I distrust Christians

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Edward_H said:
Nicki,

I recommend that, in addition to RCIA, you do some other work in/for/with the Church.

Get into some ministries focused on sweating and outbound sincere charity. Food bank, hospital visits, home building, tax preparing for the disadvantaged, nursing home visits, prison ministries, etc, etc. etc.

Find the difficult to do ones…and then go work and give yourself generously. You’ll meet all kinds of people. All strugglers in their own way. And you’ll meet the Holy Spirit in those activities. You’ll make many friends. You’ll laugh a lot, you’ll work. It’ll be great.

You’ll meet a lot of good real people to love (vs imagined people to distrust) and your worries about trust will be washed away quickly by Holy sweat.

Just my opinion.
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Oh I want to! And I feel called to… but right now I just can’t. I work 12 hour days 6 days a week. ): The only charities in town operate during my work hours and have no place for someone like me (who is only available early EARLY morning or late LATE evening and don’t operate on Sundays). So until I’ve gotten into a place financially where I can cut back on work I just can’t get back into volunteer work (I used to volunteer at the local food bank).

The ministry I am most compelled to assist in is the one I know - feeding those who can’t feed themselves. I’ve found other ways to contribute for now. For example my store has ‘food bank bags’ that people can buy and I’ve overcome my own personal reserve to ‘push’ them, as you will. In the most polite and non-offensive way I can (I’m not sure I believe it but some coworkers have commented that I’ve managed to sell more bags then anyone in the store). But other then that I simply have no time to give.

Besides which, how can I minister when I don’t yet know what I believe? It’s that kind of wishy washy knowledge from others that led me astray and I would hate to be the same catalyst that made someone question Christianity.

I am in no place to share the faith. My knowledge is limited and I believe because God has allowed me to not through my own doing. I’m not one of those people who studied and researched and learned… I know nothing… or at least very little. Yes I have shared some of my faith with others in the last few weeks and by some miracle I was able to hold my end of the conversation but it’s not something I feel I should be seeking right now.
 
I understand the limits of time.

But you’re not off the hook yet…

Then keep a mental, sometimes paper, list of people you run across during each day that are less fortunate than you and say the Rosary for their intentions on your way to work. No extra time needed. Just more time that’s sanctified. Just a thought.

The parents of mentally retarded children, children undergoing chemo. The one legged man asking for money at the stop light, all unemployed, the grossly disfigured Marine who is returning to the world after being burned in an IED blast, the list is endless.

Praying for those folks is itself an important part of our Catholic faith; they’re irreplaceable acts of Love.

Generous acts of charity (if done freely, cheerfully for God) aways flush away things like distrust, envy, pride.

Acts of distrust are many times caused by living in yourself. We think too much about ourselves sometimes. A priest once told me…don’t pray for yourself…pray for others.

Just some more suggestions.
 
Edward_H said:
I understand the limits of time.

But you’re not off the hook yet…

Then keep a mental, sometimes paper, list of people you run across during each day that are less fortunate than you and say the Rosary for their intentions on your way to work. No extra time needed. Just more time that’s sanctified. Just a thought.

The parents of mentally retarded children, children undergoing chemo. The one legged man asking for money at the stop light, all unemployed, the grossly disfigured Marine who is returning to the world after being burned in an IED blast, the list is endless.

Praying for those folks is itself an important part of our Catholic faith; they’re irreplaceable acts of Love.

Generous acts of charity (if done freely, cheerfully for God) aways flush away things like distrust, envy, pride.

Acts of distrust are many times caused by living in yourself. We think too much about ourselves sometimes. A priest once told me…don’t pray for yourself…pray for others.

Just some more suggestions.
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I will take this challenge. 🙂 Those in need break my heart anyway so it will be easy enough to pray for them. Thank you. Look at that! Help with my mistrust and wanting to serve too! You guys are super helpful x100.
 
nickybr38 said:
I will take this challenge. 🙂 Those in need break my heart anyway so it will be easy enough to pray for them. Thank you. Look at that! Help with my mistrust and wanting to serve too! You guys are super helpful x100.
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Isn’t it great? I owe a lot to the people on this forum. 🙂

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Isn’t it great? I owe a lot to the people on this forum. 🙂

Alan
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About two-three years ago my brother-in-law gave me the link to this place and I never had any interest in it but for some WEIRD reason after all this time I remembered the link (and I do mean remembered, I didn’t write it down anywhere) and here I am. 🙂 I owe him big time.

