CATHOLIC CONVERTS-Family&Friends reactions 2 your conversion?

[inthecloud]

Methodist typically realize where they came from. Our pastor told us about a month ago that his Protestant friends used to say Methodists are Baptists that know how to read.

That was mean!

 

[Gloria1]

thanks very much for sharing! i really appreciate it!

 

[Junebug999]

When I left the Church to be evangelical, I was never at a loss for friends and fun times. Being Catholic has come with a price. A price I would gladly pay. This is the faith I would die for.

Wow graceandglory what a testimony! I like your term re-vert too. You’re an inspiration!

 

[strngrnrth]

One friend I thought was OK with it apparently just didn’t know I was serious and forgot or something. Yesterday I asked if she was coming to my confirmation and she said, “Of what?” I said, “Into the Church.”
“What church?”
I was about to say the Catholic Church when I decided to see if she remembered we had talked about it already. I know people can’t help forgetting things but somehow it still offends me.
I said, “You remember.”
She sounded alarmed. “The Catholic Church? Oh, I don’t have much use for the Catholic Church.” But she thought a moment and agreed to come. Maybe she’ll be moved. She’s a good friend who has described herself as “Pentecostal to the core.”

 

[RebeccaJ]

I haven’t told my family, well, not my parents and siblings. With Easter Vigil coming up I have been trying to figure out how to tell them.

This morning, I told my husband (an atheist) that I was going to tell them in an email. He thinks I shouldn’t tell them at all, but, they live 10 minutes up the road. I don’t want to hide who I am from them. That’s just silly.

I think I am just going to have to drive on over there and tell them. The reaction I expect is my mother crying and my dad telling me he will send mormon missionaries to get me back to being a mormon. One reaction makes me feel really sad, the other really angry. So, I’m avoiding.

 

[alanswife30]

Hi everyone! I know I’m coming into this thread late, but, I thought I would share my story with all of you.

First, let me state that I live in Northwest Florida (also referred to as Lower Alabama because we’re VERY different from the rest of the state), we are in the heart of the “Bible Belt”. Growing up, we visited other churches, but, mainly Pentacostal.

My aunt married a man from Massachusetts when I was 10, and he was Catholic. He took us to his church a few times and even at that young age, I loved it! He has since left the faith and joined an Assembly of God church. That church has taught my aunt and uncle that people of other religions will go to hell and that God does not hear the prayers of sinners.

When I told my family that I was joining the Catholic faith, they weren’t very happy about it. First my aunt told me that I would go to hell when I died and that my grandmother would roll over in her grave. Now she says that Catholicism is a “beautiful, idol worshipping religion”. When other family members ask me why I want to be Catholic and I try to tell them, she butts in and tells them that it’s just a fad that I’m going through right now.

My uncle, the “yankee Catholic” (that’s what my family called him for almost 20 years, now he’s just the “yankee”), tells me that he’s glad that I have found God, but, his pastor has told him that there is no way that a priest can turn bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, etc. We even had a discussion the other night about the Immaculate Conception, and he says that if it’s not in the Bible to not believe it.

My mother is a different story. She was brought up Baptist, but she hasn’t been to church in forever. But for some reason, she hates the idea of me being Catholic.

My husband is what he calls agnostic. His mother always told him that he was baptized Catholic, now it turns out he wasn’t baptized at all. He doesn’t like me talking about church because we usually end up arguing.

All of them will be at the Easter Vigil though, which makes me happy.

I do have a question for all of you. When I invite people to church and they ask which church I go to and I tell them, I always hear, “Oh, well, I’m a Christian I can’t go to your church”! Anyone else ever had that response?

Sorry that my post was so long, I could’ve typed alot more, but, I didn’t want to bore y’all anymore than I already have.

