Question for converts: What's your story?

[marcylee]

**luminous hope said:

My mother died when I was 16; it was a terrible loss, and if I can come into relationship with the Blessed Mother it might well be one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.

For me the Catholic church is “church as it should be.” My favorite times are just kneeling in the church looking at the image of my crucified Lord and being overwhelmed by what He has done for me.*
Welcome home!*

luminoushope:

I’m just new to this internet stuff, too, so I hope I’m cutting and pasting properly!

My mother passed away 2 years ago, and I think that is why I feel such a strong desire to be close to my true Mother. I think I had been in a deep depression and I did not realize it until I started going to Mass. It seems to have lifted, although I still have times when I miss her.

I, too, get overwhelmed when I see my Lord on the cross. That is something I missed in the Protestant church. I don’t think we should ever forget the tremendous sacrifice He made for us.

I have a prayer card containing the Litany of Mary of Nazareth. Since I have been praying that, I have felt so close to Mary. She has gone through every emotion and has felt everything that we feel.

Thank you and God Bless!

PS: I hope you can get out of your house soon!

 

[Memaw]

Good morning friends, I am still snowed in, so look out, I have lots of words!

Your testimony is very sweet and contains things I can relate to. What initially drew me to the Catholic church was “my luminous Catholic women friends.” I couldn’t find any other way to say it. I had the same contrast with the Protestant church, and observed Catholics’ reverence for God. Later I ended up having to try to explain “luminous” to my husband and to the priest. It was a challenge trying to put something so subjective in logical terms. I ended up with, “you shall know them by their fruits.” I did.

One friend with whom I had been in the Protestant church, who reverted to Catholicism, wrote me of her relief at no longer having “the manic drive to study, study, study!” that drove the church we were formerly in. I agree. Of course I read, and I only wish I were being confirmed this Easter–I rejoice for you–but I no longer have to know it all. As an aspiring Catholic of almost 60 years of age, that doesn’t seem likely anyway. I hope your studies are deeply enriching for you at every level and lay an ample foundation for your future Christian life.

My mother died when I was 16; it was a terrible loss, and if I can come into relationship with the Blessed Mother it might well be one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.

For me the Catholic church is “church as it should be.” My favorite times are just kneeling in the church looking at the image of my crucified Lord and being overwhelmed by what He has done for me.

Welcome home!

A prayer I find very helpful to me when “looking at the Crucified Lord” is;

Oh my crucified Savior, I adore the wounds in THY Sacred Head, with a sorrow deep and true.
May every thought I have today, be an act of LOVE for YOU
.
I adore the wounds in THY Sacred Hands, with a sorrow deep and true,
May all the work of my hands today, be an act of LOVE for YOU.

I adore the wounds in THY Sacred Feet, with a sorrow deep and true,
May all the steps I take today, be an act of LOVE for YOU.

I adore the wound in THY Sacred Heart, with a sorrow deep and true,
May every beat of my heart today, be an act of LOVE for YOU.

It was taught to us by a Missionary that was giving a retreat at our Church. I have never forgotten it. God Bless, Memaw

 

[Jerry_Parker]

Marylee,

You wrote: I, too, get overwhelmed when I see my Lord on the cross. That is something I missed in the Protestant church. I don’t think we should ever forget the tremendous sacrifice He made for us.

Well, you are right to keep before your eyes Our Lord crucified. As St. Paul said, “For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ and [H]im crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, Confraternity Version).

Jerry Parker

 

[luminoushope]

A prayer I find very helpful to me when “looking at the Crucified Lord” is;

Oh my crucified Savior, I adore the wounds in THY Sacred Head, with a sorrow deep and true.
May every thought I have today, be an act of LOVE for YOU
.
I adore the wounds in THY Sacred Hands, with a sorrow deep and true,
May all the work of my hands today, be an act of LOVE for YOU.

I adore the wounds in THY Sacred Feet, with a sorrow deep and true,
May all the steps I take today, be an act of LOVE for YOU.

I adore the wound in THY Sacred Heart, with a sorrow deep and true,
May every beat of my heart today, be an act of LOVE for YOU.

