Theology is reality, in my opinion. The question I believe you are actually asking is "what happens when theology is understood, when it becomes a tangible concept rather then an abstract concept?" In order to answer that question you must realize that theology is faith seeking understanding. It does not exist merely to confuse, but to deepen your faith in G-d and to understand all that living a life following Christ entails.  When your theology catches up with you, as you say, I think that is the point when you understand what G-d wants you to understand at that  time, and that you are called to apply it to your life. When your theology catches up to you, your life is, or should be changed. Otherwise,G-d's outstretched hand is still waiting for you to let your theology catch up to you.

Good question!!!
I'm still working on an answer...

For practicality's sake, much of theology becomes just mere philosophy. Sure, I can ponder "I think, therefore I am" all I want, but is it really going to help me in my everyday life? This is much the same as the endless theological debates over things such as the Trinity or predestination. Whether God is or is not female, and whether free will is a concept or a reality will not affect my day to day routine (although it is sometimes fun to talk about). These things can be held within you, but there's no good way to 'live' them.

The question has it exactly backwards for we are the ones who play catch up to truth not the other way around.

Philosophically, that this question was posed backwards, say a lot.  It says that our little self comes first, and therefore defines what truth is. 

Here is a theological quote from Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason) by Pope John Paul II couched in philosophical language:

Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2).

So our theology and philosophy have as their first end that we know ourselves and

This is why all that is the object of our knowledge becomes a part of our life (JPII-Fides et Ratio).

That is what happens with the we catch up to the truth, it becomes part of our life.  We then able to engage in our final end, which is to know God.

Well, I think theology is a lived experience insofar as what you learn is (hopefully) how you act, or maybe influences how you act. But I've never thought about it till now so my idea might need some thinking over...

@When_We_Were_Both_Cats@xanga - "...theology breaks when it catches up to reality."

Theology is realism.

Theory is tested reality. If the theory perfect in every aspect it does not bend nor break reality but rather explains it clearly down to the last detail.

Theory falls apart when it tells us that we should not have some desire and yet we do have that desire and no matter how we try to bury the desire, it keeps welling up from deep within our lives. Because we don't find a solution within our theory we dismiss our own lives as evil or as only to be tolerated until we die and go to a heaven. We never truly learn why those desires are there nor what to do about them in the present.

Theology doesn't fall apart, we do. Then, we return to our theology to find out where we went wrong.

@Amythist_Malaise@xanga - 

It is typically done out of reverence for the name of God, similar to the Jewish use of the names Adonai (Lord) and Hashem (the Name) in place of YHWH/YHVH.

@monobeam@xanga - ooooooh awkward, ummmm....no, it isn't.