My journey thus far..... many questions?

[dreamfleur]

I was raised Seventh-Day Adventist and come from generations and generations of SDAs. I attended only SDA schools from kindergarten through my bachelors degree (as most SDAs do). I have always struggled with understanding how to explain the SDA position on many doctrinal issues and have now at least 3 times in my life attempted to leave the faith altogether. Each time I asked questions to “officials” (also family members) I was met with answers that “technically” COULD make sense but didn’t make sense to me always ending with “we have the truth”. I have struggled with their “investigative judgement” doctrine, their prophetess (although at one time I became engrossed in reading her books to better understand) and the general hypocrisy that I find (although I know that hypocrisy is found in all religions). I was (of course) taught that the Catholic church was the enemy and always felt fear.

My first positive encounter with the Catholic church happened in my 20’s when living in Europe. I had strayed FAR from my faith and felt extremely disconnected from God. One day when walking in the rain feeling extremely lost and depressed I decided to step into a Cathedral to pray. MUCH to my amazement I wasn’t scared, I actually sat in there and was so taken by the presence of God. This was my first experience.

I later, when visiting Europe, visited many different Cathedrals and felt His presence there. I even lit prayer candles on some occasions.
Fast forward to today, I married a non-practicing Catholic (some SDA pastors refused to marry us because of this) and although he was heavily into meditation and new age style/ Buddhism I was determined to convert him to SDA. Well, he is now a Christian and instead of me converting him (he never felt comfortable with E.G. White and said the SDAs make the “Sabbath” their idol), I think it is me that is being converting.

My journey of curiosity began this Lent season. If something so wonderful as this is being practiced and celebrated elsewhere why am I not a part of it? Well I found this forum and read many, many, many posts. I have had a lot of questions answered. I am amazed at the conversion stories (even SDA pastors!!!). I was afraid at first and had many sleepless nights (still have some) but I am asking God to guide me. I have since gotten a copy of the Catechism which I find so beautiful that it has brought me to tears many times. I was afraid of mass at first so I watched some on youtube and saw that it is actually a beautiful service, nothing like what I had imagined. I attended my first mass yesterday (afraid of what I would feel) and I was moved to tears so many times. I saw so many devout people. Everyone joining hands and reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the Communion song… things so beautiful that all I can think is “How can this not be pleasing to God?”. I would imagine that heaven would be a lot like this.

Most everything I have read I find to clarify my questions instead of confusing me more. But, I am having trouble with Mary. I have told my husband this and he was raised with Mary so. he doesn’t understand. I have dug deep and looked into how she was the daughter of St.Anne and the story behind her preparation and being a virgin brought up for God’s special purpose. It makes sense to me, the immaculate conception and the verses in Revelation also make sense to point to her. Protestants make her out to be just a “vessel” but I can see that being the mother of God is not something to be taken lightly. I still am having questions though. I told my husband, “I don’t think I could ever pray to Mary”.
YESTERDAY while at my first mass I smelled a sweet fragrance in the church however I figured it was just the smell of the church. During the Eucharist I had to take my daughter to the restroom (which is where I saw SO MANY people standing in the back adoringly waiting to take the sacrament). I took my daughter to the restroom and decided to walk through the garden with her until mass was over. We saw many statues of Mary there. But suddenly I started to smell roses, there were no roses anywhere. I tried to ignore it (because I read what it means) but I continued to smell them even in the car driving back home. I told my husband and he said that smell was associated with Mary.

My questions are many. But I feel I have come such a long way in these past couple of weeks. I still feel fear. I know God is a God of peace and love, not fear. I want to know HIS will and where I belong. I am wondering if this is normal? Please pray for me.

 

[robwar]

wow, you have quite a journey. It is hard to come from something like SDA which is pretty anti-Catholic to the Catholic Church. I would contact Coming Home network by Marcus Grodi which might set up you with someone who has come from SDA background. Likewise contact your local Catholic Church or even diocese to gain support. God Bless you on your path to truth.

 

[Dorothy]

Wow…all I can say is that the Holy Spirit is knocking on your heart and attracting you to the fullness of the Catholic Church.

The presence that you feel there comes from the reserved Blessed Sacrament in every Catholic Church, our sacred food which is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Blessed Mother Mary is very special, because He made her so. And she is a woman of great faith!

