Born to Be Catholic?

Last night, mom and I were watching a show about angels which lead to an interesting conversation. Mom said that I seemed to have been born to be a devoted, and very religious, Catholic. She said that when I was a baby and used to smile and laugh in my sleep, she used to say to my dad "Look, she's talking to her little (guardian) angel." Apparently, I would be sound asleep and all of a sudden I would burst into laughter... and I would stay asleep. So, whenever that would happen my mom would say I was talking to an angel. So, when I was baptized at 3 months old, I soaked the poor priest with the water... while giggling my little baby tush off. lol. I seemed to enjoy being at church... and soaking the priest more. lol. Yeah, I was a mischievous baby, but so was my brother Moises when he was a baby. We did the exact same thing -- getting a priest wet while getting baptized -- at the same church, 14 years apart. Now, I should mention that my brother died when he was a baby over a decade before I was born. When I got to be around 4 years old, I used to go up to the windowsill, look up at the sky, crying, and say "Moises, YOUR mom is being mean to me." Whenever I got lectured I would look up at the sky and complain to my brother. Why? Because he's in heaven, duh. lol. I knew Moises had died completely innocent thus sending his soul straight to heaven. I was also very interested in what was inside the San Fernando Mission (which I got to finally visit twice - picture special one, two - when I was older) and about saints as a child. I remember being VERY interested in St. Francis of Assisi when I was about 7 years old without anyone, except the priest in Mass, mentioning him to me. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd immediately say that I wanted to be a nun. A Carmelite, to be exact. I was only 5-7 years old yet that was my dream "job." Oh, and I also had a Virgin Mary nightlight growing up because I used to be afraid of the dark.

Those are just example of things I would do when I was younger. According to my mom, I have always been very Catholic (except for those lost years in my teens) since my birth. I've always felt close to the Church. I even got confirmed early when I was taken to Mexico so I didn't have to wait until I was in my mid-late teens (though I wish they would've let me do it in my teens; that's another story). And, since I've returned to my "roots", I've tried to get my parents back to Mass and eventually completely back to the Church. I even get upset with my father when he refuses to take me to confession or Mass (I can't drive at the moment because of my anxiety). I will tear up (unintentionally, I REALLY love going to Mass and get very sad when I can't go) until he agrees. Actually, he's gotten better about that. He knows what time I usually like to go to Mass so he doesn't complain anymore. When I told my parents I would be majoring in Religious Studies, or that I wanted to attend a Catholic college/university, they weren't surprised. When I said I wanted to go talk to a priest, just to talk about certain things, they were a little puzzled but sort of understood.

So, all of this got me wondering... are any of us born to be Catholic? Do any of you think that some of us (who are cradle Catholics) were just born with a love the Church without getting encouraged to do so? I'm still thinking about this so I honestly don't have an answer. If any of you have any comments, please don't hesitate to leave 'em. I'm very curious to hear what others think. And, yes, you can e-mail me in case you don't want your comments going up on the blog. :D I look forward to hearing feedback. :D

Alright, well, I still have some things to do (including watching 2 saint movies, whoo!) so I should go. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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