W
water
Guest
God uses different way to draw us back to Him.
Thank you for sharing your story.
God bless.
- Status
Thank you for sharing your story.
God bless.
B
bklynbrat
Guest
And Bklynbrat, how is it with your husband’s not converting?>>>>
It’s been hard. Although we’ve actually made it a full week without debating/arguing. I’ve printed up things, tivo’d shows on EWTN, bought CDs, bought Catholicism For Dummies, but for right now he’s not ready. He told me he’s not ready. So I’m leaving it up to God & keeping my mouth shut (sometimes easier said than done).
My main issue is our daughter. We’ve both been laxed with her. He does not want her raised Catholic, wants her to decide for herself when she’s older. How scary is that??? She’s been to Mass with me a few times, she doesn’t understand it, but I know I have to do something immediately. I’m trying to find books that she’ll understand, & all I’ve been able to find are books for younger children. She’s 10 with an 8th grade reading level. I need to look harder.
Back to my husband, he has no problem with going through the convalidation for me. So that’s a good thing. He talks a lot to friends at work who are not Catholic, so every one of them fill him up with untruths. It gets irritating. At one point though during one of our arguments he said he’s scared to think that what he’s been told all his life has been a lie. We didn’t delve into that when he said it, but at least I have some idea of what is holding him back.
So now it’s in God’s hands as it should be & I will keep on praying for his eyes & heart to be opened. Thanks for asking.
It’s been hard. Although we’ve actually made it a full week without debating/arguing. I’ve printed up things, tivo’d shows on EWTN, bought CDs, bought Catholicism For Dummies, but for right now he’s not ready. He told me he’s not ready. So I’m leaving it up to God & keeping my mouth shut (sometimes easier said than done).
My main issue is our daughter. We’ve both been laxed with her. He does not want her raised Catholic, wants her to decide for herself when she’s older. How scary is that??? She’s been to Mass with me a few times, she doesn’t understand it, but I know I have to do something immediately. I’m trying to find books that she’ll understand, & all I’ve been able to find are books for younger children. She’s 10 with an 8th grade reading level. I need to look harder.
Back to my husband, he has no problem with going through the convalidation for me. So that’s a good thing. He talks a lot to friends at work who are not Catholic, so every one of them fill him up with untruths. It gets irritating. At one point though during one of our arguments he said he’s scared to think that what he’s been told all his life has been a lie. We didn’t delve into that when he said it, but at least I have some idea of what is holding him back.
So now it’s in God’s hands as it should be & I will keep on praying for his eyes & heart to be opened. Thanks for asking.
E
Eliza10
Guest
Great! I bookmarked it and will look and listen!
E
Eliza10
Guest
Good for you! Yes, sometimes people need time. Press more and he’ll likely back away more. Better to convert him with prayers than words. Its loving to respect him just where he is now - not believing. Then he doens’t feel coerced, liek iou will withdraw your love if he doesn’t agree. And one can still respect a point of view one disagrees with. And thats what you are asking him to do.It’s been hard. Although we’ve actually made it a full week without debating/arguing. I’ve printed up things, tivo’d shows on EWTN, bought CDs, bought Catholicism For Dummies, but for right now he’s not ready. He told me he’s not ready. So I’m leaving it up to God & keeping my mouth shut (sometimes easier said than done).
I really reccommend reading outloud to her. My son is 11 and reads anything. I have always read outloud to him; for this I was inspired by Jim Trelease’s Read Aloud Handbook. He has a handbook also for reading to your teens through high school. The reasons he gives are reason enough to make it part of your everyday lifestyle. Reading aloud has benefitted in so many ways! His comprehension is excellent, he is a good listener, and I am able to inspire his faith becaue he will sit and listen to a good Catholic story.
So I suggest reading stories to your daughter that you find inspirational, like the story of Bernadette, or stories from lives of saints. Find one that reads well. Bob and Penny Lord’s books are great. They have a show on EWTN, and their books are good for read aloud and very inspiring. I like their book on angels, and my son was impressed with their telling of the House or Loretto. If you find things that inspire you and set up a cozy time to read, snuggled on the couch, quiet background music, a cup of tea or hot chocolate to sip while she listens, she will look forward to these times and you can read longer and longer. Maybe you can gt to Walsh’s story of Fatima someday. Thats drama!
As far as doing something imediately about Mass, you can tell her in increments. If you tell her one litttle thing about the Mass before Mass or after Mass or during, starting with the importance of the moent of consecretion, she will begin to understand and acrue a lot of knowledge eventually. In small increments she will have time to think on it.
The Weight of the Mass is a wonderful picture book flor every age, based on a true story.
Yes, its great!
Yes. And at least he’s thinking its a possibility. Pray for him to have peace and courage about that.
Yes, and you can have peace since he’s the matter is in expert hands!
http://bobandpennylord.com/images/B....net/religion/images/the-weight-of-a-mass.jpg
N
nkmeck
Guest
I’m gonna try to be brief but brievity is not one of my strongest qualities (neither is spelling).
I had 12 years of catholic schooling. God was an important part of my life but not exactly the center of my life. I assumed I was doing ok though because i knew alot of people who were alot worse than me (morally).
After high school graduation (circa 2000), I decided to try my hand at secular schooling at the University of Pittsburgh. I loved the city but secular society soon smaked me in the face. I never drank in high school but by some twisted logic i came to the conclusion that it would probably be a good thing to do in college. Alcohol quickly became the reason I woke up every afternoon. Hang overs became the best excuse for missing mass.
Away from the sacraments the devil went to work. I no longer believed in church teaching and got angry at the church (for no good reason other than whiskey made me mad at everything). I tried atheism for about a week and quickly realized that atheism required something to atheiate, as Fulton Sheen says. At that point I decided that I was always going to be a catholic, but just because i was born that way, I didn’t need to follow the rules.
