My Search for Absolute Truth

[buzzoff1031]

Guys, I am incredibly off and on with my faith. I have spent most of my adult life thus far (in my early 30s now) going through “commiting” to whatever I considered to be ultimate truth at the time. I have considered as truth everything to simply believing in the Bible, only the KJV, myself and the Catholic Church.
Now, I came into the Church in 2009 and know, mentally, that all the answers are found there. However, though I go through fits of “commitment”, I don’t believe I’ve ever truly commited to the Truth that I know exists in the teachings of the Church.
I always long for the different. I am easily influenced. I see a portrayal of Wicca on TV, and it looks fun and cool, so I want to try it. I realize it’s bad so I pray for forgiveness and come back to Jesus. I see some protestant services, see protestant friends enjoying there modern music filled “Worship” services and see them with their cool study Bibles and whatnot, and I want to do that. Then I realize that holds no deeper spirituality and that the theology falls apart, and I come back to Jesus’ true Church.
Pray, please, that I truly commit to Truth. And please, if you have any advice for me, I am defnitely open!

 

[Equites_Christi]

Well I think the fact that you are aware of how you are influenced by less-than-substantial things is excellent, I think in truth many people are the same way but don’t realize it.

Also - and this is only an idea - when you are impressed by something that looks novel and appealing, stop and think if it already exists within the Church, but you haven’t quite noticed it.

I remember when I was in my preteens, I was, like most preteen boys, heavily into high fantasy and mythologies. One time I thought, “I wish I had a cool god to be devoted and loyal to!” and then I stopped and thought, “well, why not God?”

Many people are attracted to yoga for its meditation. Well the Church has been encouraging meditative prayer for centuries! Heck, just look at the rosary! If you are attracted to rituals, look no further than the Mass! We certainly have study Bibles. Modern Catholic music, I agree, is pretty mediocre, but we actually have an outstanding musical tradition, from medieval chants to Palestrina to Mozart.

When you look closely, you might be surprised at the many treasures of the Church - what a tragedy, that to many people it’s just a boring hour on Sunday mornings!

 

[Gorillaman]

Guys, I am incredibly off and on with my faith. I have spent most of my adult life thus far (in my early 30s now) going through “commiting” to whatever I considered to be ultimate truth at the time. I have considered as truth everything to simply believing in the Bible, only the KJV, myself and the Catholic Church.
Now, I came into the Church in 2009 and know, mentally, that all the answers are found there. However, though I go through fits of “commitment”, I don’t believe I’ve ever truly commited to the Truth that I know exists in the teachings of the Church.
I always long for the different. I am easily influenced. I see a portrayal of Wicca on TV, and it looks fun and cool, so I want to try it. I realize it’s bad so I pray for forgiveness and come back to Jesus. I see some protestant services, see protestant friends enjoying there modern music filled “Worship” services and see them with their cool study Bibles and whatnot, and I want to do that. Then I realize that holds no deeper spirituality and that the theology falls apart, and I come back to Jesus’ true Church.
Pray, please, that I truly commit to Truth. And please, if you have any advice for me, I am defnitely open!

I’ll give you my pops advice…“stop it!” haha. You know it’s wrong…but I do that also…

But the other day I heard this…

“I fought the good fight of faith.”

Fight that fight dude. It’s the only one worth fighting and it’s the only one you can’t commit to. Haha. I go through it to though. Your being honest, can’t fault a man for being honest. Hope I helped.

Paz

 

[joshrp]

To know truth, always ask your questions to Jesus before you even mention them to anyone else. Just sit with Jesus and ask your questions, and listen in the silence of your heart for whatever moves in your soul, as far as who to talk to, what to read, where to go. The best place to ask Jesus is at Eucharistic adoration. Find a parish or chapel that has adoration, preferably Perpetual Adoration, and spend a lot of time there talking with Jesus in person and asking Him all of your questions that you want to know the truth about. This is the best practice ever you can possibly do and it will be your greatest blessing. Going to Mass and confession will be more fruitful, and you will just get into the habit of preferring Jesus to any human form of “dialing 411”. Just ask Jesus everything, and listen to what your heart is saying, because once you ask Jesus, He immediately starts speaking to you, you just have to listen, and believe and be obedient to the teaching magisteriium of the Catholic Church. Any answers you get that contradict the magisterium, don’t waste your time with. Always reform your thoughts and answers you get from others and in your own reflection, and dump anything that is against the magisterium. You will be more fruitful in your searches for truth by being faithful to the infallible teachings of the Catechism, Bible and the Church’s interpretations on it, and the documents of the Popes, than you will in any other teachings. Other sources may help enrich your understanding, but if they undermine those authorities, they are only going to be liek thornbushes to your skin eventually.

 

[Samson01]

Guys, I am incredibly off and on with my faith. I have spent most of my adult life thus far (in my early 30s now) going through “commiting” to whatever I considered to be ultimate truth at the time. I have considered as truth everything to simply believing in the Bible, only the KJV, myself and the Catholic Church.
Now, I came into the Church in 2009 and know, mentally, that all the answers are found there. However, though I go through fits of “commitment”, I don’t believe I’ve ever truly commited to the Truth that I know exists in the teachings of the Church.
I always long for the different. I am easily influenced. I see a portrayal of Wicca on TV, and it looks fun and cool, so I want to try it. I realize it’s bad so I pray for forgiveness and come back to Jesus. I see some protestant services, see protestant friends enjoying there modern music filled “Worship” services and see them with their cool study Bibles and whatnot, and I want to do that. Then I realize that holds no deeper spirituality and that the theology falls apart, and I come back to Jesus’ true Church.
Pray, please, that I truly commit to Truth. And please, if you have any advice for me, I am defnitely open!

