Calling all converts!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Full_of_Grace
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Full_of_Grace

Guest
:grouphug:
I haven’t started RCIA yet, as I’m about a month away from leaving for college. But I have a church scoped out near my campus and I’ll start there as soon as possible.

I’m converting to Catholicism from, well, nothing. Unitarian Universalism, if you want to get technical about it, but that mostly because my mother made me go. Most of my life I’ve felt a pull to the Catholic Church, but circumstances prevented me from acting on that pull. (My age, my parents complete aversion to Catholicism [and religion in general, really], my worry that becoming a Catholic as opposed to some other religion would be the thing that sent me to hell etc.)

What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
 
My mother went to an all girl catholic school growing up even though she’s not catholic…but she has a LOT of catholic habits, i.e. prays the Hail Mary, I see her cross herself from time to time and other little things. I was raised in all different types of churches, Baptists, Church of Christ…etc…hated going because I was going to hell for this and that every Sunday. It got to the point to the point that I HATED going to church, but I have always had a tug to the Catholic church but ignored it. When I got married and had children, religion then became important to me. My in-laws started going to this Episcopalian church so my husband and I decided to go and it ALMOST felt like home but something was still missing. I went ahead and the girls baptized Episcopalian. And then all of sudden about 6 months later I just stopped going. My mother in law started teaching at the local Catholic school here…and WOW did that tug get sooo strong…it just wouldn’t leave me alone. I tried to ignore it again but noooo it just wouldn’t stop. So I finally gave in. I went to mass by myself without the girls and my husband, and I fell in love… I fell in love with what was missing. It was the most beautiful service I have ever witnessed. I didn’t go back for a few months after due to illness and such, even joined RCIA late, my daughter Reagan who is 9 and I were received into the church this Easter. My youngest daughter who is 7 will take her first communion next spring. My priest said my youngest daughter is Catholic due to me being Catholic and raising her Catholic. So that makes me feel really good. My husband has not converted…but he is extremely supportive. He attends mass with us most of the time to watch our oldest daughter alter serve. ( I know that some don’t agree with girls being an alter server, but she loves it and this is not the discussion for it.) I pray for my husband for his conversion, and I don’t push him because I don’t want to drive him away. I am patient.

So that is my conversion story …

Welcome home!!
 
Full_of_Grace said:
What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
Click to expand...
“That feeling” (you’ll know the one I mean when you get there) that I always got whenever I went to Mass - just an indescribable feeling of utter, electric joy. 🙂

I’ve become acclimatized to that feeling now, so I don’t notice it as much, but boy, do I ever notice when it’s missing. I walked into my old Protestant church for a service one time, and it just felt indescribably - vacant. 😦
 
Full_of_Grace, there is a couple converting to Catholic groups on the group sites.Sometimes there is some really interesting conversations. Check it out. I am a convert of 7 years. I started on my journey into the church by some older ladies handing out rosaries on St George street in St Augustine Florida. I then became a devotee of St Pio (Padre Pio). I really felt he was with me every step of the way. Feel free to PM if you have any questions.
 
It was a long journey for me. It started when I was a teenager in Germany. After I took a trip to the UK, specifically to Canterbury, I was intrigued by the story of St. Thomas Becket. At the time I was basically a baptist and I had a conversation in my mind that went something like this, “yeah right, these ‘miracles’ really happened? But who am I to say that they didn’t? Can’t God use anything to heal? Even if it is the blood and flesh of a saint?” This question went into the back of my mind for years but it never left me. After I got back from England, I read the Canterbury Tales and fell in love. Then I went onto Shakespeare and other great works.

I encountered the Church in them and it piqued my interest. I remember being a new HS graduate, having the sudden desire to kneel in church. That was unheard of. In addition, I became interested in some tv shows and movies that had some medieval/gothic elements. It used a lot of Catholic imagery in a positive light. Again, these things were put in the back of my mind until my family and I moved to Florida in 1997. I didn’t know what I was anymore. I had so many questions. At the time I had joined an e-mail list that discussed medieval/celtic history and culture. On that list I met a wonderful lady who was a Catholic and we became friends. In addition, I had watched a little bit of EWTN and I had a ton of questions for her. Basically from that point on I devoured everything I could find about the Catholic Church and her teachings on the internet. Eventually, I came into the Church on April 4, 1999 at the Easter Vigil and I have been going strong ever since :).
 