After a 3 or 4 year period of avoiding mass like the plauge a funny thing happened. THE STEELERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!!! I remember being on the streets of Pittsburgh dancing around in black in gold with bottles of champagne in hand, screaming, cheering, and hugging stranger after stranger. It was incredible how that one event brought so many people together, so much joy and jubilation. Everyone was united as one Steeler Nation. I remember thinking “I wonder if this is what heaven is like?” I was about to find out that it wasn’t that far off.
People must have been praying for me hard because I started going back to mass, and saying a rosary every evening. My heart wasn’t really in it though but one saturday, I finished work early, and got a phone call. It was my best friend from home, who was closer to me than most brothers are. He had decided about a year earlier that the Lord was calling him to the priesthood. He asked me if I wanted to go to a Festial of Praise at Franciscan University of Stuebenville. I didn’t have anything else to do so I decided to go, not expecting it to change my life.
When we arrived and the music started, people’s hands went in the air as they were singing with joy. Immediatly the Lord went to work on me. He brought to mind a scripture verse, so I asked my friend if i could borrow his bible. I turned to Rev 3:14-16
Amen to the faithful and true witness,
The source of God’s creations says this;
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
So, because you are lukewarm,
neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth”
I began crying, and a minute later I was laughing uncontrolablly. I remember looking around at the packed gymnasium and observing everyone singing and praising. I was struck with Deja Vu. Where had I seen this before? I remember it was about a month earlier when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. But this time we were celebrating Christs victory over the Cross, one body united as brothers and sisters under the banner of Jesus. In an instant I relized that all of my priorites were backwards. I thought “This IS what heaven is like.” In that moment I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to getting there and haven’t looked back… TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!
The Lord has delivered me from alot since then, and has also added a few crosses that he would like for me to bear, but I couldn’t be happier.
I had 12 years of catholic schooling. God was an important part of my life but not exactly the center of my life. I assumed I was doing ok though because i knew alot of people who were alot worse than me (morally).
After high school graduation (circa 2000), I decided to try my hand at secular schooling at the University of Pittsburgh. I loved the city but secular society soon smaked me in the face. I never drank in high school but by some twisted logic i came to the conclusion that it would probably be a good thing to do in college. Alcohol quickly became the reason I woke up every afternoon. Hang overs became the best excuse for missing mass.
Away from the sacraments the devil went to work. I no longer believed in church teaching and got angry at the church (for no good reason other than whiskey made me mad at everything). I tried atheism for about a week and quickly realized that atheism required something to atheiate, as Fulton Sheen says. At that point I decided that I was always going to be a catholic, but just because i was born that way, I didn’t need to follow the rules.
After a 3 or 4 year period of avoiding mass like the plauge a funny thing happened. THE STEELERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!!! I remember being on the streets of Pittsburgh dancing around in black in gold with bottles of champagne in hand, screaming, cheering, and hugging stranger after stranger. It was incredible how that one event brought so many people together, so much joy and jubilation. Everyone was united as one Steeler Nation. I remember thinking “I wonder if this is what heaven is like?” I was about to find out that it wasn’t that far off.
People must have been praying for me hard because I started going back to mass, and saying a rosary every evening. My heart wasn’t really in it though but one saturday, I finished work early, and got a phone call. It was my best friend from home, who was closer to me than most brothers are. He had decided about a year earlier that the Lord was calling him to the priesthood. He asked me if I wanted to go to a Festial of Praise at Franciscan University of Stuebenville. I didn’t have anything else to do so I decided to go, not expecting it to change my life.
When we arrived and the music started, people’s hands went in the air as they were singing with joy. Immediatly the Lord went to work on me. He brought to mind a scripture verse, so I asked my friend if i could borrow his bible. I turned to Rev 3:14-16
Amen to the faithful and true witness,
The source of God’s creations says this;
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
So, because you are lukewarm,
neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth”
I began crying, and a minute later I was laughing uncontrolablly. I remember looking around at the packed gymnasium and observing everyone singing and praising. I was struck with Deja Vu. Where had I seen this before? I remember it was about a month earlier when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. But this time we were celebrating Christs victory over the Cross, one body united as brothers and sisters under the banner of Jesus. In an instant I relized that all of my priorites were backwards. I thought “This IS what heaven is like.” In that moment I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to getting there and haven’t looked back… TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!
The Lord has delivered me from alot since then, and has also added a few crosses that he would like for me to bear, but I couldn’t be happier.
W
water
Guest
I gave the same verse (Rev 3:16) to my friend to think about, he’s not moved nor interested in asking what it is about. I guess I would keep on praying for him - God will work on him at His time.
Thanks for sharing your faith. God bless.
E
Eileen_T
Guest
I dropped away in my late teens but never went antwhere else. Then I met and married another fallen-away Catholic and we went to Mass once in awhile but basically lived as pagans.
Then one day two Mormon misionaries came to my door and left me the BoM. I looked at that book every day and prayed, “God, if this is true (LDS), put an incontrollable desire in my heart to read this book.”
When they came back the next week I gave them back the unread book and knew that I had to find the Truth.
I went through the whole “Does God exist?” thing and eventually reasoned my way back into the Church. I didn’t particularly want to be a Catholic but had come to believe that since I believed God does exist, He should be worshipped the way HE want, not what suited me.
By His Grace, I now LOVE the CC and would never leave.
Then one day two Mormon misionaries came to my door and left me the BoM. I looked at that book every day and prayed, “God, if this is true (LDS), put an incontrollable desire in my heart to read this book.”
