New Catholics-How is it going?

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Hello There,

I was received into the Catholic church this past Easter. I continue to feel every day that I have made the best decision for me, and that I know the truth behind it. The Holy Spirit truly led me to this point.

That being said, I also sometimes still can’t believe it. The process was longish for me (a couple years anyway) and I don’t know that if I always believed I would find the courage to follow God and make the steps in. But I did. I am still adjusting, in terms of my family (my husband and his family). I still worry ultimately my marriage may end because of my journey into the Catholic faith. I try not to allow the worry to affect my faith, however.

Currently I am trying to find a balance at home. I have been keeping my faith to myself, not only by not talking about it with my husband, his family, or even mine, but even my closest friends. I am starting to realize I don’t want to keep it to myself! I originally did that out of respect. But now I want it to be known! One day at a time for me!

I also struggle very much between the differences between my old and new faith, particularly in social aspects. In my old faith, everything you did in church was social, it seems. Your every day life, activities. All social, and revolving around faith to a degree. Everybody really embraced you, and new members were known by ALL. While I know people at my parish are good people and welcoming of new members, it’s not quite as known who are the new folks…and the ways to get involved are so varied in the parish, I think it is difficult for people to get to know many people quickly. I currently really want to get involved in the parish. I plan on being on the RCIA team next year…but I need more. I have a booklet containing all the different ministries…I am struggling to find ways to get involved right now. I also feel quite alone…I don’t know a whole lot of people yet in the parish, and my friends and family don’t really get my faith. I have very few I can truly talk to (though I do have a handful, thankfully).

Anyway, sorry I didn’t plan on this being so long. Just curious how the other Neophytes out there are doing…the newbies. 🙂 Curious if there are others struggling with things different from my own. Or perhaps everything is wonderful? Would love to hear how others are doing!
 
I’ve been catholic for four years now, and it’s been a bit of a roller coaster for me.

I came from an evangelical/pentecostal background and while at first the change wasn’t that jarring, as time has passed it has become more so. See, I experience my faith in a very personal and emotional way. I love Jesus in much the same way I love my husband. Yes, I have times of indifference (emotional indifference!) where the relationship is maintained through comfort and commitment, but there are times of deep emotional intimacy. It’s those times of emotional intimacy that I have difficulty in the church. The mass seems geared towards providing a dry experience - any show of emotion seems deeply discouraged. If I do get emotional or want to sit in the back and weep after receiving communion from the joy of it all, I get nasty looks or people just assume “oh, she’s a recovering pentecostal, she’ll get over it when she matures.” This really makes things hard for me.

I am coming to terms with the fact that I just do things differently than most. It’s a slow process, but I am carving out a niche for myself. I am, of course, utterly alone since in order to be with Catholics who understand anything that I am talking about involves a 1 hour minimum drive…but Christ is with me. I am blessed, however, in that the church allows for a great range of freedom in personal worship. I have my emotional experiences at home, and at Mass I pray and usually “go through the motions” to avoid any discouraged emotional reaction.

It sucked crying for a month straight every time I received the Body and Blood of Christ. It took me a long time to stop. Ugh, it was so embarrassing.
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
I’ve been catholic for four years now, and it’s been a bit of a roller coaster for me.

I came from an evangelical/pentecostal background and while at first the change wasn’t that jarring, as time has passed it has become more so. See, I experience my faith in a very personal and emotional way. I love Jesus in much the same way I love my husband. Yes, I have times of indifference (emotional indifference!) where the relationship is maintained through comfort and commitment, but there are times of deep emotional intimacy. It’s those times of emotional intimacy that I have difficulty in the church. The mass seems geared towards providing a dry experience - any show of emotion seems deeply discouraged. If I do get emotional or want to sit in the back and weep after receiving communion from the joy of it all, I get nasty looks or people just assume “oh, she’s a recovering pentecostal, she’ll get over it when she matures.” This really makes things hard for me.

