Am I the only one?

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Furius

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I feel like I am the only one in my family, and possibly the state, that cares about theological truth.
I have a sister, who is much older than I. She is 48 and I am 29. She was baptized Catholic, but was never really practicing. She then got caught up in some non denom churches and Baptist church’s, whatever was making her feel good at the time I guess. She got involved with them when I was around 10, so I at that time didn’t really care about religion or God and never really said anything anyway. However, I recall her coming over to the house and trying to evangelize my parents and I to ‘follow Christ’. She would talk about it all the time. It never really bothered me and she was always allowed to speak and never told to ‘shut up’ or any of that sort. Well, over time, she started to really calm down with it, and eventually rarely brought it up at all. She still would claim to be a ‘Christian’ over the years, but never like she was that 3 to 4 years of being active in her church’s.
So now there is myself. I spent most of my life loving God but never really taking it seriously. Then around 2007, I really began to desire God. So I spent a lot of time researching, reading the Bible. Since we live in the Protestant country, most of the theological stuff I was reading was Protestant in nature. I never rejected my Catholic faith but my theology was very much ‘ad hoc’ and I would go with whatever ‘seemed right’. Well it didn’t take long for me to discover in my research that my dear old ‘boring’ Catholic Church was actually Christ’s Church. So what did I do with that? Well, I could ignore it and treat Jesus as a quick high to make me feel good, or I could actually LOVE Jesus and go to the place He prepared for me.
Okay, so now I am home with Christ in The Church. Now I know what the truth is. And the most incredible thing happened…everyone started hating me or thinking I was crazy. Sadly, even my own Catholic mother tends to tell me to ‘keep it quiet’ when I talk to her. My gay Uncle disowned me for going to Chik FilA and private messaged me on Facebook demanding I tell him where I stood on gay marriage. He questioned me as if he were running his own inquisition with his own authority. I very gently, but very unambiguously told him that I do not support gay marriage and I told him why. I even tried to tell him that ‘we are both Catholics’ and I could not believe something contrary to what the Church teaches. He told me he doesn’t belong to the Catholic Church anymore and he found a church that doesn’t ‘hate’ which is apparently the Episcopal Church. He disowned me, and hasn’t spoken to me since. I told him I loved him about 20 times during our conversation and he didn’t tell me once that he loved me. Then he proceeded to slander me on Facebook in front of full view of my family by saying things like, I supported gays being beaten and that I was horrible for going to Chik FilA. Not a single family member came to my defense. It wasn’t that I needed it or expected it, but I do feel that had the shoe been on the other foot and I was the one attacking him for living a homosexual lifestyle, I am pretty sure the family would have rallied around him against me publicly. I have also lost other friends due to my return to the Faith and to my willingness to talk about it and defend it.
Then there is my sister. The one time, 24 hour evangelist, is now a ‘live and let live’ Christian. However, she is still an evangelist. She is now in the ‘church of crossfit’ and constantly preaches about proper diet. So if you happen to be brave enough to drink diet soda around her, be prepared for some fire and brimstone. Of course, I don’t have much issue with this, and I listen to her when she makes me feel like I am heading to the 9th layer of hell because of my diet iced tea.
Because Christ is tending to be the center of my life, I speak a lot about cultural issues of the day and about theological truth. These are the things that interest me. My sister doesn’t like the Catholic Church and will sometimes say things that are sort of inferring that the Church and myself are the dreaded, ‘judgmental’. My sister will acknowledge most sins as sins, but won’t speak too much on them nor inform others who disagree that they are sins. But the one ‘sin’ my sister will go to bat for every time and get he excommunication papers ready is the sin of being ‘judgmental’. And the sin of being judgmental is pretty easy to commit in her book. All you have to do is say something is a ‘sin’ and you have then committed the sin of being judgmental and ipso facto, you become a terrible person. So I started asking her questions about her beliefs. I started explaining my own beliefs to her. And it seems while my sister is very kind when you are listening to her and ‘yessing’ her to death, she doesn’t fare to well when you start questioning her and especially having answers to her objections.
One day she said that “Catholic” isn’t in the Bible. I answered her objection and explained to her how early the term is and actually what it means. My answer was reasoned, well thought out, pretty iron clad in my estimation. And her reaction is always to huff and puff, accuse me of starting arguments, and strangely after he bringing these things up most of the time tell me that she doesn’t like talking about these things. I don’t know what she expects me to do? When she or someone says something about the Faith or Christ that is not true, I am going to offer an answer. And every time I do, no matter how I put it, she always gets loud, interrupts me when I’m trying to say something like a child and yells at me that she is “NOT LISTENING”. Last time she did that, I told her that she could not listen and shut down if she wants to, but I am going to speak anyway.
 