Have you prayed for the Truth yet? By the intercession of St. Michael? Try it. Don’t be alarmed if He shows you the truth about yourself first. Prayers out, Tim

 

[styrgwillidar]

… I see some protestant services, see protestant friends enjoying there modern music filled “Worship” services and see them with their cool study Bibles and whatnot, and I want to do that…

Sorry, music is a personal thing, I prefer to attend masses where no music is played. I find turning mass into a mini-opera tends to quash my and ( judging by the lack of voices singing around me) others level of participation. You can certainly go to various parishes and their different masses in search of a musical style you find draws you into the service.

However, there’s no reason you can’t have your own study bible. Mark and cross-reference key passages etc. I find most Catholics are poorly catechised and not properly grounded in scripture. Too many of us hit confirmation and thought that was the end vice the beginning of an adult understanding of the faith. It wasn’t until much farther on in life that I went back to studying scripture, particularly in the context of the practises and doctrine of the early Church. I pity the protestants in that they discarded books to the Bible, and many purport to believe in sola scriptura while being unable to identify any authority for declaring what is scripture in the first place. Nothing in scripture can undermine Catholicism since the selection criteria for scripture was how it supported Catholic teaching. So, one of the things I found helpful was to study the early practises of the Church, prior to and during the time the canon of scripture was determined. It quickly becomes apparent that the teachings/doctrine of the Catholic Church are far more consistent with the early Church than the protestant denominations. A good place to start is the three volume set:
“Faith of the Early Fathers” translated and edited by Jurgens.

 

[fhansen]

Guys, I am incredibly off and on with my faith. I have spent most of my adult life thus far (in my early 30s now) going through “commiting” to whatever I considered to be ultimate truth at the time. I have considered as truth everything to simply believing in the Bible, only the KJV, myself and the Catholic Church.
Now, I came into the Church in 2009 and know, mentally, that all the answers are found there. However, though I go through fits of “commitment”, I don’t believe I’ve ever truly commited to the Truth that I know exists in the teachings of the Church.
I always long for the different. I am easily influenced. I see a portrayal of Wicca on TV, and it looks fun and cool, so I want to try it. I realize it’s bad so I pray for forgiveness and come back to Jesus. I see some protestant services, see protestant friends enjoying there modern music filled “Worship” services and see them with their cool study Bibles and whatnot, and I want to do that. Then I realize that holds no deeper spirituality and that the theology falls apart, and I come back to Jesus’ true Church.
Pray, please, that I truly commit to Truth. And please, if you have any advice for me, I am defnitely open!

You have to be honest with yourself; it’s simply impossible to believe anything until you, well…believe it. Fortunately, God is patient, Jesus died for us while we’re yet sinners, and so He works with us from where we are and with what we have, knowing we may doubt or backslide at times, all the while still drawing and pulling us along, as we’re willing. It can take time-it will take time, as the Church teaches that conversion is progressive.

Anyway, it’s a synergistic effort between ourselves and God, and the more we respond and do our part in it-the more we want it, the more we ask, seek, and knock-the more our faith, and ultimately and most importantly, our love, will grow as God shows Himself more clearly to us.

 

[fred_conty]

Guys, I am incredibly off and on with my faith. I have spent most of my adult life thus far (in my early 30s now) going through “commiting” to whatever I considered to be ultimate truth at the time. I have considered as truth everything to simply believing in the Bible, only the KJV, myself and the Catholic Church.
Now, I came into the Church in 2009 and know, mentally, that all the answers are found there. However, though I go through fits of “commitment”, I don’t believe I’ve ever truly commited to the Truth that I know exists in the teachings of the Church.
I always long for the different. I am easily influenced. I see a portrayal of Wicca on TV, and it looks fun and cool, so I want to try it. I realize it’s bad so I pray for forgiveness and come back to Jesus. I see some protestant services, see protestant friends enjoying there modern music filled “Worship” services and see them with their cool study Bibles and whatnot, and I want to do that. Then I realize that holds no deeper spirituality and that the theology falls apart, and I come back to Jesus’ true Church.
Pray, please, that I truly commit to Truth. And please, if you have any advice for me, I am defnitely open!

It is like Clint Eastwood said in one of his “dirty Harry” movies,
“A man has to know his limitations.”

Just a thought.

 

[animalis]

Without out a doubt striving for a true devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is the solution.

Read True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort and build in yourself that certainity.

The way the book is written, it communicates with the certainity I express to you. It contains the surest way to solid faith in Jesus Christ. Many Popes have recommend this way to the public.

 

[Holly3278]

I was like you in my first few years after converting to Catholicism. Thankfully, I eventually got to the point where I only rarely have doubts about Catholicism and even when I do, usually I still know in my heart that Catholicism is definitely the one true Church. My faith in the Catholic Church is quite strong now. All thanks and glory be to God, not me.