RCIA Problems... :(

[Matariel]

Your best course of action is to see the Pastor and take a copy of the book with you so that he knows which book you’re speaking of. There are many books with similar names and the title sounds so innocent that the Pastor may not even remember it.

Good idea. Once I talk to the kindly Religious Ed. Lady, if she doesn’t respond the right way, I’ll go to the parish priest. I’m going to talk to her Monday, and I’ll check back in here to give y’all an update.

In our parish we use the simplified version of the CCC, the scriptures and a smaller book called What Every Catholic Should Know. That combination, along with some good lectures, discussions, videos and guest speakers make for a very goo RCIA and RCIT programs. You may want to recommend those books. If they don’t want to make the investment, you may want to purchase them for your use.

Good idea, but I’m a college student, so I don’t know if I can afford to purchase all those books for the class. But I will recommend them.

 

[melinda_s]

in australia all rcia’s use the same book which is called inquiry its also on the net i think the address is inquiry.com.au hope you get some action on monday

 

[Matariel]

in australia all rcia’s use the same book which is called inquiry its also on the net i think the address is inquiry.com.au hope you get some action on monday

Thanks alot.

Is there a rule there that all RCIA books must be the same? American Bishops would do well to do that here. I’ll check out the link.

 

[TBolt1000T]

when i started RCIA, the woman teaching the class stated “women aren’t allowed to be priests YET, but we are making good progress.” funny how i was the only man in the class. needless to say, i found another parish that was truly in-line with the authentic teaching of our church. i would suggest you do the same. trying to change the deacon’s mind, imho, would be an exercise in futility. praying for the deacon and that parish, however, would be a great thing to do.

Amen. The OP needs to find a more orthodox parish immediately. I had some of the same problems in RCIA, only they weren’t nearly as grave in my case.

To the OP, you may have to do some serious calling around in order to find an orthodox parish. As I’ve said in other threads, ask the DRE’s of each parish you call how much they use the CCC and the Bible for their classes. If they tell you that they don’t use them much, then just move on to the next parish. Also, it would probably be a good idea to ask the DRE’s what their RCIA programs teach about things like Purgatory. A non-orthodox parish may tell you that either Purgatory is not an important teaching, or even that the Church doesn’t believe in it any more. I’ll pray for you and your cousin, and I hope that you find a better parish!

 

[Matariel]

!!! UPDATE !!!

I called the kindly Religious Ed. Lady today, in order to see if I could come into her office to talk to her about the book. Here’s what happened:

Me: “Hello?”

Religious Ed. Lady: “Oh hi, Dylan, how are you?”

Me: “Good, thanks. I was just wondering if I could stop by the office today, to talk about the RCIA book.”

Lady: “Oh… Dylan, I looked at the front of the book and there was no-- you know that bishop symbol?”

Me: “The* Imprimatur*? Yeah, that’s just what I was calling about! I realized there was no* Imprimatur *on it, so I looked it up on the internet and, well, I found out that Pope Benedict, back when he was Card. Ratzinger, had removed the ill-placed Imprimatur from it.”

Lady: “Oh yes I know-- I looked it up to, and then called Deacon —, and he said that he thought that it had been removed but then put back on [emphasis mine]. So I told him that we can’t use it, and he asked if I had anything else we could use. So I think we’re going to use the* Mystery of Faith *series of videos.”

Anyway, I was overjoyed to hear that the kindly Religious Ed. Lady had found out the same thing I had, and took care of it before I even had a chance to! She’s orthodox, so I know I won’t have wonder if I’m alone in this. I’m so happy now!

Thank you, God!

 

[melinda_s]

that’s great to hear :extrahappy: hope your rcia goes well now

 

[Matariel]

that’s great to hear :extrahappy: hope your rcia goes well now

Thanks. Does anyone know about the *Mystery of Faith *series?

I’m overjoyed that I didn’t have to confront the deacon, and that someone was already a step ahead of me (the kindly Religious Ed. Lady).