When they came back the next week I gave them back the unread book and knew that I had to find the Truth.
I went through the whole “Does God exist?” thing and eventually reasoned my way back into the Church. I didn’t particularly want to be a Catholic but had come to believe that since I believed God does exist, He should be worshipped the way HE want, not what suited me.
By His Grace, I now LOVE the CC and would never leave.
E
Eileen_T
Guest
I dropped away in my late teens but never went antwhere else. Then I met and married another fallen-away Catholic and we went to Mass once in awhile but basically lived as pagans.
Then one day two Mormon misionaries came to my door and left me the BoM. I looked at that book every day and prayed, “God, if this is true (LDS), put an incontrollable desire in my heart to read this book.”
When they came back the next week I gave them back the unread book and knew that I had to find the Truth.
I went through the whole “Does God exist?” thing and eventually reasoned my way back into the Church. I didn’t particularly want to be a Catholic but had come to believe that since I believed God does exist, He should be worshipped the way HE want, not what suited me.
By His Grace, I now LOVE the CC and would never leave.
God bless those Mormon missionaries who started me on my journey home and I pray they will also find their way Home to Rome.
Then one day two Mormon misionaries came to my door and left me the BoM. I looked at that book every day and prayed, “God, if this is true (LDS), put an incontrollable desire in my heart to read this book.”
When they came back the next week I gave them back the unread book and knew that I had to find the Truth.
I went through the whole “Does God exist?” thing and eventually reasoned my way back into the Church. I didn’t particularly want to be a Catholic but had come to believe that since I believed God does exist, He should be worshipped the way HE want, not what suited me.
By His Grace, I now LOVE the CC and would never leave.
God bless those Mormon missionaries who started me on my journey home and I pray they will also find their way Home to Rome.
N
nkmeck
Guest
Try giving him or her the Douay-Rheims version of Rev 3:16 where it says “I will vomit you out of my mouth.” Maybe that will drive the point home a littler harder.
God Bless yins too!
M
mastda
Guest
Due to the fact I posted my reversion story in parts on this forum I will also give a readers digest version of my reversion story. Born in 1965 to a very devout Italian Roman Catholic Family where we went to church every Sunday, every feast day and every first Friday. I was taught to love Jesus and be like Him in every way and this is why I never got into serious trouble as a teenager and I am proud to say that I married a virgin and I was a virgin when I was married. In fact the only really naughty thing I did was smoke. In 1989 and just newly married I became part of a networking work with like minded sales people and business people where I met many wonderful people. I met one individual who drove a new Porsche and wore Roberto Zenya suits and he and I really hit it off. I asked him if he had any business secrets to why he and his wife were so succesful and he boldly responded with “yes, its my faith in Jesus Christ”. Make a long story short, within a few weeks my wife and I were attending a very loud and energized full gospel word of faith church. After 5 or 6 years I had heard and met every word of faith TV evangelist out there…Copeland, Savelle,Dollar etc. I could quote every health and wealth gospel verse out there and I was out evangelizing every Friday Night. As a salesman I was comfortable meeting people and this was easy for me and I used to love talking with Catholics, especially the ones who used to be like me…in love with Jesus but not grounded in scripture. I loved my life and I loved my friends.
In 1997 I went to a Christian bookstore and passed by and evetually picked up a book by Hank Henagraff and I sat there and read 25 minutes of it. I decided to buy it and bring it home where I read it cover to cover in one sitting (BTW this was the first time I had ever read that long - the second time was 4 years later). My world was shaken and everything I had been taught since 1989 was being questioned. I called my wife in to my room and we spent the next few hours discussing the book and Hank’s issues with the Word of Faith Movement. For the next few months at church we were poking holes in everything that was said from the pulpit. Within a few months we were church hopping, trying to find the “right one”. All of our friends were so supportive - or we thought - during this time. We went to a few, all different denominations and boy after a few months we were really confused so we stopped going to church all together.
During this time and in April of 1998 my third son was born and 3 days after he was born my father told us that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was given around 2 years to live. I was always close to my parents and they were hurt that I left the Catholic Church and especially because we never had any of our 3 boys baptized. We went from about February 1998 to August 2000 not attending any church but my wife and I always read the Bible and always listened to protestant radio. On August 1, 2000 my father died and on August 4th we went to his funeral. It was the maybe the 3rd time since Christmas 1990 I had attended a mass and the other 2 were for weddings. My wife and I cried the whole entire time, people thought we were crying over my dad but we were really crying because we were home. It took only 2 weeks and we were attending mass regularly - still confused - but we were attending. I went by the library one Sunday and picked up a book called Rome Sweet Home and for the second time in my life read it in one sitting. We have not missed mass ever since.
We love being Catholic and we both have grown in our faith. We love reading Catholic Apologetic books and listening to EWTN Radio - Teresa Tomeo is my favourite. Looking back at our protestant journey we are very thankful for it, it made us stronger and knowledgeable in our faith. There is only one thing we miss – our friends and the fellowship. We Catholics can learn a lot from our protestant brothers in that area.
In 1997 I went to a Christian bookstore and passed by and evetually picked up a book by Hank Henagraff and I sat there and read 25 minutes of it. I decided to buy it and bring it home where I read it cover to cover in one sitting (BTW this was the first time I had ever read that long - the second time was 4 years later). My world was shaken and everything I had been taught since 1989 was being questioned. I called my wife in to my room and we spent the next few hours discussing the book and Hank’s issues with the Word of Faith Movement. For the next few months at church we were poking holes in everything that was said from the pulpit. Within a few months we were church hopping, trying to find the “right one”. All of our friends were so supportive - or we thought - during this time. We went to a few, all different denominations and boy after a few months we were really confused so we stopped going to church all together.