I myself returned to the Catholic Church after a 40 year absence. In my opinion it is the best thing going. In short here are the reasons I have returned:

Saint Francis of Assisi
Revering of Mary (Isaiah 7:14, “Behold the Virgin shall bear a son and His name shall be called emanuel” and from the Gospel’s: “Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee…”
2000 year history together with documentation
Lives of the Saints
Apostolic succession
The Scriptures
The biggest of all: THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
— “The sacrificial lamb” of the new covenant — see John where Jesus talks about his body and blood and some of his believers left as they could not handle it. See also Eucharistic Miracles on the web ---- documented
There are others but these are the main ones

The Protestants go by Scripture only (sola scripture) as that is all they have. The Catholics have it all. This is not to say the church is perfect but the perfect part of the church is still here and that is the Lord himself. In addition, we are told by our Lord that the gates of hell would not prevail against her. Keep in mind that our priests are sinners just like us all and for everyone of them that did something horribly wrong there were 20 that didn’t.

I have Bachelors, Masters degree’s in Electrical Engineering and did some post graduate work. I am also a Vietnam veteran. The Lord has shown me to visit the Catholic sick and dying in the Hospital which I do. “I have seen Our Lord, His Majesty at work !”

Hope this helps

Stu
“Lord that I may preach the Gospel and only when necessary with words” — Saint Francis of Assisi (our Lord’s servant)
 
I’ve always had a sympathy with Catholicism with a number of my friends growing up in that tradition, though they weren’t really very interested in the religious side of things. I grew up in the Anglican church and at various church camps was exposed to the working of the Holy Spirit in a very real way. I felt disillusioned that that same spirit didn’t seem to be present at the Anglican church in the services, and searched elsewhere. I ended up attending a number of non-denominational churches and even studied biblical history (history, not theology), Latin & Ancient Greek at university. I was always very confused by the fact that in the bible Jesus said to Peter that his name would be Cephas meaning rock and “on this rock I will build my church”. In all the churches I went to, Peter was rarely mentioned, and certainly no explanation as to this very important verse.

Then about 3 years ago I met my husband who is Catholic, and he took me to Rome. For the first time I found out that the Vatican is built on St Peter’s tomb! And we were privileged enough to tour the excavations - and I can’t explain the power and conviction I felt when I entered the room where you could see his bones. But I kept that hidden in my mind and heart until the beginning of this year when my husband told me that he was feeling a call to become a deacon and, to support him, I agreed to come to church with him.

Within a month of that announcement (coincidentally) we returned to Rome and I once again toured the excavations. When I stood in the room for the second time I was convicted completely and knew I had to pursue this. Ever since I’ve been reading, learning and praying and been finding answers to questions I always had, but had no idea that answers existed. I’ve only just started RCIA (tomorrow night is my 3rd class), but my decision was already made before then. Now its just a case of following through.
 
Lightbee said:
I’ve always had a sympathy with Catholicism with a number of my friends growing up in that tradition, though they weren’t really very interested in the religious side of things. I grew up in the Anglican church and at various church camps was exposed to the working of the Holy Spirit in a very real way. I felt disillusioned that that same spirit didn’t seem to be present at the Anglican church in the services, and searched elsewhere. I ended up attending a number of non-denominational churches and even studied biblical history (history, not theology), Latin & Ancient Greek at university. I was always very confused by the fact that in the bible Jesus said to Peter that his name would be Cephas meaning rock and “on this rock I will build my church”. In all the churches I went to, Peter was rarely mentioned, and certainly no explanation as to this very important verse.

Then about 3 years ago I met my husband who is Catholic, and he took me to Rome. For the first time I found out that the Vatican is built on St Peter’s tomb! And we were privileged enough to tour the excavations - and I can’t explain the power and conviction I felt when I entered the room where you could see his bones. But I kept that hidden in my mind and heart until the beginning of this year when my husband told me that he was feeling a call to become a deacon and, to support him, I agreed to come to church with him.

Within a month of that announcement (coincidentally) we returned to Rome and I once again toured the excavations. When I stood in the room for the second time I was convicted completely and knew I had to pursue this. Ever since I’ve been reading, learning and praying and been finding answers to questions I always had, but had no idea that answers existed. I’ve only just started RCIA (tomorrow night is my 3rd class), but my decision was already made before then. Now its just a case of following through.
Click to expand...
Welcome Home!!!
 