 

[Southern]

I will Pray for you. You ask for prayers. That is what you do when you pray to Mary. When we pray to Mary we are not Praying to her as though she is God. She is his spouse though. God the Holy Spirit. Read the wedding at Cana. She was the one to get her son to perform the miricale. Jesus did not want to do it for he said, “Woman what concern is it of mine? My Time has not yet come.” And she said “do whatever he tells you.” And he performed his first public miricle. Mary is the intercessor and Jesus will always listen to his Mother. As God will always listen to his spouse. Her will is God’s will and they are intertwined. Abandoning the Mother is but one step away from abandoning the Son. If I can help you let me know! God Bless!

 

[capablanca911]

How do you feel at Mass when this is prayed:

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, [And, striking their breast, they say:] through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; [Then they continue:] therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

 

[dreamfleur]

robwar
Re: my journey thus far… many questions?
wow, you have quite a journey. It is hard to come from something like SDA which is pretty anti-Catholic to the Catholic Church. I would contact Coming Home network by Marcus Grodi which might set up you with someone who has come from SDA background. Likewise contact your local Catholic Church or even diocese to gain support. God Bless you on your path to truth.

Thank you for the information. I will look into these.

Dorothy
Re: my journey thus far… many questions?
Wow…all I can say is that the Holy Spirit is knocking on your heart and attracting you to the fullness of the Catholic Church.

The presence that you feel there comes from the reserved Blessed Sacrament in every Catholic Church, our sacred food which is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Blessed Mother Mary is very special, because He made her so. And she is a woman of great faith!

Thank you for your words Dorothy.

 

[Becky4906]

I was raised Baptist and was always taught that Catholics were the worst sort…it wasn’t until I was 24 and actually attended a Mass that everything changed. It took exactly one Mass for me to know this was where I belonged and a few weeks later when I learned that the Blessed Sacrament was truly the body and blood of our Lord - I was sold.

That being said - I really struggled with Mary. Then I read “Hail Holy Queen - the Mother of God in the Word of God” by Scott Hahn (Scott is a former evangelical pastor who converted to Catholicism and has many wonderful books that explain the Catholic Church and her teachings). Reading that really helped me to understand who Mary is and I have since embraced her like never before. I truly love my Holy Mother now and I know that she loves me and prays for me always.

I will pray for you, and if you keep your heart open I think you will soon find that Mary isn’t scary at all…She is certainly trying to get your attention

 

[bmonk]

God will pursue you and lead you to where you need to be. It does sound to me as though that includes the Catholic Church.

As for devotion to Mary, this is not required to be a Catholic, although it is encouraged. We ask Mary to pray for us (as in the Hail Mary), we look to her as a model of faithfulness and acceptance of God’s will. We look to her as a mother who cares for us, since we are all brothers and sisters of her Son Jesus. It may help you accept her if you can see her in one of those roles.

 

[dreamfleur]

Southern
Re: my journey thus far… many questions?
I will Pray for you. You ask for prayers. That is what you do when you pray to Mary. When we pray to Mary we are not Praying to her as though she is God. She is his spouse though. God the Holy Spirit. Read the wedding at Cana. She was the one to get her son to perform the miricale. Jesus did not want to do it for he said, “Woman what concern is it of mine? My Time has not yet come.” And she said “do whatever he tells you.” And he performed his first public miricle. Mary is the intercessor and Jesus will always listen to his Mother. As God will always listen to his spouse. Her will is God’s will and they are intertwined. Abandoning the Mother is but one step away from abandoning the Son. If I can help you let me know! God Bless!

Thank you for your words. I understand the concept of Mother Mary in my brain, but I come from the complete other end of the idea. I was taught that she was young, Joseph was too, they were like any other couple and after Jesus had other children.
It was only 2 weeks ago that any other idea was EVER presented to me. So thus far I thought that praying to her was like praying to any other human (with a fallen sinful nature) . I see now that it’s not that at all.
I wonder though why none of the Protestants (to my knowledge) pray to Mary. I did read that Martin Luther loved her very much.
Can you add to my knowledge here?

