Question for all converts

[Monica4316]

Hi, I’ve been wondering something… I know there must be many other people here who are converts, or who had to discern something in their lives… when God started leading you to the Church and showing you that it’s the truth, how was it, and how did it make you feel? Was He communicating this to you through your heart, or through your mind, or through research? Did it make you feel peaceful or joyful even if there was some human fear involved (“am I doing the right thing”, “is this from God”, “what will people think”, etc.). If you had any spiritual experiences or felt God leading you to the Church, - what was that experience like? (if you don’t feel comfortable sharing in detail that’s alright, but if you can share, that would be awesome). Did you get a sense of God’s love and peace, and if you were resistant, was He patient with you?

the reason I’m asking this is to understand my own discernment in some ways.

Thank you

 

[CalCatholic]

I was raised with no religion (though I was baptized Lutheran as a baby). For many years I felt that I should be going to church (for an unknown reason), but I ignored these thoughts, but they would not go away. I knew next to nothing about Christianity, so I went to a Borders bookstore on several different occasions. I started reading books on Christianity (The Case for Christ, Rome Sweet Home, etc). I started looking at bibles and comparing them and decided to by one (NIV) to read at home. This feeling would not go away, the more I read the more I wanted to know. I started reading Church history, also a book on the Early Church Fathers (Four Witnesses). I decided that I was going to go to church one Sunday (in 2003) and I was trying to decided which Church to go to. My wife is Catholic, but we only went to Church a few times in our first 26 years of marriage. I was considering a Lutheran Church that was closed to our house, but decided to try the Catholic Church first. As soon as I started attending mass, I knew that I belonged here. I attended mass for several months before I inquired about RCIA. As I went through the RCIA process, many of the things that I read about Christianity and Church history clicked and seemed to fit perfectly, and the people that I meet throught the RCIA process and at Church were wonderful. As I learned about the Holy Spirit, I knew that it was He who had been calling me all along, it just took me a long time to listen.

 

[Monica4316]

I was raised with no religion (though I was baptized Lutheran as a baby). For many years I felt that I should be going to church (for an unknown reason), but I ignored these thoughts, but they would not go away. I knew next to nothing about Christianity, so I went to a Borders bookstore on several different occasions. I started reading books on Christianity (The Case for Christ, Rome Sweet Home, etc). I started looking at bibles and comparing them and decided to by one (NIV) to read at home. This feeling would not go away, the more I read the more I wanted to know. I started reading Church history, also a book on the Early Church Fathers (Four Witnesses). I decided that I was going to go to church one Sunday (in 2003) and I was trying to decided which Church to go to. My wife is Catholic, but we only went to Church a few times in our first 26 years of marriage. I was considering a Lutheran Church that was closed to our house, but decided to try the Catholic Church first. As soon as I started attending mass, I knew that I belonged here. I attended mass for several months before I inquired about RCIA. As I went through the RCIA process, many of the things that I read about Christianity and Church history clicked and seemed to fit perfectly, and the people that I meet throught the RCIA process and at Church were wonderful. As I learned about the Holy Spirit, I knew that it was He who had been calling me all along, it just took me a long time to listen.

thanks for sharing! that indeed seems like the Holy Spirit