Gave up catholicism for awhile...feel the tug again

[katpants]

After the “too much mary” thread I removed all my Mary statues and things. I went back to Quakerism but it feels lacking. I just have so many questions…feelings. I read saint gemma galgani’s diary and she seemed disturbed to me. It bothered me quite a bit. That didn’t help either.

How do I know that it is God leading me back or is it just myself who wants to be Catholic? Quakerism doesnt take a stand on things and it feels Catholicism takes too strong a stand.

Just so mixed up right now…

Kat

 

[Sarcelle]

After the “too much mary” thread I removed all my Mary statues and things. I went back to Quakerism but it feels lacking. I just have so many questions…feelings. I read saint gemma galgani’s diary and she seemed disturbed to me. It bothered me quite a bit. That didn’t help either.

How do I know that it is God leading me back or is it just myself who wants to be Catholic? Quakerism doesnt take a stand on things and it feels Catholicism takes too strong a stand.

Just so mixed up right now…

Kat

Some of the saints can be an acquired taste. You may want to start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is the official teaching of the Church. While saints are saints for a reason, their writing should not take the place of the CCC. Read the CCC and I assure you, the CCC is the very epitome of reason.

 

[lax16]

After the “too much mary” thread I removed all my Mary statues and things. I went back to Quakerism but it feels lacking. I just have so many questions…feelings. I read saint gemma galgani’s diary and she seemed disturbed to me. It bothered me quite a bit. That didn’t help either.

How do I know that it is God leading me back or is it just myself who wants to be Catholic? Quakerism doesnt take a stand on things and it feels Catholicism takes too strong a stand.

Just so mixed up right now…

Kat

Hi Kat - I would focus more on Early Church History and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Save the stories of the saints for later, except perhaps St. Francis of Assisi.

And prayer for God’s will of course!

 

[midori]

Saints come in many flavors. The intellectualism of some will be inspiring to some, and will give others a headache as they try to follow their thoughts. Mystics tend to be especially an acquired taste, because they can be so intensely personal-- you get to see inside their relationship with God, their perception of themselves, their perception of themselves vs God… One person might be inspired; another person might not be able to get past the fact someone’s so obsessed with calling themselves “wormlet.”

Just like you read a letter from your grandma differently than a news article, and a diary entry differently than a textbook, and poetry differently from a mystery novel-- you need to adjust the way you read and process a mystic’s diary versus, say, the Catechism or the early Church Fathers or a biography.

So-- I think it would be a bad idea to totally stop reading, but you might be a little more specific in your next reading project. If you have ten questions, you might look up those issues in the Catechism and read the answers. You don’t have to read the whole catechism— you can just focus on the parts that you’re working through in your head. Likewise, you might try to find a saint who appeals to you for one reason or another, and read up on the path their life took them along.

 

[katpants]

Thanks everyone! I guess I just feel should I go again to study…should I not…just all sorts questions like that. Taking my time as usual and very happy I didn’t feel this way in the middle of RCIA!

Kat

 

[Della]

Thanks everyone! I guess I just feel should I go again to study…should I not…just all sorts questions like that. Taking my time as usual and very happy I didn’t feel this way in the middle of RCIA!

Kat

Quakerism appeals due to its simplicity and meditative spirituality, yes? Well, you can have that in Catholicism, as well as the Eucharist and the fullness of what God has provided for us. The Church is rich in a variety of spiritualities. It sounds to me you’d be a very good fit for contemplative spirituality found in the Carmelites.

I’m afraid you may be overly scrupulous about certain things, such as statues, and simply don’t understand why Catholics use them (note I didn’t say adore/worship them). You need to read the Catechism about such things–such as the Communion of Saints. Unfortunately, RCIA cannot cover everything. So, we need to learn as we go along, knowing that we have put our trust in Christ by putting our trust in the Church he established for our good.

