my son has left the Church and I need help

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drafdog said:
As others have already said, your priest is right. You are dealing with an adult who is trying to make his own decisions about life. Be thankful that he has begun to enquire into the roots of Christian belief. In order to be a really good Christian, one must learn how to be a good Jew. If Jesus insists that we exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, He assumes that we understand the basis of their righteousness.

Sociologists have studied the spiritual growth of young people and have found that although many depart from the faith of their parents, they most often return with greater fervor and devotion as they reach their thirty’s. Don’t try to change him back. If he comes back, it will be by his own decision.

Kosher is not so bad. Try to find a Jewish book store and ask the staff to help you purchase a mezzuzah, or a yarmulke and tallith (prayer shawl). He should have something from his parents which indicates their acknowledgment of his spiritual journey. Mazel tov.

Matthew
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Are you kidding?
I am sorry but I have to ask the posters here who sound so acceptable whether or not you believe that apostasy /falling away from Christ bases a serious threat to a persons eternal salvation?
I have a hard time understanding your cool?
 
GraceDK said:
Are you kidding?
I am sorry but I have to ask the posters here who sound so acceptable whether or not you believe that apostasy /falling away from Christ bases a serious threat to a persons eternal salvation?
I have a hard time understanding your cool?
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I cannot come up with the CCC location, but it does address the idea of ones conscience being the ulimate arbieter in these cases. Her Priest has basically told her there is nothing they can do except pray.

Having said that, some of us have offered advise to try and help eleviate some of the upset connected with this change. At this time we cannot offer more than prayer and comfort.

Free Will remember?

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
I cannot come up with the CCC location, but it does address the idea of ones conscience being the ulimate arbieter in these cases. Her Priest has basically told her there is nothing they can do except pray.

Having said that, some of us have offered advise to try and help eleviate some of the upset connected with this change. At this time we cannot offer more than prayer and comfort.

Free Will remember?

Peace
James
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yeah… I remember free will James… free will always gets people into trouble…
So too with conscience… 90 percent of all sin is comitted by a conscience that believes to be doing “the right thing”…
But conscience does not save… Christ does.
And having once known Him and then betraying Him is a worst case scenario… I believe its called heresy and apostasy… being the case that this young man assumably has known Christ and now denied Him…
Thats BAD by every standard of Christian revelation… 2 Vat or not.
 
I have been reading some of the other discussions here that have to do with Jewish issues, trying to get an idea of what this is all about.
I sent a message to a poster on this forum named JREducation, because in one discussion he said he was a Jew who became a Catholic, and he seemed very knowledgeable. I told him about my son, and asked for advice.
I think he gave me some help that made me see things more clearly. He said Christendom College is sometimes too overbearing for some students, and that maybe my son’s interest in Judaism is a reaction against a Catholicism that is too intense or too rigid. I don’t think so because my son has had an interest in Judaism since middle school, but who knows, maybe Christendom pushed him over the edge so to speak into full-fledged conversion.
This other poster also informed me that Chassidiim is very mystical and not so much into the “rules” of Judaism, and that maybe that appealed more to my son than Catholicism which can be very strict and rigid (we have always been very traditional Catholics.)
I am going to talk to my son about all this, but this other poster gave me a lot to think about, many possibilities I did not realize before.
 
Somehow my post was erased because I said I did not buy this story. If your son had 4 years of Catholic teaching, and all he got out of it was no belief in Christ, something is wrong. That is why I am skeptical of this whole story.
 
Lynn, also I thought of…if no one has mentioned it…you may want to check out the work of Rosalind Moss. She has frequently been a guest on Catholic Answers Live radio. She is a convert from Judaism.
 
There is a thread on here someplace (on this forum) that says that Rosalind Moss is becoming a Nun, find that thread , (I’ll look for it too and post it if I find it), ask her Order to pray for him.
She is starting the Order and will be known as Mother Mariam I believe it said. I will keep your family in my prayers too. God bless you. Here’s the thread: (I found it before it was too late to add to this post of mine.)🙂
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=218721&page=16&highlight=Mother+Mariam
 
MarcoPolo said:
Lynn, also I thought of…if no one has mentioned it…you may want to check out the work of Rosalind Moss. She has frequently been a guest on Catholic Answers Live radio. She is a convert from Judaism.
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The “problem” with Rosalind Moss is that she has never really been a Jew when it comes to believing and practicing as a Jew. As far as I know she was agnostic, then evangelical and now catholic…
I’d say… get your hands on some resources from people who really know what judaism is from the inside and who have converted…
 
Valke2 said:
Hi Lynn. First off, I’m Jewish. Few things are harder on a family than when one of its members coverts to another religion. The only advice I would give you is to do whatever you can to make sure there is no irreparable harm to the relationship with your son.
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This is the best advice. If you want your child to come home, he has to be absolutely sure he has something to come home to. Make sure he knows he is loved no matter what.

When I joined the Mormons at age 21, my parents were saddened but were always loving and supportive. They even sacrificed to pay for me to serve a Mormon mission in Taiwan. When I got disillusioned with Mormonism, my parents were there, as loving as they had always been. Their love and faithfulness was like a lighthouse beacon guiding me home.

God love you,
Paul

P.S.: I am not likening Judaism to Mormonism!
 
NYCath said:
But now he is going to be finalizing his conversion and he wants me to understand, and also to know that he won’t be able to eat my FOOD? anymore because he is joining the strictest sect of Jews that keeps strictly kosher?? He said he has been keeping strictly kosher for a year now (so, that’s why he has not come home for holidays, I get it now!)
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I don’t see a problem with your son having kosher food, as long as he recognize Jesus as a Lord, then the food is the least problem someone should think about, and at the end, kosher food is not something bad ;), indeed it was from God The Most High.
 
GraceDK said:
yeah… I remember free will James… free will always gets people into trouble…
So too with conscience… 90 percent of all sin is comitted by a conscience that believes to be doing “the right thing”…
But conscience does not save… Christ does.
And having once known Him and then betraying Him is a worst case scenario… I believe its called heresy and apostasy… being the case that this young man assumably has known Christ and now denied Him…
Thats BAD by every standard of Christian revelation… 2 Vat or not.
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And what would you have this poor woman do? Kidnap her son and put him into a monastery? Completely disown her son? No, she prays for him and accepts him and his decision. Any other course would drive him more into the new religion he’s chosen. As to apostacy…the OP states that her son’s attraction to Judaism began in middleschool…so I’m not sure he can really be considered an apostate.
 
Lynn,
Try to convince your son that conversion to Judaism is an unreasonable step backwards. Explain to him that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, that the CC is now Israel and God talks to the CC just as He talked to Israel, through modern “prophets” like podre Pio, Faustina, Marthe Robin, etc. Tell him about eucharistic miracles, God’s messages for the CC like the one of Fatima. It he really wants to make a proper decision he should examine all of the above. Find somebody who will be able answer all of his questions, find books about Jews who became Catholic. Pray and fast for him. Never give up! God bless.
 
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