I am coming to terms with the fact that I just do things differently than most. It’s a slow process, but I am carving out a niche for myself. I am, of course, utterly alone since in order to be with Catholics who understand anything that I am talking about involves a 1 hour minimum drive…but Christ is with me. I am blessed, however, in that the church allows for a great range of freedom in personal worship. I have my emotional experiences at home, and at Mass I pray and usually “go through the motions” to avoid any discouraged emotional reaction.

It sucked crying for a month straight every time I received the Body and Blood of Christ. It took me a long time to stop. Ugh, it was so embarrassing.
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Wow, reading your post was like looking into a mirror. You pretty much summed up the last 4 years of my Catholic life. (Tiber Swim team 07)

I remember that after RCIA ended I was basically left to my own devices and really missed the classes. It took me quite awhile to find my place. I think its very important for RCIA instructors to suggest places, ministries, study groups, etc… for new converts so they can enjoy the structure of those groups.

Overall things are going well, I look at my life 4 years ago, heck even 1 year ago, and its like night and day. I still have ALOT of room to improve in every aspect but the Lord has been so good to me. The accountability was hard to get used to. When I was methodist if you sinned it didnt really matter. You just said sorry and that was it. Now there confession, being cut off from the Eucharist, etc… It really took a reorintation and made me start to take the moral aspects of the faith much more seriously.

One thing that does bug me is the attitude that some Catholic converts get. I, like many here, essentially read my way into the Church. I love reading books on Church history, theology, etc… and teach Catechesis classes now, yet most other Catholics when they hear I am a convert do not think I can talk in an informed manner on the faith. I suppose this will continue to fade with time but it still bugs me.

So to sum it all up, God is good. I could never dream of being away from the Church now. I have learned to really love the Church, despite human failings, for what it is. The Eucharist is amazing and good liturgy is like a song in my heart. Its so easy now to see how uniquely Catholic teachings, as compared to protestant like the Eucharist, Marian Devotion, the Saints, Purgatory, etc… are so VITAL to the faith. Thanks be to God for my conversion.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing. I hope RCIA instructors are reading. New converts really need a way to transition.
 
zipperc98 said:
Just curious how the other Neophytes out there are doing…the newbies. 🙂 Curious if there are others struggling with things different from my own. Or perhaps everything is wonderful? Would love to hear how others are doing!
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I’m really enjoying being a member of the Church. I’m still learning, but so far, I’m staying enthused. After Easter Vigil, the parish held a couple of different receptions for our RCIA class, and they were very friendly and welcoming. Of course that has trailed off now. It is sometimes ackward when you’re the new person, but you just have to try to stay involved so that you can continue to meet people. I do feel like I’m part of the family, even though I don’t know many of them yet.

Our parish began a new ministry last year to provide support for new Catholics. They befriend newly professed members and reguarly meet as a group beginning in the Fall. Their goal is to help new Catholics to better understand the Catholic faith (the sacraments, lives of the saints, different forms of prayer, teachings of the Church, etc.) I think it’s a great idea, and I’m looking forward to going.
 
New Catholics (2011 especially) should lean on their sponsors. Sponsoring does not stop at Easter - it should continue for at least one year beyond.
 
=zipperc98;8049630]Hello There,
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I was received into the Catholic church this past Easter. I continue to feel every day that I have made the best decision for me, and that I know the truth behind it. The Holy Spirit truly led me to this point.
Click to expand...
That being said, I also sometimes still can’t believe it. The process was longish for me (a couple years anyway) and I don’t know that if I always believed I would find the courage to follow God and make the steps in. But I did. I am still adjusting, in terms of my family (my husband and his family). I still worry ultimately my marriage may end because of my journey into the Catholic faith. I try not to allow the worry to affect my faith, however.
Click to expand...
Currently I am trying to find a balance at home. I have been keeping my faith to myself, not only by not talking about it with my husband, his family, or even mine, but even my closest friends. I am starting to realize I don’t want to keep it to myself! I originally did that out of respect. But now I want it to be known! One day at a time for me!
Click to expand...
I also struggle very much between the differences between my old and new faith, particularly in social aspects. In my old faith, everything you did in church was social, it seems. Your every day life, activities. All social, and revolving around faith to a degree. Everybody really embraced you, and new members were known by ALL. While I know people at my parish are good people and welcoming of new members, it’s not quite as known who are the new folks…and the ways to get involved are so varied in the parish, I think it is difficult for people to get to know many people quickly. I currently really want to get involved in the parish. I plan on being on the RCIA team next year…but I need more. I have a booklet containing all the different ministries…I am struggling to find ways to get involved right now. I also feel quite alone…I don’t know a whole lot of people yet in the parish, and my friends and family don’t really get my faith. I have very few I can truly talk to (though I do have a handful, thankfully).
Click to expand...
Anyway, sorry I didn’t plan on this being so long. Just curious how the other Neophytes out there are doing…the newbies. 🙂 Curious if there are others struggling with things different from my own. Or perhaps everything is wonderful? Would love to hear how others are doing!
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One step at a time:)