It was taught to us by a Missionary that was giving a retreat at our Church. I have never forgotten it. God Bless, Memaw

Thank you for posting this beautiful prayer. I quoted it in full hoping that many people will see it. I copied it by hand into a notebook. Love and thanks–Luminous Hope

 

[Augustine]

You two had written: *One friend with whom I had been in the Protestant church, who reverted to Catholicism, wrote me of her relief at no longer having “the manic drive to study, study, study!” that drove the church we were formerly in… – I rejoice for you–but I no longer have to know it all. *

That says a lot! Protestants, and sectaries even more so, relentlessly comb the Bible to find verifications of their theories, especially regarding End Time matters (eschatolgy), getting into terrible contortions of speculation, as they do in so many other matters as well.

Sola Scriptura, in theory and in practice, exudes a whiff of Gnosticism to me…

 

[Jerry_Parker]

Augustine,

You commented: *“Sola Scriptura”, in theory and in practice, exudes a whiff of Gnosticism to me. *

Hm-m-m, that comment gives “food for thought”: I had not thought of that particular objection to excessive biblicism! However, those who the most urge “sola Scriptura” do tend to ignore the Bible in the context of Church history, patristics, etc. Either they selectively cite the Church Fathers to back only what appeals to them (i.e. confirms what they think already) in ancient interpretation of Scripture, dismissing the rest as faulty words of men who only at times “were on the right track” (such presumption!), or, in the case of the sectaries and cults, they deride any resort to Patristics, even to Theology and Exegetics of any period.

I do think that the Eastern Orthodox theologians are right in giving confidence only to “canonical Fathers”, thus excluding confidence in figures of Church antiquity who were notorious for excessive speculation, even if they were not necessarily outrightly heretical (e.g., most notoriously, Origen). This approach makes the Patristic witness of right exegesis and doctrine all the more solid and certain. The Church itself recognises those men of Christian Antiquity who merit confidence, hence who are true Fathers of the Church. (Alas, this attitude occasionally has unfortunate results, as in disqualifying, as most Orthodox do, Saint Augustine, so far as the Eastern Orthodox are concerned. The principle is sound, however much one needs to be careful in its application.)

You just may be right, Augustine!

Jerry Parker

 

[katielyn05]

Well I’m not catholic…but it’s been an interesting journey to where I’ve gotten so far on it, so I’ll share. I might ask some strange questions on this board…this might make people understand where I’m coming from a little better.

My grandmother moved her from mexico, was orphaned, and raised by nuns. So my mom was catholic too. She married my dad who is southern baptist but they wanted to go to church together, so they picked out an evangelical church and raised their family in it.

When I was 13 or so I decided the whole thing just didn’t make sense. No one I knew would answer my questions and it seemed like santa claus all over again. So I stopped and was pretty much atheist

In high school my family life got really rocky, so I left. I just got introduced to some pretty cool people that were in college and left my family to be raised by them. They introduced me to Elementalism (like a subsection of wicca) and I was very heavily into that for the last 8 years or so. (quiet honestly, even still it feels difficult to let go of my elementalism…I was/am so attached to it…its like trying to deny a part of me). While I was in high school I had an absolute vendetta against people of any christian faith- it was a common occurrence for me to ridicule or beat up anyone who made an outward proclamation of their faith. I was a very mean, angry person

About a year ago I started feeling empty. My mind kept wandering to the concept of Christianity while I tried to fall asleep at night. It kept me up for months. To the point where I couldn’t hide that I wasn’t sleeping, but I couldn’t talk to anyone about it- I was too afraid of being rejected by the only family I felt I was a part of. But anyways, I couldn’t get my mind off of it- it felt like I almost had a gulp desire for something that…stable. Safe. As an elementalist- it always seemed so scary. Things that go bump in the night scary. Once I even blacked out completely while meditating and woke up to see my (much bigger) friends had tied me up because I had attempted to strangle one of them.

