Protestant?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Prairieskies
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Hi Prarieskies, and welcome to the forum.

My wife comes from a small town, so I know what it can be like to try to change. Her mother has been going to the same awful hairdresser for 30 years and refuses to change because of the ‘scandal’ it might cause. And that’s just hair–I can only imagine what you’re thinking of.

All I can offer is hope that you’ll find a way. Or maybe a better way to put it is to say, hope that God will lead you to find a way. 🙂
 
“A letter allows you to consider your words carefully. It also pretty much forces the other person to “listen” to all you have to say without being able to interrupt you.
Plus, in most cases, the person cannot react immediately to you. There will be a lag time which gives them a chance to get over any initial shock and enter into a much more calm and reasoned dialogue.”

Your advise is sound. When the time comes,(and it will) this is how I should go on.

Thank you:)
 
Prairieskies said:
“A letter allows you to consider your words carefully. It also pretty much forces the other person to “listen” to all you have to say without being able to interrupt you.
Plus, in most cases, the person cannot react immediately to you. There will be a lag time which gives them a chance to get over any initial shock and enter into a much more calm and reasoned dialogue.”

Your advise is sound. When the time comes,(and it will) this is how I should go on.

Thank you:)
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You are welcome.

Peace
James
 
elohimrules said:
Remember, protestantism started with Martin Luther so the question is how much faith do you put into Luther, that he alone was right and the WHOLE church wrong. Granted, there were many troubles with the Church at the time, but should Christians then throw “out the baby with the bathwater” so to speak?! Just some thoughts, not sure if they helped. God bless and may the Lord continue to guide you in your journey and adventure of faith!
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I am a convert too. Mother was loosely Lutheran and I was raised with all the objections to the Catholic Church ( they worship Mary etc) . However my parents sent me to a Catholic school for elementary - because there were only 2 schools in our town and they did not feel the public school ( which was closer ) was any good. My father was at best agnostic although I have a hope that he is saved because he talked about being a choir boy in Portsmouth Cathedral so I believe he was at least Baptized and after he died and I had entered the Catholic Church I discovered this wonderful thing about being able to have masses offered for people. I had no way of knowing if he was in hell ( his life certainly suggested he should be) or if by the grace of baptism that he was in Purgatory.( I accept the teaching of purgatory because I had accepted after 40 years that the Catholic Church has the fullness of the truth) After I had that mass said my mother - still not Catholic - whom I had not told about the mass- told me she had a dream of my father and he was scrubbing himself clean in a bath tub. I knew that was meant for me.
ANYWAY that was totally off topic sorry , what I wanted to say was: in all fairness to Luther and Lutherans to say that " he alone" was the soul reason for the protestant revolt is as inaccurate as saying that we are saved by faith alone. 6 years ago I found THE most brilliant book on the reformation by a Dr Hillenbrand - the old version was written in the 60s I believe and was the text book for a long time. He was then a Professor at Duke. There he shows how the movement was a cumulative effect of many things and had different instigators in different countries.
 
Prairieskies said:
Let me ask hypothetical question - If someone wanted to become catholic, could it ever be done quietly?

IQUOTE]
First I wanted to say welcome and well done. Great post. You have been led to a great place to explore these things quietly.

It took me 40 years and much anguish ,angst and foot dragging , stops and starts, questions, doubts and I didn’t have the extra pressures that you have. I can highly recommend Dr Scott Hahn’s Books or CDs . as learning resources. This website is great salvationhistory.com because a) as you look at the title if someone sees it and asks you about it , you can honestly say to them I am studying God’s plan of salvation. The second is

chnetwork.org/information/marcus-grodi/ Someone already mentioned this site but I wanted to second it. There is a connect button on that site and you can ask them for prayers and advice. You may even be able to be connected with a Priest who can help you learn in a quieter way until you are ready to make the leap.

God bless and do not fear . Trust in the Lord Jesus. For if He is for you then who can be against you?
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Thank you Maryann C,

I appreciate your advise as well as everyone else on this thread. It truly has been a blessing to me.

Thank you:)
 
Prairieskies said:
Let me ask hypothetical question - If someone wanted to become catholic, could it ever be done quietly?

Thank you for listening! 🙂

Just being able to talk about it has helped.
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I don’t know why, but when I saw this it reminded me of you,
Galatians 5:5
But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.
 
