I'm a confused atheist

[Angel7]

I’m going to go to church Sunday. I found one pretty close by, so I’m going to go. I talked to my mom since I’ll need a ride (I can’t drive) and she said she wouldn’t mind going with me, so that works.
Next week is finals, then break. Over break I’ll take a bunch of books out and get reading, I’ve gotten plenty of great suggestions.

Great, invite your parents to come.
I had a similar reconversion story thing to tell.
I used to be ANTI-Christian, i used to encourage occult and paganish stuff (boy was I wrong)
St. Paul is a good person to learn from in Conversion cases.
Good luck!

 

[Erethorn]

Hello everyone. I saw the thread on the first page again and I thought I’d share my progress with you.

I have managed to complete the paper work (an application to be admited into the Church, and a baptism and confirmation certificate from the Orthodox Church). Upon presenting the papers and myself to the parish priest, he sugested I read the Cathechism Compendium and then have a first meeting with him.

I have done so and I went to the first meeting yesterday. It seems that, because the Church is in minority and doesn’t have a lot of applicants in my country, the kind of RCIA that I read about on this site (classes and such) can boil down to one-on-one meetings.

I was rather anxious, not knowing what to expect. I thought it would be a good thing to introduce myself and explain to the priest the circumstances of my conversion. So, I started talking and before I knew it, the priest interupts me, thanks me and makes an excuse about having to attend to some children’s cathechism classes.

So it turns out that, without realising it, I had been speaking, almost non-stop, for an hour and a half. Everything about how I’ve been an atheist, my biases agains religion, christianity and catholicism, my moral values, how and why I started believing, why I thought the RCC the true Church, what I thought of other churches and religions, religion and science, the Bible, hymns sung at Mass, my thoughts on the Trinity, Heaven, hell, history, my atempts at prayer, saints and what I think they are doing in Heaven, intercession, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton - you name it. I couldn’t stop, it was like a floodgate had been opened - and the priest didn’t stop me either.

He just kept listening and made notes of all the questions and problems I raised. We agreed to meet again next week, and go over, in detail, the points he noted during this meeting.

Apart from the formal admision process (I think I can consider myself in RCIA now, right ?) I kept going to Mass, praying, reading apologetics. At some point, over the course of a couple of days, my faith seemed to have vanished. It was a difficult period, but I got over it.

Ah, I almost forgot. My father, who is a craddle Greek Catholic (baptised in the Greek rite and confirmed in the Latin rite), is very excited about my conversion. He never stoped believing, but he was not a church-going type. However, a month ago he said he would come to Mass with me, and we attended Mass together the last three Sundays. And although he even was an altar boy (the things you get to know about your parents once you convert ) he kept asking me, afterwards, about stuff that had been happening during the Mass. It turns out he never attended a post Vatican II Mass

Until later,

God Bless

 

[Pi314]

Sounds great Erethorn! You’re really moving along with this! And it sounds like you had a wonderful meeting with the priest. You got to talk to him about everything.

I’m still more or less in the same place. I’m moving in a few months, so I’m waiting to start RCIA until I move. That way I can be in one place for the whole thing. In the meantime I’m still going to church (sometimes twice a week) and reading. Not reading as much because classes started and I’ve been having a lot of problems at school.
I’m not nearly as confused now though, which is great

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I read what you said last night but didn’t respond to it then. Thanks very much for the update, Erethorn! I’m so thrilled for how God is leading you into the depths of His Bosom!

Prayerfully stand firm to the end, in spite of any trial. :knight1:

God bless you; He is richly blessing you .

 

[Student09]

I’m very happy for both of you! Erethorn, you are so fortunate to have found a priest who has time to sit down and talk with you one on one like that! Very, very fortunate. God provides, doesn’t he? That’s great about your father, too.

 

[Erethorn]

Thank you !

Apart from the relationship with God, this journey has helped me to find new and surprising things about my own family. I went digging through my families old documents and it turns out that:

1. My grand-grand-grand father was an Eastern Catholic priest, somewhere in a small village about 60 miles from where I live. I intend to visit the place this spring, together with my father, and find out more.
2. My grand-grand mother was the niece of an Eastern Catholic bishop.
3. My grandmother, whose parents emigrated to America in at the beginning of the century, attended St. Joseph’s Hill Academy, a Catholic school in Staten Island, N.Y., operated by the daughters of Divine Charity.
   I was blown away at this. I knew she grew up in the U.S., and then returned to the home country during the great depression, but I had no idea she was educated at a catholic school. I found some letters she exchanged with her former teachers after returning to Romania. I also found a small medallion, with the images of St. Anthony of Padova and St. Francis - the medallion probably belonged to her, since the names are written in English and it was placed with her belongings.
   I’m at a loss at what to do with the medallion, and I have placed it, for the time being, with my rosary.