So during this time period where I was contemplating all of this, I found a cool shiny piece of metal on the ground. Didn’t know what it was though, except it was religious. So I went up to someone who I had met recently through a club I was in in college and asked if he did (I didn’t want to ask my close friends, and didn’t figure they would know anyways). He told me it was a scapular (?) it was a medallion-y thing with a cross on one side and Mary on the other. I thought it was pretty cool that I had found it while I had been thinking about all this.

Finally, after months I started thinking about maybe possibly attempting to pray. But it felt like I didn’t know how, and attempting it gave me a headache anyways. But I needed a way to get these thoughts off my chest. So I thread a paperclip through the hole in the medallion and wrote out a list of my thoughts and clipped it to the paper clip. I started carrying it around everywhere I went everyday, constantly changing the paper on the clip. I showed my new friend (who ended up being catholic) what I had done with the medallion, and he thought it was neat and we started talking about prayer. After a while he showed me how to pray the rosary (although I still have trouble remembering parts). I got one for free made out of little plastic beads and started praying it at night when I got scared of “things that go bump in the night”.

Talking to my friend- I didn’t think it would even be acceptable for me to pray after all the hate that I’ve shown to any christian that would come my way. (knowing that I wouldn’t bring a bible into my home with everyone living there and the potentional for me to get "caught) he gave me the book “man in white” by johnny cash- which is the story of Paul. It made me feel a lot better about getting over all the mean things that I’ve done.

So to sum it up- it’s been long, I’ve been stubborn. But I’m interested in seeing where this all goes…

 

[moen]

Hey everyone, (luminous, where could you be all snow in? I thought in New England it was bad!)

I want to throw something out for bantering, since you all seem like family at this point
This is nagging me regarding Mary as our mother. In scripture the Protestants say that when Jesus told John “Behold your mother” it was for taking care of her. CC says it’s for spiritual purposes. So it sort of is a debatable point, no? Yet clearly in the Bible in 1 Pet 3:6 it says specifically that it is *Sarah who is our (for women) mother. *Yet at the same time I say this I am discovering the mystery/love of Mary, please don’t get me wrong. It’s just so difficult to “prove” this point, and is a main reason for persecution in the friends/family arena here.

I’ve shared the following very rarely (because of the rolling of the eyes factor) but on a forum it’s kinda anonymous —but during a time of deep sorrow/prayer over being barren for lo so many, many years, God comforted me with an honest to goodness real time vision (while on stage doing music, where I was NOT pondering anything but playing/singing, believe me!) of Sarah and Rachel were (felt like literally) holding my hands, like they knew and heard me as sisters who were barren also. And I felt like Sarah as a “MOM” was there for me. They were both smiling from ear to ear, and I literally saw long, gray hair and big, beautiful blue eyes. Then I saw a vision of Christ with a newborn…anyway I won’t share all of it–but…PS-I was pregnant 2 months later!

I have a real veneration for Abraham and Sarah:bowdown: in my heart for a variety of reasons (their trailblazing in the Lord, their just continuing to put one foot in front of the other,which I can SO relate…and it seems to me that scripture backs up that honoring, whereas with Mary scripture is not so clear…someone help me out here??? It’s this kind of thing that nags the nonCatholic side of me still! I guess I’m used to the proof-texting of my recent background.
love to you all, my brothers and sisters:wave:

 

[marcylee]

Jerry, you said:

Well, you are right to keep before your eyes Our Lord crucified. As St. Paul said, “For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ and [H]im crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, Confraternity Version).

Thank you for reminding me of that verse. When I get so overwhelmed when I look at my Lord on the cross, I feel I should look away. But when I read your response, I remembered a couple of verses.

“And the Lord said unto Moses,make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” Numbers 21:8

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
John 12:32

You’re right, we need to always look upon our Lord and keep Him ever before us.

 

[Jerry_Parker]

Marcylee,

Yes, it is frightful to think of what Our Lord endured for us on the Cross. However, the Cross is as central to Christianity as the Empty Tomb, despite what Crucifix-hating sectaries and some Protestants think! If Jesus Christ had risen from the dead without having propiated our sins on the Cross, it would simply be a matter for “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”, rather than of N.T. Scripture and our salvation.

