Any Reverts out there?

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Short version:

I was away from the Church for some 12-15 years, not sure when I could say I had fully left the Church.

In the summer of 2006, by which time I considered myself a sort of spiritual agnostic, I found myself consumed with desire for a home we could in no way afford. One night as I lay in bed, I reached out to God, if there was a God, which I doubted, and asked for help.

That night I had a dream that I prayed the rosary and went to mass. My (now ex) husband laughed when I told him about my “prayer” and my dream. I told him, “What’s the point of asking for coaching if you’re not going to take the coaching you get?”

So I went to mass everyday that week, and prayed the rosary. I took my son with me to Sunday mass and never stopped. I didn’t go to confession for nearly 8 months because my poor catechesis left me thinking it didn’t matter. God bless the priest who heard that confession and helped me go deeper and make an excellent confession!

Gertie
 
I am a revert as well. I went to Catholic Schools and attended mass until my Mother stopped going when I was a child. I wasn’t taught the faith because it was the wacky time. Then my brother took me to his Fellowship’s Sunday School where I sort of learned bits of the Bible, but left in my late teens and over the next 20+ I told God that I didn’t believe in Him.

One day I God gave me what I would describe as my own beautiful gentle “Road to Damascus” experience - it was as if I turned round into His welcoming embrace. Months later I felt the urge to go to church, so I walked past 4 different Christian churches, Home to the catholic Church of my childhood. There was no RCIA, a very ill priest (may he rest in peace) followed by whichever priest could turn up to celebrate mass for a few years. Although it sounds messy, I believe that it was an essential part of God’s plan to move me little by little on His path. When I reflected on that part of the journey the challenges and awkwardness of it all helped deepen my faith and was tailor-made to suit my personality. Why is it the more we grow, the smaller we are and the more we learn, the less we know?

And 14 years on, I am still making mistakes (including some amazing howlers that have astonished more than one priest over the years), but am a little less confused, a little more knowledgeable and as excited, eager and thankful as the first day on my little road to Damascus. I thank God that the Catholic Church can be so forgiving, welcoming and accommodating to even the daftest sheep in the flock.
 
All of your stories are so very touching. Thank you for writing them.
 
Yes I am loving all these stories. I hope many people stop by this thread and read them.

I am glad I started this thread. I don’t feel alone in my story. And all these stories are great for people to see each of our journeys back to the faith.

When I actually learned my faith… I fell in love with it.
 
Milasol said:
Yes I am loving all these stories. I hope many people stop by this thread and read them.

I am glad I started this thread. I don’t feel alone in my story. And all these stories are great for people to see each of our journeys back to the faith.

When I actually learned my faith… I fell in love with it.
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Some of us ‘full time’ cradle Catholics have had our ups and downs too. Maybe we’ve not actually ‘left’ the Church but we certainly went through some confusing and hard to deal with situations. Abuses of the Mass, schools teaching things not in line with the truth. I had to drive my kids to a school at another parish to make sure they got taught properly. I also taught CCD there for nearly 20 years. Fr. there insisted we teach what the Church actually teaches. We read and studied Vat. II Documents. We studied Humana Vite .He brought priest like Fr. Wm. Most and Fr. Robert Fox to give retreats to his teachers.(As well as the Parish). We were very fortunate. But now we have the opportunity to learn our Faith properly and stand up for it bravely. We have so many things to learn from such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, EWTN, catholic.com. etc. God Bless, Memaw
 
I feel I’m currently a revert “in progress”. Born and raised Catholic, loved it in my youth, but during my 20’s got convinced by the then-Protestant media (1980s when there wasn’t much Catholic media at least where I lived) the “Bible only” mentality was right and the CC not so much.

I eventually left the Church for the Non-Denominational Charismatic experience/fellowships. Was into that over 20 years.

Surprisingly to me, Jesus is leading me home to the CC. He did this through my rediscovery of Eucharistic Adoration. No matter how non-Catholic I ever was, I’ve always believed in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Super long story very condensed here, but eventually I came to the place where I wouldn’t live without the Blessed Sacrament in my life.