I am not saying that I handle these things as good as gold every single time. But I realize that no matter how I handle it, I’m always the bad guy. Even my own mother told me when she was present for these things that she believes the Church is the True Church, but that I am ‘too knowledgeable’ and people don’t ‘like that’. So then what? Should I become a moron and just assert my Church as True without offering any sort of reasons? She said ‘yes’. See, I always appreciated when people would tell me not just WHAT they believed, but WHY they believed it. Apparently, everyone prefers to WHAT because anyone can reject that based on any grounds. But to tell someone WHY, is to challenge their own beliefs. It causes them to examine, and instead of doing that, they would rather tell you to ‘shut up’.
I don’t know if I am right or wrong in how I do things. Maybe I will never know. But I do know that what I am saying most of the time is the truth and more importantly, I can give reasons why.
In fact, I have only been able to experience my best friend be changed. He was like I, a cradle Catholic who had fallen away. He had been going to Calvary Chapel. I even attended with him a few times when I was ‘searching’. But when I found out the Catholic Church was THE Church, that was it. I couldn’t leave my brother behind. And it took a year of us talking back and forth before he finally called me up one day and said, “hey man, I think I am ready to go back to confession and come back to The Church”. I remember thanking him for having such courage to do that, because no one ever wants to admit they are wrong and change. I thanked the Holy Spirit for allowing ME to be used in such a way.
I guess I shouldn’t complain so much about my failures, but it just gets to be a lot sometimes being the ‘crazy Christian’ or the ‘judgmental jerk’.
 
Well Furius,

Thank you for sharing the things in your life that are bothersome. We all are called to take up our crosses and follow Him. It sounds like yours is your family. There are others that lose their families completely when converting. Strained relations is better than no relations. Just loving them is the right thing to do. Pray for them and let God work in their lives.

It sounds like each of them IS searching and this is good. You once were searching and found your way back to the Church. That took time. This too can happen for them. But pushing the Church on them and arguing could turn them off. Trust God and learn your faith so when they actually ask what you believe you can present it in a calm and loving way. If they see the hope in your eyes then they’ll know in their hearts it is God working in you. Let His light shine through you by living the life.

When you do get the opportunity to share your faith make sure you say “I love you and want you to take this rightly,” etc. so they won’t be offended. It is hard though when you want the best for those you love and you want them to get it right now! Today is the anniversary of my own mother’s passing. I tried really hard after I became a Catholic to get her to see the light. She didn’t. As hard as it was, I had to admit I wasn’t the only person in her life that Jesus tried to reach her through. She was an adult and could make her own choices. She did. I had to let go and let God.

No, you aren’t the only one whose conversion has strained a family. Read the stories of the Saints. Try the Coming Home Network chnetwork.org for some help and encouragement. You are not alone.

Glenda
 
Wow. All I know is that when people talk too much, even though they have much knowledge, we have this great desire to turn them off and avoid them in the future. It has nothing to do with the subject it is the presentation.
 
You are not the only one. Scripture warns us that families will be divided, so we really should not be surprised when this happens.

I have found that when people have to start yelling it is a good sign they are wrong and/or very insecure in their own beliefs and arguments. One way I prepare to challenge other folks beliefs if it is to occur, is to study their belief system. This way I am aware of their possible remarks and have my own prepared.

