I'm so sad

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Tinkerbell

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I’m so sad because my son will probably leave the Catholic Church because some protestants he works with have been filling his head with all the usaul anti catholic garbage the normally do. I can’t hardly believe he fell for this. I’m in total shock. Before all this came about he attended mass almost every Sunday with this family. His wife even became a Catholic.
Why don’t protestants just leave us alone and not cause all this turmoil in our families. As Catholic we are baptized christians, saved and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
I’m so hurt and angry because I want the VERY BEST for him, his wife and children.
I’ve tried talking to him but all he wants to do is argue so I decided to just pray about it. Not much else I can do.
I don’t hate protestants. A lot of my friends are protestants. I respect their religion and I assume they respect mine even though they have made some snide remarks before.
I know this is long but I just had to vent!!! :
 
I will add this to my prayer intentions tonight. You are doing the most powerful thing (prayer) that you can do. God bless you for that 👍
 
Tell him to come here. Ask him what makes sense–the Church of Christ disappeared immediately after it’s founding, only to reappear fifteen centuries later, or maybe a historical perspective needs to be applied to understand. Tell him anywhere but the Catholic Church will ultimately be empty–unless he’s looking for neat-o guitar riffs and a comparitively short intellectual tradition. Tell him the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is turning on a light, or being struck by lightning.
 
I think this is a good place to vent. Even if you don’t ask people will pray for this intention.

I have some thoughts. Has your son been struggling with any church teaching (usually moral) that you know of? Has he had a negative experience with someone at his parish or other church entity? Also, is he lacking good Catholic fellowship? Very likely these Protestants have been showering him with attention and people seem to like that sort of thing. He may feel more communion with them than with lukewarm Catholics that he associates with. You can’t create fellowship for him but you can give him attention and appeal to his desire for Truth.

(I recently went to a study on Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” at an Evangelical church and experienced more fellowship in those 3 sessions than I have in a year at my parish. It’s not a mystery why good Catholics gravitate to protestant churches. I mean, these people were sincere, kind, generous, warm…what more could I want? Oh, yeah. The Word along with the Word Made Flesh.)
 
Is there a good Men’s Fellowship group at your Parish?
I have attended such a group for just over 2 years and it has been Very rewarding.

If your parish is large and there are several Masses on Sunday, then I am sure he does not ‘feel’ the fellowship with a different number at any given time on any particular Sunday.

If it is about Church teaching, just get some tracts here at Catholic Answers.

go with God!
Edwin
 
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ann:
Why don’t protestants just leave us alone and not cause all this turmoil in our families. :
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Isn’t this what we do to them too? In fact we discuss the best ways to do it in these threads. We do it because we KNOW it to be Truth. They do it because they KNOW it to be Truth.

Ann, keep praying and (as of course you will) keep loving him and keep the dialogue open. Faith, for many people is an intellectual pursuit as well as a spiritual one. As time passes he will probably think long hard about his faith and he just may decide Truth belongs to Catholicism. If not, then (in my humble opinion) he is following Jesus with all his heart regardless. Pray for him and let God guide his course. Have you suggested he read Scott Hahns ummm “Home sweet Rome”? (or is it Rome Sweet Home…duh).

I feel for you, and will certainly pray for you and your son. Remember, he loves Jesus. I’ll also pray that your saddness is lifted.
 
continue to live and practice your faith, faithfully… lots of people in their search for God wander… you can take the boy out of the catholic church, but you can’t take the catholic church out of the boy… continue to pray… be not afraid… he will return with your prayers… 👍
 