Always encouraging to hear other reverts stories too!

HA
 
Memaw said:
Some of us ‘full time’ cradle Catholics have had our ups and downs too. Maybe we’ve not actually ‘left’ the Church but we certainly went through some confusing and hard to deal with situations. Abuses of the Mass, schools teaching things not in line with the truth. I had to drive my kids to a school at another parish to make sure they got taught properly. I also taught CCD there for nearly 20 years. Fr. there insisted we teach what the Church actually teaches. We read and studied Vat. II Documents. We studied Humana Vite .He brought priest like Fr. Wm. Most and Fr. Robert Fox to give retreats to his teachers.(As well as the Parish). We were very fortunate. But now we have the opportunity to learn our Faith properly and stand up for it bravely. We have so many things to learn from such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, EWTN, catholic.com. etc. God Bless, Memaw
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What a nice school to have studied humane Vitae and V2 documents.
I was fortunate to have gone to a good Catholic school too. My brothers even went to a better Catholic school, but it was Opus Dei and those are incredible.

When I say I am a revert, I mean I am a revert from being absent from Mass and not from any other church, denomination. I never, never thought any protestants, etc were right. I have always thought the only one was the Catholic Church. I just went through a stage in my life where I lost faith. Couple that with my pride…
 
Memaw said:
Some of us ‘full time’ cradle Catholics have had our ups and downs too. Maybe we’ve not actually ‘left’ the Church but we certainly went through some confusing and hard to deal with situations. Abuses of the Mass, schools teaching things not in line with the truth. I had to drive my kids to a school at another parish to make sure they got taught properly. I also taught CCD there for nearly 20 years. Fr. there insisted we teach what the Church actually teaches. We read and studied Vat. II Documents. We studied Humana Vite .He brought priest like Fr. Wm. Most and Fr. Robert Fox to give retreats to his teachers.(As well as the Parish). We were very fortunate. But now we have the opportunity to learn our Faith properly and stand up for it bravely. We have so many things to learn from such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, EWTN, catholic.com. etc. God Bless, Memaw
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Yeah I’ve had times in the past where I got skeptical because of things I heard. I’d still go to Mass but I’d be wondering in the back of my mind. But my faith always came back stronger each time. There was a point during my skepticism where I googled proof for God and ended up unknowingly subscribing to some protestant interpretations.

Thankfully I got past that and now I’m sure of my Catholic faith and I no longer subscribe to any protestant interpretations.
 
Nothing like a good conversion story to strengthen your faith in God 👍

All of these are great! 😃
 
Hi,
I left the church for 3 months to explore eastern orthodoxy. This doesn’t sound like a long time, but considering that I’ve only been Catholic for a year and a half, it kind of was. I started to worry that Orthodox Christians close to me wouldn’t be saved, so I decided to join their church. Makes a lot of sense right? Ok maybe not, but whatever. Anyway, I still carried my padre Pio rosary around with me everywhere. Even though I never preyed it, I am sure that the prayers of St. Pio and our blessed mother are what finally lead me back to the church. I was received back last week on the feast day of St. Ane, and I have never had more joy in my life than I do now!
 
ProdigalSon1211 said:
I’m a Catholic revert. I stopped going to church in 2005 and came back in 2011. I didn’t go to confession until 2012 because I was scared and I wasn’t prepared for confession. I actually started going back to church because of a Protestant friend, I had to do a project for a religion class and I interviewed him and he seemed so at peace. I have a lot of personal problems and crosses to carry and I was looking for something positive and I found it in Jesus Christ and his Church.
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I posted this before and one of the admins banned me for 10 days because I wasn’t praising V2 and John 23… But I feel if some folks can’t facee the truth there are a number of other sites where people can speak honestly–and isn’t honesty what this should be about—then something is wrong or this site is a waste!?

I dropped out of the church for over 30 years right after V2 which I don’t have much good to say about. I am back now, and I have decided to accept obedience as I do love my church. But that doesn’t mean V2 didn’t do a lot of damage. And BTW–if you folks in charge want to ban me for saying something that everyone says–would you just please remove me from this site? I get tired of all the emails I can’t respomd to and the mess in my e-mail. Either we can talk as adults or I am not interested at all!
 