As far as being hated, welcome to the group. There is not anything quite like believing in God and the Church to get people’s ire up. And when you use your faith to defend the rights of others, protect the weak or challenge an immoral activity people will hate you.
 
Thanks.

It sure is true that we are going to be hated for defending the truth. I think my sister doesn’t like the Church, because Catholicism is mine and our parents religion. She is a rebel, always has been. If we were all Baptists who railed against the Church as the whore of babylon, she would be a Catholic. It seems she is just disagreeable for the sake of being disagreeable.
As for my Uncle, he has much at stake for not accepting the truth. He has built his entire lifestyle around homosexuality.
The rest of my family is just rather indifferent when it comes to the Faith, and they see being Catholic as one might choose a Ford or Coke over Pepsi.
And I don’t even know much about the Faith, myself. I mean, the more I learn, the more I see I don’t know.
I just don’t know how NOT to talk about my Faith. I don’t know how to separate my Faith from when people are talking about something being ‘wrong’ or something being ‘right’. I don’t know how to leave my Faith at the door when people are complaining to me about something in their life. And I also don’t know how to not answer someone’s objections what I discovered to be true.
I say to my sister every time it comes up, 'you never offer me any reasonable response why YOUR take on God is right except for that the ‘holy spirit’ tells you". I mean, when someone pretty much thinks I am an arrogant jerk, isn’t it the height of arrogance to think that God Himself tells you what is true in your heart and meanwhile he does not speak to me. He can’t possibly be speaking to both of us and telling us 2 completely contradictory things, so one of us is wrong. The only difference is, I have more than some vague assurance in my heart (which could easily be me deceiving myself). I think it takes humility to realize that I am in no position to say I know Christ’s Truth and that I need to seek out who could possibly claim such authority and conform myself to that. If people think that I am a Catholic because they just happened to agree with me on everything is out of their mind. I had to conform myself to the truth, not the other way around.
 
Remember Jesus said we will be hated because of Him. We bear this cross for Him and He gives us the peace that the world cannot give.

God bless you…
 
Furius said:
I feel like I am the only one in my family, and possibly the state, that cares about theological truth…I spent most of my life loving God but never really taking it seriously. Then around 2007, I really began to desire God…
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Now, now. You’ve only been back on the wagon for seven years! You have to realize that you are somewhere in the middle of the pack, some being in the church when you were lukewarm, but also some still lukewarm, cold, or incorrect longer than you were. Patience, patience!

I talked to a family member who heard this in a homily today: The priest says he had a friend, a Baptist, who became an agnostic. His mother, hearing about this, told him tearfully that she’d never thought her son would lose his faith in God. Later in his life, after some searching, this same man became Catholic. His mother, hearing about this, was tearful again: she’d never thought her son would become a religious fanatic! What a trip to take in a single lifetime!

Here is the deal: Do not get into the interior motives or culpability of those who objectively engage in or defend sin. You don’t know why they do it, you can’t know why they do it–they may not even know why they do it!–and that is not your concern. If you go there, you are leaving the ranch when it comes to teaching the faith. No, we ought to impute the best motives to others or at least assume that the best may be possible, when we cannot know what their motives are. Charity asks this of us, not to mention our need to gain the benefit of the doubt ourselves at every opportunity. (I mean our need before heaven: that is, the measure we measure with will be used to measure back to us.)

What do you say? Well, when it comes to teaching what is and is not a sin, objectively speaking, follow the basic maxim to preach the Gospel but to shake the dust from your feet and leave the topic alone when someone does not want to hear it. It is a work of mercy to admonish a sinner, but unless you are one of the few with that pastoral office, refrain from offering fraternal correction to those who attack you for doing so. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matt. 7:6) Instead, once you realize they are not going to listen to you, pray for them in the hope that you will both receive mercy for those things you do or fail to do out of blindness, whether it has a cause that is unintentional or obstinate.