Ann,
I am so sorry about your son. I can see why you’d be so worried and sad. I am not a Catholic (yet) but I read a very good book called My Life on the Rock by Jeff Cavins. In it he talks about how he was raised Catholic but then got “saved” left the church, and went on to be become a Protestant Pastor. Eventually he saw the theologial errors of his faith and he came back to the Catholic Chruch. It’s a great book… easy to read and actually funny in parts. I bought it at the Catholic Bookstore in my town and I think it’s also available on cassette tape. Also, maybe you could get your son Scott Hahn’s book Rome Sweet Rome. Your son should know what he’s leaving (the true church) before he makes a switch. Yes Protestant churches are fun, the people are so nice and friendly and they have tons of programs and activities. (My friend’s mega church has a basketball court and a food court/restaurant inside!) The worship services are upbeat and very entertaining and the message is believe in Jesus and you have nothing to worry about - (once saved, always saved) regardless of your sins. That’s difficult to compete with. But after awhile it all seems so shallow and self serving. When I go into a Catholic Church and see people on their knees in prayer I know they aren’t there to be entertained, they are they for the sole purpose of worshiping God and being obedent. There is a sense of holliness that I’ve never found in a Protestant church. I will pray for your son.
 
You can get a free tape or CD of “The Conversion of Scott Hahn” at The Mary Foundation. I also would recommend “The Mass Explained” and “Marriage and the Eucharist”

http://www.maryfoundation.com/

I am a recent convert to Catholicism. I think that many do not really understand the basis of the Catholic beliefs. I know that didn’t. I also find that many Catholics just accept things and do not know why. If they are approached with seemingly valid arguments and believable distortions of the Catholic faith, they are susceptible to being drawn away.

My advice is to tell your son that you are praying for him to find his way and that God’s will be done in his life. Also ask him if to listen to these tapes to learn more about the Catholic faith and then tell him to follow his heart and seek God’s guidance.

Tell him that you will love him no matter what and that he is welcome in your home no matter what he decides. Love him by example and pray that God’s will be done. That way if your son asks you if your are praying for him to remain Catholic, you can say no and just tell him that you are praying for God’s guidance in helping him make his decision.

If you trust that the Catholic Church is the true church then pray that simple prayer and trust in God. Maybe your son will end up leaving the church and then coming back at a later time as part of his path of faith.

Why didn’t I convert to Catholicism sooner? I don’t know the complete answer. God had some things he was trying to show me. Stubborn person that I was, it took time for it to sink in. The lessons kept coming and the questions did not have answers until I started to look into the Catholic faith.

So just let God work in your son’s life.

Steve
 
carol marie:
Ann,
I read a very good book called My Life on the Rock by Jeff Cavins. In it he talks about how he was raised Catholic but then got “saved” left the church, and went on to be become a Protestant Pastor. Eventually he saw the theologial errors of his faith and he came back to the Catholic Chruch.
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Jeff Cavins has a web site, books, and tapes. He is a very good speaker. I listened to him on Relevant Radio for a few months before he left to work on his Time Line Bible Study. I have not yet read his book, but he went on the path your son might be taking. I think it wouldn’t hurt to pass Jeff’s book along to your son, and then pray. I will pray for him too.
 
Ann, if he indeed does leave the Catholic church all you can do is pray for him and set a good example. I left the Catholic church for almost 4 years and my parents didn’t say anything negative, they just prayed for me and continued to set a awesome example and when oppurtunity would present itself for point things out about the Lutheran faith that were not sound my parents would very gently point that out. I was raised with a very strong Catholic faith and it was impossible for me to really be happy in the Lutheran faith and soon I found myself mentally arguing with the minister in my mind during service, my folks didn’t have to say a thing, my upbringing in the Catholic church was so strong that it all took care of itself, I went to my mother and said " I need something to show me where the Catholic church proves herself over other churches, how do we know she is the one true church?" and then my mom bought me the book “there we stood, here we stand” and I read it from page to page and cried my eyes out, it was so clear to me how wrong I was and how right the Catholic church was I could not stay away a minute longer and I went to see a priest right away. My parents never begged, pleaded , were negative, etc. they just prayed and prayed and prayed and let me discover for myself, as an adult I had to find out for myself and if they would have bugged me or been negative I would have taken even longer to come back because then your almost like a child again fighting your parents “you can’t make me mommy” no, they let it be and I came to them all on my own.
That is my story, I will be praying for you and your son. What my mom did is she took a picture of me and my family and put it up on her fridge and everytime she walked by that she stopped and prayed for me that my eyes would be opened, she did that for nearly four years and praise the Lord, with time and patience, it worked!! 🙂
 