I joined the Church in 1983 and came in at the Feast of Christ the King after a year of RCIA. I knew I was Catholic at heart when I decided I needed to find a church. I went to the local library and took out books about various religions to see if I found one that “clicked”. I read a book about Baptist belief (because the churches I had attended sporadically as a child or teenager had always been various Baptist churches) but the description didn’t do anything for me. But then I read the book about Catholicism…and oh, my. I KNEW I was Catholic in my heart and I had to make it true officially! All the things I read about being Catholic, I already believed without even knowing they were Catholic beliefs! Like “examination of conscience”…i was already doing this every evening before I went to sleep. And the description of the Eucharist just made so much sense to me!!! Everything was just so much a part of me already and I knew where I belonged!

Two years later, I was a member of the Church. Baptized along with my two children ages 5 and 4. Then the following Easter Vigil ,my husband also joined!
 
Full_of_Grace said:
:grouphug:
I haven’t started RCIA yet, as I’m about a month away from leaving for college. But I have a church scoped out near my campus and I’ll start there as soon as possible.

I’m converting to Catholicism from, well, nothing. Unitarian Universalism, if you want to get technical about it, but that mostly because my mother made me go. Most of my life I’ve felt a pull to the Catholic Church, but circumstances prevented me from acting on that pull. (My age, my parents complete aversion to Catholicism [and religion in general, really], my worry that becoming a Catholic as opposed to some other religion would be the thing that sent me to hell etc.)

What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
Click to expand...
The Real Presence in the Eucharist. (the Bible and Mary also played a role)

Half of my family is Catholic, and I would go to aunts and uncles and family’s weddings, baptisms, funerals, First Holy Communion, then be back in my old Lutheran church. I soon realized that something seemed to be missing in the Lutheran church that wasn’t in the Catholic churches, and that was the Real Presence.

From the Bible, I read passages like (paraphrasing at best), “Not everyone who calls out ‘Lord, Lord’ will be saved”, “there are other things that not even all the books in the world could contain it”, “generations will call me Blessed”, all of Revelations Chapter 12 (which led me to Mary, then the Catholic Church).
 
Full_of_Grace said:
:grouphug:

What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
Click to expand...
I became Catholic 3 years ago from the Methodist church (although I went around an went occasionally other mainstream Protestant churchs.

What brought me home? Several things:
  1. The Real Presence in the Eucharist
  2. The Reverence
  3. The Historical foundations, This is the church originally founded by Christ on Peter. This is it! In addition read the church fathers, those early christians from the first 500 years. They were Catholic!
 
Blessings on your journey home!

Something very close to a miracle brought me to the Catholic Church. My husband, who was raised Catholic but left the faith, came close to dying while undergoing heart surgery and woke with the certainty that he had to return to the Catholic Church. We had never practiced the faith in all years we’d been married, but I went with him, mostly to find out what it was all about so I could convince him to go elsewhere.

Much to my surprise, I was the one who was soon convinced-- convinced the Catholic Church held the truth I’d always been searching for but never found. The final clincher for me was the Real Presence. Oddly, I come from a church background that took just about everything in the Bible literally except John 6. We were taught He was speaking figuratively there.

When I realized that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord, and that by sharing in that bread I share His life, I got tears in my eyes. I couldn’t wait to be received into the church because that is where the Lord awaits us at the Eucharistic table. It is such a joy now to read the Early Fathers and know that this precious faith extends back to the very beginnings.

Welcome home!

Catholic poet
 
Jump in with both feet, Keep an open mind, and Get Answers to your questions. If you’re being honest with yourself, you’ll know…

God Bless and Good Luck! I’ll be thinking of you.

My wife converted in the early/mid-90’s and I’m a lifer and love it.
 
I pray the best for you and all who have participated in this thread! I was raised Methodist, specifically African Methodist Episcopal. But for some reason, as I grew up I had this feeling that I was Catholic. When I was 11, I argued with my Bible School teacher in unsophisticated language about the authority and legitimacy of the Magesterium. He got frustrated, kicked me out for the day & had a talk with my mother.

She told me that I had to put my money where my mouth was & dropped me off at the nearest Catholic church, advising me that when I was finished, I had to walk to the newstand next to the AME church. It was the most wonderful day of my childhood. I attended mass occasionally while growing up, until I went to a boarding school, where I hung out with the Catholics. The summer after my sophomore year of college, Mom asked me if I was “…still going to those Catholic Chruches?” When I answered to the affirmative, she said, "Good, because I enrolled you in this ‘RCA’ class this summer. That was the summer of 1973 and I never looked back, except to appreciate the loving, sweet, generous, Christian woman my mother was.
 
irisfromohio said:
I pray the best for you and all who have participated in this thread! I was raised Methodist, specifically African Methodist Episcopal. But for some reason, as I grew up I had this feeling that I was Catholic. When I was 11, I argued with my Bible School teacher in unsophisticated language about the authority and legitimacy of the Magesterium. He got frustrated, kicked me out for the day & had a talk with my mother.