The Pope, when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, wrote a book titled “On Heaven and Earth” with a highly-regarded Jewish rabbi of Argentina. It relates a conversation they had about issues of the modern age. Respectful dialogue between people of differing faiths but of good will looks like that. That kind of dialogue takes two respectful people, two people willing to take what the other says in charity and two people who are willing to listen to each other.

Here is a good passage for you, written for Christians who might well have been in your situation (the first century of the Church being just as full of religious movements, religious opinions, and resulting family turmoil as our own, if not more!)
“Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.” 1 Pet. 3:13-17
 
next time she says something about the bible, Just tell her that thanks to the Catholic Chuch we have the bible. It was the Church that compiled scripture.
 
Great replies guys!

Its all duly noted. I do not really involve myself in discussions about people’s personal sins. I can’t remember the last time I told someone that they specifically were sinning and needed to stop. I speak of sin in the general sense. Sadly, people usually always say this is judging. This of course is a discussion in itself, but to call something wrong is not to judge. And in reality, we are to judge righteously, as no one would deny. I always found it amusing that these are the same people who when they are discussing some famous criminal case are the same ones who go, ‘oh they should hang’em!’ or ‘what a disgusting monster!’. Then these same folks turn around and say, ‘don’t judge’. It seems the closer you get to talking about things that we all have committed or might possibly commit in the future, that is when people start the ‘don’t judge’ misinterpretations. I remember telling people how the son of sam is in prison and has become a Christian. Every single person I told that to said, ‘he’s probably lying’ or ‘yeah because he belongs in hell!’ So I think the real irony here is that the only time I speak against sin is when sin is being defended. When a person is guilty or sad over their sin, my attempts are to reassure them that forgiveness is ready and waiting.

And yes, I have asked here where the Bible came from before. She looked at me bewildered and I explained the Council of Nicaea to her and the compiling of scripture by the Church. She looked at me and yelled, “Isn’t is enough for you that I believe in God??!!!” I was dumbfounded! I told her it wasn’t about me or what’s good enough for me. It’s about Christ and His Truth!!! She didn’t even respond to what I said. She didn’t have an answer. And that is sadly her MO, when she gets a reasonable response to one objection, she then turns around and attacks you for answering it!!

And to Easter:

I am praying for her. That is hard. I’m not saying I’m the best Catholic or I have all the answers or anything like that. However, I do know I wish that a Catholic had been around to tell me the Truth. Sadly, it was Protestants who in their boldness got me to think about God, my friend’s Uncle especially. So it sent me on a search and I landed right back in the arms of Mother Church. Had these people not been so bold, I might not be here. They had a part in helping my soul. And I haven’t seen my friends Uncle in years, in fact since back then, but I plan on talking to him about the Truth to him and return the favor. I am saddened by Catholics who are afraid to be bold with their Faith. It would have saved me a lot of time and effort if a Catholic from my parish had talked to me about the Faith.
I may only be 7 years out of the lukewarm. I may have been terrible. I may have failed in every capacity to say and do what is right. I just think we all must start. And if we start, to jump in with both feet.
The verse about the swine always comes back to me. That is a very poignant verse to me. Its a verse I always struggled with following. I have a hard time stepping back. My greatest strength and my greatest weakness. I do very much need to know when to pull back.
 
Furius,

That you are trying is all the Lord could ask. We all stumble, and have to get up again and again. Hang in there.

I was the only practicing Catholic in my family, and for that matter the only one that went to Church of any kind. My parents eventually started going to the Baptist Church, though left after learning that their particular Pastor was more interesting in making money than about anything else. That particular congregation eventually dissolved completely. Wonder why??:rolleyes:

My paternal grandmother was particularly anti-Catholic, but finally, just weeks prior to her death asked to be Baptized as a Catholic. My sister was finally Baptized just over a year ago, prior to a surgery that turned out to almost kill her. She is terminally ill.

My dad and brother are still outside of any Church, but both believe in God. Maybe in time they too will convert. Time will tell. I can only do as my Faith asks of me and hope. And I am not perfect by any means.
 
