My Spiritual Journey

  • Thread starter Thread starter jbsmith
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
40.png
Dorothy:
Hi Jeff,

A priest should bless it.

I don’t have a site to refer you to, but just a few thoughts for whatever they are worth. The purpose of the sacramental is to lead us to Christ. It seems that the purpose for them is what puts them in a special class.

Here is a line from a book “A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals” by Ann Ball:

“When a medal or a scapular is blessed, it does not itself become a cause of grace. What happens is that God responds to our petition to give special graces when the faithful use these things with the proper dispositions.”

That reminds me that sacramentals are never to be used as though they were “magical” objects, as that would be a wrong disposition – and can be referred to as pagan.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information. 🙂
 
Jeff,
I hope you are making it to Mass today.
How have you been coping on the days you haven’t been able to make it.

(P.S. the book will be on it’s way this week). 😉
 
Hi Jeff,

I hope everything is going well for you, and, like Edwin, I hope you made it to Mass today as well. Are you going to be brought into the church during Easter still or are you going to have to wait until next year? Also, have you and Mike made it to the more orthodox church? Still praying for you!
 
40.png
Edwin1961:
Jeff,
I hope you are making it to Mass today.
How have you been coping on the days you haven’t been able to make it.

(P.S. the book will be on it’s way this week). 😉
Click to expand...
No. I wasn’t able to make it. As for how I cope, sometimes I watch EWTN and sometimes I read or pray. I’ve watched Mass on EWTN several times.

Thanks for the book. I’m lookng forward to reading it. 🙂
 
40.png
icequeen:
Hi Jeff,

I hope everything is going well for you, and, like Edwin, I hope you made it to Mass today as well. Are you going to be brought into the church during Easter still or are you going to have to wait until next year? Also, have you and Mike made it to the more orthodox church? Still praying for you!
Click to expand...
No, I won’t be able to be accepted into the Church this Easter. I’ll have to wait until next year. Maybe my health will be better by then and I’ll be in better physical condition. That would be a blessing in many different ways. Mike and I have gone to Mass at the more orthodox church. It was a drastic change from the heretical church that I left. It was much more reverent, and I felt the Spirit of God there much more than at the other parish. I must admit that I did feel a bit out of place though, because it’s a rather wealthy parish. It’s located in a high-income area, and most of the people there are quite well off. I don’t exactly fit in in places like that, but I’m trying to be open-minded. (I’m definitely a simple, middle-class guy.)
 
I’ve been keeping this to myself for a few days, but I’ve decided to post my experience here.

My Baptist friends and acquaintances have been attacking the Catholic faith rather hard for a while. I have to admit I’m not an expert on the faith, and some of there claims are rather convincing. I simply don’t know many times how to refute them, so I don’t say much of anything. I even went to a Baptist church with three of them about three weeks ago. (It was awful. It was dry, cold, and dead. I didn’t sense the Spirit of the Lord at all the entire time I was there.)

Friday night this was weighing heavily on my mind. Before I went to bed, I prayed. I asked God to communicate with me and tell me which church was right, and which one He wanted me to join. Early Sometime during the night, I woke up. When I woke up, I could have sworn I smelled roses. (There are no roses in my house or anywhere nearby outside.) The rose scent lasted for a while. I know this because I was awake in bed for a while before I went back to sleep. The scent was still strong in my room when I went back to sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning, the smell was gone. I mentioned this because I’ve read that when Mary visits someone, she sometimes leaves the scent of roses behind. Is that true?
 
On rare occasions the Lord can bless us with a manifestation of a beautiful scent of flowers. I experienced that when I attended the Mass of a priest who focuses on devotion to the Holy Eucharist, and the sorrowful mysteries of the Blessed Mother.

It is usually a sign that you have been blessed in some way.
 
Jeff,

I forgot to mention…don’t be concerned about the parish being in a wealthy neighborhood. Remember, those things are not important to the Lord, just the sincerity of our hearts before Him.

With prayers,

Dorothy
 
40.png
jbsmith:
I’ve been keeping this to myself for a few days, but I’ve decided to post my experience here.

My Baptist friends and acquaintances have been attacking the Catholic faith rather hard for a while. I have to admit I’m not an expert on the faith, and some of there claims are rather convincing. I simply don’t know many times how to refute them, so I don’t say much of anything. I even went to a Baptist church with three of them about three weeks ago. (It was awful. It was dry, cold, and dead. I didn’t sense the Spirit of the Lord at all the entire time I was there.)