 

[dreamfleur]

capablanca911
Re: my journey thus far… many questions?
How do you feel at Mass when this is prayed:

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, [And, striking their breast, they say:] through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; [Then they continue:] therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

**
I don’t think that I saw this part of mass. I read what you wrote and I think that it is correct. But I don’t know how I would feel if I saw the striking of the the breast (even though I know that this would be the correct response from any one of us sinners).**

 

[dreamfleur]

I was raised Baptist and was always taught that Catholics were the worst sort…it wasn’t until I was 24 and actually attended a Mass that everything changed. It took exactly one Mass for me to know this was where I belonged and a few weeks later when I learned that the Blessed Sacrament was truly the body and blood of our Lord - I was sold.

That being said - I really struggled with Mary. Then I read “Hail Holy Queen - the Mother of God in the Word of God” by Scott Hahn (Scott is a former evangelical pastor who converted to Catholicism and has many wonderful books that explain the Catholic Church and her teachings). Reading that really helped me to understand who Mary is and I have since embraced her like never before. I truly love my Holy Mother now and I know that she loves me and prays for me always.

I will pray for you, and if you keep your heart open I think you will soon find that Mary isn’t scary at all…She is certainly trying to get your attention

Thank you. I will look into Scott Hahn’s book.
I think I will continue to go to mass and let the Lord “work on me”.
Thank you for your prayers.

 

[dreamfleur]

God will pursue you and lead you to where you need to be. It does sound to me as though that includes the Catholic Church.

As for devotion to Mary, this is not required to be a Catholic, although it is encouraged. We ask Mary to pray for us (as in the Hail Mary), we look to her as a model of faithfulness and acceptance of God’s will. We look to her as a mother who cares for us, since we are all brothers and sisters of her Son Jesus. It may help you accept her if you can see her in one of those roles.

Thank you.
My husband told me the same thing. He said I didn’t have to pray to Mary if I didn’t want to. It is difficult for me because as far as SDA teaching goes the only 3 people in heaven are Elijah, Moses and Enoch. So you can see that this is a VERY new concept for me.
I will ask God to help me.

 

[AnneTeresa]

My questions are many. But I feel I have come such a long way in these past couple of weeks. I still feel fear. I know God is a God of peace and love, not fear. I want to know HIS will and where I belong. I am wondering if this is normal? Please pray for me.

I want to address this part of your post since no one else did. I think it’s entirely normal to feel human fear when you are exploring something so new and different. I had LOTS of fear when I came back to the catholic church–and I was RAISED catholic. It threw me for a long time and I kept asking why I was so afraid (basically beating myself up for it, not something I recommend )

But having normal fear does not mean something is not of God. God himself is peace and love, but we may still have normal human emotional reactions. We learn to trust in time and even then we may still FEEL fear but choose to place our trust in God. I think the Holy Spirit is guiding you. It is so good to hear about your journey.

 

[Southern]

Southern
Re: my journey thus far… many questions?
I will Pray for you. You ask for prayers. That is what you do when you pray to Mary. When we pray to Mary we are not Praying to her as though she is God. She is his spouse though. God the Holy Spirit. Read the wedding at Cana. She was the one to get her son to perform the miricale. Jesus did not want to do it for he said, “Woman what concern is it of mine? My Time has not yet come.” And she said “do whatever he tells you.” And he performed his first public miricle. Mary is the intercessor and Jesus will always listen to his Mother. As God will always listen to his spouse. Her will is God’s will and they are intertwined. Abandoning the Mother is but one step away from abandoning the Son. If I can help you let me know! God Bless!

THank you for your words. I understand the concept of Mother Mary in my brain, but I come from the complete other end of the idea. I was taught that she was young, Joseph was too, they were like any other couple and after Jesus had other children.
It was only 2 weeks ago that any other idea was EVER presented to me. So thus far I thought that praying to her was like praying to any other human (with a fallen sinful nature) . I see now that it’s not that at all.
I wonder though why none of the Protestants (to my knowledge) pray to Mary. I did read that Martin Luther loved her very much.
Can you add to my knowledge here?