As to the Church taking too strong a stand, which issues do you think she is doing that with and why? You need not answer us. Those are the things you need to work through for yourself, but we would be willing to help you with them. The modern world thinks all values are the same and everyone’s ideas equal, but that’s not the case. Some things are true and some aren’t. Some things can be changed and some things can’t be–for good reason. Some things are best for us and others just aren’t. God knows the difference and wants us to know it too.

It’d help you a great deal to learn why the Church teaches some things cannot be changed. The Church cannot change her teachings because they are not “her” teachings, they are Christ’s teachings which the Church is obligated to present to the world. She can only remain faithful and spread Christ’s teachings to us, minister to us, and administer Christ’s sacraments. The rest is up to us.

 

[katpants]

Quakerism appeals due to its simplicity and meditative spirituality, yes? Well, you can have that in Catholicism, as well as the Eucharist and the fullness of what God has provided for us. The Church is rich in a variety of spiritualities. It sounds to me you’d be a very good fit for contemplative spirituality found in the Carmelites.

I’m afraid you may be overly scrupulous about certain things, such as statues, and simply don’t understand why Catholics use them (note I didn’t say adore/worship them). You need to read the Catechism about such things–such as the Communion of Saints. Unfortunately, RCIA cannot cover everything. So, we need to learn as we go along, knowing that we have put our trust in Christ by putting our trust in the Church he established for our good.

As to the Church taking too strong a stand, which issues do you think she is doing that with and why? You need not answer us. Those are the things you need to work through for yourself, but we would be willing to help you with them. The modern world thinks all values are the same and everyone’s ideas equal, but that’s not the case. Some things are true and some aren’t. Some things can be changed and some things can’t be–for good reason. Some things are best for us and others just aren’t. God knows the difference and wants us to know it too.

It’d help you a great deal to learn why the Church teaches some things cannot be changed. The Church cannot change her teachings because they are not “her” teachings, they are Christ’s teachings which the Church is obligated to present to the world. She can only remain faithful and spread Christ’s teachings to us, minister to us, and administer Christ’s sacraments. The rest is up to us.

Thanks!

 

[Della]

Thanks!

You’re welcome. :tiphat:

 

[fred_conty]

After the “too much mary” thread I removed all my Mary statues and things. I went back to Quakerism but it feels lacking. I just have so many questions…feelings. I read saint gemma galgani’s diary and she seemed disturbed to me. It bothered me quite a bit. That didn’t help either.

How do I know that it is God leading me back or is it just myself who wants to be Catholic? Quakerism doesnt take a stand on things and it feels Catholicism takes too strong a stand.

Just so mixed up right now…

Kat

Maybe you might be in the middle of an emotional crisis and not a faith crisis. By that I mean, when you went thru RCIA you felt good and God rewarded you with having good feelings about it as well. But many who go thru RCIA later have an emotional dryness whereby God seems to have vanished. And so the doubt is whether RCIA was really that effective and needed

It is important not to confuse feelings with faith. I dosen’t mean that because we no longer have this great emotional feeling about our faith that we no longer have faith. It just means we are going thru this type of emotional crisis and the honeymoon has been suspended for now. And many people go thru this which is shown by the many posts on CAF.

So don’t be discouraged. Be faithful to your prayers and life. It will eventually pass. It just means you have to do the work instead of God doing the work. Someone once said “seek the God of consolations, and not the consolations of God.”

Ask Jesus to help you to be faithful to him and pray for the things that he wishes for you. Ask him to help you see the point he is making.

Here is a prayer that Mother Teresa once taught her novices to say frequently. “Jesus in my heart, I believe in your tender love for me, I love you.”

One question I had to answer for myself is why am I catholic? And I looked at it this way. If Jesus Christ were to appear in any christian church, where would everyone be that afternoon he made his appearance? And because he makes his appearance in the Catholic church each time the Mass is said, then that is where you will find me.

May the Lord smile on you and be kind to you.

 

[Crusaderbear]

God leading you back or just yourself wanting to be catholic? when you are at that point, I don’t think that there is a difference! God is in you and working thru you.