Friday night this was weighing heavily on my mind. Before I went to bed, I prayed. I asked God to communicate with me and tell me which church was right, and which one He wanted me to join. Early Sometime during the night, I woke up. When I woke up, I could have sworn I smelled roses. (There are no roses in my house or anywhere nearby outside.) The rose scent lasted for a while. I know this because I was awake in bed for a while before I went back to sleep. The scent was still strong in my room when I went back to sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning, the smell was gone. I mentioned this because I’ve read that when Mary visits someone, she sometimes leaves the scent of roses behind. Is that true?
Click to expand...
WOW!!!
yes, I have heard the rose scent thing before, so I would bet that t was mary saying “This way to my Son!” Please bring any questions or statements that these Baptist friends bring up to us here or just look it up on the search engine at the forums or on the main page. Chances are it is the same arguments rehashed. --Rebecca
 
40.png
Dorothy:
Jeff,

I forgot to mention…don’t be concerned about the parish being in a wealthy neighborhood. Remember, those things are not important to the Lord, just the sincerity of our hearts before Him.

With prayers,

Dorothy
Click to expand...
I know. I just don’t want to go to a church where I’m ostracized for not having the wealth that everyone else has. That happened to me once, several years ago. I left that particular church. Of course, it was Protestant. It was a church plant that a local Bible college started. All the professors and staff from the Bible college and their families and friends went there. So maybe this parish will be different.
 
40.png
Dorothy:
On rare occasions the Lord can bless us with a manifestation of a beautiful scent of flowers. I experienced that when I attended the Mass of a priest who focuses on devotion to the Holy Eucharist, and the sorrowful mysteries of the Blessed Mother.

It is usually a sign that you have been blessed in some way.
Click to expand...
Well, it did feel peaceful. It wan’t scary or disturbing at all. Maybe it was some sort of blessing.
 
40.png
beckyann2597:
WOW!!!
yes, I have heard the rose scent thing before, so I would bet that t was mary saying “This way to my Son!” Please bring any questions or statements that these Baptist friends bring up to us here or just look it up on the search engine at the forums or on the main page. Chances are it is the same arguments rehashed. --Rebecca
Click to expand...
I remember hearing that Mary often left the scent of roses. I was hoping that was the case. Well, I did pray for some sort of communication before I went to bed Friday night.
 
Please bring any questions or statements that these Baptist friends bring up to us here or just look it up on the search engine at the forums or on the main page. Chances are it is the same arguments rehashed. --Rebecca
Click to expand...
Well, I’ve heard a few that I’ll go ahead and post.
  1. In church that day, the pastor said in his sermon that the Rock that Jesus built his Church on was Himself, not Peter.
  2. Catholics are committing blasphemy by praying to Mary and the Saints. These prayers, Purgatory, and the statues/icons are actually pagan doctrines and symbols that have been grafted into the Catholic faith over the centuries. Same with the Rosary. it’s actually been adapted from pagan religions such as Islam and Buddhism.
  3. “Queen of Heaven” and “Mother of God” are actually terms that the Catholic Church has adopted from pagan religions. These terms originally referred to pagan deities.
  4. Catholics aren’t saved because they have a distorted view of salvation. They never actually repent of their sins and invite Jesus into their hearts. They also practice a blasphemous infant baptism and works related baptism for adults.
  5. The Catholic Church is blasphemous because it adds to the Scripture and doesn’t take the Bible literally.
  6. The Catholic Church is setting up a one world religion through its use of interreligious dialogue. This dialogue will turn into the Harlot One World Religion that will be controlled by the Antichrist during the Tribulation. All real Christians will be Raptured before the Antichrist appears.
That’s all for now. There are other examples, but I can’t think of them right now. These are the ones that stuck out in my mind.
 
40.png
jbsmith:
Well, I’ve heard a few that I’ll go ahead and post.
  1. In church that day, the pastor said in his sermon that the Rock that Jesus built his Church on was Himself, not Peter.
  2. Catholics are committing blasphemy by praying to Mary and the Saints. These prayers, Purgatory, and the statues/icons are actually pagan doctrines and symbols that have been grafted into the Catholic faith over the centuries. Same with the Rosary. it’s actually been adapted from pagan religions such as Islam and Buddhism.
  3. “Queen of Heaven” and “Mother of God” are actually terms that the Catholic Church has adopted from pagan religions. These terms originally referred to pagan deities.
  4. Catholics aren’t saved because they have a distorted view of salvation. They never actually repent of their sins and invite Jesus into their hearts. They also practice a blasphemous infant baptism and works related baptism for adults.
  5. The Catholic Church is blasphemous because it adds to the Scripture and doesn’t take the Bible literally.
  6. The Catholic Church is setting up a one world religion through its use of interreligious dialogue. This dialogue will turn into the Harlot One World Religion that will be controlled by the Antichrist during the Tribulation. All real Christians will be Raptured before the Antichrist appears.
That’s all for now. There are other examples, but I can’t think of them right now. These are the ones that stuck out in my mind.
Click to expand...
Jeff, it is the same old stuff over and over again. There are intelligent and reasonable answers to every one of these accusations. They are distortions, twistings, and misrepresentations. I’ll try to find some of these topics on Catholic Answers and post the sites here.