This might be off topic.

But if you do enter The Catholic Church, don’t think you will lose all of that desire to help others and love of God, you will bring all of those with you and feel more complete and fulfilled. 🙂
 
It has been a difficult but also interesting process. Currently I have read, “Waking Up Catholic”, almost finished, “The Protestants Dilemma” and have been reading at a slower rate, “Catholicism & Mass for Dummies”. When I finish the protestants dilemma I will start, “Rome Sweet Home”. I have watched The Journey Home series and it has been helpful.

I long to attend RCIA classes and Mass. The town that I live in doesn’t have a Catholic Church but the next town over does. Unfortunately it has those steep steps leading up to the doors, sits on a busy corner and is right next door to the County Court House. There is absolutely no way to get into the church without being noticed! I would email or phone the Priest to ask him questions, but the only way to contact him is through his office staff. This church has a K - 8th grade school attached to it so I can imagine the Priest is very, very busy. The reason I didn’t want to go through the office staff is because I am not sure they will keep it private, (In a small rural county like mine, folks just love to spread news).

But then again, perhaps it won’t matter. Tonight I was talking to my sister who lives back East and … told her I was thinking about becoming Catholic and why.:ouch: I explained my reasons and how I felt the Holy Spirits leading me. I’m not sure why I told her since I was determined not to tell anyone until August. I wanted to make sure I knew my facts and was more comfortable with the whole idea myself.

My sister was shocked, So very disappointed in me. She couldn’t understand, " how could I just walk away from my Christian faith and family"! I explained gently that I wasn’t walking away from Christ or my family.

At this point she has promised not to tell anyone until I have made up my mind on what I plan to do, (but that could change at anytime with her). In the mean time, she has promised to read, “The Protestants Dilemma” since I am currently reading it and we will have this to talk about. Please pray for my sister that she will have an open mind and will allow the Holy Spirit to speak to her through this. Please, pray also that I will have the courage to do whatever is require of me even if it means walking into the church to make an appointment to see the Priest. I can’t tell you how much this scares me.

Thank you for listening:)
 
Dear Lord - Help Prairie’s sister to see the beauty of your Church and come to support her brother on his journey. In Jesus name we ask this. Amen.

I’m sure her comments about “turning your back…” probably hurt the most. Yet, as you say, that is not what you would be doing.

I have to wonder - - if you had told her that the Spirit was leading you to Lutheranism, or Anglicanism - - would she have the same reaction?
It puzzles me that certain protestants will not have a problem with being “Spirit Led” around the various protestant groups and belief systems - but if the Spirit leads you to Catholicism…:eek:

I hope you sister does keep your secret for now - and that the two of you can gently discuss these matters moving forward.

Let us know how things are going. 👍

Peace
James
 
Thank you JRKH,

It means a lot to know others are praying and that the Lord will lead!🙂
 
Prairieskies said:
This is the first time I have posted here. I should state from the beginning I am not Catholic, but of the Protestant faith. I hope I am not upsetting anyone on this site by asking for your advise. My background, - I was a teenage when I heard the gospel for the first time and after a year or so, I as well as the rest of my immediate family accepted Jesus Christ as our savior. After going through several months of baptismal classes, I was soon baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I finished my high school education at a Christian school and became very active in the church. As the years have gone by, I have taught Sunday school, VBS, (vacation bible school), AWANA, nursery and been a Greeter and a worker in the kitchen. Yet, I am now having a deep longing to become …catholic. It has been going on for at least 5 years now. As the years go by the need has grown stronger and stronger till I actually bought a NAB, (tablet version). I know it sounds odd, but it feels like the Holy Spirit is pursuing me. I can’t imagine why since I have already accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.
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Anyway, I came across this website while trying to get more information on just what was a catholic. The information has been interesting, informative and confusing. I would like to spend time attending mass and taking classes on the catholic faith, but I don't see that happening. I live in a small, (less then 4000) rural community where everyone knows everyone. If it got out that I was showing an interest in the catholic church it will cause an enormous amount of grief and pain for my family, friends and church. I don't want to do that! I could go to the city, (about 45 minutes to an hour away depending on traffic) but what reason could I possible give to be attending church in the city! I need to find out if the Lord is leading me in the direction of the Catholic faith. I must be sure of this before anyone I know finds out that I am even thinking about the catholic church. 