Theological response to this problem is : Darkness can not stand exposed to light and want to devour it but it can not…

People who has “bad” in them (in case od your family heresy) can not stand “the good” becuase in their subconscious they KNOW they are wrong and their ways are from devil. So they fight you fericiously to hide that truth from themselves, from you, from world and feom God.

Exposing you faith amd talking about it is a nice opportunity. I do not have that privilege here in Turkey. But remember this:

Matthew 7:6
Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you.

So my advice do not talk in vain. God is the only one who can change hearts. Just try and if it is not happening you job is done.

Pax Christi
 
Cricket, thank you for sharing! I will pray your light touches your family. God bless your grandmother for being Baptized Catholic. I love stories like that. It amazes me how the Holy Spirit can just grab people so suddenly! And sorry to hear about your sister, but how wonderful that she has been Baptized. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 when I was 27. I had chemo and 2 surgeries. It was testicular, and I was assured of how curable it was, however the treatment they told me would be very hard. They were right about that. The second surgery I had was called RPLND. It was a major surgery I need because the cancer spread to the lymph nodes in my back and they could only get to it from entering through my stomach. They asked me if I wanted some “religious” visit while I was recovering in the hospital for 5 days. I loved Christ at this time and was researching the truth. I had been away from Confession and the Mass for years. I still always stated I was Catholic however. When they asked me, I of course requested a priest. And when the priest came to me he stayed with me a while. It was late December, right before Christmas. He gave me this sort of general absolution that he said could only be given during Christmas time. My mother never heard of it, nor had I, and I still don’t know what it was since I never looked it up. All I know is, that time he spent with me while I was in the hospital was soul awakening for me. It wasn’t long after cancer, that I had been led back to the Church and to Confession. Now I go at least once every 2 weeks. I still say that cancer is one of the greatest blessing Christ ever gave me. I guess it is what I needed. I was always Catholic, I strayed away. I was a bad son. Even when researching and learning the truth, I still fought returning back to the fold, mainly out of fear and laziness. It was finally the suffering with cancer that Christ used to bring me home. Oddly it wasn’t fear of death or hell. Almost mystically, Christ taught me through the suffering. One of the Church’s most misunderstood and beautiful teachings is on suffering. Its funny how most people lose their Faith when something like that happens to them. For myself, its like it all finally came together. Its very difficult to explain.

To
AugustinusD:

Thank you brother! I am ashamed of myself to be complaining about my difficulties in America, while you are in Turkey. I know you can not share the Faith there. How brave you are just to be in the Faith! I will pray for you. Your kind words have meant a lot to me. I will pray that Istanbul will one day proclaim the Faith in One voice again! I have a place in my heart for those who hold the Faith in predominantly Islamic cultures and nations. Thank you for your encouragement. We will both fight for Truth in different parts of the earth! Lord, save both our nations people!
 
Furius, please get yourself a copy of Patrick Madrid’s book “Search and Rescue.” He has great ideas about how to handle the very situation that you have found yourself in. Following Patrick’s advice will help you to get your peace of mind back. Don’t think you are the only one. There can’t be a Catholic in the country who doesn’t have a least one relative like yours! Patrick Madrid will show you what to do, so please get his book!
 
Marysann said:
Furius, please get yourself a copy of Patrick Madrid’s book “Search and Rescue.” He has great ideas about how to handle the very situation that you have found yourself in. Following Patrick’s advice will help you to get your peace of mind back. Don’t think you are the only one. There can’t be a Catholic in the country who doesn’t have a least one relative like yours! Patrick Madrid will show you what to do, so please get his book!
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Thank you! I am purchasing it for my kindle now. 👍
 
Furius said:
To
AugustinusD:

Thank you brother! I am ashamed of myself to be complaining about my difficulties in America, while you are in Turkey. I know you can not share the Faith there. How brave you are just to be in the Faith! I will pray for you. Your kind words have meant a lot to me. I will pray that Istanbul will one day proclaim the Faith in One voice again! I have a place in my heart for those who hold the Faith in predominantly Islamic cultures and nations. Thank you for your encouragement. We will both fight for Truth in different parts of the earth! Lord, save both our nations people!
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First of all sorry for my horrible English on previous post.