 

[NowayN]

Well I just lost 2 1/2 hours of writing trying to explain my story of why after leaving my church of 18 yrs and losing so many poeple thought of as friends. I was off to become a Catholic having spend 18 yrs as a adult Bible teacher my last two classes were Colossians and Ephesians, saw the Truth tried to deny, no go. Three attempts at getting through RCIA have ended in the death and care of my Mom, brother, sister. We moved back to Fla. I retired and open our 30 yr retirement account my wife went back to teaching (she taught HS English & Journalism for 23 yrs at the same HS) we bought another house (sold the 1st to move to Los Angeles to care for what turned out to be my three favorite people in my life)prior to my wife and sons.

I was signed up at the local parrish for the next RCIA this was June it started in Oct. By that time my wife of 35 yrs after 2incorrect diagnosis was found to have a very rare brain condition that causes her brain chemistry to constantly change and go out of balance, she is now dying our money is gone the house sold to take her to Sweden & Germany where new research was going on, nothing works she now has the one of the most aggressive case of Parkinsons her medical team who I owe 10s of thousands of dollars to has ever seen.

I promised her she would die at home wherever that ends up being and would not have been able to keep that but both my sons dropped their own lives and came to help me and even with them it is very difficult. But at their insistence I signed for the 4th or 5th time and while waiting re-entered the job market where the only job I could get that was worth financially working is 12am-9:30am 6 days aweek at a Rehab facility with OT. I am 57 and spend anytime I can get which is way to small sleeping.

Now this whole time I have never stopped, reading, studying, memorizing the 2,000 yrs of the Catholic Church I stand outside the Church with a wealth of knowledge, a deep love of the faith, its history, theology, doctrine, dogmas, Tradition, prayerlife, and its deep understanding of the mysteries of the Triune God, and the wonderous power and correctness of the Sacraments, and above all the Mass and its Life giving Spirit filled and filling high point where a created being can take into their bodies and life, the Flesh & Blood of the One who was in the Father with the Father and with the Holy Spirit proceeding forth from them the Holy Triune God Father , Son, and Holy Spirit created them, the Truly changed Bread & Wine now through that same Jesus Christ becoming Priest and offering, and mortal man is feed in body and spirit the Flesh and Blood given for them on the Cross that place where sin is defeated for all and death crushed for all, that created human being will stand (I don’t understand why all would not want to kneel) and accept the Holy Eucharist, in all this the Catholic faith shines out brighter than the thousands of denominations together that blow about the Christian world each convinced their view alone is correct and all others dead wrong. It is the Light of His Onr Ttue Church that holds the Hope that one day we can still hope to see One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, that all mankind might stand in the Body of Christ and as His Bride will see the True God, True Man, the Head & Husband, Risen Savior, King of Kings, whenever He returns.

Well I have written many got a lot of prayer promises but where are the works? Where is spiritual guidance, I have gone to Mass in the Morning after work but 90% weekdays and no asks who, what and why. Now I understand I am a larger than normal guy, I know I look angry, I wear what I wear to work minus the medical shirt, a couple of tatooes one earring if I feel like it I usually keep my outside glasses on because I have bloodshot eyes from no sleep, I smoke cigarettes but have not drank or drugged for twenty 20 yrs this last May. I keep thinking that somehow they know what I did in the war but that has always been my demon.

I have to say that while Catholic writers are wonderful and I truly felt that this problem was a mere bump in the road, it is becoming a mountain that has me thinking maybe books are enough. I have a distrust of authority figures here on earth and as no Priest has made an attemp to speak with me and the one who was my close friend for 18+yrs now speaks of me as ‘seed of the whore of babylon’ and in a sermon I am ‘a servant of satan of wants to offer their souls to his Babylon whore’ then the final draw was they found out I was meeting with new pastor here in wellington and tried a forced exorcism which ended up in violence and some of them were hurt (which felt quite right). I mean they knew I voluntarily served three tours in Nam what did they think I was doing as LRRP (long range recon patrols - called lurps)

One more item I was told by my sister 2-3 months ago that when I was a baby my dad took her and I to a Catholic Church and I was Baptized which seems weird as he was excommunicated when he married my Mom, but if she is right then I have been baptized twice as I was correctly baptized on June 23, 1985 by the pastor of the church where I left to do this. So now I am twice baptized and according to my studies cannot be a Catholic?