She told me that I had to put my money where my mouth was & dropped me off at the nearest Catholic church, advising me that when I was finished, I had to walk to the newstand next to the AME church. It was the most wonderful day of my childhood. I attended mass occasionally while growing up, until I went to a boarding school, where I hung out with the Catholics. The summer after my sophomore year of college, Mom asked me if I was “…still going to those Catholic Chruches?” When I answered to the affirmative, she said, "Good, because I enrolled you in this ‘RCA’ class this summer. That was the summer of 1973 and I never looked back, except to appreciate the loving, sweet, generous, Christian woman my mother was.
Click to expand...
What an amazing, generous love your mother shows! Did she also become Catholic?
 
Full_of_Grace said:
:grouphug:
I haven’t started RCIA yet, as I’m about a month away from leaving for college. But I have a church scoped out near my campus and I’ll start there as soon as possible.

I’m converting to Catholicism from, well, nothing. Unitarian Universalism, if you want to get technical about it, but that mostly because my mother made me go. Most of my life I’ve felt a pull to the Catholic Church, but circumstances prevented me from acting on that pull. (My age, my parents complete aversion to Catholicism [and religion in general, really], my worry that becoming a Catholic as opposed to some other religion would be the thing that sent me to hell etc.)

What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
Click to expand...
First, let me say, welcome home! I know you’re setting out on your journey and may think that my welcome is premature, but longing for the Church is to be well on your way. 🙂

What made me realize I was meant to be Catholic? Well, I went down so many roads to get here. And found that it is utterly not true what some people say, that all religions are the same and that it makes no difference. A lot of people said that to me, anyway. And I believed it for a while. But I finally realized that truth is truth and false is false and if one religion is true, then another religion with entirely different and contradictory teachings could not be true but had to be false. That was quite a jolt!

I got interested in Catholicism because of a Catholic friend. And because I found a Catholic bookstore, the staff of which accepted my offer to help put it in order. My friend worked on their books, as in accounts, and I worked on the books, as in merchandise. To put them in order I had to read a massive amount of books, at least in part. And found that I had stumbled upon the most earth-shaking discovery of my entire life.

I realized not so much that I was meant to be Catholic as much as I realized that Catholicism was True with a capital T. That here was the Church that Christ founded and that for me to refuse this Church was to refuse Christ. And the realization of this Truth hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks and shattered my previous complacency. Once I became convinced of that truth, I knew that I had to be Catholic and that I could not let anything or anyone stand in my way, least of all my own resistance. Yes, resistance, because I had thought of myself as a happy Buddhist. And now I knew that I had to be Catholic. But I wanted the truth and there it was and had been all along only I had not known it. Now I did know it and there was no going back.

I’ve been Catholic now for 14 years and I cannot imagine being anything else. I cannot imagine turning my back on my Lord. I love my Holy Mother, the Church. I love Christ. I love Holy Mass. I love praying the Rosary. I love Holy Hours. I love the Holy Father. I love the Holy Trinity. And I love welcoming another soul who has heard and answered the call to make the journey Home.

Peace be with you, Full_of_Grace. Welcome home! 🙂
 
Full_of_Grace said:
:grouphug:
What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
Click to expand...
This probably won’t be much help, but – I just knew. Ever since I can remember. When I was about 7, I was spending the day with some friends while my Mom was at work, and they took me to Mass with them. This was a little bit pre-Vatican II. The Mass was in Latin, I had no idea what was going on; but I felt like I was home.
 
I can’t really pin it down to one exact moment. There were several things that drew me to the Catholic Church, but once I accepted that it was THE Chuch that our Lord began, I couldn’t stay away any longer. I knew I had to come home.
 
Full_of_Grace said:
:grouphug:
I haven’t started RCIA yet, as I’m about a month away from leaving for college. But I have a church scoped out near my campus and I’ll start there as soon as possible.

I’m converting to Catholicism from, well, nothing. Unitarian Universalism, if you want to get technical about it, but that mostly because my mother made me go. Most of my life I’ve felt a pull to the Catholic Church, but circumstances prevented me from acting on that pull. (My age, my parents complete aversion to Catholicism [and religion in general, really], my worry that becoming a Catholic as opposed to some other religion would be the thing that sent me to hell etc.)

What I want to know is: what made you realise you were meant to be Catholic?
Click to expand...
  1. A praying, faithful Catholic wife.
  2. Seminary (protestant).
Fr. Mark
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top