 

[brigid12]

Depends on which of them

my Baptist friend * quit having anything to do with me when she finally found out
my mother (broad-church Episcopalian with strong Unitarian and New Age leanings) * has tried to be supportive and seems to be thinking more spiritually these days
my brother (very fervent broad-church Episcopalian) * very anti-Catholic (or as he says, not “Papist”) but strong Christian beliefs
grown daughter * varies but usually fairly anti-institutional religion with leanings toward 7th Day Adventist
grandchildren (toddlers) * unbaptized but love Mommy Mary (children’s videos I have showing Our Lady of Guadelupe and my wearing MM brought her to their attention)
my grandmother (very low-church Episcopalian) * Strong Christian beliefs and still trying to rationalize my conversion - usually using relativism
ex-husband * wouldn’t look at Catholicism

Typically I don’t speak much about it, unless it’s necessary. I also try to show as much charity and respect for them as fellow human beings as possible. I refuse to hide my Catholicism from anyone but that doesn’t mean shoving it in non-receptive faces, either. That’s not charity, IMHO.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Typically I don’t speak much about it, unless it’s necessary. I also try to show as much charity and respect for them as fellow human beings as possible. I refuse to hide my Catholicism from anyone but that doesn’t mean shoving it in non-receptive faces, either. That’s not charity, IMHO.

That’s my strategy, too. If asked, I’ll tell you everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about my Church. But I learned the hard way as a Baptist that In-Your-Face Christianity is not very appealing to the lost and dying world.

 

[Crepusculum]

My dad’s a lapsed anglican and my mum never really had faith, but her grandma wanted her to be a nun. My bosses are Jewish, my colleagues range from Greek orthodox and coptic christian to Muslim and Bah’ai, so the general attitude is “Peace be with whatever you choose to believe”. I thought my dad was going to be more agitated by it than he was - he raised eyebrows a bit, but he was more upset by the thought that I didn’t feel comfortable talking to him about it. He makes the occasional remark, mostly about Benedict’s past, but he’s come to terms with it now - even bought me a rosary made of volcanic rock during our holiday in the south of Italy last year which is now a treasured possession.

All of you who have found conflict with family/friends over this important decision will be in my prayers tonight. I sometimes complain about living in a part of the world that seems to have such weak spiritual convictions (generalisation, there are of course extremes in all directions), but from the sounds of some of these replies it seems I should count my blessings.

 

[Just_wondering]

My dad’s a lapsed anglican and my mum never really had faith, but her grandma wanted her to be a nun. My bosses are Jewish, my colleagues range from Greek orthodox and coptic christian to Muslim and Bah’ai, so the general attitude is “Peace be with whatever you choose to believe”.

All of you who have found conflict with family/friends over this important decision will be in my prayers tonight. I sometimes complain about living in a part of the world that seems to have such weak spiritual convictions (generalisation, there are of course extremes in all directions), but from the sounds of some of these replies it seems I should count my blessings.

I guess it’s a matter of perspective. I grew up in a fundamentalist area - everyone around me was a fundamentalist something, and my parents were non-religious. They didn’t disrespect religion, they just didn’t participate. If a church group wanted to borrow a lamb or two for their Easter sermon, we’d let them, but we really didn’t get involved in religion. My classmates and the people I’d meet were aggressively trying to convert me to their various religions. I thought they turned me off religion for life.

Then I moved to Korea, which despite having a large church attendance rate, treats religion as a social club for the most part. People don’t ask me if I’ve been saved. They might ask if I’m religious, but they don’t take offense at the answer. It’s very secular, but you can feel the lack of faith in the society. People look out for themselves a lot, as if they can’t believe that anybody would help them.

Then I met my Filipino Catholic boyfriend. In his and his friends’ case, their faith results in them being willing to give generously of their time and money, even if they have little to offer. The feeling that God will take care of them and will reward them for helping others makes them really nice people. They have an optimism about them that’s really refreshing after five years of living in secular society. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the depth of their faith if I’d met them five years earlier.

So now I’m planning to become Catholic myself. Certainly, where I grew up is going to play a role in what kind of Catholic I become. I’m not going to be shouting it from the rooftops, because that kind of thing bothered me when I was non-religious, and it’s going to bother my family and friends. I’m probably just going to try to be as kind and generous and loving and faith-filled as the Catholics I know, and drop the word “Church” into the occasional conversation to get people thinking about the positive impact Catholicism seems to be having on my life.