The more I think about this all, the more it feels like “returning home”. God is great.

 

[Desert_Catholic]

There is no Hippocracy in discovering the truth. The Hippocracy is in denying it.

Pray!

 

[Monica4316]

Hello everyone. I saw the thread on the first page again and I thought I’d share my progress with you.

I have managed to complete the paper work (an application to be admited into the Church, and a baptism and confirmation certificate from the Orthodox Church). Upon presenting the papers and myself to the parish priest, he sugested I read the Cathechism Compendium and then have a first meeting with him.

I have done so and I went to the first meeting yesterday. It seems that, because the Church is in minority and doesn’t have a lot of applicants in my country, the kind of RCIA that I read about on this site (classes and such) can boil down to one-on-one meetings.

I was rather anxious, not knowing what to expect. I thought it would be a good thing to introduce myself and explain to the priest the circumstances of my conversion. So, I started talking and before I knew it, the priest interupts me, thanks me and makes an excuse about having to attend to some children’s cathechism classes.

So it turns out that, without realising it, I had been speaking, almost non-stop, for an hour and a half. Everything about how I’ve been an atheist, my biases agains religion, christianity and catholicism, my moral values, how and why I started believing, why I thought the RCC the true Church, what I thought of other churches and religions, religion and science, the Bible, hymns sung at Mass, my thoughts on the Trinity, Heaven, hell, history, my atempts at prayer, saints and what I think they are doing in Heaven, intercession, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton - you name it. I couldn’t stop, it was like a floodgate had been opened - and the priest didn’t stop me either.

He just kept listening and made notes of all the questions and problems I raised. We agreed to meet again next week, and go over, in detail, the points he noted during this meeting.

Apart from the formal admision process (I think I can consider myself in RCIA now, right ?) I kept going to Mass, praying, reading apologetics. At some point, over the course of a couple of days, my faith seemed to have vanished. It was a difficult period, but I got over it.

Ah, I almost forgot. My father, who is a craddle Greek Catholic (baptised in the Greek rite and confirmed in the Latin rite), is very excited about my conversion. He never stoped believing, but he was not a church-going type. However, a month ago he said he would come to Mass with me, and we attended Mass together the last three Sundays. And although he even was an altar boy (the things you get to know about your parents once you convert ) he kept asking me, afterwards, about stuff that had been happening during the Mass. It turns out he never attended a post Vatican II Mass

Until later,

God Bless

wow! thanks for the update Erethorn!! haha your meeting with the priest sounds a lot like my first meeting… I talked for a while too yes you’re in RCIA now!! (I also met up with my priest one on one, cause I was baptized Orthodox, like you, and so didn’t need the “usual” RCIA process which is typically for converts from Protestantism or other religions). I hope everything goes well! Keep up updated… this is really exciting

Sounds great Erethorn! You’re really moving along with this! And it sounds like you had a wonderful meeting with the priest. You got to talk to him about everything.

I’m still more or less in the same place. I’m moving in a few months, so I’m waiting to start RCIA until I move. That way I can be in one place for the whole thing. In the meantime I’m still going to church (sometimes twice a week) and reading. Not reading as much because classes started and I’ve been having a lot of problems at school.
I’m not nearly as confused now though, which is great

that’s great to hear!!

Thank you !

Apart from the relationship with God, this journey has helped me to find new and surprising things about my own family. I went digging through my families old documents and it turns out that:

1. My grand-grand-grand father was an Eastern Catholic priest, somewhere in a small village about 60 miles from where I live. I intend to visit the place this spring, together with my father, and find out more.
2. My grand-grand mother was the niece of an Eastern Catholic bishop.
3. My grandmother, whose parents emigrated to America in at the beginning of the century, attended St. Joseph’s Hill Academy, a Catholic school in Staten Island, N.Y., operated by the daughters of Divine Charity.
   I was blown away at this. I knew she grew up in the U.S., and then returned to the home country during the great depression, but I had no idea she was educated at a catholic school. I found some letters she exchanged with her former teachers after returning to Romania. I also found a small medallion, with the images of St. Anthony of Padova and St. Francis - the medallion probably belonged to her, since the names are written in English and it was placed with her belongings.
   I’m at a loss at what to do with the medallion, and I have placed it, for the time being, with my rosary.

The more I think about this all, the more it feels like “returning home”. God is great.

wow!!