CONVERTS, do you have a moment?

[onjac]

Thanks for contributing, onjac. Same question… does that priest know the effect he had on you? Just curious.

No. Unfortunately, he is deceased but I keep him in my prayers.

 

[MarisaJean]

My moment was very clear to me. I was raised in the Evangelical Church till about age 6. When I was 10 I started going to a presbyterian church alone. I stayed for many years until I was 24. I had a daughter at that point and one day I sat in church with her and thought about my years there and I knew there was more and I wanted more for her! So we began our hunt in the Catholic church. We tried church after church and one day I was sitting in mass, at again a different church, and it was like the priest knew my whole life story, troubles, ect… I felt like his homily was directed right at me! It brought me to tears. My one year old daughter looked at me and said “mommy you crying?” I said “honey mommy is happy, very happy.” I knew I found the “more” I searching for and also found a great new spiritual home for me and her. I was received into the church in 2010 and it was the best decision I made for both of us

 

[Angelina5]

Since leaving the Mormon church this past December & getting pulled towards the Catholic church, I feel that I have moments every single day.*
I have had days when I couldn’t think of Cephas, my dear Peter without weeping. Those days were followed by a very inspired & important answer to my prayers. I have had miraculous experiences as soon as I started to pray the Rosary again. The first day, I prayed a full Rosary, I had blessings after blessings poured upon me. And the Eucharist. Feeling the presence of my Savior every time I see people going up to commune with Jesus Christ is magical. I love to commune with Him through the partaking of His flesh and blood. Every time I go to mass, I am reminded that the Catholic possesses the truth because of the Eucharist.*

 

[CleverUserName]

My moment was very clear to me. I was raised in the Evangelical Church till about age 6. When I was 10 I started going to a presbyterian church alone. I stayed for many years until I was 24. I had a daughter at that point and one day I sat in church with her and thought about my years there and I knew there was more and I wanted more for her! So we began our hunt in the Catholic church. We tried church after church and one day I was sitting in mass, at again a different church, and it was like the priest knew my whole life story, troubles, ect… I felt like his homily was directed right at me! It brought me to tears. My one year old daughter looked at me and said “mommy you crying?” I said “honey mommy is happy, very happy.” I knew I found the “more” I searching for and also found a great new spiritual home for me and her. I was received into the church in 2010 and it was the best decision I made for both of us

Good Mom Thanks for sharing, MarisaJean

 

[CleverUserName]

Since leaving the Mormon church this past December & getting pulled towards the Catholic church, I feel that I have moments every single day.*
I have had days when I couldn’t think of Cephas, my dear Peter without weeping. Those days were followed by a very inspired & important answer to my prayers. I have had miraculous experiences as soon as I started to pray the Rosary again. The first day, I prayed a full Rosary, I had blessings after blessings poured upon me. And the Eucharist. Feeling the presence of my Savior every time I see people going up to commune with Jesus Christ is magical. I love to commune with Him through the partaking of His flesh and blood. Every time I go to mass, I am reminded that the Catholic possesses the truth because of the Eucharist.*

So glad you’re still having your moments!
The truth is in the Eucharist, indeed.

 

[Neofight]

Whew, Neo. How awesome is that! Did you ever tell that Friar the effect he had on you?

Yes, indeed! And everyone who will listen, to this day, I point out that Father Chuck was the guy who “sealed the deal” for me. He officiated my confirmation!

 

[CleverUserName]

Yes, indeed! And everyone who will listen, to this day, I point out that Father Chuck was the guy who “sealed the deal” for me. He officiated my confirmation!/QUOTE

How wonderful!!!

 

[ChrissyB364]

My moment was very clear to me. I was raised in the Evangelical Church till about age 6. When I was 10 I started going to a presbyterian church alone. I stayed for many years until I was 24. I had a daughter at that point and one day I sat in church with her and thought about my years there and I knew there was more and I wanted more for her! So we began our hunt in the Catholic church. We tried church after church and one day I was sitting in mass, at again a different church, and it was like the priest knew my whole life story, troubles, ect… I felt like his homily was directed right at me! It brought me to tears. My one year old daughter looked at me and said “mommy you crying?” I said “honey mommy is happy, very happy.” I knew I found the “more” I searching for and also found a great new spiritual home for me and her. I was received into the church in 2010 and it was the best decision I made for both of us

Aaaw I just cried a little. Beautiful story!

