The Three Converts

Earlier today I was thinking about converts to the Church and decided they generally fall into three categories: those who follow, those who wake, and those you strive. This three categories may also be applied to reverts, though they are generally of the thrid more than the first two.

Those Who Follow: These are the converts who enter the Church because their spouse, spouse to be, or rather important loved one is Catholic and either the loved one or the loved one's family desires the person to convert. They are generally characterized by a half-hearted interest in the Church, seeing it as little more than either a concession to their loved one or a way to get good with them. They are the most likely not to be seen at Mass.

Those who Wake: These converts, like Those Who Follow, begin their exploration/RCIA of the Church for reasons of love or kinship, but during their exploration they actually find the Church (mainly because they were actually looking). These are the ones who go to weekly Mass and see the Church as she truly is, wishing to be part of her.

Those Who Strive: These are the people who come into the Church because they see what she is independent of loved ones. They often begin their exploration because a friend/lover(in the most chaste way)/etc. is a strong Catholic, though just as many discover the Church through random means. Unlike Those Who Wake, when they finally decide to approach the Church they already know who she is and are willing to, if not convert, come very close. These are the people who attend daily Mass on a fairly regular basis and could be called the 'crazy converts.' Their faith is almost absurdly visible and they are the converts most noticed.

These are, of course, charactetures to a degree, but they are, in my experience, fairly accurate. There is a little blending of the groups, particularly between Wake and Strive, as those in the former can move into the power of the latter and some of the latter simply slide back, either from lack of will or lack of time (though in many cases those with lack of time tend to push themselves even farther into the 'absurd' category).