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Navigating Faith — Week Two: Choosing Formation Over Noise

This week felt less like a gentle walk and more like God quietly rearranging the furniture of my heart. Not dramatic. Not loud. Just unmistakably clear.

The first lesson was simple—and honestly, a little convicting: I’ve been giving social media more attention than I’ve been giving God. Not because I don’t care, but because it’s easy. It’s instant. It fills silence without asking anything of me. But prayer doesn’t work like that. Scripture doesn’t scroll.

So I made a decision: no social media until I’ve spent time with God. Not as a punishment, but as a reordering. If I claim He is first, then my time should reflect that. It’s already changing the tone of my mornings. Less noise, more grounding.

The second lesson came with a sting. Not everyone who loves you will be happy for you.

That’s a hard truth to sit with, especially when it shows up in your own family. When I showed my aunt my Confirmation certificate, I expected shared joy. What I got instead was something… off. Not outright rejection, but not celebration either.

And the more I sat with it, the more I realized: sometimes people don’t understand your faith journey, especially if it doesn’t look like theirs. Some have been taught that God only works through emotional highs, dramatic moments, or visible enthusiasm. So when your faith is quieter, rooted, sacramental—they don’t know what to do with it.

That doesn’t mean they don’t love you. It means their understanding is limited. And that’s okay. Your job isn’t to shrink your faith to make it digestible. It’s to live it faithfully.

The third thing I’ve been thinking about is something bigger than my personal life. There’s been a lot of noise lately about whether the Church should speak into political matters at all.

But that question isn’t new—and neither is the answer.

For centuries, the Church has spoken into moral issues that affect society. Not to control governments, but to form consciences. Whether people agree or disagree is one thing—but the idea that faith should stay silent in the face of moral questions doesn’t line up with the Church’s history or mission.

And that leads into the fourth, and probably most uncomfortable realization:

Some people will never acknowledge when the leaders they support are wrong.

Not because they’ve carefully weighed every argument—but because they’re deeply invested. Emotionally. Politically. Personally. And when someone becomes central to a worldview, criticism starts to feel like a threat instead of a discussion.

That’s not just a “them” problem—it’s a human problem. And as Catholics, we’re called to resist that instinct. We’re called to truth. Even when it challenges us. Even when it costs us something.

And then… there’s the part God showed me that I didn’t really want to admit.

I’ve been dealing with jealousy.

There’s an influencer getting a lot of attention—someone who, from my perspective, hasn’t really been living or teaching the fullness of the Catholic faith. Meanwhile, I’ve spent two years defending the Church, putting in the work, trying to be faithful in how I explain and represent it… and it feels like it’s going unnoticed.

Even more frustrating, priests and Catholic influencers I respect aren’t sharing my work. And then I see someone who’s been Christian for less than a year gaining followers quickly, and if I’m honest—it stings.

Not a little. A lot.

But sitting with that, I realized something important: this isn’t about them. This is about my heart.

Jealousy has a way of disguising itself as “righteous frustration,” but underneath it is a desire to be seen, to be affirmed, to know that what I’m doing matters. And those desires aren’t wrong—but they become disordered when they start to compete with obedience.

God never asked me to be successful. He asked me to be faithful.

The Kingdom of God isn’t built on follower counts, shares, or recognition. Some people are called to visible platforms. Others are called to quiet faithfulness that only a few will ever see. Both matter. Both are needed.

So this week, part of my prayer has been this:
“Lord, purify my intentions. If I am doing this for You, let that be enough.”

Because at the end of the day, if even one person comes to understand the Church more clearly, if even one soul is drawn closer to Christ—that is not small. That is eternal.

This week has been about clarity.

Less distraction.
More intentional prayer.
Understanding that love doesn’t always look like support.
Letting go of the need for recognition.
And remembering that faith isn’t about attaching ourselves to personalities—it’s about anchoring ourselves in Christ.

Next week, the question becomes: now that I see these things… what am I going to do with them?

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