A Sound of Sheer Silence

I have some friends that are worried about me.  It's very well meaning worry, and I am grateful for it.  But, it is misplaced.  You see, I have some friends that read this blog, and they think I am having a crisis of faith.  The fear, I suspect, is that I am going to be lost to the great darkness (as they see it) of non-belief of the broader culture. Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is true that I am having some grave doubts about Catholicism, and my place in Catholicism.  But if you pull back one level, but faith in Christianity is as strong as it has ever been.  In some ways, it is better--my prayer life, for example, is the best it has ever been.  There are certain things that I understand far more clearly now that I did before.  My views may be changing, but they are changing in the direction of a greater sense of comfort with Christian doctrine, and a greater appreciation with its teachings. Take, for example, a very ba...