Life actually offers ONLY two choices: Either God is in CHARGE or your in charge. The responsibility can’t be shared. This is one of Lifes most difficult decessions; and the MOST important!

Welcome home.🙂

Having taught RCIA for three years and working with the Forum for some time; your feelings are quite normal. Looking back assimilation should have been a class in RCIA.

May I suggest that you join what ever Womens guild or clubs your church offers. That is the surest way to connect.

The Issue centers around the FOCUS of a Catholic Mass, which is necessarly God Centered, verses Protestant services that palce a very HEAVY emphasis on community, togeatherness and the like. Certainly not bad; not even wrong; BUT because Jesus Himself is TRULY and Really Present in our churches; God MUST be the focus of our Mass which is a Sacrifice; Communion and Worship.

Catholic Socializing typlically takes place outside of the Mass with various clubs and organizations.

God FIRST
Family Second
Work third
then everything else:thumbsup:.

TRUST in God, use the sacraments as often as you can. Mass daily if possible and Confession at least Once per Month. Develope a STRONG and discipilined Prayer life.

God Bless you, and again; WELCOME HOME

Pat
 
I converted two years ago, at the Easter Vigil of '09, along with my wife. We absolutely love the Church, and we studied our way in, but the social aspect has been a bit of a battle. From the sounds of it, we’re blessed with an exceptionally welcoming parish. We still run into people we’ve never met who say, “Hey, we remember seeing you in the RCIA pews! You’re so-and-so. We pray for you every day.” The trouble is that I work evenings and my wife is a medical student in her final year of school, so neither of us has time to go to social functions or small groups… We have two or three couples we really know from church who, when we find time to hang out with them or when we run into them after Mass once every couple months, we feel alive talking to them. But then we go another couple months with barely enough time to talk to each other for one evening a week, much less to anyone else. We’ve actually made a few friends through a newly-wed group at another nearby Catholic church kind of incidentally, but of course the same problem still exists there…

As for family, I think we’re blessed there too, but at the same time it’s been a long road. My wife is the oldest of three children, four years older than her brother and ten older than her sister. Her brother and his new wife just converted this past Easter (thanks and praise be to Christ for that! :D) sort of incidentally because they watched us and, aparently, said to themselves, “We want to be like them,” from the beginning of their relationship. We didn’t know that specifically, but we knew that, as possibly the only Catholic converts most of our friends and family knew, we’d have to be careful about our witness. Wonderfully, God blessed that effort. I hope he continues to do so…

Her parents, though, have been much more resistant. We try to only talk about the Faith when they bring it up, but, especially the year before our conversion, her mother was very, very uncomfortable with our conversion. For example, when one time we went to the Catholic church near their house after going to Easter or Christmas (I can’t remember which) service at my wife’s childhood Free Methodist Church, we got in the car with her family afterward to go somewhere and her mom, sort of jokingly, asked, “Are you gonna become Catholic?” She obviously espected us to laugh uproariously as though that were the craziest thing we’d ever heard, but we paused, thinking to ourselves but not wanting to say it out loud, “Maybe? I don’t know…” But, because we paused, she got very quiet and was clearly very disturbed, if not angry. She didn’t speak to us about anything religious for several months after that. In the two or three years since, she’s begun learning to listen to our perspective when things come up, but she’s still fairly certain Protestantism has it right. On the upside, my wife did get her to admit that she needs to hold her own concept of sola Scriptura up to the same test of biblicality that that concept demands we use to test Catholic doctrines. (Holy Spirit, open her eyes! hehe…) My FIL, however, never talks about anything religious, but we’re still praying…