During this time and in April of 1998 my third son was born and 3 days after he was born my father told us that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was given around 2 years to live. I was always close to my parents and they were hurt that I left the Catholic Church and especially because we never had any of our 3 boys baptized. We went from about February 1998 to August 2000 not attending any church but my wife and I always read the Bible and always listened to protestant radio. On August 1, 2000 my father died and on August 4th we went to his funeral. It was the maybe the 3rd time since Christmas 1990 I had attended a mass and the other 2 were for weddings. My wife and I cried the whole entire time, people thought we were crying over my dad but we were really crying because we were home. It took only 2 weeks and we were attending mass regularly - still confused - but we were attending. I went by the library one Sunday and picked up a book called Rome Sweet Home and for the second time in my life read it in one sitting. We have not missed mass ever since.
We love being Catholic and we both have grown in our faith. We love reading Catholic Apologetic books and listening to EWTN Radio - Teresa Tomeo is my favourite. Looking back at our protestant journey we are very thankful for it, it made us stronger and knowledgeable in our faith. There is only one thing we miss – our friends and the fellowship. We Catholics can learn a lot from our protestant brothers in that area.
3
3John4
Guest
My parents were very good about making sure I attended CCD and particpated in church activities through high school. However, there was litle said or demonstrated about the Catholic faith in our home. When I went off to college, it was easy to just not go to church–hardly anyone did. However, I still considered myself Catholic.
When I was preparing to marry, my fiance and I went to my home parish to make arrangements for the wedding. When the priest finished interviewing my dh, he warned us that “mixed marriages” rarely worked out. My husband had stopped attending church at age 10, and though he was not an atheist, he wasn’t anything else at that point either. My husband walked out of that meeting very offended, and we ended up marrying in my girlfriend’s Presbyterian church.
The first few years of our marriage we didn’t attend a church, but finally I felt the need to be closer to the Lord, and to other Christians. I didn’t really understand the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, my husband said he wasn’t comfortable in the Catholic Church, so we finally settled on a Protestant church in our town. After seven years there, I could tell my husband was only going through the motions, and the teaching had gotten very weak under a new pastor, so we began church shopping. We settled on a Baptist church because my husband LOVED the pastor. He really became excited about Christianity, and while I would not have chosen that church myself, I was so pleased that dh finally had let the Lord in. We made great friends, and learned a lot, but I also realize now, that I assimilated a lot of anti-Catholic beliefs there.
A time came when there was a church split and our pastor was asked to leave. Several families, including us, left as well. We started a new church and six months later called this pastor to head us. Interestingly, in the six months he had been out of work, he had started reading church history, and the writings of the early church fathers. When he came to pastor our new church, he came with a whole new set of ideas. He was a brilliant preacher, so we all went along with whatever he wanted to do. The service became liturgical, communion was served every week, he started talking about the Real Presence, and on and on. I had previously bought into a lot of the things he had taught at the Baptist Church, and so began to wonder if I was just another Jim Jones Kool-aid drinker for buying the new stuff he was teaching too. I decided I’d better start reading on my own. My pastor gave me several books, many from an Eastern Orthodox perspective. He also gave me Evangelical is Not Enough by Thomas Howard. I invited a few other women from our church to do a book study together on that book, and today all of us are either Catholic or Orthodox!
Through my reading I realized I had given up, at 18, the Church I had been looking for all along. I wish I would have understood the doctrine, appreciated the beauty, and respected the reverence of the Catholic Church while I was growing up, but I am so grateful I have been reunited to Her now.
Eventually, our pastor became an Eastern Orthodox priest and we left that church. I also came to realize that my husband has nothing but contempt for Catholicism, and unfortunately, for our former pastor as well. He insists that our four children be raised Protestant. I attend mass every morning and on Saturday evening alone, and attend a Sunday service with them for the sake of family unity. I’m never sure how our marriage will survive this schism, but I know I will never leave the Catholic Church again.
When I was preparing to marry, my fiance and I went to my home parish to make arrangements for the wedding. When the priest finished interviewing my dh, he warned us that “mixed marriages” rarely worked out. My husband had stopped attending church at age 10, and though he was not an atheist, he wasn’t anything else at that point either. My husband walked out of that meeting very offended, and we ended up marrying in my girlfriend’s Presbyterian church.
The first few years of our marriage we didn’t attend a church, but finally I felt the need to be closer to the Lord, and to other Christians. I didn’t really understand the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, my husband said he wasn’t comfortable in the Catholic Church, so we finally settled on a Protestant church in our town. After seven years there, I could tell my husband was only going through the motions, and the teaching had gotten very weak under a new pastor, so we began church shopping. We settled on a Baptist church because my husband LOVED the pastor. He really became excited about Christianity, and while I would not have chosen that church myself, I was so pleased that dh finally had let the Lord in. We made great friends, and learned a lot, but I also realize now, that I assimilated a lot of anti-Catholic beliefs there.
A time came when there was a church split and our pastor was asked to leave. Several families, including us, left as well. We started a new church and six months later called this pastor to head us. Interestingly, in the six months he had been out of work, he had started reading church history, and the writings of the early church fathers. When he came to pastor our new church, he came with a whole new set of ideas. He was a brilliant preacher, so we all went along with whatever he wanted to do. The service became liturgical, communion was served every week, he started talking about the Real Presence, and on and on. I had previously bought into a lot of the things he had taught at the Baptist Church, and so began to wonder if I was just another Jim Jones Kool-aid drinker for buying the new stuff he was teaching too. I decided I’d better start reading on my own. My pastor gave me several books, many from an Eastern Orthodox perspective. He also gave me Evangelical is Not Enough by Thomas Howard. I invited a few other women from our church to do a book study together on that book, and today all of us are either Catholic or Orthodox!
