You seemed to have turned out alright from a Roman Catholic upbringing.

I was born under John XXIII.  Things were orderly and one only had to abide and do good deeds, go to mass and say my prayers before I went to sleep.

In retrospect, ease and distractions, including sports as a diversion, lulled me to lack courage when I had to object to wrongdoing.  I was definitely lukewarm in regard to courage, or worse–fearful. Yes, I remember being anxious and even fearful at times.

Things like habits and discipline begin young but what about “intervention” in a teen’s life? Groups for teens, wholesome groups and several of them, were very important to me at the time.

I am still grateful the Holy Spirit was strong in my soul as a teen ager. When I was 27 I looked back and thought it might just have been because I was a teen in a community of love.

Sincerely,

John Rubens

Parishioner, Blessed Sacrament Hollywood

P.S. I also went to Assembly of God [Baptist offshoot] and was a member of Madison Avenue Church of Christ in Redwood City 1975-1983; Rejoined weekly mass at Our Lady of Malibu when I was attending my first year of law school at Pepperdine University School of Law in 1985; missed mass regularly during law school after transferring to Santa Clara University School of Law. Fell in love with an atheist [at least she professed as much], then met a man playing basketball who introduced me to the #CathedralofFaith. As a “lapsed Catholic” I attended the Cathedral of Faith in San Jose, CA, 1986-1987.  From 1987-1991 I lost money in securities/warrants and did not go to church regularly. Started going to church regularly and have, if you include EWTN broadcast masses, since 1991.

https://johnrubens.wordpress.com/2018/09/04/dear-raymondarroyo-ewtn