Converting to Maronite with a bad past?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Donny_S
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Yeah, that was the intention, though you know what they say about good intentions…

Anyway, may the Lord guide you on your journey, Donny. Do not let your past mistakes be a stumbling block, but pray that the Lord forgive you the sins of your youth and your ignorance, and those which were not committed in ignorance.
 
Donny_S said:
My parents were Maronite Catholic, but raised me as a baptised protestant. Over the years I have been involved in Freemasonry as a 32nd degree Scottish Rite mason and in my younger years I was a Priest in a Satanic church though my masonic brothers never knew about this. It was a law abiding, objectivist group. No bloody rituals, but lots of blasphemy.

I am not a mason anymore. I quit paying my dues. I found better ways to help my community through volunteering in the community and the Masons were more about donating money. I am no longer a Satanist either, I find such selfish philosphy lacking in depth and meaning and my rational mind simply cannot believe in “magic”. If I can experience God, for even one short moment, I will believe for the rest of my life. I want to be happy and be a good servant to others to make the world better.

I am finding myself very attracted to the Maronite church and I agree with the majority of Catholic morality. There is a nice Maronite church where I live. If I find that I am eventually able to believe in God and Christ (which I don’t know about right now) I want to know if conversion is even an option for me down the road with my checkered past. I can’t talk to the Priests about it in person since it so embarassing to have made the mistakes that I have.

Can anybody help me with this please?

Don
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Congratulations for not being a Satanist any more! 😃
 
To everyone that has prayed for the conversion of atheists and satanists, I give my sincere thanks.

I attended the Maronite church today and I feel as though I have finally found that which I have been seeking. It was so beautiful and moving. The music, the scents, the icons all felt as if I had heard them somewhere before. It was as if something inside of me was longing for this exactly (the great vegetarian food was a big plus too).

Thank you all again for your opinions, perspectives, points of view and prayers.

This is such a strange step for me and it should feel so wrong as it goes against what I considered my most strongly held religious convictions, yet it feels so completely right.

While there was an old anti-vegetarian thread that nearly scared me away from Catholics entirely (flashbacks to the judgmental and mean-spirited Christians I was bullied by in my youth), I found that most of the people here are truly compassionate, loving, contemplative and understanding. If not for this forum I may not have had the encouragement to actually go to the church since there is nobody in my life that I can have these conversations with.

So, to each and every one of you, I give heartfelt thanks 🙂
 
Hello Don,

Welcome to the Maronite Church, the Church of Saint Maron, follower of Christ.

I would have to warn you, however, that feelings are often deceptive. And can change as quickly as you drop or throw a rock. I wouldn’t rely too much on feelings, cause if I had, I would not have joined the Catholic Church. Many times was I, in the past, confronted with the worst sort of people in the Church, that made joining seem like a waste of time. But remember that perseverance, willpower and faith keeps you going - no matter the feelings you may or may not have.

Looking up the History of the Maronites would be a great study. They have many great heroes who fought to survive in a land completely hostile to them. I recommend you erudite yourself in their direction.

-MontChevalier
 
Donny_S said:
To everyone that has prayed for the conversion of atheists and satanists, I give my sincere thanks.

I attended the Maronite church today and I feel as though I have finally found that which I have been seeking. It was so beautiful and moving. The music, the scents, the icons all felt as if I had heard them somewhere before. It was as if something inside of me was longing for this exactly (the great vegetarian food was a big plus too).

Thank you all again for your opinions, perspectives, points of view and prayers.

This is such a strange step for me and it should feel so wrong as it goes against what I considered my most strongly held religious convictions, yet it feels so completely right.

While there was an old anti-vegetarian thread that nearly scared me away from Catholics entirely (flashbacks to the judgmental and mean-spirited Christians I was bullied by in my youth), I found that most of the people here are truly compassionate, loving, contemplative and understanding. If not for this forum I may not have had the encouragement to actually go to the church since there is nobody in my life that I can have these conversations with.

So, to each and every one of you, I give heartfelt thanks 🙂
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Glory be to God! Glory be to Jesus Christ forever!

Donny,

All I can say is keep it up. By this I mean keep attending church. Slowly reintroduce yourself to things- start off saying a few prayers everyday, and try and read a bit of the Gospels as well. We shall continue to pray for you 🙂

Also, vegetarians are cool in my book. 👍 😃
 
Since my first message in August: Attending mass every week. Arriving early to study the Qurbono and learn a bit of Aramaic/Syriac. Doing rosary every day. Volunteering around the church. Reading daily about Jesus, Mary, the Gospels, the Maronite liturgy, St. Rafka, St. Charbel, St. Maroun and feeling SO GREAT about all of it!

🙂

Meeting with the priest this week to discuss full conversion.

SO happy!

Thanks so much again CAF people!
 
Donny_S said:
Since my first message in August: Attending mass every week. Arriving early to study the Qurbono and learn a bit of Aramaic/Syriac. Doing rosary every day. Volunteering around the church. Reading daily about Jesus, Mary, the Gospels, the Maronite liturgy, St. Rafka, St. Charbel, St. Maroun and feeling SO GREAT about all of it!

🙂

Meeting with the priest this week to discuss full conversion.

SO happy!

Thanks so much again CAF people!
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God be praised! 🙂
 
Donny,

I just saw this thread for the first time today and was thrilled by it. You should know by now that you can, of course, convert “despite” your past!

Actually, I think you can only convert BECAUSE of your past. You–and I–are exactly the type of people whom Jesus came to save. You are precisely the person that God loves. You are the type of person that causes partying to break out in heaven. That’s what happens when we come home–the Father is just like the Father in the parable of the prodigal son and is overjoyed that you’ve come back. Even the angels and saints rejoice. Because someone precious who was lost is found.

Welcome home
 
Hello Don ,

I’m Glad You Left All That Evilness Behind And Found Christ Welcome Home!

What you want to do is ask god for forgiveness , accept him into your heart and believe he died on the cross for your sins ( Confess with your mouth )

Also , Pray The Rosary daily !

And since you would like to become Maronite Again what you want to do is talk to a priest and he will give you a one on one class ( Like RCIA ) and you will get baptized , confirmed etc.

God Bless You Don!
 
Classes finished.

First confession, communion and confirmation - done, done and DONE!

😃
 
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