“I think a lot about assimilation and trying to be American, but at the same time, I’m Catholic, which is counter-cultural. Ultimately, I’m okay with being neither Mexican nor American enough as long as I’m fully Catholic. Living between two cultures is a balancing act. “
Yup. I’m there. Doing that. I invite you to subscribe to my Substack which I’m using to pre-draft my memoirs. Go to the archive. You’ll see what I mean.
I’m an American, through and through. I don’t know exactly my euro-ancestors immigrated over but it had to have been a while ago as I know that an ancestor of mine was a drummer during the Revolutionary War.
As far as the cultures question, I really relate you what you’re saying about your faith being counter-cultural. I am in the “Bible belt” and am a stones throw away from many churches of various denominations. But by and large, although most people in my area will claim to be a Christian, the essentially live as atheists until it’s time to go to church on Christmas or Easter. I’m not any more perfect than anyone else, but sometimes acting in a way as worthy of our calling is going against what most people are doing, even in the rural South. That’s a lot of the reason I started my Substack in the first place.
I only speak English but would love to learn another language. You may or may not have been in the chat last night when I said this, but I’ve actually started Latin and Greek in Duolingo. Gotta start somewhere…
I don’t think you’re overthinking anything. How wonderful it is to be able to pass down your rich heritage to your children.
I have heard a live Mariachi band in at least at one restaurant but definitely at Epcot (Disney World). Those guys are very talented.
Hang on, the Revolutionary war as in the war against England? That's wild.
Oh we have a name for Catholics that just go to Mass on Christmas and Easter: Christers.
Latin and Greek, that's ambitious. I commend you for that. I'm sure it'll open up the scriptures even more as at least the New Testament was originally written in Greek IIRC. And then St. Jerome coming in hot with the translate to the Vulgate (Latin).
Thanks, I second guess myself every now and then.
Mariachi is a vibe, as the younglings say. It's so loud and vibrant, you can't ignore it.
Well, we live in a post Christian US so the predominant culture doesn't possess that element. I wouldn't want to assimilate into atheism, for example. One hundred years ago, it was a different thing. If the predominant culture has a religion attached to it, it follows people would want to adapt that belief system.
Fully Catholic to me means becoming a saint. Only saints get into heaven, so I want to be one of those.
“I think a lot about assimilation and trying to be American, but at the same time, I’m Catholic, which is counter-cultural. Ultimately, I’m okay with being neither Mexican nor American enough as long as I’m fully Catholic. Living between two cultures is a balancing act. “
Yup. I’m there. Doing that. I invite you to subscribe to my Substack which I’m using to pre-draft my memoirs. Go to the archive. You’ll see what I mean.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts.
Thank you for reading. I'll have to check your stack out. Peace!
I’m an American, through and through. I don’t know exactly my euro-ancestors immigrated over but it had to have been a while ago as I know that an ancestor of mine was a drummer during the Revolutionary War.
As far as the cultures question, I really relate you what you’re saying about your faith being counter-cultural. I am in the “Bible belt” and am a stones throw away from many churches of various denominations. But by and large, although most people in my area will claim to be a Christian, the essentially live as atheists until it’s time to go to church on Christmas or Easter. I’m not any more perfect than anyone else, but sometimes acting in a way as worthy of our calling is going against what most people are doing, even in the rural South. That’s a lot of the reason I started my Substack in the first place.
I only speak English but would love to learn another language. You may or may not have been in the chat last night when I said this, but I’ve actually started Latin and Greek in Duolingo. Gotta start somewhere…
I don’t think you’re overthinking anything. How wonderful it is to be able to pass down your rich heritage to your children.
I have heard a live Mariachi band in at least at one restaurant but definitely at Epcot (Disney World). Those guys are very talented.
Hang on, the Revolutionary war as in the war against England? That's wild.
Oh we have a name for Catholics that just go to Mass on Christmas and Easter: Christers.
Latin and Greek, that's ambitious. I commend you for that. I'm sure it'll open up the scriptures even more as at least the New Testament was originally written in Greek IIRC. And then St. Jerome coming in hot with the translate to the Vulgate (Latin).
Thanks, I second guess myself every now and then.
Mariachi is a vibe, as the younglings say. It's so loud and vibrant, you can't ignore it.
That’s the one! Where we said screw your tea, we’ll dump it in the harbor!
Well, we live in a post Christian US so the predominant culture doesn't possess that element. I wouldn't want to assimilate into atheism, for example. One hundred years ago, it was a different thing. If the predominant culture has a religion attached to it, it follows people would want to adapt that belief system.
Fully Catholic to me means becoming a saint. Only saints get into heaven, so I want to be one of those.
Thank you for reading!