My whole life I have never been interested in learning about the Catholic Church. We are warned to stay away from them since; they "Worship Mary and the Saints". Also, Catholics try to earn their salvation instead of accepting it as a gift from God. At 53 years old I should just be able to put this all behind me and continue forward but I can't.
Let me ask hypothetical question - If someone wanted to become catholic, could it ever be done quietly?

I just don’t know, perhaps this is something to consider when my parents have passed on. They both live with me so it would be extremely difficult to do anything about this now. I just feel so torn and don’t know what to do.

Thank you for listening! 🙂

Just being able to talk about it has helped.
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First, may God truly Bless you in yr quest…for starters…welcome…I can appreciate yr concern for yr family’s thoughts but if they love you…and I’m sure that you come from a very spiritual loving family…they will in time come to accept whatever decision you come to. Surely you know that we, as Catholics do not worship Mary, Statues, or anything but Jesus Christ/God…it has been said…I believe, the late Bishop Sheen, that most people hate the Catholic Church for things that they don’t understand. My respectful suggestion is that you find a Priest in your area and make an appointment and share with him what you just shared with us. He will be able to answer questions and probably provide you with some reading material…you might want to sit in on RCIA, the Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults…The Priest at whatever Parish you contact will be able to provide you info.on this. Not to worry…just because you are attending the classes doesn’t mean that you are under any obligation…and most importantly…remember to Pray…I know that you probably do already…but continue to Pray…I will remember you in my prayers and I’m sure most everyone else on this site will do the same…PAX (Peace)
 
Welcome home. God is working powerfully in your life.
The Knights of Columbus have some great, basic, free booklets on what Catholics believe. You can write to them and they will send them to you.

There is no greater thing than receiving Jesus in the Sacraments. It is indescribable.

I also recommend purchasing a YouCat and or a St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism. The Catechism if the Catholic Church is excellent also, but a little harder to understand.

You will find that the Church is scripturally accurate.

As the other posters have said, EWTN is a great resource.
 
Prairieskies said:
It has been a difficult but also interesting process. Currently I have read, “Waking Up Catholic”, almost finished, “The Protestants Dilemma” and have been reading at a slower rate, “Catholicism & Mass for Dummies”. When I finish the protestants dilemma I will start, “Rome Sweet Home”. I have watched The Journey Home series and it has been helpful.

I long to attend RCIA classes and Mass. The town that I live in doesn’t have a Catholic Church but the next town over does. Unfortunately it has those steep steps leading up to the doors, sits on a busy corner and is right next door to the County Court House. There is absolutely no way to get into the church without being noticed! I would email or phone the Priest to ask him questions, but the only way to contact him is through his office staff. This church has a K - 8th grade school attached to it so I can imagine the Priest is very, very busy. The reason I didn’t want to go through the office staff is because I am not sure they will keep it private, (In a small rural county like mine, folks just love to spread news).

But then again, perhaps it won’t matter. Tonight I was talking to my sister who lives back East and … told her I was thinking about becoming Catholic and why.:ouch: I explained my reasons and how I felt the Holy Spirits leading me. I’m not sure why I told her since I was determined not to tell anyone until August. I wanted to make sure I knew my facts and was more comfortable with the whole idea myself.

My sister was shocked, So very disappointed in me. She couldn’t understand, " how could I just walk away from my Christian faith and family"! I explained gently that I wasn’t walking away from Christ or my family.

At this point she has promised not to tell anyone until I have made up my mind on what I plan to do, (but that could change at anytime with her). In the mean time, she has promised to read, “The Protestants Dilemma” since I am currently reading it and we will have this to talk about. Please pray for my sister that she will have an open mind and will allow the Holy Spirit to speak to her through this. Please, pray also that I will have the courage to do whatever is require of me even if it means walking into the church to make an appointment to see the Priest. I can’t tell you how much this scares me.

Thank you for listening:)
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Praying!! I can understand your nervousness, when I converted (from being a Baptist). I was so nervous to tell my anti-Catholic family my decision. If a coward like me can do it, anyone can 🙂 For after all, it is written:
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” -Romans 8:26

Pax!
 
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