Can't stop thinking about it

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YAYYYY

I cannot explain to you how excited your post makes me. Im seventeen and although I am not new to the religion I LOVE talking to young people who share the same views as me.I think its amazing that you had such a good experience at church and I really believe God is calling you! My best advice is to pray, go to mass, and join some groups within your local parish!

You sound like your dad isnt comfortable with it?You should sit down with him and talk about it and pray for guidance about what to with the situation

Good luck!

Gosh I am excited… 👍
 
Hi Hayley,

I’m just over the water in Bristol, that’s if you are in South Wales anyway, haha. I’m so glad you’ve posted us. I’ve had a bad day. Not able to go to Mass but your post really made my heart glad. If you ever to know anything about the Catholic faith you can PM me. :extrahappy:
 
Reading this thread, I definitely hear God calling you!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who will be praying for you.
 
I am 19 and in exactly the same boat as you. I am feeling drawn to the Church, but would kill (not literally of course 😛 ) for your clarity and vitality in pursuing it.

It’s very confusing and a pretty lonely feeling sometimes, I often feel like the Cannite woman who was “eat[ing] the scraps that fall from the masters table,” but hearing stories like yours give me a boost. Feel free to message me if you want, it always helps to have someone to walk beside you in the journey of faith.
 
Hayley,

I can’t add much to what the others have said, but I’m glad you had such a wondeful experience. I hope you will go back again and again. Your excitement is just wondeful to read! I will pray for YOU tomorrow while I am at Mass. That God will continue to work in your life and you will be open to the work He is doing! 🙂
 
Hayley_x said:
Can I pray whenever I like?
And are there any specific things I must say? It’s embarassing to ask, but I wan’t to make sure,😛
Click to expand...
WELCOME!!

You can pray any way you like. There are definitely many written prayers that you can say, the Mass is actually a prayer also. Or you can just sit and talk to God. I do this all day long…I even tell Jesus jokes. 😃 There are so many forms of prayer and all you have to do is just stop and think about God and ask him to guide you and He’ll do the rest.

Good luck on your journey, I’ll keep you in my prayers. Pray for guidance for your Dad and it’ll be fine. And like another poster said, don’t disobey your parents. But pray for them and if it’s necessary, you may have to wait until your of age and God understands that.

Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions here. That’s why this forum exists, so ask away!
 
h a y l e y. ❤️
it’s perfectly alright that you’ve never done this before—please don’t worry about saying or doing something wrong on here, for we are all here to support you, care for you, love you and lift you up, not ever hurt you, judge you or bring you down. i’m so glad beyond words that you’ve joined—welcome to Catholic Answers! 🙂

your story is absolutely incredible, hayley, and brings so much joy to my heart. 🙂 that’s so amazing, that you went to Mass for the first time and had such a great experience. i definitely know the feeling that you describe, and i’m so glad beyond words that you were able to feel it for yourself. please don’t feel uncomfortable—i highly doubt that you would ever do something insulting, and i’m sure that no one would judge you if you made a mistake, but would understand, never having seen you there before. i have a strong feeling that God is calling you, and i can’t tell you how joyful i am about this. keep thinking about your experience, and keep thinking about God, for i just know that you are headed in the right direction, closer to Him and closer to a beautiful, abundant life in Jesus. ❤️ even if your family won’t allow you to become Catholic, you can definitely still attend Mass as often as possible and grow closer to God through prayer and the spiritual life. please know, hayley, that i will be praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet (ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm) for you and for the conversion of your family. i will also be keeping you in my constant thoughts and prayers, that you are able to attend Mass and become Catholic after all, and that God will draw you very close to Himself in Love. 🙂 ❤️ 🙂

i’m so sorry beyond words, hayley, that your father won’t allow you to attend Mass. i can relate to you in that i am also sixteen, and that my parents are Catholics but not as religious as i am, and so i am not allowed to go to Daily Mass or receive Confession as often as i would like. i will definitely pray for God to soften your father’s heart so that you can experience the beauty of the Mass many more times, and truly become a faithful Catholic.