My side of the family, on the other hand, is a bit of an enigma. I have a blog, seldom but occasionally used, where I try to explain Catholic teaching (so far, mostly the Mary stuff) to the few readers who check it out. My wife, my mom, and a couple old college friends read it, as far as I know. My mom occasionally makes comments that seem to suggest she’s reading and understanding. The trouble, though, is that, somehow she seems to have firmly come to accept the idea of religious relativism. The telling anecdote with her is that, one time when she was visiting and I was talking to her about some doctrinal issue - I don’t recall what - she said, “When I hear you talk, I get the feeling that one of us has to be wrong.” There was a part of me that wanted to say, “Well… duh!” but… how do you say that charitably to anyone who clings to relativism without totally alientating them, much less to your own mother??? Instead, I said nothing. My dad is, like my FIL, very hard to read. He loves reading about religion, but he’s very, very emotionally motivated and doesn’t really think fast enough to be able to have a real conversation about religion. I seize the oportunity to tell him things about what we believe and why we believe it, but I have absolutely no idea how well he receives it or what he thinks of it…

And then there’s my brother, who married an incredibly nominal Catholic, receives the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin every time they go to Mass… They just had a little baby girl who was baptized on Corpus Christi Sunday. We’re praying that raising her will awaken them to the Faith…
 
Tiberius1701 said:
I converted two years ago, at the Easter Vigil of '09, along with my wife. We absolutely love the Church, and we studied our way in, but the social aspect has been a bit of a battle. From the sounds of it, we’re blessed with an exceptionally welcoming parish. We still run into people we’ve never met who say, “Hey, we remember seeing you in the RCIA pews! You’re so-and-so. We pray for you every day.” The trouble is that I work evenings and my wife is a medical student in her final year of school, so neither of us has time to go to social functions or small groups… We have two or three couples we really know from church who, when we find time to hang out with them or when we run into them after Mass once every couple months, we feel alive talking to them. But then we go another couple months with barely enough time to talk to each other for one evening a week, much less to anyone else. We’ve actually made a few friends through a newly-wed group at another nearby Catholic church kind of incidentally, but of course the same problem still exists there…

As for family, I think we’re blessed there too, but at the same time it’s been a long road. My wife is the oldest of three children, four years older than her brother and ten older than her sister. Her brother and his new wife just converted this past Easter (thanks and praise be to Christ for that! :D) sort of incidentally because they watched us and, aparently, said to themselves, “We want to be like them,” from the beginning of their relationship. We didn’t know that specifically, but we knew that, as possibly the only Catholic converts most of our friends and family knew, we’d have to be careful about our witness. Wonderfully, God blessed that effort. I hope he continues to do so…

Her parents, though, have been much more resistant. We try to only talk about the Faith when they bring it up, but, especially the year before our conversion, her mother was very, very uncomfortable with our conversion. For example, when one time we went to the Catholic church near their house after going to Easter or Christmas (I can’t remember which) service at my wife’s childhood Free Methodist Church, we got in the car with her family afterward to go somewhere and her mom, sort of jokingly, asked, “Are you gonna become Catholic?” She obviously espected us to laugh uproariously as though that were the craziest thing we’d ever heard, but we paused, thinking to ourselves but not wanting to say it out loud, “Maybe? I don’t know…” But, because we paused, she got very quiet and was clearly very disturbed, if not angry. She didn’t speak to us about anything religious for several months after that. In the two or three years since, she’s begun learning to listen to our perspective when things come up, but she’s still fairly certain Protestantism has it right. On the upside, my wife did get her to admit that she needs to hold her own concept of sola Scriptura up to the same test of biblicality that that concept demands we use to test Catholic doctrines. (Holy Spirit, open her eyes! hehe…) My FIL, however, never talks about anything religious, but we’re still praying…