Through my reading I realized I had given up, at 18, the Church I had been looking for all along. I wish I would have understood the doctrine, appreciated the beauty, and respected the reverence of the Catholic Church while I was growing up, but I am so grateful I have been reunited to Her now.
Eventually, our pastor became an Eastern Orthodox priest and we left that church. I also came to realize that my husband has nothing but contempt for Catholicism, and unfortunately, for our former pastor as well. He insists that our four children be raised Protestant. I attend mass every morning and on Saturday evening alone, and attend a Sunday service with them for the sake of family unity. I’m never sure how our marriage will survive this schism, but I know I will never leave the Catholic Church again.
D
debraran
Guest
Eliza10,
My husband is an odd case…he converted before our wedding, but was never a church goer before. He joined the choir, loved to sing, etc. but when the choir director died (also a friend) he started to go less. Then his schedule kept him working most weekends (policeman) and he got out of the habit. I also think he has a low-level depression but it hasn’t be diagnosed. (not one to run to the doctor either)
I pray he goes back to the church, I noticed after I did, he was more tolerant of my watching EWTN, etc. but still says “I am too much sometimes”. He does know his bible though and I don’t stop praying that the grace of God can reach him too…
My husband is an odd case…he converted before our wedding, but was never a church goer before. He joined the choir, loved to sing, etc. but when the choir director died (also a friend) he started to go less. Then his schedule kept him working most weekends (policeman) and he got out of the habit. I also think he has a low-level depression but it hasn’t be diagnosed. (not one to run to the doctor either)
I pray he goes back to the church, I noticed after I did, he was more tolerant of my watching EWTN, etc. but still says “I am too much sometimes”. He does know his bible though and I don’t stop praying that the grace of God can reach him too…
D
dessert
Guest
This is a wonderful story of faith and faithfullness that you are now walking this journey but not alone as it may seem, I will pray that your family will see the truth and you are in my thoughts and prayers. We are family till the rest join us. I will put my story on too. Dessert
**
“Be Jesus Share Jesus” … Blessed Mother Teresa**
S
spauline
Guest
OK, I’ll be brief. My reversion story was actually printed in This Rock in October of '99, but I’ll try to summarize it as briefly as I can (briefness is not one of my qualities eitehr).
I was born in 1969. My mom was a non-practicing Catholic, my dad a failed Methodist deist, and Iwas an only child and they divorced when I was seven. My mom remarried a practicing Catholic, and I was brought into the Church at age 9 in the Easter Vigil, 1979. I was privately catechized by a nice young nun and must have believed everything I was taught. Long story short, by the next year, I become so obsessed with religion that I thought I was going to go to hell. But after a long ordeal of this, my parents persuaded me that “only tyrants and criminals go to hell, so just be normal person and don’t worry about hell.”
From then on, I would not be concerned about Salvation issues until my crisis after college. I did however have a stint with the Fundamentalist apoc stuff, like Hal Lindsay and that but gave up on it when I read Catholic "Word of God’ version of it.
In confirmation class, I genuiney did all the questions and service and did want to receive the Holy Spirit, but as high school progressed my hero became Eddie VH, and because I was disturbed that i was a nerd, I began to question my worth as a person.
In college this peaked with a crisis: I was utter genius at school, becoming the co-valedictorian in the Math program of Univ of some 47,000 students, but I was suicidal because I was ridiculed by working class men because I could not “handle” the back breaking work I needed to do pay for college. I almost tried to commit suicide. But somehow, I thought of how it would hurt my family. Slowly I began to turn to God for help, because I had never believed that God helped us because if God interfered in this world, then why do bad things happen to good people? Unable to answer that question, I believed God doesn’t interfere with this world because of senseless accidents and physical that he could prevent.
but in this college crisis, I simply came to a point that I couldn’t handle life and felt no worth, but I found it in God and His Love for me.
After college, I began to turn back to my Catholic faith, but eventually, because of lack of earlier catechesis, I came to a point in which i got angry at the Church and didn’t trust it, and consquently believe that the only thing I could trust was the Bible. But that then caused my obsession to lead to terrible fear of hell again, because Protestantism does not give one a foundation for how to INTERPRET the Bible.
Long story short, I stumbled across the issue of the canon of Scritpure and it threw me for a loop. I mean, all this time, I had just assumed that I have the Bible, but I never even questioned where the Bible came from and how one can know what writings are and are not Scripture. Long story short, when learning that it was the RCC that determined the canon, I concluded they must understand Scripture if they are able to determine what IS Scripture.
Since then (1994), I’ve grown in knowledge of the faith immensely through Catholic Answers materials, Catholic speakers, radio etc. What a joy to be at peace in the ultimate spiritual homeland, the Catholic Church!
I was born in 1969. My mom was a non-practicing Catholic, my dad a failed Methodist deist, and Iwas an only child and they divorced when I was seven. My mom remarried a practicing Catholic, and I was brought into the Church at age 9 in the Easter Vigil, 1979. I was privately catechized by a nice young nun and must have believed everything I was taught. Long story short, by the next year, I become so obsessed with religion that I thought I was going to go to hell. But after a long ordeal of this, my parents persuaded me that “only tyrants and criminals go to hell, so just be normal person and don’t worry about hell.”
From then on, I would not be concerned about Salvation issues until my crisis after college. I did however have a stint with the Fundamentalist apoc stuff, like Hal Lindsay and that but gave up on it when I read Catholic "Word of God’ version of it.
In confirmation class, I genuiney did all the questions and service and did want to receive the Holy Spirit, but as high school progressed my hero became Eddie VH, and because I was disturbed that i was a nerd, I began to question my worth as a person.