because you’re just starting out, i don’t want to give you any resources that are too intense, but i would definitely love to help you get started on your faith journey, which i just know will be a beautiful and fruitful one. 🙂 i have a few suggestions for you that i hope and pray will help you to get started in the spiritual life:
  1. Develop a relationship with Jesus. i want you to know, hayley, that Jesus loves you so much—infinitely more than you could ever imagine or comprehend—and that the first thing He wants is to develop a close love relationship with you. here is a resource that i hope and pray will help you begin to develop that close relationship with Him, that He desires so much to have.
    catholic-church.org/kuwait/relationship_jesus.htm
 
you can develop this intimate relationship with Jesus through prayer, especially the Rosary, reading the Bible, going to Mass, receiving the Sacraments, Eucharistic Adoration, fasting, daily quiet time with God and through Mary. i’d like to give you some resources that i hope and pray will help you develop these essentials of the spiritual life, so that you can grow closer to Jesus.
prayer (definitely begin to pray daily, whenever you get the chance. it’s a great idea to have a time of morning prayer, offering your day up to Jesus in love, as well as a time of evening prayer, reflecting on your day and offering Him your night as well. if you don’t have time during the day for long, extended periods of prayer, you can always make any work that you do during the day into a prayer—for example, working hard on your homework because you love Him, or telling Him that you love Him while doing chores for your family—and offer up short exclamations to Him throughout the day, such as “Jesus, i love You” or “Jesus, lead me closer to You.”)
catholic.org/clife/prayers/
catholicdoors.com/prayers/
ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/index.htm
catholictradition.org/prayers1.htm
catholicity.com/links/152/
the Rosary (i definitely recommend that you begin to pray the Rosary daily, as it is an amazing way to grow closer to Jesus through Mary and to Mary Herself, and bestows amazing graces. you don’t have to begin with the entire Rosary, of course—you can start with a decade a night, then move up to five decades, and eventually, you’ll be praying the entire Rosary daily.)
theholyrosary.org/
ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/rosary/
easterbrooks.com/personal…ar/rosary.html
    • along with the Rosary, there are also beautiful chaplets that you can pray:
      catholicdoors.com/prayers/chaplets.htm
      reading the Bible (i also recommend that you begin to read the Bible daily. the first website here, bibleplan.org, is an incredible resource for developing an easy, non-stressful Bible reading plan that is right for you.)
      bibleplan.org/
      soon.org.uk/catholic.htm
      usccb.org/nab/
      americancatholic.org/News…/CU/ac0704.asp
      going to Mass (since you’re not yet able to go to Mass, i definitely recommend that you watch it daily on EWTN, and i will definitely pray for God to soften your father’s heart. please continue to update us!)
      Sacraments (since you’re not yet able to receive the Sacraments, you can learn more about them at this resource.)
      catholic.org/prayers/sacrament.php
      Eucharistic Adoration (i definitely recommend that as soon as you get the chance, you go spend at least a few minutes at first in Eucharistic Adoration. if you’re not able to go yet, you can at least learn more about it at these resources.)
      therealpresence.org/eucharst/pea/a2.html
      catholic-church.org/kuwai…_adoration.htm
      savior.org/ online live Eucharistic Adoration]
      louisville-catholic.net/WebCa…5/Default.aspx online live Eucharistic Adoration]
      fasting (you don’t have to fast, especially not this early in your spiritual life, but later on, you might want to try it out, as it does help to deepen your relationship with God.)
      new-life.net/fasting.htm
      catholicism.about.com/od/cath…/p/Fasting.htm
      daily quiet time with God (i definitely recommend that you begin to set aside about half an hour each day just to spend time alone with God, and get to know Him better. this time can increase and deepen over time, but for now, you probably just want to spend half an hour with Him. during this time, do whatever your heart leads you to—i suggest that you keep a notebook, Bible and Rosary with you, and listen carefully for His Voice within your heart leading you. quiet times with God have given me much strength, refreshment and encouragement, and i hope and pray that if/as you begin yours, they do the same for you.)
      comeaside.com
      through Mary (as you get to know Jesus better, i definitely recommend that you get to know Mary better as well, for She is your spiritual Mother and loves you so much, and wants to have a relationship with you as well. it’s important to get to know Mary, for She always leads us to Jesus, and why wouldn’t we want to get to know our loving Heavenly Mother? praying the Rosary is a great way to grow closer to Mary, as well as praying to Her.)
      ewtn.com/library/montfort/truedevo.htm
      catholic.org/clife/prayers/merton.php
 