 

[rebusrms]

My story is like others. My mother in law is inquisitive but supportive. My parents ( involved baptist) are dead set against the conversion. My father takes jabs whenever and wherever he can. He last comment was" I thought you were smarter than that." That one I will admit hurt deep. Thankfully my uncle who is catholic is excited and very supportive. In fact he is my wife and I sponsor. We have all grew very close through the conversion process. And I Cherish that. My friends keep trying to “save” me. Friends that I haven’t seen or heard from have come out of the woodwork to denounce my conversion. They read a few of my blog entries and flipped. I honestly believe God is preparing me because after time I engage in a discussion with my parents of so called friends the right words or explanation comes through my lips and I know its God and not me.

 

[whizkid43]

I’ll share.

Friends: I have had the same group of close evangelical Sola Scriptura friends since 1986. I am a Catholic re-vert.(2004) None of my friends before really cared that I had been raised Catholic. I was Saved, that’s what mattered to them. We were all very close, did family bible studies together, went to church together, home schooled together, were at the hospital on the days our babies were born, vacationed together, etc.

I kept my conversion a secret at first. I even tried to park way off the street when I started attending Mass locally, so no one would see my Mom Van outside of a Catholic Church.

After about 6 months, I had to run over to my BFF’s house for something. I forgot to hide my JPII medal. She saw it and was shocked. She asked her hubby in baby talk, “Honey, do you think the Pope John Paul was a godly man?” “Well, I dunno.” Was all he said.

She graciously attended my Dad’s Mass of Christian Burial last year. My kids and I led the rosary before Mass.

“Do you think your Dad is saved?” She asked after the funeral. I told her, “I hope so.”

I’m the second in my group of friends from 1986 to convert to Catholicism. My friends sent tons of anti-Catholic propaganda to my first friend. I haven’t received any. But I rarely spend time with my friends anymore. I know they are still getting together without me. I am no longer one of them. It has left a huge gap in my life.

Family:
Well, since I’m a re-vert, who was always trying to “save” my little sisters when they were little, and encouraging them to pray and read the Bible, and live chaste lives, they are actually the meanest.

None of them are practicing Catholics. Gay rights, Abortion rights, Shacking up, the whole thing… But their response has been something more along the lines of “What audacity,** you** calling yourself a Catholic!” Although, they can call themselves Catholic.

When I left the Church to be evangelical, I was never at a loss for friends and fun times. Being Catholic has come with a price. A price I would gladly pay. This is the faith I would die for.

Wow, what a story, I’m in a similar situation. I’m a revert about 6-8weeks ago But, I haven’t said anything to my evangelical friends. In fact it was them that inadvertently drove me back here.

The evangelical church I attended was a cell church so we’d meet weekly and discuss things and every time Catholics came up there was always some comment.

• Catholics aren’t saved
• Catholic Bibles are wrong
• Catholics think they are saved by works
• and more

All those comments and my digging to answer those questions are what brought me back home I fully expect to be shunned and declared apostate by my former evangelical friends but this is where I belong and I’m glad to be back home…

 

[Pondero]

No reaction at all to speak of. Mum and dad were about to separate, and this eventually led to a divorce and my immigration to Canada. All this happened many years ago.

If I said any more it would be a conversion story and this is not the forum for that.

 

[ktnurse1]

My husband and his side of the family have been incredibly supportive. They are all Catholic. I have had the desire to become Catholic since even before I met my husband. I wanted to become Catholic before we were married, but knew it would cause too much turmoil with my side of the family, so I decided to wait until after we were married.

