My Story with Mary

[Geo17]

I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this so feel free to move it. I just have to tell this. I’ve kept it to myself a long time.

Hi All, I think this is going to be an unusual story but maybe I’m wrong.

I was born in 1952 to a nominal Catholic father but a very devout Catholic mother. She had made a vow to go to a certain church every July 16th to celebrate Our Lady of Mt. Carmel day and I went with her every year until my mom passed in 2000. My mother told me back in 1930’s it was very common for people to go that particular church and ask the saint for a favor in exchange for a promise from the asker. My mother never told me what the vow was but somehow I feel it concerned me. I haven’t lived a holy life but God was always important to me. Although oddly I’ve had lots of experience with Jewish friends as well as many protestant ones. I didn’t seek these experiences they just came my way. In my late teens until 28 I even considered myself an atheist. But then a total stranger handed me the NIV of St. John’s Gospel and my atheist days started to end. In the 1990’s I took a friend and her 2 daughters to a Catholic Charismatic healing mass and something almost supernatural happened. The church was very crowed and I was just standing there waiting for the healing line to start moving. Suddenly, a woman I never met came up to me and said since I walked in she knew she had to give me a certain Rosary Ring she had. The unusual part was that ring had been blessed in Medjugorje by Mary. Wow I was in shock. Why should Mary be noticing me. My mother had made a vow to Mary and then some 45 yrs later I’m given a ring Mary blessed. The problem is I’m not exactly a practicing Catholic. I don’t follow any religion or denomination but God is the most important person in my life. It’s too late now but maybe I was meant to be a priest. Right now I’m trying to find myself and what God wants of me. Obviously I can’t tell this story on an evangelical board so I told it here. What can it mean.

That’s my story.

 

[flylow95]

Reminds me of St Monica story. Seems like it’s time to Be a Catholic and not just talk about it. It’s not hard, for crying out loud! Go to Confession, Go to Mass on Sunday, Keep the Ten Commandments, When you don’t, go back to Confession. Pope Benedict 16 told a little girl who asked about confessing the same sins in Confession, over and over; You clean house about every week don’t you, to keep the dirt from building up. It’s the same dirt.

 

[Geo17]

Thanks for responding. I don’t know the St Monica story. Since I have an eye problem and can’t read much anymore maybe you can tell me the jist of it. I wasn’t religious as a young man but now I am. I go to a mass several times a year and the most recent was last Sunday. I’ve kept the 10 commandments most of my life. I listen to the Bible almost daily and know it rather well. Going to confession would mean to make a decision I’m not sure of yet. Do you suggest I lie to the priest. Let me tell you why I stopped going to confession. I was in my cousin’s wedding party and everyone was going into confession, everyone but me. They asked me why I wasn’t doing it. I said because I’m sick of lying to the priest in the confession booth. They gave me a puzzled look. I said at the end the priest always asks are you going to stop your sins and we say yes. But we know very well we aren’t going to stop, and since we’re all going to a big wedding party in a few days we know we’re going to get drunk, engage in numerous sexual innuendos and with our cousins, no less. We will probably lie, a fight may even break out. (happily that didn’t happen) So a refusal to lie to the priest in confession caused me to stop going.

Nevertheless, I think I need to stop being a church of one. But where do I go? I’m not sure and without a car I can only get to 1 Catholic church.

 

[Francis]

The problem is I’m not exactly a practicing Catholic. I don’t follow any religion or denomination but God is the most important person in my life. It’s too late now but maybe I was meant to be a priest.

God Bless you on your spiritual journey,you never to late, you can always pray for yourself and others by leading a holy life even when you just stay at home , it effects the whole world, there is rejoicing in heaven, souls are saved, you help the church by your prayers,good works and penance and sufferings just offer and accept them as the will of god to Jesus through Mary so she known how to make it perfect and add her own merits to your.god Bless

Jeremiah 29:11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Isaiah 41:8 But you, Israel, my servant,Jacob, whom I have chosen,the offspring of Abraham, my friend;9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’;10 do not fear, for I am with you,do not be afraid, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Ephesians 2:11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body[[c] through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

 

[flylow95]

