How has your life changed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jenwha
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jenwha

Guest
How has your life or your personality or tendencies changed since knowing God and being Catholic? Just wanted to hear from others.

My personal ones: I “feel” the effects of sin much more strongly. I couldn’t care less before, but now if I do something wrong (mortal sin) my conscience condemns me and therefore I am working to eradicate sin in my life although I REALLY struggle with a couple.

I was always gentle and compassionate about certain things, but now it’s getting to being hyper compassionate and hypersensitive. I am starting to sincerely just DESPISE evil. It makes me cry. I want to hear about good things all the time. Case in point: I love animals very very much and always have but now I just get crazy about bad things done to them or knowing they suffer. I heard on the radio this morning about sea lions dying of malnutrition and how people were trying to help them. They played one of the sea lions barking and I started to tear up and prayed to God to help the poor beautiful sea lions. LOL.

I feel uneasy living in this world with what I know. I don’t feel that safe anymore in this world of sin and evil.

I’m getting less angry and judgmental.

I love going to Mass.

I pray every day. Not as much as I should, but every day.

I see sin much more clearly in the world.

How about yours?
 
Many people have told me that I have changed for the better and almost all of them have no idea of my conversion to Catholicism. I do. I had always had a certain amount of Protestant faith but it was weak. Since coming home I see things in life for truth and not confusion like they once were.
I still struggle upon occasion but am a much , much happier person and am accepting and understanding when things go wrong; I look for what good can come out of it.
Otherwise pretty much all the reasons you stated allready:thumbsup:
 
I have a lot less friends and I left my career as a Geologist.
 
triumphguy said:
Why?
Click to expand...
A lot of the work I did was based on the fact that the Earth is 4.5+ billion years old. While it works scientifically, I had/have trouble with the conflicting message the Bible presents. It’s clear that Adam was actually a man. I’m aware that Catholics can believe in Evolution, but there is some sort of conflict within me centering around faith and reason that has not cleared up yet.

The loss of friends happened gradually; it’s difficult to maintain friendships with people who have conflicting worldviews.
 
Warandpeace said:
A lot of the work I did was based on the fact that the Earth is 4.5+ billion years old. While it works scientifically, I had/have trouble with the conflicting message the Bible presents. It’s clear that Adam was actually a man. I’m aware that Catholics can believe in Evolution, but there is some sort of conflict within me centering around faith and reason that has not cleared up yet.

The loss of friends happened gradually; it’s difficult to maintain friendships with people who have conflicting worldviews.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that becoming Catholic precipitated your quitting? Did you know at the time you quit that Catholics may believe in evolution?

FYI here is an excerpt from Humani Generis, by Pope Pius XII
36. For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith.[11] Some however, rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question.

Did you also know that the Church says Genesis was written in figurative language? In their conservative Catholic high school, my children were taught that Genesis and Revelation are to be interpreted figuratively.

I’ve heard some say it is permissible to think of Genesis as being literal, but I don’t have any evidence for that.

Alan
 
Warandpeace said:
A lot of the work I did was based on the fact that the Earth is 4.5+ billion years old. While it works scientifically, I had/have trouble with the conflicting message the Bible presents. It’s clear that Adam was actually a man. I’m aware that Catholics can believe in Evolution, but there is some sort of conflict within me centering around faith and reason that has not cleared up yet.

The loss of friends happened gradually; it’s difficult to maintain friendships with people who have conflicting worldviews.
Click to expand...
3 things:
  1. IMHO, it’s actually more restricting to say that God could only create everything directly. For all we know, he could have used evolution to do everything
  2. “Let there be light” Big Bang
    Separate the sky and the sea. Formation of Earth (and stars, and other planets…)
    Vegetation. 'Nuff said
    Lights. The only day in Genesis 1 that doesn’t directly agree with science
    Fish and birds. Life started in the ocean
    Land animals. 'Nuff said
  3. I personally don’t find it that difficult to maintain friendships like that. 🤷 It only gets difficult for me when one of your “friends” from high school turns into a local version of Richard Dawkins
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Are you saying that becoming Catholic precipitated your quitting? Did you know at the time you quit that Catholics may believe in evolution?

FYI here is an excerpt from Humani Generis, by Pope Pius XII
36. For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith.[11] Some however, rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question.

Did you also know that the Church says Genesis was written in figurative language? In their conservative Catholic high school, my children were taught that Genesis and Revelation are to be interpreted figuratively.

I’ve heard some say it is permissible to think of Genesis as being literal, but I don’t have any evidence for that.

Alan
Click to expand...
Yes, I went to Catholic high school as well.
 
Razanir said:
3 things:
  1. IMHO, it’s actually more restricting to say that God could only create everything directly. For all we know, he could have used evolution to do everything
  2. “Let there be light” Big Bang
    Separate the sky and the sea. Formation of Earth (and stars, and other planets…)
    Vegetation. 'Nuff said
    Lights. The only day in Genesis 1 that doesn’t directly agree with science
    Fish and birds. Life started in the ocean
    Land animals. 'Nuff said
  3. I personally don’t find it that difficult to maintain friendships like that. 🤷 It only gets difficult for me when one of your “friends” from high school turns into a local version of Richard Dawkins
Click to expand...
I meant worldview in terms of things like contraception, lifestyle, etc.
 