Starrsmother said:
I posted this before and one of the admins banned me for 10 days because I wasn’t praising V2 and John 23… But I feel if some folks can’t facee the truth there are a number of other sites where people can speak honestly–and isn’t honesty what this should be about—then something is wrong or this site is a waste!?

I dropped out of the church for over 30 years right after V2 which I don’t have much good to say about. I am back now, and I have decided to accept obedience as I do love my church. But that doesn’t mean V2 didn’t do a lot of damage. And BTW–if you folks in charge want to ban me for saying something that everyone says–would you just please remove me from this site? I get tired of all the emails I can’t respomd to and the mess in my e-mail. Either we can talk as adults or I am not interested at all!
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Vatican II wasn’t at fault! It was the dissenters and those who wanted to “Do their own thing” that caused all the problems. If you would just read the Documents of Vatican II and not listen to all the ‘trouble makers’, you could see that. I lived through those years too and there were many ways to find the truth of Vat. II. Catholics United for the Faith was my big help. John Paul II and Benedict XVI both were there and helped us understand its true value and Blessings. God Bless, Memaw
 
I think what Starrsmother is trying to say is that ‘something’ happened and no one wants to talk about it. Ignoring it will not make it go away. I don’t think the church has to apologize, just help us cradles who left or were taken away from the church by their parents who left get some sort of healing. Its not just a taboo topic here but with anyone you talk to who is Catholic. I would love it if there were some diocese-wide info sessions on it. You may just get some cradles back…I know of a lot who are just wandering out there afraid to come back because of what they went through during the upheaval. People need to heal. I will suggest it to my priest and the Roman rite bishop’s office
 
This is exactly what I was trying to say. I was a cradle Catholic, went to a parochial school in the midwest, the whole bit. All I knew is that one of the things that always made me “feel Catholic” was that it was the same everywhere. Then one Sunday, I walked into Mass and the altar had been torn down along with the communion rails and we had a full rock band singing hymns—and everything was in English not Latin now… If the church wishes to make a change, okay. But it should be done slowly with plenty of explanation. To me, it suddenly felt an awful lot like I was in any protestant church–and gradually, I slipped away. I am NOT proud of that. None of my kids are Catholic and at the ripe old age of 63, I don’t care if they decide to burn the Vatican down, I WILL obey. But when I was 20, all I saw was that it felt like everything beautiful was gone—and I know others who felt the same.
 
Casilda said:
I think what Starrsmother is trying to say is that ‘something’ happened and no one wants to talk about it. Ignoring it will not make it go away. I don’t think the church has to apologize, just help us cradles who left or were taken away from the church by their parents who left get some sort of healing. Its not just a taboo topic here but with anyone you talk to who is Catholic. I would love it if there were some diocese-wide info sessions on it. You may just get some cradles back…I know of a lot who are just wandering out there afraid to come back because of what they went through during the upheaval. People need to heal. I will suggest it to my priest and the Roman rite bishop’s office
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There are sooo many ways one can “Come back home” today if they are really interested. Coming Home network is one, this CAF network another. EWTN another. RCIA another. Plus so many wonderful books, speakers etc. willing to help. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is another. Fr. John Hardon wrote excellent Catechisms. IF we can be ‘taken away’, we can also ‘come back’ but we have to take the first step. Talk to a priest. Prayers for all who have left for whatever reason! God Bless, Memaw
 
I was a cradle Catholic, but never had the chance to attend Catholic school. I had very limited CCD in my tiny town in our tiny parish. Fell away at 18 when I didn’t have to go anymore. Got married in the Catholic Church, even though my fiance/husband wasn’t fully practicing either. Had kids. Moved to a small town where it was known we were Catholic, and felt ‘peer pressure’ to go to Church, plus we wanted our kids to have religious formation.