Peace,

Dorothy
 
40.png
jbsmith:
I’ve been keeping this to myself for a few days, but I’ve decided to post my experience here.

My Baptist friends and acquaintances have been attacking the Catholic faith rather hard for a while. I have to admit I’m not an expert on the faith, and some of there claims are rather convincing. I simply don’t know many times how to refute them, so I don’t say much of anything. I even went to a Baptist church with three of them about three weeks ago. (It was awful. It was dry, cold, and dead. I didn’t sense the Spirit of the Lord at all the entire time I was there.)

Friday night this was weighing heavily on my mind. Before I went to bed, I prayed. I asked God to communicate with me and tell me which church was right, and which one He wanted me to join. Early Sometime during the night, I woke up. When I woke up, I could have sworn I smelled roses. (There are no roses in my house or anywhere nearby outside.) The rose scent lasted for a while. I know this because I was awake in bed for a while before I went back to sleep. The scent was still strong in my room when I went back to sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning, the smell was gone. I mentioned this because I’ve read that when Mary visits someone, she sometimes leaves the scent of roses behind. Is that true?
Click to expand...
OK, I just got the chills! Wow, that is awesome. There was someone on The Journey Home that had the same type of experience. Mary is definitely leading you in the right direction.

I know that the Baptists can be persuasive, but don’t be too hard on yourself. You are new to Catholicism and you don’t know a whole lot. Catholicism is rich in information and history, which is something that the Baptists cannot claim. I would just tell them that you don’t know, but that you will find out for them. It will not only give them the information that they are asking, but you will learn as you find out. My sister-in-law had the same type of experiences with Seventh Day Adventists. She said that that was the only way that she learn as much as she had about what it is that we truly believe and why we believe it. I would also thank them for the opportunity that they have presented to you to learn more about the Catholic Church. This may get them to stop, or it may plant a seed in them.

That’s too bad that you aren’t coming into the church this year, but at least you will have a study-buddy for RCIA next year. You and Mike can encourage each other, then come into the church together next Easter. And don’t worry about the wealthy people in the other church. My church is the same way, lots of elderly and rich people attend. But, the good thing is that these people tend to give more to their church, so the ministry programs are well funded. You could benefit greatly from this. Plus, you are there to worship God. Don’t worry about what others are thinking. It’s just like at the other church, we are all the same in the eyes of God.

Still praying for you and your friends and family. 🙂
 
40.png
Dorothy:
Jeff, it is the same old stuff over and over again. There are intelligent and reasonable answers to every one of these accusations. They are distortions, twistings, and misrepresentations. I’ll try to find some of these topics on Catholic Answers and post the sites here.

Peace,

Dorothy
Click to expand...
Thank you. I would love to be able to respond with intelligent, rational answers.
 
40.png
jbsmith:
Thank you. I would love to be able to respond with intelligent, rational answers.
Click to expand...
Jeff, I was a Catholic for many years before I understood and learned how to respond to non-Catholic objections to my faith. It was frustrating not to be able to.

But, I learned most of it from the book “Catholicism and Fundamentalism”.
 
As Dorothy recommends Catholicism & Fundamentalism, I hope you get your copy soon. Between that and the Bible Timeline you (finally) got, you’ll be all set with God’s grace! I recently ordered a copy for myself from Catholic Answers after hearing everyone’s recommendations.

Here’s some quick resources on Mary and the saints. As you can tell, I love the EWTN website for their resources.
40.png
jbsmith:
  1. Catholics are committing blasphemy by praying to Mary and the Saints. These prayers, Purgatory, and the statues/icons are actually pagan doctrines and symbols that have been grafted into the Catholic faith over the centuries. Same with the Rosary. it’s actually been adapted from pagan religions such as Islam and Buddhism.
  2. “Queen of Heaven” and “Mother of God” are actually terms that the Catholic Church has adopted from pagan religions. These terms originally referred to pagan deities.
Click to expand...
Here’s a great resource weblink EWTN: ewtn.com/expert/answers/mother.htm

I would also recommend going to the Faith, Teachings site on EWTN . . . ewtn.com/faith/teachings/index.htm
. . . and click “Mary the Mother of Jesus”

I am sorry I couldn’t give more specifics myself right now. As you know, I am still very ill. Continuing to pray for you! God will see you through. I don’t know if you can, but I can see from the experiences you have described how open your heart is to Him. I thank Him that you have this and can be an example to me! With that malleable heart, He will surely lead you. I can barely muster to tear open a bit of my heart; when I do I am given such graces! Too independent; but this long fever is chipping away at it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top