In the most ideal of scenarios, the Catholic way of living is one where publicly scandalous, immoral behavior is not accepted nor ignored, nor countenanced nor the people who publicly live scandalous lives and who are in morally condemned situations, and for a number of reasons, such as, endangering the Faith of others, scandalizing others etc.

Example: an entire town is Catholic and practices the Faith. Suddenly one man becomes an unrepentant and obstinate public adulterer; he is forced to leave town because the entire population will not accept nor tolerate his actions nor smile and pretend nothing is going on and treat him the same as those who do keep the Faith and Catholic Morals.

Other examples are open concubinage, ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity etc.

So this is the ideal way of things: such things are not tolerated by the faithful Catholic and will not be set aside and the people who obstinately refuse to change will not be treated the same way as the rest.

But now, in the dreadful days that we live in, where almost everywhere there is corruption and no one practices Catholic morals nor upholds Catholic doctrine, what would happen if an adult who has lived accepting all these things and receiving and socializing with family members who live in such condemned situations, were to suddenly convert 100% and decided to uphold Catholic doctrine and morals?

What is such a person to do who, up to now, has always received and treated family members living in adultery and concubinage like all the rest and has lived like such things don't matter?

When you realize your entire family is living in paganism, even those who are Novus Ordo, and you want to start living the life, what are you to do? I believe a wholesale condemnation and denunciation would probably be imprudent. But i don't think remaining quiet, and never saying anything at all, even though you know all you see is wrong and condemned, and treating those living in adultery, concubinage etc. like nothing is happening is a good thing either.

So what should one do? Tell them the truth as tactfully and charitably as possible, even though this will mean that they will probably all turn against you and hate you? Wouldn't this be an opportunity to merit and give witness to the Faith and to let them know you will stand for Our Lord? Would "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." apply here?

Would you have to let them know you will no longer be like you were before?

I know this is all very hard, especially if your family is numerous and you have lived with them for years and grew up with them etc. I know people who are "conservative" and realize that their family members are living in morally condemned situations but never say a word to them.

Has anyone here faced this situation where you had to take a stand for the truth and the Faith and were persecuted by your own family?

St Theresa of Avila gave an answer to a part of this problem in her writings. She wrote about the people who never go to church, it appears that they don't pray but at the same time they are not overtly hostile to God and religion. St Theresa of Avila reccomended that we leave them to the mercy of God and pray for them.

This is a very difficult question and one that I believe many of us have considered.  Not only are we living in a world that does not value Catholic morals, but the world is now ANTI-Catholic.  In addition, not only is the world anti-Catholic, true Catholic doctrine is completely misrepresented by non-Catholics and the Novus Ordo "Catholics".  As part of the anti-Catholic agenda, history is totally distorted so that the conclusion of "history" is that the Catholic Church is full of hypocrisy and aggression against every politically correct group on the books.

Having stated that . . . I find that as my own faith has grown, I find the best approach in these circuмstances is to pray for everyone in my family everyday (none of whom are Catholic of any stripe) and when the opportunity arises to discuss spiritual life or the Catholic Church, I try to calmly and matter-of-factly explain or demonstrate Catholic truth.  I also try to be aware that though I may not be able to overcome the propaganda against the Faith, all Catholics can witness to the truth of the Faith through the conduct of their personal life. . . . something that I truly do not do well.

Finally, we all have experienced the liberal way of "converting" others . . . through brow-beating and violent argument.  That may be successful in cowing others, but it is disasterous in effecting conversion.

1. Lead by example.

2.When explaining the Faith to them with do so a spoonful of honey(never lose your temper).

3. Always be prepared for any questions by studying the Faith (nothing worse than when being asked a question and not knowing the answer).

I find the above helpful when explaining the Faith.

Hope it helps!!

Quote from: Malleus

treated her like a sister and shared all with her etc.

I think you answered yourself here. Share with her the things which inspired your own conversion. Firstly, speaking of the things which led you to question the "status quo" and then sharing where you found answers and truth all the while praying for her conversion. Patience is important, especially if her current lifestyle is contrary to the Faith.

This isn't about me actually, I'm a guy. The case I mentioned would be the case with my mother and several aunts. I only ask to know what they would actually have to do should they ever convert.

Quote from: Malleus

Quote from: poche

St Theresa of Avila gave an answer to a part of this problem in her writings. She wrote about the people who never go to church, it appears that they don't pray but at the same time they are not overtly hostile to God and religion. St Theresa of Avila reccomended that we leave them to the mercy of God and pray for them.

St. Teresa's time was Catholic and totally different. The people she describes are not at all like the people of today whom I'm referring to. The people in her time were actually Catholic; the ones of today aren't.

That is not necessarily true. Theresa described a funeral where the devils were playing with the body, kicking it around like it was some kind of soccer ball. there was another incident where the priest was living in open enough sin that is was no secret (where was the bishop while all this was going on) There was the practice of witchcraft involved.

She lived in the times of the Inquisition, and she was questioned herself. Are you serious? Heresy was a crime in those days. The faithful were not open heretics like they are now.