In college this peaked with a crisis: I was utter genius at school, becoming the co-valedictorian in the Math program of Univ of some 47,000 students, but I was suicidal because I was ridiculed by working class men because I could not “handle” the back breaking work I needed to do pay for college. I almost tried to commit suicide. But somehow, I thought of how it would hurt my family. Slowly I began to turn to God for help, because I had never believed that God helped us because if God interfered in this world, then why do bad things happen to good people? Unable to answer that question, I believed God doesn’t interfere with this world because of senseless accidents and physical that he could prevent.
but in this college crisis, I simply came to a point that I couldn’t handle life and felt no worth, but I found it in God and His Love for me.
After college, I began to turn back to my Catholic faith, but eventually, because of lack of earlier catechesis, I came to a point in which i got angry at the Church and didn’t trust it, and consquently believe that the only thing I could trust was the Bible. But that then caused my obsession to lead to terrible fear of hell again, because Protestantism does not give one a foundation for how to INTERPRET the Bible.
Long story short, I stumbled across the issue of the canon of Scritpure and it threw me for a loop. I mean, all this time, I had just assumed that I have the Bible, but I never even questioned where the Bible came from and how one can know what writings are and are not Scripture. Long story short, when learning that it was the RCC that determined the canon, I concluded they must understand Scripture if they are able to determine what IS Scripture.
Since then (1994), I’ve grown in knowledge of the faith immensely through Catholic Answers materials, Catholic speakers, radio etc. What a joy to be at peace in the ultimate spiritual homeland, the Catholic Church!
M
Michael_Howard
Guest
OK, I’ll be brief. My reversion story was actually printed in This Rock in October of '99, but I’ll try to summarize it as briefly as I can (briefness is not one of my qualities eitehr).
I was born in 1969. My mom was a non-practicing Catholic, my dad a failed Methodist deist, and Iwas an only child and they divorced when I was seven. My mom remarried a practicing Catholic, and I was brought into the Church at age 9 in the Easter Vigil, 1979. I was privately catechized by a nice young nun and must have believed everything I was taught. Long story short, by the next year, I become so obsessed with religion that I thought I was going to go to hell. But after a long ordeal of this, my parents persuaded me that “only tyrants and criminals go to hell, so just be normal person and don’t worry about hell.”
From then on, I would not be concerned about Salvation issues until my crisis after college. I did however have a stint with the Fundamentalist apoc stuff, like Hal Lindsay and that but gave up on it when I read Catholic "Word of God’ version of it.
In confirmation class, I genuiney did all the questions and service and did want to receive the Holy Spirit, but as high school progressed my hero became Eddie VH, and because I was disturbed that i was a nerd, I began to question my worth as a person.
In college this peaked with a crisis: I was utter genius at school, becoming the co-valedictorian in the Math program of Univ of some 47,000 students, but I was suicidal because I was ridiculed by working class men because I could not “handle” the back breaking work I needed to do pay for college. I almost tried to commit suicide. But somehow, I thought of how it would hurt my family. Slowly I began to turn to God for help, because I had never believed that God helped us because if God interfered in this world, then why do bad things happen to good people? Unable to answer that question, I believed God doesn’t interfere with this world because of senseless accidents and physical that he could prevent.
but in this college crisis, I simply came to a point that I couldn’t handle life and felt no worth, but I found it in God and His Love for me.
After college, I began to turn back to my Catholic faith, but eventually, because of lack of earlier catechesis, I came to a point in which i got angry at the Church and didn’t trust it, and consquently believe that the only thing I could trust was the Bible. But that then caused my obsession to lead to terrible fear of hell again, because Protestantism does not give one a foundation for how to INTERPRET the Bible.
Long story short, I stumbled across the issue of the canon of Scritpure and it threw me for a loop. I mean, all this time, I had just assumed that I have the Bible, but I never even questioned where the Bible came from and how one can know what writings are and are not Scripture. Long story short, when learning that it was the RCC that determined the canon, I concluded they must understand Scripture if they are able to determine what IS Scripture.
Since then (1994), I’ve grown in knowledge of the faith immensely through Catholic Answers materials, Catholic speakers, radio etc. What a joy to be at peace in the ultimate spiritual homeland, the Catholic Church!
S
spauline
Guest
L
LSG
Guest
I am so glad to be back…to be home in the Roman Catholic Church…I can’t adequately put it into words…
Nothing exists that can compare to His Real Presence - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Holy Eucharist!
:harp:
Nothing exists that can compare to His Real Presence - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Holy Eucharist!
:harp:
R
RobHom
Guest
I was born in 1950 in an Army Hospital in OK, the son of an Army Officer…I grew up in the Army…occasionally went to Catholic Schools when we were in the states…but most of my childhood was overseas…Okinawa and Germany. When my father retired from the Army we returned to FL where I became aware of the pernicious facts of racism… all of my childhood I had friends of every race and creed known to man…it was a true shock. After a few years I went into the Army myself…voluntarily in 1967, went to Vietnam in 1968. I got really angry when a young Catholic priest lectured us young soldiers about going into battle…he said he understood that we would have reservations about killing…but said not to worry because “God was on our side”. Really frosted my chops. I guess he didn’t know that the two predominant religions in Vietnam were Roman Catholicism and Buddhism…so the thought in my mind about when I was facing “Charley” was…did his cadre or advisor tell him “God is on our side”? On one hand…I know this is ludicrous because communists know no god. But even still…the number of innocent Vietnamese drafted by force to serve the enemy was great.