I went, sat in the front row or two (easier for kids to pay attention) and went through the motions. I sank more and more into desolation, not knowing why or how. One night, I struggled greatly, after about 6 months of attending Church and not ‘feeling it’ or truly living it. I went to sleep that night (finally) and woke up like nothing had changed. I hadn’t prayed to God; I hadn’t even talked to God. It was one of the lowest nights of my life. It’s hard to explain. We dressed and went to Mass.

When I walked into the Church that morning, I believed in a woman’s right to ‘choose’ abortion; that divorce was okay, and any number of things that didn’t coincide with God’s teachings (which are also the Church’s teachings). I had ‘morals’, but they were mine, not God’s.

Referring back to being a cradle Catholic, despite being one and attending a thousand Masses in my lifetime, I always ALWAYS needed the missalette to recite the Nicene Creed. Every time. Without fail.

I don’t recall the Scripture; I don’t recall the Homily. What I do know is this:

When I stood to recite the Creed, I didn’t pick up the book. The Words flowed out of my mouth in prayer, and the Voice I heard was not mine. I felt lightness of being, and a glow. No one around me noticed a thing. When I walked through those doors leaving Mass, my heart had changed. Completely. I hadn’t asked God what the answers were to my beliefs; He put them on my heart. He gave me answers to questions I didn’t know I had. I didn’t even have the knowledge to ask the questions to which I’d been given answers; they were so above my head, so to speak. I knew He wanted me to be Catholic. I knew abortion, divorce and other things were wrong, 100%. I knew that the Catholic Church was His Way for me and for us. I ‘knew’ things were right. I didn’t ask. That’s why I know it’s true. The thoughts and doubts weren’t even on my MIND, yet He corrected them and put them in my heart and soul.

For weeks after, so many things happened that it’s too much to share here. Each one reinforced God’s love and truth for me. But that’s how I came back to the Church in my mid 20s. We became actively involved in our parish, and led a good life, for a long time.

I fell away again, because of my pride mostly, and sinful human nature, and my weakness, in my 30s. It wasn’t a good time for me. I’ll share that in the next post.
 
ccmcmg said:
I was a cradle Catholic, but never had the chance to attend Catholic school. I had very limited CCD in my tiny town in our tiny parish. Fell away at 18 when I didn’t have to go anymore. Got married in the Catholic Church, even though my fiance/husband wasn’t fully practicing either. Had kids. Moved to a small town where it was known we were Catholic, and felt ‘peer pressure’ to go to Church, plus we wanted our kids to have religious formation.

I went, sat in the front row or two (easier for kids to pay attention) and went through the motions. I sank more and more into desolation, not knowing why or how. One night, I struggled greatly, after about 6 months of attending Church and not ‘feeling it’ or truly living it. I went to sleep that night (finally) and woke up like nothing had changed. I hadn’t prayed to God; I hadn’t even talked to God. It was one of the lowest nights of my life. It’s hard to explain. We dressed and went to Mass.

When I walked into the Church that morning, I believed in a woman’s right to ‘choose’ abortion; that divorce was okay, and any number of things that didn’t coincide with God’s teachings (which are also the Church’s teachings). I had ‘morals’, but they were mine, not God’s.

Referring back to being a cradle Catholic, despite being one and attending a thousand Masses in my lifetime, I always ALWAYS needed the missalette to recite the Nicene Creed. Every time. Without fail.

I don’t recall the Scripture; I don’t recall the Homily. What I do know is this:

When I stood to recite the Creed, I didn’t pick up the book. The Words flowed out of my mouth in prayer, and the Voice I heard was not mine. I felt lightness of being, and a glow. No one around me noticed a thing. When I walked through those doors leaving Mass, my heart had changed. Completely. I hadn’t asked God what the answers were to my beliefs; He put them on my heart. He gave me answers to questions I didn’t know I had. I didn’t even have the knowledge to ask the questions to which I’d been given answers; they were so above my head, so to speak. I knew He wanted me to be Catholic. I knew abortion, divorce and other things were wrong, 100%. I knew that the Catholic Church was His Way for me and for us. I ‘knew’ things were right. I didn’t ask. That’s why I know it’s true. The thoughts and doubts weren’t even on my MIND, yet He corrected them and put them in my heart and soul.