There are some places and some topics that rile me up but the majority of the time I’ve found real peace here. I appreciate that. 🙂
 
nickybr38 said:
There are some places and some topics that rile me up but the majority of the time I’ve found real peace here. I appreciate that. 🙂
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Even the things the rile me up are good for me, I finally realized. It tests me as to how to respond to adverse stimuli in a positive, Christian way. Also there are usually others around who seem to see what is going on and intervene when it gets unfair – others who know way more than me about Church teachings and can usually put things into perspective for all to benefit. It isn’t that people are trying to hurt each other, just that their upbringing gives them seemingly incompatible views that have to be hashed out. 🙂

Alan
 
nickybr38 said:
I have Catholicism for Dummies! My roommate has taken off with it though. 🙂 Since my decision to convert my roommate has decided to convert as well. She has said quite clearly that she wouldn’t have considered the Church if she didn’t have me to go with her. :\ Quite the surprising thing to hear but as she didn’t tell me until AFTER I think it’s all right.

THANK YOU! I was writing in a hurry so didn’t have time for a spell check. 🙂

Loving isn’t my issue. I’m quite good at loving… but you don’t have to like someone to love them or being loving towards them (help them when they’re in need, etc. etc.). I suppose that’s where I’m getting confused.

Even if I learn to love, can I ever really trust other Christians?

BUT you’re right. Anything they teach in RCIA will be founded in the truth the Church teaches so I’ll focus on that. 🙂 I’m so used to the churches I was raised in where EVERYTHING was personal opinion which distorted … well, everything. 🙂

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut ladies!
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Trust also, like Love, is an act of the will. It means to go about responding to someone as if they were completely right and true. This does not require emotion. Don’t worry, pray. You are God’s beloved daughter, Trust comes from Him and if you ask of it He will give you this precious gift.
 
nickybr38 said:
Oh! And for new converts… was it difficult to ‘unlearn’ what you had been taught? I find myself, to a certain extent, still falling back on things I learned in my youth but many of these things are not doctrinely or even scripturally sound. I kind of wish I had a mind eraser so I could just scrub all my old ‘thoughts’ out and start completely fresh! Hah.
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Hi Nicky,
Well I have been in RCIA for almost two years…just can’t seem to be in a place with a Bishop. I was raised as Lutheran Church Missouri Synod LCMS and I found some things tough, but through reading, mostly on my own before RCIA I overcame these teachings.

What is strange is for me I was reading Humanae Vitea, (Contraception) document as I was trying to understand the Catholic churches teaching on what I thought was a no-brainer…any way to make a long story short the Pope at the time Paul was spot on and predicted a lot of things. So the more I read the more I wanted to read more. That led to other Encyclicals and then the Catechism side by side with the Bible. Then I pulled out Luthers writtings and looked at them next to what my Church had become and I realized that Luther would likely be an Orthodox today…not an LCMS. He was oppossed to contraception in the strongest sense.

Anyway one thing I had to get used to is most Catholice don’t know the Bible or the CCC and have never read an Encyclical. Not trying to poke, but they just don’t so that leaves them open to the influences of Left leaning Priest, which I have found have really hurt some. I had an RCIA instructor try to tell me that their was no salvation outside the Catholic Church. I had to actually show her in the CCC and she was shocked…

Another thing is that a lot of people seem to dine and dash…come for the eucharist and leave.

Regardless don’t give up…you will find a niche and you will find that the more you read the more you will really appreciate the Teachings of the Church…truly wonderful…

Good luck 🙂
 
Lypher,

Great points. Hang in there. Great that you’re digging into the encyclicals. Set the example.
 
Edward_H said:
Lypher,

Great points. Hang in there. Great that you’re digging into the encyclicals. Set the example.
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Edward,

Thanks…They are wonderful…I am really lucky at present as my new Priest is a pretty conservative young man that is doing great things in the Parish…inspiring.

Cheers…🙂
 
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