Lutherans emphatically maintain the centrality of the Cross, as Roman and Eastern Catholics and the Orthodox do. The Crucifix figures large in traditional Lutheran Church architecture and furnishings. Lutherans constantly (and rightly) oppose the “theology of glory” of Calvinism and of the sects by holding to a “theology of the Cross”. So, coming from Lutheranism to Catholicism or Orthodoxy, in that regard, is not so difficult as for the Reformed and the sects. Thank the Lord for that, because, as it is, there are plenty of other difficulties to overcome!

Jerry Parker

 

[LegoGE1947]

Marcylee,

Yes, it is frightful to think of what Our Lord endured for us on the Cross. However, the Cross is as central to Christianity as the Empty Tomb, despite what Crucifix-hating sectaries and some Protestants think! If Jesus Christ had risen from the dead without having propiated our sins on the Cross, it would simply be a matter for “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”, rather than of N.T. Scripture and our salvation.

Lutherans emphatically maintain the centrality of the Cross, as Roman and Eastern Catholics and the Orthodox do. The Crucifix figures large in traditional Lutheran Church architecture and furnishings. Lutherans constantly (and rightly) oppose the “theology of glory” of Calvinism and of the sects by holding to a “theology of the Cross”. So, coming from Lutheranism to Catholicism or Orthodoxy, in that regard, is not so difficult as for the Reformed and the sects. Thank the Lord for that, because, as it is, there are plenty of other difficulties to overcome!

Jerry Parker

In Protestant churches the empty cross looks just “Empty”

 

[mystagogia]

This is nagging me regarding Mary as our mother. In scripture the Protestants say that when Jesus told John “Behold your mother” it was for taking care of her. CC says it’s for spiritual purposes. So it sort of is a debatable point, no? Yet clearly in the Bible in 1 Pet 3:6 it says specifically that it is *Sarah who is our (for women) mother. *Yet at the same time I say this I am discovering the mystery/love of Mary, please don’t get me wrong. It’s just so difficult to “prove” this point, and is a main reason for persecution in the friends/family arena here.

Hi, Moen!

Tradition holds that the Virgin Mary lived with John the Apostle after Christ was crucified, so I don’t think the Protestants are unjustified in the interpretation you ascribe to them. Additionally, in the footnotes in my Catholic Bible this very interpretation is listed. So I don’t think disagreement exists over this aspect of the Scripture.

Yes, Catholics especially, although many Protestants too, do ascribe several other aspects of interpretation to this passage (and Scripture in general). I am continually amazed at how rich and how dense and interwoven the Scriptures are. Truly one could spend a lifetime pondering them!

It is unfortunate that whenever they see us praying to Virgin Mary for intercession they see it as idolatry and Mary worship. Lacking the veneration of Our Lady to the same degree and also lacking the tradtion of intercession, it sure must seem that way to them. The best we can do is insist that it is not; that we regard the Virgin Mary as a human being, the human Mother of God, as they do, not a goddess. She’s one who has no power, meaning, or glory of her own accord outside of Christ. She is as she describes her own self, “a handmaid of the Lord.” She’s the Queen of Heaven, one of perfect sanctity, but one of us.

 

[Jerry_Parker]

LegoGE1947,

You wrote: In Protestant churches the empty cross looks just "Empty"

Well, this is true of many Protestant denominations and of the sects and cults, but it is not the case with Lutherans true to their Reformation heritage and with many Anglicans (especially “Anglo-Catholic” ones). Not only the Cross, but the Crucifix (with Corpus) are central to their altars and/or chancels.

For some of the Protestant and sectarian goons, even the bare Cross (without the Corpus) is too “Popish” for them. Others accept the bodyless Cross in their meeting houses. However, there is diversity in all of these matters from one group to another and even within them.

“In the Cross of Christ I glory, towering over the wrecks of time.”

Jerry Parker

 

[marcylee]

Jerry,

Yes, you are right when you speak about Calvinist Protestants ingoring the crucifix. When I was in my Communicants class as a teenager in the Presbyterian church, the minister asked us what the difference between Catholics and Presbyterians was. No one could answer. Then he pointed to the empty cross. That reminds me of how empty I felt in that church.