Any ideas, concret thoughts, real advice? I do not need an opinions I have gotten truckloads of those most say ‘why are you doing this?’, and a lot of ‘seems like neither God or the Catholic Church wants ya’, that one they all feel is the funniest thing they have ever thought of, which could be true in most cases not being the brightest bulbs on the tree…

 

[AveSantaMaria]

*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *

For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

NowayN, I said a Divine Mercy chaplet for you I hope to say a Most Holy Rosary for you sometime this week. Also, I sincerely hope that you have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

The best advice that I can give you is: Say the Most Holy Rosary with frequency and devotion, as much of it as you possibly can, St. Padre Pio prayed 90 rosaries a day in a special form for which he received ecclesiastical permission.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared to Portugal and she said, “Say the Rosary daily… Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for sinners.”

St. Padre Pio said: “Love our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone.”

Sister Lucy of Fatima said. “She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem; no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary.”

Go to Eucharistic adoration even if you can’t receive the Eucharist and pray the Most Holy Rosary.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus en.wikisource.org/wiki/Devotion_to_the_Sacred_Heart_of_Jesus#FIRST_POINT._.E2.80.94_The_ardent_desire_Jesus_Christ_feels_to_be_with_us.
You will be saved if you stay very very close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary If you can’t go to Eucharistic Adoration at your parish, do it online louisville-catholic.net/WebCameras/AdorationChapel/tabid/825/Default.aspx

You don’t seem to have much time in your life but if you did, you might want to read St. Faustina’s Diary, it explains greatly the meaning of redemptive suffering and suffering as God’s love purifying a person so that the person can reach a deeper communion with that person: saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS5.shtml

Finally, if you want to 100% surrender to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and remember Mary is generous: you won’t get less for giving your all to her, you can only get more read **True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin ** montfort.org.uk/Writings/TrueDev.html

Read St. Louis Mary de Montfort’s, The Secret of the Rosary, which explains the power, origin and name, prayers, mysteries, marvelous effects, proper dispositions, ways to combat distractions and pray the Rosary effectively, and Confraternities (so you can have the benefit of other people’s Rosaries as well) of the Most Holy Rosary. montfort.org.uk/Writings/Rosary.html

And when you do start saying the Rosary daily, join the Rosary confraternity so that you can get the benefits of hundreds of thousands of other Rosaries montfort.org.uk/Writings/Rosary.html

Finally, an advice that the Sacred Heart of Jesus gave to St. Faustina as she suffered, even from her superiors and priests: “Don’t look for sympathy from creatures.” Please turn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary for comfort and sympathy and, when do become Catholic, frequent Confession and confess in purity and detail.

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *

 

[augustineguy]

Matariel,

Congratulations on enrolling in RCIA! I went through the process two years ago and was fortunate enough to have a great priest and minister running the program. You seem to be able to smell something fishy, so I have no doubt you’ll know if something you’re being told is not right. I’d recommend finding a good, sound member of the parish for a sponsor to help you with this, and keep praying and working towards full communion with the Church.

NowayN,

I’m sorry to hear about all of your troubles, and the feelings of alienation you have when attending mass. You’re right when you say that Catholic writers have sound logic - everything in the Catechism is there because of guidance by the Holy Spirit, and that guidance often comes in the form of sound, scholarly thinking that is time-tested over decades, if not centuries. No Catholic is going to attempt a forced exorcism on you, or toss around Revelations passages like buzzwords. Forced religion is no religion at all. As for the question of your baptism(s) - I recently found out that my well-meaning but less than doctrinally informed parents had me baptized three times. As my priest told me, the first baptism washed away original sin and made me reborn into my new, christian life, while baptisms two and three made my head wet. I’d suggest that if the priest hasn’t approached you, its probably because he is, like all priests in this country, overworked and a little frazzled. Talk to him; make an appointment and tell him your wants and concerns. I’m sure he’d be able to tell you what you need to hear. It sounds like you’ve had some rough hands dealt to you, and have made it through those. Keep praying, and don’t give up hope - talk to the priest, try the rosary, and keep up your reading and research.

Best to both of you, and God Bless.