 

[tomspitzley3]

From my own testimony, we were pretty similar. I grew up Catholic, used to love it, even got asked to join a Catholic school in the 1st grade because I loved it that much! Life started getting rough though, my grandmother got a brain anyeurism and was on her deathbed, which in itself is a miracle because she recovered and is still alive, I was told I couldn’t play the sport I loved, and the girl I liked rejected me. Finally I stopped believing in God all together. That December I tried to kill myself, but quit before I could, thanks be to God, I swear it was divine intervention, I felt peace and love right before I tried to O.D. This began a spiritual reawakening in me, I studied many different religions, until I realized that Christianity is unique, being that we are the only ones to accept Christ as God. I studied scripture, what early Christians believed (i dabbled in protestantism) and found that the early Christians follow pretty much exactly what the Catholic Church teaches, and that’s what sold me. Catholicism is the only Christian denomination that can make such a claim, and is unique to its claim. My best advice, study everything, then you will have your answer.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Praying for all on their faith journeys.

 

[katpants]

Thanks everyone! I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and it felt right. I am kind of focused on a new saint I found, Juliana Falconiere since she’s the patron saint of the chronically ill.

I need just to slow down and all.

Kat

 

[sunnygirl807]

Don’t give up. I have left the church on several occasions; however, I am always drawn back to Catholicism. I know this is where I belong, but I do feel lonely sometimes–being the only Catholics in the family. Don’t get me wrong, I love being Catholic. However, it’s disheartening to hear the opinions and see some of the actions of my fellows brothers and sisters in Christ.

Have Faith and welcome home!

 

[katpants]

Don’t give up. I have left the church on several occasions; however, I am always drawn back to Catholicism. I know this is where I belong, but I do feel lonely sometimes–being the only Catholics in the family. Don’t get me wrong, I love being Catholic. However, it’s disheartening to hear the opinions and see some of the actions of my fellows brothers and sisters in Christ.

Have Faith and welcome home!

Thanks!

Kat

 

[AKDee]

You may want to start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is the official teaching of the Church. While saints are saints for a reason, their writing should not take the place of the CCC. Read the CCC and I assure you, the CCC is the very epitome of reason.

To the OP: When I went through RCIA they gave us a book by Peter Kreeft (a Catholic apologist) called, “Catholic Christianity” which does a fantastic job of summing up the CCC. We read the CCC and the book side by side and the book is very well done. The CCC is sort of like reading a manual, whereas “Catholic Christianity” makes it a bit more personal and explains some of the concepts in more laymans terms. I suggest that you read that book. I have it as a Barnes and Noble Nook book- if you have a Nook I can loan that book to you for 14 days at a time so you wouldn’t even have to buy it.

 

[7_Sorrows]

To the OP: When I went through RCIA they gave us a book by Peter Kreeft (a Catholic apologist) called, “Catholic Christianity” which does a fantastic job of summing up the CCC. We read the CCC and the book side by side and the book is very well done. The CCC is sort of like reading a manual, whereas “Catholic Christianity” makes it a bit more personal and explains some of the concepts in more laymans terms. I suggest that you read that book. I have it as a Barnes and Noble Nook book- if you have a Nook I can loan that book to you for 14 days at a time so you wouldn’t even have to buy it.

Thanks for the recommendation. That sounds like a book I would like to read also!

 

[Della]

Thanks for the recommendation. That sounds like a book I would like to read also!

Looks good to me, too! Going to buy it.

 

[katpants]

To the OP: When I went through RCIA they gave us a book by Peter Kreeft (a Catholic apologist) called, “Catholic Christianity” which does a fantastic job of summing up the CCC. We read the CCC and the book side by side and the book is very well done. The CCC is sort of like reading a manual, whereas “Catholic Christianity” makes it a bit more personal and explains some of the concepts in more laymans terms. I suggest that you read that book. I have it as a Barnes and Noble Nook book- if you have a Nook I can loan that book to you for 14 days at a time so you wouldn’t even have to buy it.

Thanks! I’ll look into getting a copy for my Kindle. I appreciate it!

Kat