I spent over two years in service in the RVN. I was a Team Leader for an Infantry Ground Surveillance Radar Detachment. My team was posted to support the Military Assistance Command Vietnam, (MACV) on the Cambodian border in the Delta. During the time that I was out there…we were very effective, meaning that we killed many of the enemy. Often times it was not so much an issue of political war as it was “survival”…because we were often targeted for elimination by the enemy. One particular night over 400 North Vietnamese Regulars crossed the border, and a major air/artillery and ground battle ensued…we were later told that we were “credited” with over 300 “kills” based on body counts. Needless to say…at the time I was a 19 year old Sergeant…and the thought that I had directed the aerial bombing and artillery strikes that killed 300 humans…shook me to the core. It was at this time that I really began to fall away from the Church. I always held to my values, and tried to keep my moral outlook upright…though I was probably lacking. When liquor was available…well, lets just say we killed some brain cells.
I returned to the states in Dec of 1970… I had been back on leave before that…and was subjected to revilement by old friends and people I did not know. I was even spit on in the airport in Orlando, FL when I came home… I thought the world had gone mad. I was serving my country, though in my heart I had severe doubts about the real motivations of the war…
But to make a long story short, I went through a period of self doubt, depression, feeling abandoned, and depressed at times. I left the service…went to college, worked…but never went to church. I looked at other religions at one point…even went to their churches…but all seemed “shallow” and non-fulfilling. I was fortunate enough at a later time to meet a wonderful woman, who says she saw something in me…and she agreed to marry me. She has a faith that is astounding. She is Catholic, as I was. She asked me to return to Church…give it a try. I did. I have become more involved and go whenever I can. Unfortunately I have a job that keeps me on the road, and going to church is actually impossible at times for me, but I pray often, read my bible and I try to visit this site when I can.
Its been a long haul, but its been worth it, and I truly understand that the Catholic Church is right, the one TRUE CHURCH, and its where I belong…
I spent over two years in service in the RVN. I was a Team Leader for an Infantry Ground Surveillance Radar Detachment. My team was posted to support the Military Assistance Command Vietnam, (MACV) on the Cambodian border in the Delta. During the time that I was out there…we were very effective, meaning that we killed many of the enemy. Often times it was not so much an issue of political war as it was “survival”…because we were often targeted for elimination by the enemy. One particular night over 400 North Vietnamese Regulars crossed the border, and a major air/artillery and ground battle ensued…we were later told that we were “credited” with over 300 “kills” based on body counts. Needless to say…at the time I was a 19 year old Sergeant…and the thought that I had directed the aerial bombing and artillery strikes that killed 300 humans…shook me to the core. It was at this time that I really began to fall away from the Church. I always held to my values, and tried to keep my moral outlook upright…though I was probably lacking. When liquor was available…well, lets just say we killed some brain cells.
I returned to the states in Dec of 1970… I had been back on leave before that…and was subjected to revilement by old friends and people I did not know. I was even spit on in the airport in Orlando, FL when I came home… I thought the world had gone mad. I was serving my country, though in my heart I had severe doubts about the real motivations of the war…
But to make a long story short, I went through a period of self doubt, depression, feeling abandoned, and depressed at times. I left the service…went to college, worked…but never went to church. I looked at other religions at one point…even went to their churches…but all seemed “shallow” and non-fulfilling. I was fortunate enough at a later time to meet a wonderful woman, who says she saw something in me…and she agreed to marry me. She has a faith that is astounding. She is Catholic, as I was. She asked me to return to Church…give it a try. I did. I have become more involved and go whenever I can. Unfortunately I have a job that keeps me on the road, and going to church is actually impossible at times for me, but I pray often, read my bible and I try to visit this site when I can.
Its been a long haul, but its been worth it, and I truly understand that the Catholic Church is right, the one TRUE CHURCH, and its where I belong…
S
sprout
Guest
When my Mom was pregnant with me she and my Dad were converted and when I was born the entire family was baptised into the Catholic Church. I think because of this my parents always kinda expected I would become a religious.
I was raised in the Latin Rite, Baltimore Catechsim, Catholic School or CCD classes when they couldn’t afford all us kids in Catholic school.
In High School, after VII, I was filled with the Holy Spirit and fell head over heels in love with Christ. He was very much my first love. I thought about Him all my waking moments. I kinda went off the deep end with it though; fasting, praying, reading the bible, spending all my free time at Church just to be near Him. All of my family, friends and acquaintences had normal enough lives and just wanted to talk about school, friends, boyfriends and they looked on me as quite an oddball and I felt so very different and profoundly alone.
Then one day while praying at Church I noticed this old woman there praying with me fervently and it was like I was seeing my future. This woman was so much more like me than anyone else, I thought that if I continued on as I had been that I would be that old woman everyone saw always hanging around at Church and thought was a bit “off”. When I left the Church that day it was dark and cloudy and the world seemed different. I had made my choice, I wanted to have a “life” – a husband, children of my own and as I walked away from the Church that day I walked away from the Church.
Years later, I married a man who was in a new age cult and spent about a decade in this cult. I finally divorced him and left the cult. Because I had been in a cult I didn’t trust myself to make decisions so I took a critical thinking course in college and joined the Southern California Skeptics Society. I was literally a card carrying skeptic. I considered myself either agnostic or a secular humanist, but that would be giving myself too much credit. I didn’t really care about humanism and I didn’t think enough about God to be an agnostic – I was just lazy, fallen away and didn’t care.
