminary who taught "grace": If there is ever anything in the Church’s teachings that you find difficult to accept, don’t toss it out. There’s just too much reflection on the Scriptures and too much history of wisdom that produced that teaching. If you can’t accept it, don’t deny it; just put it on a shelf in your mind for later in life when you have some more years behind you and some more wisdom that comes to those who grow in wisdom and grace.
Maybe that’s what we should pray for when we pray for our loved ones who are on a religious sabbatical: that they may grow in wisdom and in grace
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