My side of the family, on the other hand, is a bit of an enigma. I have a blog, seldom but occasionally used, where I try to explain Catholic teaching (so far, mostly the Mary stuff) to the few readers who check it out. My wife, my mom, and a couple old college friends read it, as far as I know. My mom occasionally makes comments that seem to suggest she’s reading and understanding. The trouble, though, is that, somehow she seems to have firmly come to accept the idea of religious relativism. The telling anecdote with her is that, one time when she was visiting and I was talking to her about some doctrinal issue - I don’t recall what - she said, “When I hear you talk, I get the feeling that one of us has to be wrong.” There was a part of me that wanted to say, “Well… duh!” but… how do you say that charitably to anyone who clings to relativism without totally alientating them, much less to your own mother??? Instead, I said nothing. My dad is, like my FIL, very hard to read. He loves reading about religion, but he’s very, very emotionally motivated and doesn’t really think fast enough to be able to have a real conversation about religion. I seize the oportunity to tell him things about what we believe and why we believe it, but I have absolutely no idea how well he receives it or what he thinks of it…

And then there’s my brother, who married an incredibly nominal Catholic, receives the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin every time they go to Mass… They just had a little baby girl who was baptized on Corpus Christi Sunday. We’re praying that raising her will awaken them to the Faith…
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Wow, that’s quite a story! That’s really cool about your wife’s sister following your example into faith. And I’m almost envious that you and your wife made that journey together. Not what I went through, and honestly I miss that aspect.

Some wonderful posts by others! Thank you so much for sharing! I enjoy hearing other’s experiences…I look forward to being on the RCIA team next year and being able to share my story with others, and help in any way I can.
 
=Tiberius1701;8077430]I converted two years ago, at the Easter Vigil of '09, along with my wife. We absolutely love the Church, and we studied our way in, but the social aspect has been a bit of a battle. From the sounds of it, we’re blessed with an exceptionally welcoming parish. We still run into people we’ve never met who say, “Hey, we remember seeing you in the RCIA pews! You’re so-and-so. We pray for you every day.” The trouble is that I work evenings and my wife is a medical student in her final year of school, so neither of us has time to go to social functions or small groups… We have two or three couples we really know from church who, when we find time to hang out with them or when we run into them after Mass once every couple months, we feel alive talking to them. But then we go another couple months with barely enough time to talk to each other for one evening a week, much less to anyone else. We’ve actually made a few friends through a newly-wed group at another nearby Catholic church kind of incidentally, but of course the same problem still exists there…

As for family, I think we’re blessed there too, but at the same time it’s been a long road. My wife is the oldest of three children, four years older than her brother and ten older than her sister. Her brother and his new wife just converted this past Easter (thanks and praise be to Christ for that! :D) sort of incidentally because they watched us and, aparently, said to themselves, “We want to be like them,” from the beginning of their relationship. We didn’t know that specifically, but we knew that, as possibly the only Catholic converts most of our friends and family knew, we’d have to be careful about our witness. Wonderfully, God blessed that effort. I hope he continues to do so…

Her parents, though, have been much more resistant. We try to only talk about the Faith when they bring it up, but, especially the year before our conversion, her mother was very, very uncomfortable with our conversion. For example, when one time we went to the Catholic church near their house after going to Easter or Christmas (I can’t remember which) service at my wife’s childhood Free Methodist Church, we got in the car with her family afterward to go somewhere and her mom, sort of jokingly, asked, “Are you gonna become Catholic?” She obviously espected us to laugh uproariously as though that were the craziest thing we’d ever heard, but we paused, thinking to ourselves but not wanting to say it out loud, “Maybe? I don’t know…” But, because we paused, she got very quiet and was clearly very disturbed, if not angry. She didn’t speak to us about anything religious for several months after that. In the two or three years since, she’s begun learning to listen to our perspective when things come up, but she’s still fairly certain Protestantism has it right. On the upside, my wife did get her to admit that she needs to hold her own concept of sola Scriptura up to the same test of biblicality that that concept demands we use to test Catholic doctrines. (Holy Spirit, open her eyes! hehe…) My FIL, however, never talks about anything religious, but we’re still praying…