Is that what people mean when they speak of the Scandal of the Cross? I’m just learning.

Thanks for all you help.

Marcylee

 

[LegoGE1947]

Hi, Moen!

Tradition holds that the Virgin Mary lived with John the Apostle after Christ was crucified, so I don’t think the Protestants are unjustified in the interpretation you ascribe to them. Additionally, in the footnotes in my Catholic Bible this very interpretation is listed. So I don’t think disagreement exists over this aspect of the Scripture.

Yes, Catholics especially, although many Protestants too, do ascribe several other aspects of interpretation to this passage (and Scripture in general). I am continually amazed at how rich and how dense and interwoven the Scriptures are. Truly one could spend a lifetime pondering them!

It is unfortunate that whenever they see us praying to Virgin Mary for intercession they see it as idolatry and Mary worship. Lacking the veneration of Our Lady to the same degree and also lacking the tradtion of intercession, it sure must seem that way to them. The best we can do is insist that it is not; that we regard the Virgin Mary as a human being, the human Mother of God, as they do, not a goddess. She’s one who has no power, meaning, or glory of her own accord outside of Christ. She is as she describes her own self, “a handmaid of the Lord.” She’s the Queen of Heaven, one of perfect sanctity, but one of us.

Like Mary we too have no power, meaning, or glory of our own accord outside of Christ.

 

[LegoGE1947]

Jerry,

Yes, you are right when you speak about Calvinist Protestants ingoring the crucifix. When I was in my Communicants class as a teenager in the Presbyterian church, the minister asked us what the difference between Catholics and Presbyterians was. No one could answer. Then he pointed to the empty cross. That reminds me of how empty I felt in that church.

Is that what people mean when they speak of the Scandal of the Cross? I’m just learning.

Thanks for all you help.

Marcylee

The crucifix reminds us that there could be no resurrection with out the crucifixion

 

[Memaw]

Jerry,

Yes, you are right when you speak about Calvinist Protestants ingoring the crucifix. When I was in my Communicants class as a teenager in the Presbyterian church, the minister asked us what the difference between Catholics and Presbyterians was. No one could answer. Then he pointed to the empty cross. That reminds me of how empty I felt in that church.

Is that what people mean when they speak of the Scandal of the Cross? I’m just learning.

Thanks for all you help.

Marcylee

The real meaning of the ‘Scandal of the Cross’ is that Jesus, the Son of God, tho completely innocent, was condemned to death on the cross, (a scandals way to die) for our sins. But I agree, it is a scandal on our part when we don’t recognize that. God Bless, Memaw

 

[Memaw]

Well I’m not catholic…but it’s been an interesting journey to where I’ve gotten so far on it, so I’ll share. I might ask some strange questions on this board…this might make people understand where I’m coming from a little better.

My grandmother moved her from mexico, was orphaned, and raised by nuns. So my mom was catholic too. She married my dad who is southern baptist but they wanted to go to church together, so they picked out an evangelical church and raised their family in it.

When I was 13 or so I decided the whole thing just didn’t make sense. No one I knew would answer my questions and it seemed like santa claus all over again. So I stopped and was pretty much atheist

In high school my family life got really rocky, so I left. I just got introduced to some pretty cool people that were in college and left my family to be raised by them. They introduced me to Elementalism (like a subsection of wicca) and I was very heavily into that for the last 8 years or so. (quiet honestly, even still it feels difficult to let go of my elementalism…I was/am so attached to it…its like trying to deny a part of me). While I was in high school I had an absolute vendetta against people of any christian faith- it was a common occurrence for me to ridicule or beat up anyone who made an outward proclamation of their faith. I was a very mean, angry person

About a year ago I started feeling empty. My mind kept wandering to the concept of Christianity while I tried to fall asleep at night. It kept me up for months. To the point where I couldn’t hide that I wasn’t sleeping, but I couldn’t talk to anyone about it- I was too afraid of being rejected by the only family I felt I was a part of. But anyways, I couldn’t get my mind off of it- it felt like I almost had a gulp desire for something that…stable. Safe. As an elementalist- it always seemed so scary. Things that go bump in the night scary. Once I even blacked out completely while meditating and woke up to see my (much bigger) friends had tied me up because I had attempted to strangle one of them.

