I'm now officially a Byzantine Catholic!

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So after close to 10 years of being a candidate in the Church, and being petrified of the sacrament of reconciliation, I finally found the courage to be face my sins and was received into the Church on June 15th, 2008 at St. Basil the Great Byzantine Catholic parish in Los Gatos, CA. I took as my patron saints the Archangel Michael and St. Francis of Assisi. 🙂

I had put it off for so long, I knew I needed to be Catholic, but I was always scared of the confessional. But the Lord works in wondrous ways. Following the unexpected, yet VERY delightful news that we were expecting our first child, my wife told me that I couldn’t put it off any longer. If we were to raise our child Catholic, I needed to be officially received before the baby arrived. And like that, I finally found the courage to face my sins. 🙂

Words can’t describe the joy I feel now. I’m having a baby and I’m CATHOLIC! 😃

I’ll upload my pictures and update this thread soon.
 
Lurker said:
So after close to 10 years of being a candidate in the Church, and being petrified of the sacrament of reconciliation, I finally found the courage to be face my sins and was received into the Church on June 15th, 2008 at St. Basil the Great Byzantine Catholic parish in Los Gatos, CA. I took as my patron saints the Archangel Michael and St. Francis of Assisi. 🙂

I had put it off for so long, I knew I needed to be Catholic, but I was always scared of the confessional. But the Lord works in wondrous ways. Following the unexpected, yet VERY delightful news that we were expecting our first child, my wife told me that I couldn’t put it off any longer. If we were to raise our child Catholic, I needed to be officially received before the baby arrived. And like that, I finally found the courage to face my sins. 🙂

Words can’t describe the joy I feel now. I’m having a baby and I’m CATHOLIC! 😃

I’ll upload my pictures and update this thread soon.
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Congratulations and God bless you as you continue your journey with your new family!

Alaha minokhoun,
Andrew
 
Lurker said:
So after close to 10 years of being a candidate in the Church, and being petrified of the sacrament of reconciliation, I finally found the courage to be face my sins and was received into the Church on June 15th, 2008 at St. Basil the Great Byzantine Catholic parish in Los Gatos, CA. I took as my patron saints the Archangel Michael and St. Francis of Assisi. 🙂

I had put it off for so long, I knew I needed to be Catholic, but I was always scared of the confessional. But the Lord works in wondrous ways. Following the unexpected, yet VERY delightful news that we were expecting our first child, my wife told me that I couldn’t put it off any longer. If we were to raise our child Catholic, I needed to be officially received before the baby arrived. And like that, I finally found the courage to face my sins. 🙂

Words can’t describe the joy I feel now. I’m having a baby and I’m CATHOLIC! 😃

I’ll upload my pictures and update this thread soon.
Click to expand...
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Welcome home!
 
**Welcome home, Christy!!! **:highprayer: :extrahappy: :signofcross: :dancing: :tiphat: :extrahappy: :highprayer:

You know what’s funny?

Father Anthony was my catechist at Our Lady of Peace before he entered the Priesthood! He was a great friend and he was my mentor in the Catholic faith. I doubt I’d be a Catholic if it weren’t for him.

(I’m a member of the Tiber swim team, Class of '94)

(Psssst, he used to go by Richard, not Anthony! LOL) :whistle:
 
Praise be to God! He sure does work in mysterious ways 😉

Welcome Home and Congratulations!
 
Dear Lurker,

In the ‘mother tongue’ of our Church…

*“Mnohaja i blahaja l’ita!” *(“many and blessed years!”)
 
Welcome Home!

God grant to you, your wife, and your blessed little one on it’s journey much safety, hope, and many years of peace, health, and happiness.
 
Congratulations!!!..that’s what I want ot be…Byzantine.

Edited to add…I’m jealous that you got to see Pope Benedict live… I saw JPII in 1987… And I went to Lourds in the same year. It was awesome so I know you must be on top of the world now. Congratulations again.
 
Lurker said:
So after close to 10 years of being a candidate in the Church, and being petrified of the sacrament of reconciliation, I finally found the courage to be face my sins and was received into the Church on June 15th, 2008 at St. Basil the Great Byzantine Catholic parish in Los Gatos, CA. I took as my patron saints the Archangel Michael and St. Francis of Assisi. 🙂
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God grant you many years!

And say hello to Father Anthony from ASimpleSinner. He’ll know!

(Also, FWIW, Providence put you in the hands of a gentle and understanding confessor who can help you work through anything. He is a good man.)
 
Lurker said:
Thank you everyone for your well wishes. 🙂 I’m still so happy to be Catholic!

I’ve uploaded my pictures to my flickr account here: flickr.com/photos/datarefuge/

They’re the latest 100 or so pictures. 🙂
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Congratulations Lurker, and welcome home!

You look very happy, and I know how you feel!
I became a Catholic in '94 at Our Lady of Peace, and Father Anthony was my catechist! 😃
 
Welcome, and experience other Eastern Catholic churches as well if you get the chance.
 
What was the process like? Is it any similar to RCIA?

I have always had great interest in the Eastern Churches for many reasons, but have been a little nervous to attend a mass. All my contact with Catholicism has been through reading, prayer, and attending Roman rite masses. I think the language and cultural differences have made me nervous to attend (I am not from an ethnic group that has a corresponding Eastern Church and none of my family or friends are Catholic or Eastern Catholic and few believe in God 😊 🤷 ). Right now, I am attending a traditional Latin mass at a local parish in communion with Rome.

Does anyone have any advice in how to approach this? I’m afraid I will go to a mass and look silly–or worse, be disrespectful. I have read online quite a bit and tried to get a feel for what the mass is like via youtube, etc.

After years of personal discernment, reading, and prayer, I am ready to join the Catholic church. Reading this thread inspires me to perhaps pursue this process via the Eastern Churches. Thanks for any words of advice!
 
You are a very blessed man, Lurker. Congratulations and God bless!

Thanks for the pictures!
 
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