Today’s Guest Contributor is Kelly Seidel, a 20-something and friend of Bellator Society.
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Mid 20’s. That stage of life where one month you feel like a queen when you have an extra $40 in your account so you can get a manicure. Then, the next month you eat an avocado and break out into hives, and even though you realize you’re allergic to avocados you eat the last three you purchased because avocados are expensive.
It’s that stage in life when you get really proud after you’ve hung your curtain rod even though it’s a little bit crooked. Then call your dad to see if hairspray will kill the spider in your bedroom.
It’s also the stage in life where you can get really lost trying to find yourself.
I come from a devout Catholic family. Catholic school, Mass, the Rosary, dressing up as your favorite saint on All Saints Day…the whole shebang. It was something I did because I was supposed to do it.
Honestly, it wasn’t until very recently that it became something I wanted to do (not necessarily the dressing as a saint thing…but whatever). Even though I had grown up in a Catholic environment and was given every tool to be a successful Catholic adult- I’ve never felt like I fit in.
I’m a little too Catholic for the non-Catholics and not quite Catholic enough for the good Catholics.
The anxiety about not knowing exactly how or where I fit into the church was my main hesitation when dipping my toe into this whole “Catholic adulting” thing. I was terrified of not being accepted (my profession is writing secular music), I was terrified of not being knowledgeable enough (turns out that even after a million years of Catholic school, I still know nothing- sorry Mom and Dad), and most of all I was terrified of being judged by non-church going friends (this one still scares me).
We’re taught by today’s world that our lives should be dictated by the things that make us happy and make us feel good.
So why would a mid-20-something willingly follow a seemingly judgy religion restricting things that are considered “normal” by today’s standards?
Well, the people wondering that have probably never tried to learn anything about Catholicism beyond what’s posted on their Facebook news feed, and they’ve probably never met an actual practicing Catholic. What they don’t know is that Catholicism is a practice of love, kindness, and truth. Christ accepts all sinners, no matter the sin, with an outpouring of mercy and gives daily opportunities for repentance.
I truly believe this is where local parishes and devout young-adult Catholics can step out and do Christ’s work.
So much emphasis is put on “building community”. This is great, so important. However, our community usually stays inside church walls. We enjoy being surrounded by like-minded people, it makes us comfortable. But what about the people outside of the church? What about the fallen away young-adult Catholics, or the people who have never stepped into a church? We’re called to do community with them too. We’re called to love them. We’re called to walk with them. We’re called to be Christ to them.
We cannot change the world if we are not a part of the world.
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Kelly Seidel is a North Carolina native currently living in Nashville, working as a songwriter in the Country Music industry. You can find her playing various venues in and around town showcasing her own music as well as music she has written for other artists.
