On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
Every year, I make New Year’s resolutions, and every year, I’ve broken most of them by 
Valentine’s Day. I’m feeling the same way about being back with the Church after a few months. I still get mad at people. I still worry too much about what others think of me. I guess I thought it would be better than this.
Understood. It can sometimes seem like our lives back with a faith community begin with promise and sparkle, and then fizzle out. We may have changed, but those around us haven’t. We may be trying our best not to live the commandments, but the old tapes in our heads can make it difficult to love ourselves as God does. Other people’s behaviors can make it difficult to love them. And let’s not even get into God, who may desire us to give up some behaviors that in the moment anyway we enjoyed immensely.
The good news is that it does get easier, though it never gets easy. God has a way of giving us little atta-girls and atta-boys when we need them most if we are attentive–even if we’re not always obedient. Does hope spawn faith or does faith spawn hope? Maybe it works both ways. Keep trying. Even when you fall, the Lord is there to help you get back up.