 

[GraceSofia]

My moment was not particularly dramatic. I was in my nondenominational church one Sunday morning when the person “bringing the message” asked for a moment of silence in honour of Remembrance Day, which happened to fall on that Sunday. Well, some people in the congregation (lots of different nationalities) objected out loud and there was a huge argument about the appropriateness. I was appalled. The lack of unity amongst Christians is something that always has caused me grief. Anyway, I remember thinking, “This would never happen in a Catholic Church.” Even though I had never set foot in a Catholic Church.

That was November, and I never went back to that church. I spent several weeks investigating the Anglican church because I just was not able to seriously consider Catholicism at first, but by that March I realised that Catholicism was my last best hope.

 

[CleverUserName]

My moment was not particularly dramatic. I was in my nondenominational church one Sunday morning when the person “bringing the message” asked for a moment of silence in honour of Remembrance Day, which happened to fall on that Sunday. Well, some people in the congregation (lots of different nationalities) objected out loud and there was a huge argument about the appropriateness. I was appalled. The lack of unity amongst Christians is something that always has caused me grief. Anyway, I remember thinking, “This would never happen in a Catholic Church.” Even though I had never set foot in a Catholic Church.

That was November, and I never went back to that church. I spent several weeks investigating the Anglican church because I just was not able to seriously consider Catholicism at first, but by that March I realised that Catholicism was my last best hope.

!!!
Indeed that wouldn’t happen.
My husband’s reaction to his first Catholic Mass was “I like the amount of respect that is shown…”.

Thanks for sharing

 

[djeter]

Sometimes it’s not passionate theological debates that shifts the position of people who are against Catholicism. Sometimes it’s just a poignant…moment.

Will you share yours?

Can I nominate someone else’s moment?

Christian Wiman is the author of Hard Night, a book of poems, and the editor of Poetry. His most recent book is a collection of his essays, Ambition and Survival. Conversion stories are a way for all Catholics to listen and reaffirm their own faith. When you have someone as gifted and intelligent as Mr. Wiman, the story can become an apologetic marker of sorts, a buoy in the water that all can relate to.

You can find that here.

And one other, a classic from Leo Tolstoi that is breathtaking in its simplicity:

The direction of my life and my desires became different, and good and evil changed places…

Hope you enjoy.

dj

 

[MaryandJoseph]

It was a “Moment” for me…

I was reading an article about the Big Bang (I did not at first realize it was written BY Christians to atheists) when a very simple question posed in the article stopped me in my tracks…“Where did the gasses and dust come from in the first place?” It was this question that started me thinking. In all my 40 years of atheist thinking could I come up with just ONE logical answer. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks…FIRST CAUSE!!!

I was off and running then. I went right into evalution (still believe in micro but not macro), this time looking at it from a whole different direction. The entire concept of there being a Creator started to make perfect and logical sense to me.

That very night I went from a solid atheist belief to believing in God. Where to find Him (which church I should attend as this seemed to be the most logical thing to do) took much longer…it took three days

This is an Extreme Readers Digest version of my conversion and journey home to the Catholic Church…I call it my “St. Paul type conversion”

 

[SecretaryMonday]

For me there was no one “Moment”, there were lots of little moments that added up over the years.

One was, that I love the Incarnation, and I realized that I had been missing the Mother of God, who was usually only brought up in sermons around Christmas, or more rarely Mother’s Day.

Also, I had been looking for The Church for years, and after trying to be a “lone ranger” Christian for a while I decided I needed to choose a church; and after realizing that I only “sort of” agreed with the denominations that I read about, I came to Catholic Answers, and I realized that the Catholic Church was not like other systems; I could not selectively choose which doctrines I agreed with. This Church believed that it was correct, not simply “the closest thing in our opinion.” I had been looking for an authoritative Church, and Catholicism presented itself as such, which made me more apt to consider whether or not it was true.

 

[CleverUserName]

Can I nominate someone else’s moment?

You can find that here.

And one other, a classic from Leo Tolstoi that is breathtaking in its simplicity:

Hope you enjoy.

dj

Thank you very much for the recommendations. Not every day someone quotes Tolstoy to a Dostoevsky fan like me NICE.