A few more decades and now my youngest daughter was pregnant out of wedlock, I was unemployed and my home was in foreclosure. I finally found a job and was due to start the following Monday, but then I broke my leg. A few weeks later my Mom & Dad loaned me the $$ to get out of forecelosure and sent my Christian brother & sister to help me clean up my house to sell. They worked like dogs all weekend hauling off cases of beer and wine from all my parties. I was expecting them to preach to me, even felt I deserved it, but they didn’t say a word as they sweated and toiled to get my house ready for sale. Just before pulling away with the last load to go to the dump then off to their homes my brother matter of factly said in his Cliff Claven-like manner “You know, in biblical times and even today, when Shepherds have a lamb that keeps leaving the fold they’ll tract the lamb down, break it’s leg and carry it on their backs. Once the leg heals the lamb will not leave the Shepherd’s side again."
Those were the words that spoke to my heart. I was that lamb. I had been running away from my shepherd in pursuit of my ‘life’ for nearly 30 years. It explained all the bad things that were happening, the loss of work, foreclosure, these were all things that God had taken to show me how much I needed Him in my life.
The final straw came when my daughter’s pregnancy took a turn for the worse and the doctor, in order to save her life, decided to induce labor 5 weeks early. That is when I literally fell to my kness and prayed “God, please! If you only save her and the baby I promise I will return”. Well, he did.
After my leg healed and I was no longer on crutches I went to Mass. During my hiatus whenever I would go with my family to Mass I wouldn’t join them in saying the Creed. I didn’t believe, so it would be a lie. This day, however, when the congregation said the Creed the Holy Spirit once again came over me and from deep, deep down inside I shouted out with conviction the words “I BELIEVE in God, the Father ALMIGHTY…” as I shouted out these words for the first time in nearly 30 years there were streams of tears flowing from my eyes. I must have been quite the specktacle because a woman standing behind put her hand on my shoulder in support.
That was the Jubillee year, 2000. I’ve never left my Shepherd’s side again.
I was raised in the Latin Rite, Baltimore Catechsim, Catholic School or CCD classes when they couldn’t afford all us kids in Catholic school.
In High School, after VII, I was filled with the Holy Spirit and fell head over heels in love with Christ. He was very much my first love. I thought about Him all my waking moments. I kinda went off the deep end with it though; fasting, praying, reading the bible, spending all my free time at Church just to be near Him. All of my family, friends and acquaintences had normal enough lives and just wanted to talk about school, friends, boyfriends and they looked on me as quite an oddball and I felt so very different and profoundly alone.
Then one day while praying at Church I noticed this old woman there praying with me fervently and it was like I was seeing my future. This woman was so much more like me than anyone else, I thought that if I continued on as I had been that I would be that old woman everyone saw always hanging around at Church and thought was a bit “off”. When I left the Church that day it was dark and cloudy and the world seemed different. I had made my choice, I wanted to have a “life” – a husband, children of my own and as I walked away from the Church that day I walked away from the Church.
Years later, I married a man who was in a new age cult and spent about a decade in this cult. I finally divorced him and left the cult. Because I had been in a cult I didn’t trust myself to make decisions so I took a critical thinking course in college and joined the Southern California Skeptics Society. I was literally a card carrying skeptic. I considered myself either agnostic or a secular humanist, but that would be giving myself too much credit. I didn’t really care about humanism and I didn’t think enough about God to be an agnostic – I was just lazy, fallen away and didn’t care.
A few more decades and now my youngest daughter was pregnant out of wedlock, I was unemployed and my home was in foreclosure. I finally found a job and was due to start the following Monday, but then I broke my leg. A few weeks later my Mom & Dad loaned me the $$ to get out of forecelosure and sent my Christian brother & sister to help me clean up my house to sell. They worked like dogs all weekend hauling off cases of beer and wine from all my parties. I was expecting them to preach to me, even felt I deserved it, but they didn’t say a word as they sweated and toiled to get my house ready for sale. Just before pulling away with the last load to go to the dump then off to their homes my brother matter of factly said in his Cliff Claven-like manner “You know, in biblical times and even today, when Shepherds have a lamb that keeps leaving the fold they’ll tract the lamb down, break it’s leg and carry it on their backs. Once the leg heals the lamb will not leave the Shepherd’s side again."
Those were the words that spoke to my heart. I was that lamb. I had been running away from my shepherd in pursuit of my ‘life’ for nearly 30 years. It explained all the bad things that were happening, the loss of work, foreclosure, these were all things that God had taken to show me how much I needed Him in my life.
The final straw came when my daughter’s pregnancy took a turn for the worse and the doctor, in order to save her life, decided to induce labor 5 weeks early. That is when I literally fell to my kness and prayed “God, please! If you only save her and the baby I promise I will return”. Well, he did.
After my leg healed and I was no longer on crutches I went to Mass. During my hiatus whenever I would go with my family to Mass I wouldn’t join them in saying the Creed. I didn’t believe, so it would be a lie. This day, however, when the congregation said the Creed the Holy Spirit once again came over me and from deep, deep down inside I shouted out with conviction the words “I BELIEVE in God, the Father ALMIGHTY…” as I shouted out these words for the first time in nearly 30 years there were streams of tears flowing from my eyes. I must have been quite the specktacle because a woman standing behind put her hand on my shoulder in support.
That was the Jubillee year, 2000. I’ve never left my Shepherd’s side again.
S
sprout
Guest
Rob,
I just want to say
Thank You for serving your Country!
My Dad was in Vietnam. Was spit upon, had his tools stolen, and couldn’t even get a cup of coffee on his flight home (I learned about this when Dad heard of the soldiers returning from Desert Storm being served Champagne). My Dad has been and always will be my hero, God rest his soul.
I just want to say
Thank You for serving your Country!
My Dad was in Vietnam. Was spit upon, had his tools stolen, and couldn’t even get a cup of coffee on his flight home (I learned about this when Dad heard of the soldiers returning from Desert Storm being served Champagne). My Dad has been and always will be my hero, God rest his soul.
- Status