So during this time period where I was contemplating all of this, I found a cool shiny piece of metal on the ground. Didn’t know what it was though, except it was religious. So I went up to someone who I had met recently through a club I was in in college and asked if he did (I didn’t want to ask my close friends, and didn’t figure they would know anyways). He told me it was a scapular (?) it was a medallion-y thing with a cross on one side and Mary on the other. I thought it was pretty cool that I had found it while I had been thinking about all this.

Finally, after months I started thinking about maybe possibly attempting to pray. But it felt like I didn’t know how, and attempting it gave me a headache anyways. But I needed a way to get these thoughts off my chest. So I thread a paperclip through the hole in the medallion and wrote out a list of my thoughts and clipped it to the paper clip. I started carrying it around everywhere I went everyday, constantly changing the paper on the clip. I showed my new friend (who ended up being catholic) what I had done with the medallion, and he thought it was neat and we started talking about prayer. After a while he showed me how to pray the rosary (although I still have trouble remembering parts). I got one for free made out of little plastic beads and started praying it at night when I got scared of “things that go bump in the night”.

Talking to my friend- I didn’t think it would even be acceptable for me to pray after all the hate that I’ve shown to any christian that would come my way. (knowing that I wouldn’t bring a bible into my home with everyone living there and the potentional for me to get "caught) he gave me the book “man in white” by johnny cash- which is the story of Paul. It made me feel a lot better about getting over all the mean things that I’ve done.

So to sum it up- it’s been long, I’ve been stubborn. But I’m interested in seeing where this all goes…

Katielyn, if possible, you need to get out of that house and somewhere where you can be really safe. Maybe you could have your new friend take you to talk to a priest that could help you. God is reaching out to you and you need to take HIS hand and follow HIM. You know the situation you are in now is not right or even healthy for you. Keep praying and keep the medal close to you. Keep us posted and always remember, you are in my prayers, and others too. Your NOT alone. God Bless, Memaw

 

[Jerry_Parker]

Marcylee,

You wrote: Then he * pointed to the empty cross. That reminds me of how empty I felt in that church. Is that what people mean when they speak of the Scandal of the Cross?

Yes, the scandal of the Cross refers to any rejection of God’s ways that involve the Cross, God’s wonderful condescension in His Incarnation, in short, the spiritual intruding upon our material realm. The Reformed insist that the material is not capable of conveying the spiritual (which is quite an arbitrary assumption for them to make about an omnipotent God), which is why they so hate (among other things) Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran sacramental teaching and practice. The “theology of glory”, which puts God’s vindication of Himself and His Glory above all else (as the Reformed and Muslims regard such matters), is uncomfortable with “scandals” such as the Incarnation, the crucifixion, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, anything that involves God coming to us and doing for us, in this material realm in which we live and exist, as He did so concretely.

Islam to a large extent embodies such a theology of glory, and so, essentially, does Reformed/Presbyterian thought. Although those who follow Calvin and the other Reformed theologians initially accept the truths of the Incarnation (while they are at the “Sola Scriptura” stage of their devolution), the Virgin Birth, the Vicarious Atonement, and the other truths to which the Holy Scriptures attest, eventually the acid of doubt and the impatience with God’s ways leads to doubt and denial of God’s Way of the Cross. (Thankfully, the Holy Spirit prevents many of the devout elect amongst their midst from falling that far!) That is why, as religious movements, in the U.S., Congregationalism and Presbyterianism led (and still do lead) towards Unitarianism.

Jerry Parker*

 

[luminoushope]

Hey everyone, (luminous, where could you be all snow in? I thought in New England it was bad!)
:

Moen, I am in a little mountain town in Central California. We got over a foot of snow and were supposed to be expecting another storm except the weatherguessers seemed to have guessed wrong on that one. I’m hoping to get out today. Wednesdays I babysit a little disabled girl so her Mom can have some time, including a music lesson with my husband.

How did your excursion with your son for the test go? Yes, I too feel as if this is a family of sorts. It’s my first experience with anything like this online.