 

[NowayN]

I want to thank you for your prayers and the thoughts on those texts, I have, I believe read all of them and it is the Rosary that has kept me pounding on the door. The realization of the Truths of the Blessed Holy Mother of God and then the discovery of the gentle grace-filled power of the Holy Rosary was a profound moment for me. My Mother had just died in my arms the night before and I was hit with a sense of loss and loneliness that threaten to overwhelm me. She was the only person in my life who was always there and filled me with a sense of being loved, understood, accepted, unafraid, and never doubted for second that would try to do the right thing. All of this was a total epiphany
to me that was hidden behind my drive to always be strong and always try to the ‘right thing’ don’t show pain, never back down, do violence only when those you love are threaten or wronged and then do it well. All this time I was a closest Momma’s boy and I never told her how deep the river of her flowed within me. I found what I guess was my idiot-dad’s last Catholic Missal, pocket size NT & Psalms, and a beautiful cherrywood and silver Rosary, He missed so much of what could have been a great life but his fist never missed me and each blow harden within a ball iron wall,
I prayed the Rosary as I had been doing off and on for a year only now I sat on my beloved Mothers bed using the spiritual ‘tools’ that he perhaps way back had used. I was a seething boiling roaring storm of love, loss, and a profound hate I had never felt so completely out-of-control and then came the flashbacks brilliantly clear images of death & killing, I found my handgun and knew it was time…then there was a calm that overwhelmed all of it, and from behind me a source of light that cast my shadow before me I was holding the Rosary beads and praying quietly the Luminous Mysteries which was odd because they were not in the old stuff of his and well that was perhaps the most lovely, unexpected, deeply spiritual on a level and place I has never been near, She knew me as my own Mother had and she loved me even more, me the un-Catholic, no-Church, losing hope.
You know at no time did I have a desire to turn around so whatever the eyes of the world may have seen I know with the certainty of a brick wall that the Blessed Ever Virgin Most Holy Mother of God came to me at the moment of my greatest need so in answer to your questions or request I do pray the Rosary and if I never get N the door of the Church and they call me the evil one from Baptist land the Father has a reason,

I would love to get guidance from a mature spiritual Catholic you know, suggestions, ideas, a person who knew of a way in when one is trapped so tightly outside, I have tried writing to those whose I gratefully read but a never a peep out them.

Again thank you for the time you took to reply and may the Blessed Virgin Mather of God the Mother of His Body the Church and our loving Mother pour Her Peace & Grace upon you.

have you read the most recent books about the Blessed Mother from Dr Hahn and Ted Sri both came out in the 2-3 years and are wonderful, my favorite is Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Mary For Today just 76 pages but it lasts for a lifetime.

 

[quiet52]

Matariel when I read your first post in this thread I ached with anger and hurt for you and the other RCIA participants. I wanted to shout – come on over to my parish! (well, it’s a bit far from you).
But puzzleannie and other posters gave you so much advice, and you acted so wisely on the Spirit’s promptings. I hope the rest of your RCIA process goes more smoothly – but no matter what, know that God is using you for His good purposes. Continue being a light of His truth and love!

 

[AveSantaMaria]

*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *

For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, have mercy on us!

NowayN, thank you for sharing your story! Stay blessed and keep on persevering in well-doing. I’m grateful to hear about your experiences and feel free to pm me any time you need someone to listen or help Keep in mind that all have sinned, including the priests, and pray for them, especially our Holy Father

God is love

I would like to read those books but I haven’t yet. I will try to read them as soon as possible. Thanks for the recommendation

Wonderful guidance on mature Catholic living can also be gotten by reading the stories of the saints: like

Diary of St. Faustina: Divine Mercy in My Soul saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS1.shtml

Autobiography of St. Therese of Liseux: The Story of a Soul gutenberg.org/etext/16772

Confessions of St. Augustine newadvent.org/fathers/1101.htm

as well ast St. Teresa de Avila’s works. She wrote The Way of Perfection which contains much spiritual guidance

Keep praying man, Pray the Most Holy Rosary!!! Live the Beatitudes:
The very word Beatitudes means “blessed” or “happy,” and the Sacred Heart of Jesus said,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor,
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Sister Lucy of Fatima. “She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem; no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary.”