I want to thank everyone for their encouraging words and prayers because we sure need them.
I have read several books that was suggested and enjoyed all of them. I also listened to Scott Hanns tape. I offered all these to my son but he did not take up my offer.
I’m still angry about all the lies protestants spread about our Catholic faith but I will pray that their eyes will be opened also.
Thanks for letting me vent.
May God Bless you and your familes.
 
Ann,

Your family and son are in my prayers. I can truly empathize with what you are going through as my husband recently decided to leave the Catholic faith (fell in love with a Protestant church his newly made friend attends). He is not open to discussing Church doctrine, and he does not want to raise our kids Catholic. Needless to say I am heartbroken. I have read the books recommended to you and hope and pray that someday my husband will be open to reading them. Prayer is our answer, and I will join your intentions with mine. Remain hopeful and trust God!
 
I know how it feels to lose someone from your religion. Its very painful… I may not share the same religion as you but whatever you do, don’t force it!

I might cause him to rebel even more. It happened to my dad… let him run his course through life. If they truly believe in it they will come back sooner or later. Just supporting helps them… if he stayed Catholic and didn’t believe in it, then what good is it? I’m sure he’ll come back with your support.

You never get people to stay or join in a church by saying what they’re doing is wrong. Make sure they’re loved, give them good impressions and may God be with you.
 
Ann,
I moved 2 years ago and felt ‘courious’ about a Pentecostal church and went to services for only a 3 week period. I got Bible teaching, but still felt a strong presence of being uncomfortable. Why?
1). I wondered what I was hearing real truth from God.
2). I was not ‘truly fed’. The Eucharist was calling me back. Jesus through the Holy Spirit was calling me back (Even though I thought the Holy Spirit was calling me to the Pentecostal church).

Maybe your son will turn out to be like the Prodigal Son: he will get a taste of what he thinks is good and satisfing but then realize what he had was better.

go with God!
Edwin
 
Ann–I see you are from Texas. There are a lot of evangelical Christian (Protestant) groups in the south, and especially in Texas who encourage their members to evangelize and particularly target Catholics because they don’t believe Catholics are Christian. I have come to realize that while we Catholics may respect Protestants and their religions, many Protestants (especially the fundamentalists) do not respect ours. I believe the first step is for Catholics to be aware of this.

I started to sense that many “Christians” in my non-denominational Bible study group did not view Catholics as Christian. My observations were confirmed by a book by Karl Keating who is also founder of Catholic Answers and of this web site. The book is “Catholicism and Fundamentalism”. It is worth reading and will help you know what you are up against.

I am very sorry for your despair and I will pray that your son returns to his Catholic faith. God bless you.
 
you mentioned that your daughter in law converted. Perhaps you can encourge her to learn the defense against these lies
 
My daughter-in-law is the sweetest person I know and love her just like a daughter and she is a great Mom to my grandkids but she pretty much just goes along with whatever my son says. She was raised Baptist but only attended church when she was very young. She attended CCD with my son in high school which I was so glad since he did not want to go.
My son is really a good guy too but I’m upset he is making a mistake. My daughter thinks I’m being silly about this and things could be a lot worse. She said he could wear all black and be a satan worshipper. What she says is true but I want the very best for my children.
Thanks for all the prayers they are really appreciated!!!
 
Ask him how long the Catholic Church has been around in comparison to the Protestant faith. Lets see 2000 years versus approx. 500 years…hmm. Then ask him to re-explore sola scriptura. I wrote a paper on it for an English class once that proves it wrong. I’d be more than happy to share if you’d like to read it!
 
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