My side of the family’s reaction, however, has been much different. Growing up, I was taken to Baptist and non-denominational churches. My mom has said things such as “You’ll be sending your children to hell if you raise them Catholic” along with saying that she thinks my husband has forced me into Catholicism, as well as saying that Catholics worship people, not God. I have tried to explain all of these things. As of right now, my mother is not sure if she will attend Easter Vigil to see me baptized/confirmed/receiving communion. She stated my father will have to work that evening (he has yet to say one word to me either way regarding my decision), my brother is working and my sister’s excuse for not attending is that she can’t bring my nephew, which is her choice. It is disappointing not to have the full support of my side of the family, but in my heart I know that God has guided me to his Church, and it will be a truly amazing experience to become a full member of the Church. Regardless of all of the opposition, I am remaining positive and keeping peace with everyone.

 

[Junebug999]

Oh Rebecca, I wish I could go with you. That will be hard to do. I am the daughter of a Baptist minister, and have sometimes thought it would be easiest just to not say anything (family does not live near), but in light of your courage, I will be courageous also. I will not argue with them but when they fuss at me, I will just tell them that we should all want all who believe in Christ to be united and we should all pray for unity. And that is all for now I’m going to discuss with them. I will just tell them I believe, and if they have more specific questions, I will provide a Catholic Answers Bible for them.

Let’s pray for each other for courage!

 

[em3boone]

I’m 15 and I’m the only one coming to the Church from my family. My parents are supportive and get me to and from Church. My little brother is going to do RCIA next year. My mom’s side of the family is supportive. My grandparents on my dad’s side didn’t want me to convert, thats the first thing they said when they found out about the classes. My dad has talked to them and they know how much it means to me. I told my grandpa how excited I was about Holy Week last night and told him how I was going to get baptized, confirmed and recieve communion. He asked what I’d be and I said Catholic. He asked if I was going be the Pope or a priest hah (he knows I’m thinking seriously about the priesthood.) He ended saying he was proud of me and loved me. His attitude has became alot more positive since we first talked about it and he mocked the Church.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

I’m 15 and I’m the only one coming to the Church from my family. My parents are supportive and get me to and from Church. My little brother is going to do RCIA next year. My mom’s side of the family is supportive. My grandparents on my dad’s side didn’t want me to convert, thats the first thing they said when they found out about the classes. My dad has talked to them and they know how much it means to me. I told my grandpa how excited I was about Holy Week last night and told him how I was going to get baptized, confirmed and recieve communion. He asked what I’d be and I said Catholic. He asked if I was going be the Pope or a priest hah (he knows I’m thinking seriously about the priesthood.) He ended saying he was proud of me and loved me. His attitude has became alot more positive since we first talked about it and he mocked the Church.

That’s so good to hear!
Are you, by any chance in the Lafayette diocese? I’m at St Francis of Assisi in Muncie.

 

[em3boone]

That’s so good to hear!
Are you, by any chance in the Lafayette diocese? I’m at St Francis of Assisi in Muncie.

Yes I am. Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carmel. Its nice to meet someone from the area.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Yes I am. Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carmel. Its nice to meet someone from the area.

My husband and 3 kids will all be coming into the church at Easter Vigil. I was confirmed last August. It’s so exciting! :dancing:

 

[susie_g]

Oh Rebecca, I wish I could go with you. That will be hard to do. I am the daughter of a Baptist minister, and have sometimes thought it would be easiest just to not say anything (family does not live near), but in light of your courage, I will be courageous also. I will not argue with them but when they fuss at me, I will just tell them that we should all want all who believe in Christ to be united and we should all pray for unity. And that is all for now I’m going to discuss with them. I will just tell them I believe, and if they have more specific questions, I will provide a Catholic Answers Bible for them.

Let’s pray for each other for courage!

Junebug,

I am also the daughter of a Baptist minister, (sister of another one), and my conversion has been hard for my parents. I notice you are in California as well. I am part of the LA archdiocese.

It’s hard to have conversations with my family because of the pain that my conversion has caused them, so we mostly avoid the topic altogether. Once in awhile I get in some good discussions with Dad, but Mom usually stops them, begging us not to “fight”.

I try to keep two booklets on me at all times, “Scripture Alone? 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura” by Joel Peters, and “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” by Catholic Answers, just in case the topic of Catholicism comes up. Like others on this thread, I try not to push it, but also to be ready to answer when asked.