2. Develop a relationship with His Church. it would be great if you were able to attend Mass, and i will definitely be praying that you are able to—but for now, while i suggest that you watch Daily Mass on EWTN, i also suggest that you learn more about the Catholic Church and exactly what She teaches.
vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm
newadvent.org/cathen/
scripturecatholic.com/

3. Develop a deeper spiritual life. once you have developed a relationship with Jesus and with His Church, you can begin to deepen your spiritual life. the following websites have some great resources on spirituality, so please feel free to take a look around at anything that interests you.
catholicism.about.com/
catholic.org/
catholic.com/
americancatholic.org/
ewtn.com/

4. When you’re ready, become Catholic. for me, converting from nondenominational evangelical Christianity to Catholicism was easy, because i had been raised Catholic, but for you, when you’re ready to become Catholic, the process will take much longer and be much more difficult—yet in the end, it will definitely be worth it for you. i will definitely be praying for your family’s conversion at the same time i will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. here are some resources on how to become a Catholic that i hope and pray will help you.
www.beginningcatholic.com/
catholic.org/clife/prayers/become.php
ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/HOW2.htm
catholic.com/library/How_to_Become_a_Catholic.asp

hayley, i’ve given you plenty of resources that i hope and pray will help you to get started and explore the Catholic Faith, deepen your spirituality and develop a personal, intimate and loving relationship with Jesus, Who i know is so filled with joy that you’re coming Home. 🙂 please know that i will definitely be keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, and that you are far from alone in this. please don’t ever be afraid to ask questions, and please update us as to how things are progressing for you. i hope and pray that my post has helped you in at least some small way. please know that i am always here and will always care, so if you ever need anything at all or would just like to talk, please don’t ever hesitate to contact me. if you ever have any questions about the spiritual life, or need help growing in your faith, please feel free to send me a message, and i will definitely get back to you. God bless you, hayley! you are loved, and we are all praying for you! ❤️

love,
in the peace and love of Christ,
alison ❤️
 
:eek:
Gosh, that’s alot :o
But I will surely have a proper look.
Ta-muchly.
 
Hi Hayley,

I am praying that God may continue to bless you and that you may continue to hear his sweet and loving call, and respond to him.

You asked about prayer. One simple approach is to use the A.C.T.S. method. Each of the letters is briefly described below. This could be a good way of getting started and then as you mature in faith you can continue to add or change things. The main thing is to pray and do so with a genuine heart and keep time for reflection so you can also hear what God has to say. Many blessings and keep walking your journey of faith. This is the most important journey of your life on earth.

Adoration is to adore God, to worship him and to fulfill the commandment to love him with all of our heart, mind and soul. As we spend time in adoration, we praise God for who He is - our Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer. Tell God how wonderful he is and how much you appreciate Him.

Confession allows us to clear away the things in the relationship between you and God which are displeasing to Him. All of us have sinned. St John writes in his epistle “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I Jn 1:8,9). Tell God you are sorry for things you have done or failed to do that were wrong.

Thanksgiving. From childhood we are brought up to say “Thank You” when someone does something for us, or gives us a gift. Each moment God is blessing us, every minute we can recall the wonderful things that God has done for us, and the gifts that we have been given. And so, we need to be constantly thanking God for his blessings. Thank God for all the good things in your life, in the town you live in, in the country you live in, in the world.

Supplication or Intercession. Finally we come to ask God for our needs and the needs of others. There are many demands on our prayer time - many topics and issues that we could pray for, so we need to choose, and to be specific. Pray for others. Pray for your familiy members. Pray for neighbors and friends. Pray for the leaders in your country and in the Church. It’s also good to pray for those who don’t know Jesus to come to faith - many Christians have come to believe in Christ through the prayers of others. Pray for world issues. Pray for your own needs too.

The ACTS pattern - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication - has been a helpful structure for many folks. Maybe this simple method could help you build a steady prayer life.

God Bless You!
 
Hayley_x said:
Can I pray whenever I like?
And are there any specific things I must say? It’s embarassing to ask, but I wan’t to make sure,😛
Click to expand...
You can most certainly pray whenever you want. There is no specific things that you must say, however keep in mind that prayer isn’t when you need something. It’s very good to start off a prayer thanking God for something. Catholics have many written prayers that we say, but we are encouraged both prayers from the heart too.
 
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