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, have mercy on us!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.
For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the horu of our death. Amen. *

 

[Maryam]

Some of the postings on this thread remind me of my own struggles with getting Confirmed. I had been trying for 4 years to get Confirmed all to no avail. It got to the point where I could not even bare to look at these forums and even got attacked when I posted about my problem.

It took me over a year to come back to these forums and I honestly don’t know why I even bother.

It is a horribly alone feeling to know that if you are homebound like I often am due to mental illness causing me not to be able to attend regular RCIA classes, that this fact cannot even move the heart of at least one member of the Catholic Church that I have reached out to. I guess to make even a tiny extra effort is too much to ask.

I had written to my Archdiocese, spoken to the director of RCIA in my area and contacted all the churches in my area but no one can be bothered to help me study for RCIA from my home. When the Archdiocese finally sent me a letter all that was recommended was for me to contact the local parishes and explain my situation. I have had to put up with indifference towards my condition all throughout these 4 years.

As a last resort I wrote to a few well-known clergy who advised me to ask the Archdiocese for a list of retired priests that can help me and unbelievably they couldn’t even supply me with that.

I recently reached out an Orthodox church and will be meeting with the priest next week. I never thought it would come to this but I am done with trying to get Confirmed in the Catholic Church.

 

[TBolt1000T]

Some of the postings on this thread remind me of my own struggles with getting Confirmed. I had been trying for 4 years to get Confirmed all to no avail. It got to the point where I could not even bare to look at these forums and even got attacked when I posted about my problem.

It took me over a year to come back to these forums and I honestly don’t know why I even bother.

It is a horribly alone feeling to know that if you are homebound like I often am due to mental illness causing me not to be able to attend regular RCIA classes, that this fact cannot even move the heart of at least one member of the Catholic Church that I have reached out to. I guess to make even a tiny extra effort is too much to ask.

I had written to my Archdiocese, spoken to the director of RCIA in my area and contacted all the churches in my area but no one can be bothered to help me study for RCIA from my home. When the Archdiocese finally sent me a letter all that was recommended was for me to contact the local parishes and explain my situation. I have had to put up with indifference towards my condition all throughout these 4 years.

As a last resort I wrote to a few well-known clergy who advised me to ask the Archdiocese for a list of retired priests that can help me and unbelievably they couldn’t even supply me with that.

I recently reached out an Orthodox church and will be meeting with the priest next week. I never thought it would come to this but I am done with trying to get Confirmed in the Catholic Church.

Maryam, I feel for you! You are in my prayers. Please try not to give up on the Catholic Church yet, even if you have to give up on your dioces. Have you ever gotten the chance to pray about your concerns before the most Blessed Sacrament? I was about to give up on the Church, and I was just about to look into Orthodoxy as you are now, when the Blessed Sacrament literally gave me a much needed boost, and now, I don’t even have the desire to look into Orthodoxy, although I still do consider it a very much valid form of Christianity. Jesus is very powerful in the Blessed Sacrament.

 

[Maryam]

Maryam, I feel for you! You are in my prayers. Please try not to give up on the Catholic Church yet, even if you have to give up on your dioces. Have you ever gotten the chance to pray about your concerns before the most Blessed Sacrament? I was about to give up on the Church, and I was just about to look into Orthodoxy as you are now, when the Blessed Sacrament literally gave me a much needed boost, and now, I don’t even have the desire to look into Orthodoxy, although I still do consider it a very much valid form of Christianity. Jesus is very powerful in the Blessed Sacrament.

I don’t know what to say on where I stand with the Catholic Church but I am still meeting with the Orthodox priest. If it is God’s will that I remain with the Catholic church then my meeting with the Orthodox priest will not bear fruit.

I have indeed gone for Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament many times but no matter how I try to seek refuge with Our Lord it still pains me that I find absolutely no spiritual nourishment or support from both my local churches and Archdiocese.

My head still cannot wrap itself around the fact that my own Archdiocese really doesn’t care to help me become Confirmed. Now I understand why so many leave the Catholic Church with bitterness in their hearts.

