Why lead inquirer's classes or social media groups?

People often ask why I continue to moderate an online forum for Catholic Converts. Does it ever get old? Actually, this is one of the major reasons we long term admins of online Converts groups continue doing this year after year. (It's certainly not for the salary ). It is always fun to see this time of the year roll around and the real the joy that people have at finally being received into the arms of Mother Church.

After the newness and the honeymoon wears off and you start getting into the nitty gritty of everyday life in the Church, it's easy to lose that sense of joy and wonder that new converts bring to the table. It's not so much that you necessarily get disillusioned (though that can happen-I mean we are all sinners after all, and the Church is not yet fully perfected). It's more that you just get into the routine of going to Mass, Lenten fish frys, etc. You meet new people in the Church, yes, but it's very easy to ghetto yourself all with other Catholics who have been Catholics for many years, maybe their entire life, and that burst of energy and inquiry and newness that new converts bring can get lost in your day to day life in the Church. That's not a bad thing, it is just human nature.

I have found that even though I have been an Admin on this group for over 10 years now I think, watching the joy and newness afresh year after year really does keep my own Catholic faith alive and fresh. It doesn't let me devolve into just going through the motions or thinking I have learned everything I need to know as a Catholic. People coming into the OCIA program always bring new ideas and questions. While many of their questions are often the same year after year, we still get new questions periodically that we've never really thought about or had to think how to answer.

I can't speak for the other admins and moderators on this group, but at least for me, watching this group feed blow up every year, so to speak, with so great a burst of energy as people experience Holy Week and being received into the Church for the first time every year lightens this old ticker. It's like after you long since have become an adult and the magic of Christmas is largely over, getting to watch your kids or grandkids experience Christmas anew kind of brings the Christmas magic back every year, at least a little. It really is a joy to watch.