For weeks after, so many things happened that it’s too much to share here. Each one reinforced God’s love and truth for me. But that’s how I came back to the Church in my mid 20s. We became actively involved in our parish, and led a good life, for a long time.

I fell away again, because of my pride mostly, and sinful human nature, and my weakness, in my 30s. It wasn’t a good time for me. I’ll share that in the next post.
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Would love to hear more. Especially how you came back after the second fall.
It is an amazing story.
 
Part 2:
I fell away again in my 30s, because of my own pride, disagreement with the parish, the priest, and others in leadership roles. It wasn’t all my fault; I was right in many ways, but felt ignored and pushed away. What was going on was wrong, but I accept full responsibility for my falling away again. I should have been stronger.

Nonetheless, after 10 years or so of being away from God and the Church, I felt a pull. The first tug was when my childhood best friend lost her adult BFF unexpectedly. I ignored the feeling. Months later, our oldest son, around 21 at the time, had to have emergency surgery for a spontaneously collapsed lung (completely out of the blue, with no illnesses).

I went to the waiting room, and prayed. I wasn’t praying for me; I was praying for our son. I prayed to all the saints I could recall, and then asked for my family members in Heaven to join me in prayer. I pictured each and every one, lastly, my aunt who had severe MS who had died the year before. In my mind, I saw her smile and walk towards me with her hands outstretched. She was a devout Catholic. She was so beautiful, like I’d never seen her before.

My son came through surgery fine. I began thinking about going back to Church. I knew all I had to do was go to Confession.

I found a different parish, and emailed the priest, basically to see if I’d be welcome. He emailed me back, very welcoming. I had explained that I had been away for many years, including only 1 real confession of my adulthood.

I went to Confession on February 6, 2013. I came Home. I’ve had ups and downs since then; I’ve stumbled, I’ve fallen. I’ve felt like I’m the worst person in the world, and how could God ever forgive or love me again. Confession has been a true life saver for me. I’ve encountered Jesus Christ bbhn/bow so many times there, and everywhere.

I’m determined to stay. I’m determined that if I fall, I’ll get back up. I don’t know why it’s such a struggle for me now or in the past, when some people come by being Catholic fairly easily (like my mom). The struggle isn’t in the Catholic part, per se, but in submitting to God who I am, who I want to be. I’m learning. He knows me, and my abilities and limitations, better than I do.

Praise be to Lord Jesus Christ bbhn/bow for His Sacrifice and Forgiveness for a lowly sinner like me, completely and wholly unworthy now and forever.

Edited to add:
During this second time away, I always knew I was wrong. I was wrong to be away from God, away from the Catholic Church. I didn’t attend any Mass, not at Christmas or Easter. I knew I was wrong the whole time I was gone. I willfully sinned. I never quit believing in God, or knowing what was right.I just quit doing it. I turned my back on God, but He never turned His Back on me. I’m so thankful and blessed to be where I am now. I do have to live with the consequences of being away for so long, but that’s a cross I will gladly bear to be Home in His Arms. The first time away, it was due to laziness, youth, lack of education and such. (still my fault) Being away while being unsure of the truth wasn’t good. Being away knowing I was turning my back on the truth was horrible. The first time, God brought me back without me asking. The second time, I went and begged Him to take me back. Both were true Gifts from God.
 
ccmcmg said:
I fell away again, because of my pride mostly, and sinful human nature, and my weakness, in my 30s. It wasn’t a good time for me. I’ll share that in the next post.
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That’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing: a double reversion. 😦
 
CatholicWhovian said:
That’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing: a double reversion. 😦
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How about denying Christ three times? (Peter) Even once was too many; yet he denied Him three times.

Whether we fall for a moment, a day, a week, a year or a decade, it’s too long. Every time we ask the Lord for His Forgiveness, we are asking to be accepted back into His Love, and for His Mercy on our sins. Every time we sin and ask forgiveness, we are asking to ‘revert’ to our sinless ways, the way of God.
 
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