Thank you for your concern.

 

[distracted]

 A precursory reading yielded much. First off, I was perturbed because of the incessant harping on "females were ministers in the early Church" and "the early Church did not have a 'priesthood' as we understand it today, only someone who was a 'presider'" blah, blah, blah, blah.... blah! 
 Then there was the completely heretical implication in the book that Polygenism is an acceptable view of our first Parents.
  And then they said that a teaching is not necessary infallible unless accepted by the Catholic laity as a whole.
  This seemed so wrong to me! :

i feel for you. I went through some weird stuff in a RCIA class once myself. I spoke out when the one running the class (ex-priest) said something about women someday being ordained (possibly)… :whacky: I reminded him that the Church has no authority to do that…

I haven’t read the other posts here so hope i am not repeating but if it was me, I would contact the bishop (hopefully he is orthodox).

I am glad you said something in response to that stupid joke.

Marriage is for some people, but not all. I have been celibate for many, many yrs & it hasn’t always been easy (God made us sexual beings…:hypno: ) but i realize that all these years, i have NOT been ready for marriage. It took this and that experiehnce for me to fully realize just how un-ready i was (am?)… i get sick of a society that always focuses on sex like its a god (and it is to THEM). Billy graham once said (in the 80s?) that there is so much sex in our society (the media, etc.) “until people are getting sick of it.” Well, people will never get sick of sex… but we are all sick of the distorted view of sex as protrayed on TV & elsewhere… (distorted view of human beings!! TV acts like humans can’t control their sexual desires…Oh, but that’s right… we aren’t supposed to )

All these yrs of celibacy have given me time to learn / be shown how God wants sex to be… I didn’t always know such things (wasn’t catechized well when young… got involved w/ wrong people, etc…) If He had sent me the “right” one even a year ago, i would not have known what to do with him… Knowing me, I would have driven him away… So basically, waht i am saying is that if one seeks God and his will (waits on HIM), everything will work out… maybe slowly… but they will work out…

even if you do have to endure 100 years of celibacy… uch:

 

[Matariel]

!!! UPDATE !!!

Last class, when the deacon saw me, he said, “Oh, you caught me, did you?” with a smirk on his face.

(I wasn’t able to post anything lately because, due to a misunderstanding, my account was temporarly suspended.)

We watched the first *Mystery of Faith video, and it was weak, but still orthodox. It was on the Trinity. It wasn’t very clear though. But, anyway, after the whole ordeal, an elderly woman and a man approached the deacon, while everyone was talking, and asked why they had recalled the Christ Among Us *book. He said (Forgive me, but I eavesdropped) that its position was stating that contraception was allowable, and he said that he was so disappointed when they said contraception was outlawed still, and that it was “a terrible mistake”. He implied that Catholics are not bound by it. These other people talking to him were Catholics too, and they, unfortunately, agreed.

It’s deplorable.

 

[distracted]

!!! UPDATE !!!

and he said that he was so disappointed when they said contraception was outlawed still, and that it was “a terrible mistake”. He implied that Catholics are not bound by it. These other people talking to him were Catholics too, and they, unfortunately, agreed.

It’s deplorable.

What is happening to our Church??

What did he mean by “you caught me?” You told the priest and he didn’t like it??

 

[distracted]

My head still cannot wrap itself around the fact that my own Archdiocese really doesn’t care to help me become Confirmed. Now I understand why so many leave the Catholic Church with bitterness in their hearts.

.

i have felt like leaving several times… (been Cahtolic all my life, catechized Catholic for about 10 yrs or so) and whenever i have felt like leaving it is ALWAYS been over PEOPLE… but i told myself that I am NOT going to leave the good “things” i have found - particularly the Real Presence… that’s what the devil wants… that’s why he works through people like he does…to get souls away from Christ. He always works through people, whether inside or outside the Church… He has really done a number on me…You wouldn’t believe… but little by little, i see that it really is him doing it &… well, he is more intelligent than we are, has been around longer than we have…

so why are we always surprised (or i am) at what he can do. :banghead: :hypno:

Have you ever spent LONG periods of time in the (Exposed) Real Presence?