Help Finding Spirituality

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Hi,

This is an advanced forum, and i don’t know anything about anything, so don’t pick on me, i just want help.
I believe in God, i’ve always believed in God. But religion is more than a belief in God, i guess that is why there are so many different religions. But i believe in God, and that’s what matters right now. I think of my God as your God, i don’t know why, i’ve always kind of felt that way. But I don’t know anything about the religion, of being a catholic. Maybe you can help me find a place.

First, i want to ask, since i am not baptised, am i to be rejected?

Second, if i follow catholic rituals or ideals, but am not a baptised catholic, does that make me a pretender?

Third, if i wear a cross, and not a crucifix, does that make me lesser?

Lewis
 
NGC_1569 said:
Hi,

This is an advanced forum, and i don’t know anything about anything, so don’t pick on me, i just want help.
I believe in God, i’ve always believed in God. But religion is more than a belief in God, i guess that is why there are so many different religions. But i believe in God, and that’s what matters right now. I think of my God as your God, i don’t know why, i’ve always kind of felt that way. But I don’t know anything about the religion, of being a catholic. Maybe you can help me find a place.

First, i want to ask, since i am not baptised, am i to be rejected?

Second, if i follow catholic rituals or ideals, but am not a baptised catholic, does that make me a pretender?

Third, if i wear a cross, and not a crucifix, does that make me lesser?

Lewis
Click to expand...
Lewis, you would be most welcome to attend Mass (but you would be unable to receive Holy Communion until fully a member of the Church) and other religious and social activities at your local Catholic parish. Since you are not a Catholic, you would be eligible, if you are interested, to attend classes giving instruction in the Catholic Faith. In the U.S. we have such a program called Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.) and I’m sure you will find something similar in the U.K…

Regarding baptism, were you baptized in a Protestant community or were you never baptized? The Catholic Church recognizes all baptisms as sacramental that are done in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, i.e., a Trinitarian baptism. So if you were baptized elsewhere, you would not need to be baptized again in order to join the Catholic Church.

As for being a “pretender”, it seems that you have a heart leading you to Catholicism, and thus would not be doing anything that isn’t an authentic expression of your desire to be in conformity with the Church, even though you presently are not a Catholic. Wearing a plain cross or a crucifix is entirely up to each individual’s choice; some non-Catholic Christians, however, absolutely reject to the use of a crucifix, so the choice should be made not in terms of denial of Catholicism.

Have you begun reading any books by Catholic authors? If not, I know folks here would be happy to recommend some. 😉 God bless you in your search for His truth.
 
Just a quick point from someone in the UK, to elaborate on FCEGM’s post - we do happen to have RCIA here, so you could always contact your nearest Catholic parish if you wanted to at some point for more information; and believe me, no one here is going to pick on you at all. 🙂
 
Hi Lewis,

FCEGM’s advice seems perfect to me.

Your name, NGC 1569, reminded me of the galaxy also named NGC 1569 whose sparkling brilliance comes from millions of young, bright stars.

NGC 1569 pours out new stars at a rate 100 times faster than our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Three massive star clusters are at the center of NGC 1569.

Here is a more complete description of the NGC 1569 galaxy and several options for viewing pictures of this intriguing galaxy.

You know you are on the path to Truth. You might want to spend time under God’s stars or in a quiet park as one way to move out from under the hindering noise of the world — and in that stillness God will speak to your heart as you move forward. The Catholic Church is Christ’s own creation and the home of millions of new lights. God calls all in the light of his love.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. AMEN
 
if a person loves God and loves him more than anything/anyone, even if he is not baptized, God will save him (with his help, of course). The only problem is he needs his sin washed away and that is what Baptism is for. One cannot get into heaven without having sins washed away. Being purifed also happens in Purgatory.
 
Hi, thanks for all the replies!

FCEGM, no, i wasn’t baptised at all, although my sister was baptised, she was the first to be born, i am the fourth and last. She was baptised in a protestant community. Thanks, i found your comments very useful and complete, but no i havent read any books specificaly on this, besides i looked at childrens books on the internet a while back- nothing wrong with starting from the begining.

BenM, good to know that RCIA is in the UK too, i live in a rural area, and there are baptist and protestant chapels near me, even a few just in walking distance because this used to be a mining area (and that is how communities build up). However, i live not too far away from a built up city, and i know there is a catholic community there for sure.

Barzillai, you are right NGC 1569- that is why i chose it, because of the nebula formation, and i also do some work around that field (but not specifically astrophysics anymore) so i thought the name was a good idea.

Holyrosary11, i understand the difference you point out, so thanks, i don’t think i have many sins, i’m sure everybody has some little things though, if you have been sinned against, do you have to cleanse that in the same way? or is it just their sin?
 
NGC_1569 said:
Hi, thanks for all the replies!

FCEGM, no, i wasn’t baptised at all, although my sister was baptised, she was the first to be born, i am the fourth and last. She was baptised in a protestant community. Thanks, i found your comments very useful and complete, but no i havent read any books specificaly on this, besides i looked at childrens books on the internet a while back- nothing wrong with starting from the begining.
Click to expand...
Searching as a child, no matter what our age, is a good way to go. 🙂
 
It is not only with the cruder forms of life that we are linked, as human beings, we are moving together with other spiritual beings in a long continuous ascent and are not in ourselves a finality. Where animal life consummates humankind starts, and when humanity concludes divinity starts. When divinity is activated, our faith is detached from earth and elevated to the higher realms of life. This can be found in Christ’s words, “My kingdom is not of this world”, also in the phrase, “Keep your treasure where no man can take it.” Above and beyond our basic drives lies our inner psychic reality manifesting a living world that artist can only try to express in their creative endeavors. These spiritual experiences represent the mystical experience that is beyond the mind and body experience and merges all our hopes and dreams into one final climax. This can be seen in the increased heights of the roofs of the old churches. They defy the laws of gravity while the steeples seem to point to a tangential point that is between the abstract and the concrete worlds in which we live. You are being guided, just follow the inner voice. Good luck on your spiritual journey.
 
You said:
“if you have been sinned against, do you have to cleanse that in the same way? or is it just their sin?”

If somebody has sinned against you and hurt you, that’s not your sin.

You have to forgive them, of course, which can be very hard and a lot of work. (But that doesn’t mean pretending they didn’t hurt you, or that they were right. It means being merciful to them, even if you can only do that mentally because they’re not around anymore.)

To add to what holyrosary said: According to Catholic doctrine, Baptism and Confession aren’t the only things that wash away sin. If you are perfectly contrite for your sins before God, totally sorry for offending Him and not even caring about avoiding punishment, that also works. Trouble is, it’s very difficult to be perfectly contrite. 😦 And of course God can just decide to be merciful out of the blue, because God is good. But you kinda don’t want to presume on that.

But Baptism and Confession are the normal way to go.
 
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