Martin Luther only wanted to leave the Church because he wanted to Remarry. Protestents just continued to add their own versions of their faith. And hence many more religions were formed. Protestent means Protest. Look at the word closely. They feel that No one should be prayed to but God. They cast aside our Lord’s wish before he left this world from the cross. Son Behold Thy Mother and Mother Behold thy Son. Christ gave his Mother to ALL from the cross. In the other religions mind they feel that Praying is worshiping however this is not the case. Praying is talking, Meditating or thinking. We talk to our Mother as we do to God. We worship God but we ask for our Mother’s intervention. Which is talking to her, which is praying. Once a person becomes close to the Mother she will take us by the hand to her son. The rebudle I hear mostly is one should only pray to God. The only way to get to God is through Jesus. My response is true but what is the best way to get to Jesus than through his Mother which is also our Mother. This is why the wedding at Cana is so important. Our Mother is not listed in the Bible too many times. But when she is mentioned it is for good reason. Reason this is she doesn’t seek worship just that she can take us to her Son which is Christ the King!

 

[capablanca911]

**
I don’t think that I saw this part of mass. I read what you wrote and I think that it is correct. But I don’t know how I would feel if I saw the striking of the the breast (even though I know that this would be the correct response from any one of us sinners).**

Just take it one step at a time. Remember the saints in heaven are more alive than we are! It’s no different than asking a friend at church to pray for you.

 

[brb3]

4yrs a convert …from evangelical ecclesial church. I had 7-8 big questions to be answered. I came in via RCIA, having only doubts about Mary’s IC. After 4 years, I now accept IC, but. …I still pray first & always to Christ, the way we Protestants were taught. But, then I simply thank Mary & tell her and my favorite saints ( John, Peter, Paul & David) to help me persevere.

Think about it, we have guardian angels who we can thank for their aid. Also applies to Mary and all Church saints …
So, don’t let Mary factor prevent u becoming Catholic. All will get resolved in due time.

 

[pablope]

I was raised Baptist and was always taught that Catholics were the worst sort…it wasn’t until I was 24 and actually attended a Mass that everything changed. It took exactly one Mass for me to know this was where I belonged and a few weeks later when I learned that the Blessed Sacrament was truly the body and blood of our Lord - I was sold.

That being said - I really struggled with Mary. Then I read “Hail Holy Queen - the Mother of God in the Word of God” by Scott Hahn (Scott is a former evangelical pastor who converted to Catholicism and has many wonderful books that explain the Catholic Church and her teachings). Reading that really helped me to understand who Mary is and I have since embraced her like never before. I truly love my Holy Mother now and I know that she loves me and prays for me always.

I second this recommendation. And may I add, The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn.

 

[pablope]

Thank you for your words. I understand the concept of Mother Mary in my brain, but I come from the complete other end of the idea. I was taught that she was young, Joseph was too, they were like any other couple and after Jesus had other children.
It was only 2 weeks ago that any other idea was EVER presented to me. So thus far I thought that praying to her was like praying to any other human (with a fallen sinful nature) . I see now that it’s not that at all.
I wonder though why none of the Protestants (to my knowledge) pray to Mary. I did read that Martin Luther loved her very much.
Can you add to my knowledge here?

Well…quite a long development. As the Reformers were succeeded by others, their successors wanted to look less and less catholic…and started throwing out their catholic roots…so each succeeding generation got farther and farther away from Ancienct Christianity.

Some started to throw out the Mass and instituted their own version of worhsip…that is when prayer took on the form of worship, whereas before, worship was via the mass.

These included throwing out praying to the saints, the different beliefs in baptism, some do not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist…just for starters.

Here is an article you may want to get time to read:

calledtocommunion.com/2012/08/relics-saints-and-the-assumption-of-mary/

 

[brb3]

Well…quite a long development. As the Reformers were succeeded by others, their successors wanted to look less and less catholic…and started throwing out their catholic roots…so each succeeding generation got farther and farther away from Ancienct Christianity.

Some started to throw out the Mass and instituted their own version of worhsip…that is when prayer took on the form of worship, whereas before, worship was via the mass.

These included throwing out praying to the saints, the different beliefs in baptism, some do not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist…just for starters.

Here is an article you may want to get time to read:

calledtocommunion.com/2012/08/relics-saints-and-the-assumption-of-mary/

Good article !! Interesting that it was the Doubting Thomas …who desired Mary’s tomb opened ! I believe they all really believed she might of already been assumed…and Thomas needed proof thereof.

 

[brb3]

Recall how Jacob made sons promise to carry his bones from Egypt to Promise Land for burial. His bones were synonymous with Israel as Nation. Relics indeed.