My side of the family, on the other hand, is a bit of an enigma. I have a blog, seldom but occasionally used, where I try to explain Catholic teaching (so far, mostly the Mary stuff) to the few readers who check it out. My wife, my mom, and a couple old college friends read it, as far as I know. My mom occasionally makes comments that seem to suggest she’s reading and understanding. The trouble, though, is that, somehow she seems to have firmly come to accept the idea of religious relativism. The telling anecdote with her is that, one time when she was visiting and I was talking to her about some doctrinal issue - I don’t recall what - she said, “When I hear you talk, I get the feeling that one of us has to be wrong.” There was a part of me that wanted to say, “Well… duh!” but… how do you say that charitably to anyone who clings to relativism without totally alientating them, much less to your own mother??? Instead, I said nothing. My dad is, like my FIL, very hard to read. He loves reading about religion, but he’s very, very emotionally motivated and doesn’t really think fast enough to be able to have a real conversation about religion. I seize the oportunity to tell him things about what we believe and why we believe it, but I have absolutely no idea how well he receives it or what he thinks of it…

And then there’s my brother, who married an incredibly nominal Catholic, receives the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin every time they go to Mass… They just had a little baby girl who was baptized on Corpus Christi Sunday. We’re praying that raising her will awaken them to the Faith…
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WELCOME HOME!

I’m on clear of exactly what you mean by “relativism” in relation to your mom. Secondly how do your parents feel about the Bible? Do they accept it as Gods OWN Inspired WORDS an Teaching?

Maybe I can assist you?

Looking forward to your reply,
God Bless,
Pat
 
PJM said:
WELCOME HOME!

I’m on clear of exactly what you mean by “relativism” in relation to your mom. Secondly how do your parents feel about the Bible? Do they accept it as Gods OWN Inspired WORDS an Teaching?

Maybe I can assist you?

Looking forward to your reply,
God Bless,
Pat
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First, by relativism, I mean that, while she rejects the idea of absolute moral relativism - that there is no truth, period - she seems to believe in, well, I was going to say “religious relativism,” but that’s too broad. I’m sure she’d say that Islam and Budism, etc. aren’t correct, but she seems to believe in something like “Christian relativism.” You know, the old, “we agree on the essentials” lie of Protestantism. She thinks that, since we agree that we’re saved by Jesus and the Bible is the Word of God, no matter what we believe on every other issue, somehow we’re both magically “right” even though we disagree completely. She went to school to be a teacher specializing in special education, so you’d think she’d see the inherent illogic in that position, but I think she’s afraid to consider the consequences of accepting the plain fact that, on matters that I think she knows in her heart, if not in her head, most definitely do effect our salvation, either her son is wrong or she is.

Second, yes, they believe very firmly that the Bible is the infallible word of God. They raised me Christian Reformed and attended CRC services until shortly after I, their youngest of two children, went off to college. They then went to Pentacostal services and even considered joining the Pentacostal ecclesial communion until they were told they would have to be rebaptized. At least at that time, like good Calvinists, they believed that rebaptism is wrong (I’m not sure they would still feel that way, but…). Since moving to a new state a few years later and relocating once more within that state, they’ve mostly just been going to the nearest friendly ecclesial community, not caring whether it was CRC, Pentacostal, or whatever.

Does that help?
 
I’m doing well. It is a lot more challenging when you don’t have RCIA to keep you in the groove each week and all of the Rites and things like that.

Now, I’m trying to figure out my transition from RCIA to being an everyday Catholic.
 
