Coming home

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Nun_ofthe_Above

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4 months ago, I was perfectly happy. I was looking foward to Easter, and becoming one with the Body of Christ (and all that entails). Ok, I had a few issues, but nothing serious enough to impede my confession of faith at the time of my baptism.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the perspective), either God decided I needed to be reeeeeeeeeeeeally certain of the commitment I was contemplating, or else Satan had fastened his reigns to me; I don’t know which, but I’m hoping it was God testing me, pushing me to delve even deeper into the faith.
The past few months have been pure torture (Intermittently sprinkled with rays of false hope). Everything I believed in, was called into question. I felt a huge need to get back to the Bible and the Early Church, so I read and read; unfortunately, I kept reading things which seemed to refute Catholicism. The more I read, the more I decided Catholicism had vered too far off course from the Early Church, so I started reading, and decided that I would look into Lutheranism, as it seemed closer to the truth. During this brief phase, I felt a modecum of comfort, but for some reason, everytime I went to the Church, no one would be there, or they would be in the middle of something and I felt compelled not to interupt, so would leave, with them totally oblivious to my pesence. I feel God had a hand in this; knowing that eventually I would discover the truth.
I continued to read, and for some reason, in the past two days, I have discovered that so called ‘proofs’ were misrepresented, by leaving necessary details out, etc.
The crux of the matter is, that finally, I have found my way back to the Church. There are many factors in this decision, not least of all, St. Irenaeus’ Books ‘Against Heresies’ Some of the ‘quotes’ that were used against aspects of the Catholic Church, were from Irenaeus, but once I read Irenaeus for myself, I discovered he was quoted out of context; leaving relevent details out.
The past months have seen me lament my severed ties with Catholicism, but now I can rejoice in the reunion, which is long overdue; but whilst I am cross I wasted this time, in one respect, in another, I am grateful I had the opportnity to truly find out what Jesus, the Apostles and the very earliest Church Fathers taught. I can also say in all honesty that I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, as it is meant by the Catholic Church.
Thank you for your prayers and kind words; they have been most appeciated in this difficult time.

Peace and Love to you all 🙂
 
Welcome back. If you don’t already, then pray the Rosary. We all have doubts at times. But Mary never loses anyone.

That repetition of Hail Mary’s is constantly calling on her to pray for us.
 
John Russell Jr:
Welcome back. If you don’t already, then pray the Rosary. We all have doubts at times. But Mary never loses anyone.

That repetition of Hail Mary’s is constantly calling on her to pray for us.
Thanks for the welcome back John Russell Jr. It’s great be back. Thank you also for the wonderful advice; I do pray the rosary from time to time. (A lot less than I used to :o ) I will have to make an effort to do it more

Peace be with you
 
Dear Shari,

I am a convert also (from Protestantism) and I know how it feels to struggle with finding “TRUTH”. I am glad that you are back and I hope it’s for good 🙂

Once I accepted the Truth of the Catholic faith, I could see it so much more clearly. I didn’t have to struggle anymore, because Christ promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all Truth and that the gates of hell would NOT prevail against the Church, and that Jesus would be with us always.

To me, it made so much more sense and gave me so much peace that I could trust God on this, that He would guide me and preserve the Truth, so I did not have to scramble around and worry about whether I had it right, or learn Greek and Hebrew and try to determine for myself what the original Bible texts were saying. God has given us the gift of the Church, and Praise Him for it!

I remember hearing Scott Hahn speak one time saying that on Judgment Day, if God asks him why he was Catholic (if by chance it was the wrong faith), he would be able to say “it’s because I trusted Jesus too much” [to preserve the Church and keep His promise]. This really struck me – the Catholic faith, like no other, allows us to trust Jesus’ words that much. :bowdown2:

I will keep you in my prayers during your time of struggle.

Are you by chance considering becoming a nun or sister (based on your screen name)? I am, so I was wondering.

God bless you!
Lily628
 
Hi Lily,

Thank you for your lovely post, and your prayers. I have certainly needed them recently!
Congratulations on your conversion, and the peace it seems to have brought to your life.
In answer to your question, I am not a Nun. Every time I considered a pseudonymn for use in the forum, I would reject it for some reason, which lead to me eventually muttering, “None of the above.” to myself, when I just couldn’t decide. I suddenly realized, I could use that name, because it was so apt in a Catholic forum, and changed it into the religious, version of ‘Nun_ofthe_Above’. Having said that; I would seriously consider becoming a Nun / Sister, or at the very least, an Oblate, if I found my children were all grown up, and my husband was no longer around.
You have my very best wishes for whatever you decide, concerning your life’s vocation. You are in my prayers.