 

[CleverUserName]

It was a “Moment” for me…

I was reading an article about the Big Bang (I did not at first realize it was written BY Christians to atheists) when a very simple question posed in the article stopped me in my tracks…“Where did the gasses and dust come from in the first place?” It was this question that started me thinking. In all my 40 years of atheist thinking could I come up with just ONE logical answer. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks…FIRST CAUSE!!!

I was off and running then. I went right into evalution (still believe in micro but not macro), this time looking at it from a whole different direction. The entire concept of there being a Creator started to make perfect and logical sense to me.

That very night I went from a solid atheist belief to believing in God. Where to find Him (which church I should attend as this seemed to be the most logical thing to do) took much longer…it took three days

This is an Extreme Readers Digest version of my conversion and journey home to the Catholic Church…I call it my “St. Paul type conversion”

LOL @ “Extreme Readers Digest version”.
I absolutely LOVE your moment, and I’m going to use it, too (former atheist here). Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[CleverUserName]

For me there was no one “Moment”, there were lots of little moments that added up over the years.

One was, that I love the Incarnation, and I realized that I had been missing the Mother of God, who was usually only brought up in sermons around Christmas, or more rarely Mother’s Day.

Also, I had been looking for The Church for years, and after trying to be a “lone ranger” Christian for a while I decided I needed to choose a church; and after realizing that I only “sort of” agreed with the denominations that I read about, I came to Catholic Answers, and I realized that the Catholic Church was not like other systems**; I could not selectively choose which doctrines I agreed with. This Church believed that it was correct,** not simply “the closest thing in our opinion.” I had been looking for an authoritative Church, and Catholicism presented itself as such, which made me more apt to consider whether or not it was true.

Very well put. It is a comfort to me as well, this authority.

I think for many of us there are numerous "moments’. I appreciate you sharing one of yours.

 

[Kenny_Kamel]

I had a person come into my life and alter the course of it forever. Due to their inspiration I decided to attend Mass for the first time in my life and from then on I knew that the Catholic Church was something that I wanted… no… NEEDED to be a part of so I could amend my life. Two weeks later I talked with a Priest about coming into the Church and was brought in during the following Easter Vigil. That was an incredibly special time in my life that I’ll never forget and continue to reflect on regularly.

 

[Della]

For me too it wasn’t just one moment, but lots of moments from the time I was a very little girl. I loved Catholic movies, especially ones about Mary–so enriching and insprational. And a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus appealed to me, but my Episcopalian parents wouldn’t let me buy it (they weren’t particularly anti-Catholic, but they didn’t want me going in that direction). And nuns in full habits, rosaries, and the lovely paintings and stained glass all drew me to them.

It wasn’t until I bought a rosary at an Assemblies of God jumble sale that I really began to take Catholicism seriously, though. Something about praying with it–didn’t know they prayers, I’d just hold it and worship God–something about it calmed me and I could sense the Holy Spirit’s presence in a new and profound way.

Theologically it was John 6. When I was in the AoG I asked myself why we took everything Jesus said quite literally, but had to explain away “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life”. It pierced my heart as the truth.

Still, I was afraid because of a lot of negative things I’d been told about the Church, which all proved to be untrue, so it took me until I was around 36 before I started RCIA and came into the Church. But, I’ve been so happy all the years following that I’ve never regretted it–not for one single moment.

 

[GraceSofia]

Theologically it was John 6. When I was in the AoG I asked myself why we took everything Jesus said quite literally, but had to explain away “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life”. It pierced my heart as the truth.

That was a real “light bulb going on” moment for me, too. Then I acknowledged to myself that there were lots of little holes in Protestant theology that were niggling at the back of my mind. I remembered being part of the inner circle in a Protestant Bible study group, and nodding my head in agreement when the leader said we must all skip over that bit about “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life” because there was a Catholic coming. What were we so afraid of, I wondered.

I read the Catechism in great suspense, looking for any deal breakers , and was so thrilled to find that the Catholic Church had a theology that held together.

 

[Sandalwood]

I didn’t really have a “moment”. I always admired the ritual of Catholic churches and even grew up with one in the middle of a wheat field across the dead end street I grew up in (Kansas, and yes, the church was and still is in the middle of a wheat field )
I, however, went a few blocks away to a Baptist church and loved it, still do.

I moved to another state and there were no Baptist churches here! There are several Lutheran and Catholic churches though, and I didn’t want to just go to a Lutheran church so I went thru RCIA and joined