=Tiberius1701;8084195]First, by relativism, I mean that, while she rejects the idea of absolute moral relativism - that there is no truth, period - she seems to believe in, well, I was going to say “religious relativism,” but that’s too broad. I’m sure she’d say that Islam and Budism, etc. aren’t correct, but she seems to believe in something like “Christian relativism.” You know, the old, “we agree on the essentials” lie of Protestantism. She thinks that, since we agree that we’re saved by Jesus and the Bible is the Word of God, no matter what we believe on every other issue, somehow we’re both magically “right” even though we disagree completely. She went to school to be a teacher specializing in special education, so you’d think she’d see the inherent illogic in that position, but I think she’s afraid to consider the consequences of accepting the plain fact that, on matters that I think she knows in her heart, if not in her head, most definitely do effect our salvation, either her son is wrong or she is.

Second, yes, they believe very firmly that the Bible is the infallible word of God. They raised me Christian Reformed and attended CRC services until shortly after I, their youngest of two children, went off to college. They then went to Pentacostal services and even considered joining the Pentacostal ecclesial communion until they were told they would have to be rebaptized. At least at that time, like good Calvinists, they believed that rebaptism is wrong (I’m not sure they would still feel that way, but…). Since moving to a new state a few years later and relocating once more within that state, they’ve mostly just been going to the nearest friendly ecclesial community, not caring whether it was CRC, Pentacostal, or whatever.

Does that help?
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It sure does:thumbsup:

Because of there belief in the Bible; let’s use that as our foundation.

Look for a PM from me,

God Bless,

Pat
 
I have been away from the forums for a while…but God has drawn me back. I’ve been searching and searching the forums and THIS thread was what my heart said I was looking for.

December will be 2 yrs. since swimming the Tiber; can’t believe it’s been 2yrs. already. These past 2yrs have been a tumultuous roller-coaster ride. I have been fighting Satan the ENTIRE time. After confirmation, I had a hard time adjusting to life on my own as a new Catholic. Here I was so thankful I came Home but was on my own. For real. Aside from my brother I’m the only Catholic in my family, including in-laws. None of my friends are Catholic. I love my Mother with all my heart…her comments never cease. Can’t say anything about the Homily, Mass, etc. Nothing. My husband was supportive of my conversion, but doesn’t fully understand the ‘why’ of my converting. Explaining is of no avail.

I was in nursing school at the time I was attending RCIA and shortly thereafter my conversion. My mistake? Putting school before God. God is first. Period. No buts. My faithful attendance was now at best, sporadic. What suffered? 3 things: 1)my relationship with Christ 2)my family was now more at odds with one another than ever before 3)my grades. After getting dropped from the nursing program at my school this past spring, I had about 3 months where I was not in school. It was in this time that I did some serious soul-searching and asked myself “What’s missing? What is different now than 6mos, a year ago?” I realized then my grave mistake. God got pushed down on the list. I now have my priorities in the correct order and as a result my life is getting back on track.

Please…keep me and my family in your prayers. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to vent a little.
 
mcrow said:
I’m doing well. It is a lot more challenging when you don’t have RCIA to keep you in the groove each week and all of the Rites and things like that.

Now, I’m trying to figure out my transition from RCIA to being an everyday Catholic.
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Agreed! I keeping thinking “Now what?”…