Peace and love to yo and yor loved ones. 🙂
 
God does that to me all the time. He won’t let me have rest until I find the Truth. Put it this way, I was so torn when studying Islam that I almost became an atheist!
 
Hi nike,

It sounds like you’ve been through a tough time, spiritually; but I am very pleased you did not become an athiest. I have to say; I have had a tough time of it, but I have never lost sight of God, which I am so grateful for!
Thanks for your post, and I pray God keeps you on your toes, whilst allowing you to retain your sanity in the meantime.😃

Peace be with you and your loved ones. 🙂
 
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Nun_ofthe_Above:
I have to say; I have had a tough time of it, but I have never lost sight of God, which I am so grateful for!
Praise be to God!

You see how He works? He tested your faith in fire and it’s now stronger. Great blessing, indeed!

Welcome home!

:blessyou:
 
Praise be to God!
:amen: to that!
You see how He works? He tested your faith in fire and it’s now stronger. Great blessing, indeed!
He certainly tested me, and I am grateful. This test cemented my faith, even though it felt like I was going insane at times.
Welcome home!
:blessyou:

Thank you, Augustine, it is lovely to be back. I am not going anywhere else now. Any doubts about the Catholic Church containing the fullness of truth, are completely gone.
:blessyou: you and your loved ones, also./QUOTE]

Peace be with you all! 🙂
 
It is interesting how much good can come from doubt. When our faith breaks down, we are forced to either abandon it or rebuild it even stronger than before. Every time I fall into doubt, serious doubt, I almost lose the faith, but the meaningless survival of a life without God impels me to seek the truth again rather than fall away in spiritual sloth. Unfailingly I find all the answers to my questions in the wisdom of the Church. The sudden onset and negative emotional consequences associated with intense doubt lead me to believe that it is Satan, not God, who “tests” our faith. It is God of course, who helps us raise it up again greater than ever, but the Devil is always enticing us to cast it aside and embrace the “freedom” of godlessness. Beware! There is true evil in this world, and his pervasive presence beguiles us into believing that both he and God do not exist.
 
I believe this teaches a valuable lesson on taking Protestant apologetics works at face value. It was God’s mercy that led you to read the troublesome citations in context, thus seeing what they were actually saying and not saying.

Quotations are like statistics—if you torture them long enough, they’ll confess to anything.
 
Nun_ofthe_Above said:
4 months ago, I was perfectly happy. I was looking foward to Easter, and becoming one with the Body of Christ (and all that entails). Ok, I had a few issues, but nothing serious enough to impede my confession of faith at the time of my baptism.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the perspective), either God decided I needed to be reeeeeeeeeeeeally certain of the commitment I was contemplating, or else Satan had fastened his reigns to me; I don’t know which, but I’m hoping it was God testing me, pushing me to delve even deeper into the faith.
The past few months have been pure torture (Intermittently sprinkled with rays of false hope). Everything I believed in, was called into question. I felt a huge need to get back to the Bible and the Early Church, so I read and read; unfortunately, I kept reading things which seemed to refute Catholicism. The more I read, the more I decided Catholicism had vered too far off course from the Early Church, so I started reading, and decided that I would look into Lutheranism, as it seemed closer to the truth. During this brief phase, I felt a modecum of comfort, but for some reason, everytime I went to the Church, no one would be there, or they would be in the middle of something and I felt compelled not to interupt, so would leave, with them totally oblivious to my pesence. I feel God had a hand in this; knowing that eventually I would discover the truth.
I continued to read, and for some reason, in the past two days, I have discovered that so called ‘proofs’ were misrepresented, by leaving necessary details out, etc.
The crux of the matter is, that finally, I have found my way back to the Church. There are many factors in this decision, not least of all, St. Irenaeus’ Books ‘Against Heresies’ Some of the ‘quotes’ that were used against aspects of the Catholic Church, were from Irenaeus, but once I read Irenaeus for myself, I discovered he was quoted out of context; leaving relevent details out.
The past months have seen me lament my severed ties with Catholicism, but now I can rejoice in the reunion, which is long overdue; but whilst I am cross I wasted this time, in one respect, in another, I am grateful I had the opportnity to truly find out what Jesus, the Apostles and the very earliest Church Fathers taught. I can also say in all honesty that I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, as it is meant by the Catholic Church.
Thank you for your prayers and kind words; they have been most appeciated in this difficult time.

Peace and Love to you all 🙂

Nun_of_the Above, thank you for this.
 
Dear friend

All of your life you will have to fight to hold onto your faith in a world that opposes it.

Faith really is a constant, daily turning to God. Turning to Him in faith and asking Him to increase your faith.

In my prayers

God bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
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