Hey Geo,
St Monica was a God Fearing Christian Mom back in 400AD, give or take a hundred years!!!
Her husband was said to be a pagan, and her son Augustine was a handsome, ambitious young womanizer.
St Monica prayed for 20-30 years for Augustine to give up his wayward life and be a decent man.
Monica is famous for her perseverance in prayer. Eventually Augustine came under the influence of his adversary St Ambrose, bishop of Milan Italy. And Dr of The Church.!!!
So Augustine got religion and became a Bishop of Hippo and a Doctor of The Church!!! — and they all went to heaven in a little tin boat!
St Augustine wrote his biography called “Confessions”, and "City of God - (the Church put it on “The Bad List” off and on, and finally did away with the list) So if the Church said it was bad, it makes everybody wonder why, so they read it.!!! I hear it is all about God and The Blessed Mother and etc. that is NOT in the Bible. There are many Protestants in the Catholic Church who call themselves Catholic who firmly believe that if it ain’t in the Bible, you’re going to hell if you believe it!!! Much to their chagrin, The Church says, if it doesn’t contradict the Teaching of The Church, and it leads you to holiness, believe all you want.

 

[midori]

Very happy for you.

If someone took the time to give you a rosary ring, get into the habit of using it. You don’t need to do everything all at once-- even if it’s just a decade in an off moment, it only takes about three minutes.

A good prayer to keep in mind would be, “Dear God, please give me the graces you most want to give me” and “Dear God, please help me desire to be the person you want me to be.”

Good luck to you on your path.

 

[flylow95]

I always knew right from wrong, but wrong was so much more interesting, but I had to try to give it up. The Church doesn’t expect us to be perfect, just to keep trying - Persevere St Paul says.

So I’d go to Confession and kept on trying with little or no success. for about 30 years!!! I’m a real slow learner.
St Therese of Lisuu - (who knows how to spell French words!!) The Little Flower. She said, God said; “It is not I who will tire of forgiving you, it is you who will tire of asking for forgiveness.” – or something like that.

There is a devotion in the Church since around WW2, called Diving Mercy. Jesus appeared to a nun over in Warsaw or Krakow Poland and he told her His Mercy is greater than all the sins in the world. or something like that. Jesus told her to keep a diary of all the things he told her. It became a book called “Diary” by St Maria Faustina Kowalska. The world calls her St Faustina. Good book, comforting for us big sinners. Jesus also told her to have a painting made as she saw Him standing in front of her. It’s an image of Jesus standing with the words “Jesus I Trust In You” at the bottom.

After years of asking God for the spiritual strength to resist sin, I figured out, God must not have enough grace to make me strong enough to resist sin, so now I remind Him almost daily, I need Him to protect me from sin, since I obviously can’t do it, and give me the grace to be open to The Holy Spirit to resist sin. Seems to be working better.

Since none of us are strong enough to resist temptation ourselves, “No not one” Jesus said, it is impossible without Jesus’ assistance, so best bet is go to Mass and Holy Communion. But you can’t defile the Body of Christ with Mortal Sin unless you confess it to a Priest. So you gotta swallow your pride and tell the Priest everything you can remember. If you hold back anything, then nothing is forgiven. The Priest can’t forgive something you don’t tell about.
One Priest said you have to tell Kind and Number - I slept with 50 married women, or I slept with so many married women for the past 40 years, I can’t count them. Ask the Priest how much detail he needs to hear. Or I have not been to Church/Mass or Confession for 40 years. etc.
Then when you get that sharp twinge in your chest, you’re not thinking, Oh “darn”, I intended to go to Confession before now.!!!

 

[Geo17]

Thanks, now I know who St. Monica was. She was an exceptional woman. Both “Confessions” & “The City of God” are free audio books. (remember I can’t read much until I get cataract surgery) I listened to both of Augustine’s books. They are very hard to digest but I found Confessions more worth the effort than City of God. In CoG Augustine raises the issue that if the pagan gods are so great and worth all the sacrifices the Romans used to do for them then why did they do nothing to help the Romans when the Barbarians were sacking them. The Barbarians didn’t just kill and loot Rome, they also raped many women even the ones taking refuge in a pagan god’s temple. I think it was a policy of the Roman army that you don’t harm your enemy if he/she is hiding in a temple. Apparently the Romans had their version of what wee call the Geneva Convention. Even in war there are supposed to be rules. The problem with Augustine’s argument is that our God often does the same kind of thing. Very often He lets us suffer while other times He rescues us. In Confessions Augustine spoke of his mother quite a bit. So I do know who St Monica is.

 

[Gabika50]

Christ works in mysterious ways to bring you closer. God bless you in your journey.

 

[Geo17]

Thank you Gabika50, I’m counting on God’s help. I know I can’t do this alone.