Thank you for your sympathy. To be honest Turkey is much better than other Islamic countries like Iran or Afganistan. People do not try to kill us (most of the time :)) persecution is mostly by words only.

I pray everyday and keep talking with my parents everyday but… Well it is up to God.

Thanks God my wife found happiness in The Mother Church too and taking classes like I did.
So when we are blessed with kids we will be united in faith.

Sometimes all we can do is pray. There is alot of pollution of information and with the new world view of “your opinion matters most even if it is uneducated” makes people lose their ways.

It takes a humble heart to come home to Catholic Church.

Pride is the root of Protestanism and what I call “Light Catholicism” which is “low on faith” even avaible as “faith free”, giving away for free in local hell shop 🙂 just burst your ego and demons are handling wrong ideas for free 🙂

Probably “Light Catholics” are the worst. They are born to it, take it for granted and do not appreciate it. Truth is the most valuable thing in this world. Truth is a man who is called Jesus Christ the Son of God.

But spoiled, ungrateful, self-centered, sin-loving people do not appreciate Him for entering their life without their effort.
 
Furius said:
Cricket, thank you for sharing! I will pray your light touches your family. God bless your grandmother for being Baptized Catholic. I love stories like that. It amazes me how the Holy Spirit can just grab people so suddenly! And sorry to hear about your sister, but how wonderful that she has been Baptized. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 when I was 27. I had chemo and 2 surgeries. It was testicular, and I was assured of how curable it was, however the treatment they told me would be very hard. They were right about that. The second surgery I had was called RPLND. It was a major surgery I need because the cancer spread to the lymph nodes in my back and they could only get to it from entering through my stomach. They asked me if I wanted some “religious” visit while I was recovering in the hospital for 5 days. I loved Christ at this time and was researching the truth. I had been away from Confession and the Mass for years. I still always stated I was Catholic however. When they asked me, I of course requested a priest. And when the priest came to me he stayed with me a while. It was late December, right before Christmas. He gave me this sort of general absolution that he said could only be given during Christmas time. My mother never heard of it, nor had I, and I still don’t know what it was since I never looked it up. All I know is, that time he spent with me while I was in the hospital was soul awakening for me. It wasn’t long after cancer, that I had been led back to the Church and to Confession. Now I go at least once every 2 weeks. I still say that cancer is one of the greatest blessing Christ ever gave me. I guess it is what I needed. I was always Catholic, I strayed away. I was a bad son. Even when researching and learning the truth, I still fought returning back to the fold, mainly out of fear and laziness. It was finally the suffering with cancer that Christ used to bring me home. Oddly it wasn’t fear of death or hell. Almost mystically, Christ taught me through the suffering. One of the Church’s most misunderstood and beautiful teachings is on suffering. Its funny how most people lose their Faith when something like that happens to them. For myself, its like it all finally came together. Its very difficult to explain.

To
AugustinusD:

Thank you brother! I am ashamed of myself to be complaining about my difficulties in America, while you are in Turkey. I know you can not share the Faith there. How brave you are just to be in the Faith! I will pray for you. Your kind words have meant a lot to me. I will pray that Istanbul will one day proclaim the Faith in One voice again! I have a place in my heart for those who hold the Faith in predominantly Islamic cultures and nations. Thank you for your encouragement. We will both fight for Truth in different parts of the earth! Lord, save both our nations people!
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“Furius”,

Thank you so much for what you shared here. It was truly from your heart and has touched mine and many others I am sure! Lately I have had a very heavy heart for one of my adult children who finally revealed to me (after a faith-filled reversion to the Church for ten year!) that he is now going to his wife’s church. (Presbyterian). His wife is a wonderful lady and for years I admired her kindness in that without me even asking she joyfully offered to take me to weekday Mass, and sat with me, while I visited them for a week.