I am loving it though…
 
I, too, have been away from the Forum for quite some time, and have no legitimate excuse for not participating more frequently. That said, I always get pumped when given the opportunity to discuss my journey/story. I “swam the Tiber” at Easter Vigil 2005. Can’t believe it’s been six years already. My conversion came a few months prior to my 61st birthday. My cradle Catholic wife asked what took so long, and my response was “blame it on the Holy Spirit!” (Just being facetious, of course.) Anyway, we raised our two children Catholic and they, in turn, are raising our nine grandchildren Catholic. So, what ever caused me to consider becoming Catholic? Perhaps the first and foremost reason is that nobody ever explained to me why Catholics do what they do; i.e. stand up, sit down, stand up, kneel, stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight!! In order to gain better insight and understanding, I decided to attend RCIA, but made one thing crystal clear to my immediate family, and that was that I was doing it for myself and no one else, because to do it for anyone but myself would be the wrong reason. Besides, I wasn’t sure if I would complete the journey. Right from the outset, and continuing weekly like a steam locomotive, the history and tradition of the Church and the celebration of the Mass became clearer and clearer. I like to describe it as “the fog lifting” or “scales falling from my eyes,” or simply “connecting the dots.” In a matter of a few months of RCIA I was captive, hook, line and sinker. The more I learned, the more I had to learn. I couldn’'t get enough. The seminal moment came when I understood what actually happens during the consecration—that the elements of bread and wine become the Real Presence of Christ’s Body and Blood; that when we take Communion in a worthy manner, Christ lives in us, and we live in Him. This is an actual Scriptural promise which for me, as a former Protestant who believed Communion to be merely symbolic, was critically important since I always look for Bible-based support. In the ensuing six years I have tried to immerse myself in my new found faith to make up for “lost time;” that is, all the years I could have been, but wasn’t, Catholic. I attend Our Lady’s Prayer group (the Rosary) on Tuesday evenings which is followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, followed by Mass. On Wednesday morning I attend an ecumenical men’s group from 7-8 a.m., followed by Mass, followed by Ministry of Communion which involves taking the Eucharist to those who are homebound. I also attend Thursday evening Mass and serve as an EM whenever the opportunity arises. This is not to brag, rather to illustrate that my faith is burning brightly still six years later. And, if I ever get, shall we say, bored by the “routine” of Mass, I always remember what a priest suggested: Come to Mass as if it were your first Mass, as if it were your last Mass, as if it were your ONLY Mass. In closing, I love to tell the story of what my wife said a year or so after coming into the Church when I started getting so involved (following taking early retirement five years ago), and that was to unwittingly give me a compliment by saying that I was “too Catholic.” Ha.
 
usemelord said:
… In closing, I love to tell the story of what my wife said a year or so after coming into the Church when I started getting so involved (following taking early retirement five years ago), and that was to unwittingly give me a compliment by saying that I was “too Catholic.” Ha.
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👍 That’s a wonderful conversion story. My wife once gave me the same compliment, shortly before we converted together. We were in the car after spending an evening with her parents and siblings, and were talking about something I’d said in front of everyone our some hypothetical names for our kids not being “Catholic enough.” She said, “Sometimes I wish you were just a little less Catholic, at least in front of non-Catholics.” Then she stopped, thought about what she’d just said, and spoke up again, “No I don’t. Don’t listen to me. You can never be too Catholic.” That car ride has always stuch with me. It makes me so proud to know that, even if it took her a moment, she acknowledged that we need never be ashamed of our Faith, and it made me feel much more confident in my witness because I knew from that moment on that she would always have my back. That’s the last time she ever complained about me being “too Catholic.” I’m so very blessed to have her in my life… and I’m insanely blessed to have the Catholic Church! 😃
 
Thanks, Tiberius, for your reply. How I survived (spiritually) without being Catholic for the first sixty years of my life is beyond me. I especially like your description of being “insanely blessed.” Ain’t that the truth!!
 
usemelord said:
Thanks, Tiberius, for your reply. How I survived (spiritually) without being Catholic for the first sixty years of my life is beyond me. I especially like your description of being “insanely blessed.” Ain’t that the truth!!
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Hehe. Absolutely, Usemelord! I only had to make it 26 years without the Catholic Church, but even that long is far too long. But, as you said, it’s all on account of God’s timing. The Holy Spirit knew when we needed to come Home. Nonetheless, I can look back and see little hints of my Patron Saint’s prayers leaving the bread crumbs that led me here all my life. I may not have even heard of St. Macarius of Jerusalem until just a couple months before my Confirmation, but I know he’d been praying for me since the moment I was conceived. 🙂 God is truly inconceivably gracious!
 
…and His mercy and grace are inexhaustible. Praised be our one Lord and one God. (Aren’t new Catholics just obnoxious!!! Would we have it any other way?)
 
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