Very similar to yourself. More peace, love. Sometimes a great deal of peace esp after mass. More sensitive to my sins. Strive to pray constantly. Pray at least 1 rosary a day. Go to daily mass. Having faith can be difficult, esp with all the temptations our world has today, but as Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Mat 11:30.
I feel a deep desire to help evangelize in this culture of death we live in. Not to say I walk around with a megaphone all day, but I put some Jesus bumper stickers on my car, and hope the Holy Spirit works thru them. And I say God Bless to people I run into usually like at the YMCA, Gas Station etc. Also i’ve been trying to instruct my sisters and extended family on abortion. I’ve been showing this movie to them: www.180movie.com .
I teared up today hearing about the Texas Campus stabbing. Relation to you tearing up about the seals. I def am more compassionate than I was…
I am discerning Gods will for me. I am pretty sure He wants me to be a priest.
I realize I have a long road ahead of me and I pray for help because I can’t do anything without the Lord.
 
Warandpeace said:
Yes, I went to Catholic high school as well.
Click to expand...
Then I guess I don’t see the connection between becoming Catholic and quitting your job, other than you chose to do one after the other. I don’t really need to know; I just wondered if you thought you had to quit as an issue of morality.

Alan
 
Warandpeace said:
A lot of the work I did was based on the fact that the Earth is 4.5+ billion years old. While it works scientifically, I had/have trouble with the conflicting message the Bible presents. It’s clear that Adam was actually a man. I’m aware that Catholics can believe in Evolution, but there is some sort of conflict within me centering around faith and reason that has not cleared up yet.

The loss of friends happened gradually; it’s difficult to maintain friendships with people who have conflicting worldviews.
Click to expand...
The job situation though is choice - the first geologist was a priest!
We are not required to believe in a young earth.
We can believe in Evolution.

Christ came to take away our sins not our brains! Truth will not negate truth. If the world is 4.5billion years old then it will not negate the Truth of the Bible.
 
jenwha said:
I “feel” the effects of sin much more strongly. I couldn’t care less before, but now if I do something wrong (mortal sin) my conscience condemns me and therefore I am working to eradicate sin in my life although I REALLY struggle with a couple.

I feel uneasy living in this world with what I know. I don’t feel that safe anymore in this world of sin and evil.

I’m getting less angry and judgmental.

I love going to Mass.

I pray every day. Not as much as I should, but every day.

I see sin much more clearly in the world.

How about yours?
Click to expand...
My “changes” after embracing my Catholicism are much like yours: I became aware of sin and its evils, although I do struggle (as do we all) with temptation at times and hope to soon have my First Confession to rid myself of this evil so that I may be worthy to receive Our Lord in my First Communion (I was a cradle Catholic that never went to CCD; I was baptized, but not very educated in my faith other than my mother and father telling me a few things after I asked them).

Before I embraced my faith, I was a “diehard liberal” (my words describing myself verbatim) who was pro-choice. I did, however, feel quite disturbed (this was around two years ago now), when I saw a fundraiser for a woman to have an abortion (her story was that she did not have any birth control and the man did not have any contraceptives, and she was too poor to afford either the morning-after pill or an abortion, which she had chosen as it was her “only option”), but I maintained my pro-choice outlook. After I began to educate myself in my faith (around July 2012), I learned of the harm of abortion. I know the facts of it, I do not tell falsifications (why tell falsifications when abortion is already itself the false way?), and I am still pro-life. I recall watching an episode of Mother Angelica Live! Classics, in which she says (I am paraphrasing this, as I do not remember the episode’s title to look up the exact quote):
Abortion is saying ‘no’ to God. When God says ‘yes, this will be’, abortion says ‘no, this will not be.’ — Mother Angelica
Click to expand...
Her argument was that you are, essentially, saying you have more power in this decision than God when you choose abortion. I agreed with her greatly, and I believe that quote helped me to embrace my new (pro-life) outlook.

On a more positive note, I, too, love going to Mass (I was unable, as I was ill, to attend last Sunday’s Divine Mercy Mass, it greatly saddened me :() and praying (like you, I know that I am not praying as much as I should, or could, but I do say aspirations throughout the day). This Lenten season was dedicated to imitating Our Immaculate Lady in her way of life: purity, humility, and faith in God. I pray that she (as well as St. Bernadette, my “co”-patron saint) continue to help me become a kinder, holier person.

So far, I believe the changes that have occurred to me after embracing my Catholicism have been good and I thank God for giving them to me. 🙂
 
I’m compelled to love-and it ain’t easy in this world! But I can’t escape the knowledge that love is foundational to this universe- the very nature of it’s Creator-and, while that can only be a good thing, it can still be a hard line to follow. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
 
I used to never feel complete, I knew what was missing in my life but I always had a million excuses that kept me away from the church. Then one day my sister called to say she had cancer and my life changed on a dime. I prayed so hard for her and I found myself picking up the Bible and reading daily.

I returned to church and my newfound faith helped me get through. She was a devout and lovely person and a wonderful role model.

Now I’m dealing with my own health issues, but with God’s grace. I have been just overwhelmed with His love, something I had heard others speak of but never understood before.

I’ve had such inner peace for myself and have started the road to learning to love others as Jesus instructed. Mass is a pleasure I look forward too and now gives me the boost to start another week with joy, instead of “Tomorrow’s Monday, another long week of work and errands.”

My marriage is a happy one, but now it’s a joyous one because I see my husband in a whole new light. It’s as if my eyes have just been opened and I see how wonderful he is as a person and how perfect he is for me, a gift from God.

My children have always been my life, but now I can offer them so much more. Not the least of which is a role model.

I’ve always been a people person, I love talking to anyone and everyone, now my emphasis is on letting my faith bleed into my conversations. I feel strongly about leading through example as that’s what got me started on this path, through my sister’s quiet faith and loving acceptance of everyone.

Theresa
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top