My son admits that it doesn’t “feel right”, but that he is doing this for his daughter (teen-ager) who seems to feel more at home there, and he wants there to be “togetherness”. I will keep praying for charity and understanding between us, and need the grace to be able to articulate myself with confidence and the Lord’s blessing when topics of faith come up.
 
AugustinusD said:
Theological response to this problem is : Darkness can not stand exposed to light and want to devour it but it can not…

People who has “bad” in them (in case od your family heresy) can not stand “the good” becuase in their subconscious they KNOW they are wrong and their ways are from devil. So they fight you fericiously to hide that truth from themselves, from you, from world and feom God.

Exposing you faith amd talking about it is a nice opportunity. I do not have that privilege here in Turkey. But remember this:

Matthew 7:6
Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you.

So my advice do not talk in vain. God is the only one who can change hearts. Just try and if it is not happening you job is done.
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Augustinus,

I must daily remind myself of your last sentence in the situation that I am in. Yes, and yes again, God is the only one who can change hearts. I will speak when the opportunity arises, hopefully with the peace and love of Christ with His grace, and the rest is done by the Lord.

In Jesus and Mary,

Dorothy
 
Hello Augustinus!

From Pennsylvania to Turkey God bless you and yours.

Your last comment about us spoiled American Catholics is sad but true for some of us. Please pray for us. I guess living in a place where dying for the Faith can *actually happen *changes ones perspective a bit.
AugustinusD said:
First of all sorry for my horrible English on previous post.

Thank you for your sympathy. To be honest Turkey is much better than other Islamic countries like Iran or Afganistan. People do not try to kill us (most of the time :)) persecution is mostly by words only.

I pray everyday and keep talking with my parents everyday but… Well it is up to God.

Thanks God my wife found happiness in The Mother Church too and taking classes like I did.
So when we are blessed with kids we will be united in faith.

Sometimes all we can do is pray. There is alot of pollution of information and with the new world view of “your opinion matters most even if it is uneducated” makes people lose their ways.

It takes a humble heart to come home to Catholic Church.

Pride is the root of Protestanism and what I call “Light Catholicism” which is “low on faith” even avaible as “faith free”, giving away for free in local hell shop 🙂 just burst your ego and demons are handling wrong ideas for free 🙂

Probably “Light Catholics” are the worst. They are born to it, take it for granted and do not appreciate it. Truth is the most valuable thing in this world. Truth is a man who is called Jesus Christ the Son of God.

But spoiled, ungrateful, self-centered, sin-loving people do not appreciate Him for entering their life without their effort.
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Many do take their Catholicism “lite” as in watered-down beer. I call them pew potatoes myself. Yeah they’re there most Sunday’s and doesn’t Father know how lucky he is they show up? They could be missing most of the “game” by just showing up! But then my Christianity takes over my thinking and I admit I’m no Saint either and being self-righteous could be just as dangerous to my spiritual welfare as whatever it is I see wrong in my brothers and sisters in Christ. Yeah, the Church really isn’t a hotel for Saints but a hospital for sinners. We ain’t perfect yet but at least we’re trying. It is a spiritual work of charity to be patient with those in error. I am supposed to love my brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what I think. I’m called by God to love and that is exactly what I can do. The funny thing is the more I do it the easier it gets. Hope this helps and God bless again from Pennsylvania, USA!

Glenda
 
Furius, I can absolutely sympathize with your situation. A lot of the biggest issues between my family and I stem from me being one of the few in the family who actually practices his faith, and the fact that my wife and I are genuinely Catholic as opposed to cultural/cafeteria Catholics. Even my mother, who most in the family view as being too devout, isn’t comfortable with how committed we are to the faith. She’s always been involved with her parish but she didn’t really come of age, religiously speaking, until after Vatican II, so a lot of her personal theology was developed in the 70s. She took a class recently on what she’s supposed to believe as a Catholic and was surprised and disappointed by a lot of what she heard. The fact that I’ve fully embraced and live out what she learned in that class breeds a bit of discomfort. It’s sad that, in a family that’s nominally Catholic, our faith should be such a cause of strife. All you can really do sometimes is pray.
 
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