Regret becoming a Catholic?

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steve-b said:
Can you explain why you regret it?
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I don’t really want to go in depth about it since OP is asking about it to a different group of people but to simply put it, ignorance was bliss and I felt a lot closer to God prior (before caring about my faith more). I also don’t fully agree with some stuff which I may go to hell for, lol! And of course the usual crosses, life is harder when you’re a follower etc.
steve-b said:
Did she get answers to why the rules, and where the rules came from?
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steve-b said:
Did she remain Catholic?
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I don’t know if she got her answers. All I know is that she pretty much remained obedient and she constantly prayed. I don’t think she knew much about theology, she just followed what she was told and loved God. I may be wrong though, but she seemed pretty holy to me.

She didn’t leave. Past tense because she passed away.
 
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I guess the only regret I had was a friend inviting me to the TLM and I was Mormon by birth but stopped believing in that crap years earlier. But then finding out the novus ordo was the norm of the Church kind of disappointed me. This was years ago though.
 
I’m a revert after a 22 yr absence. I returned 22 years ago next month. Do I regret coming back to my birth faith? No not really. But lately the Church, or rather her hierarchy, has tried very, very hard to make me regret my choice.

I won’t let them win though.
 
Lea101 said:
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steve-b:
Can you explain why you regret it?
Click to expand...
I don’t really want to go in depth about it since OP is asking about it to a different group of people but to simply put it, ignorance was bliss and I felt a lot closer to God prior (before caring about my faith more).
Click to expand...
Actually, talking about regrets IS part of the OP’s question
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Lea101:
I also don’t fully agree with some stuff which I may go to hell for, lol! And of course the usual crosses, life is harder when you’re a follower etc.
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Can you share some examples?
steve-b said:
Did she get answers to why the rules, and where the rules came from?
Click to expand...
steve-b said:
Did she remain Catholic?
Click to expand...
40.png
Lea101:
I don’t know if she got her answers. All I know is that she pretty much remained obedient and she constantly prayed. I don’t think she knew much about theology, she just followed what she was told and loved God. I may be wrong though, but she seemed pretty holy to me.

She didn’t leave. Past tense because she passed away.
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so she remained Catholic?
 
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Lea101 said:
I think she realised how many rules there were compared to her previous religion.
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I figured if I looked at the Church’s teachings as a set of rules to follow, I would have bailed a long time ago. The Church instead proposes a program for life, a lofty goal to strive for though a program of gradual inner conversion. It takes a lifetime to make a saint.

I may never reach the goal in this lifetime, but I know I can count on Christ’s redemption if I fall short. As my confessor says, God does not expect perfection, He expects effort,
 
I do too. Sometimes before falling asleep, I think about that and remember the courageous stories of converts.
Maybe God put me in a faith filled family because He knew I needed it, would be too sinful and/or too stubborn to join His Church, if I had to make that decision all on my own.
 
Honestly? No, never. Even when my family made (and continues to make, although less) it very difficult/awkward for me when we are together. It was never about wishing that I didn’t convert but wishing they would too. I still wish that. Converting, being a convert, can be quite lonely.

Even if not everyone knows you’re converting yet you feel internally distanced from all your family and friends. You’re no longer “in”. But at the same time, you can’t receive communion or confession yet. So you’re not “in” in Catholic circles yet either. It’s really trying.

During my conversion I remember telling God that I wish Catholicism weren’t true. That I wish I didn’t have to leave my family’s faith. I was upset with Him that I hadn’t been born in a Catholic family instead. But, I did what I had to do. At the end of the day it’s that “simple”.

That’s about the closest I got/get to regret. I sometimes get pangs of that feeling, but not as much or as strongly.
 
I´ve had doubts during hard times, but I don´t regret it. I´m glad I made my decision, and I wouldn´t want to change it.
 
steve-b said:
Actually, talking about regrets IS part of the OP’s question
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True, but about converts!
steve-b said:
Can you share some examples?
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Same thing we all go through. Persecution, albeit not the kind our early brother and sisters go through.

Living life counter culturally is also isolating and just tiring, tbh. I would have less to worry about if I lived live on my terms, and I’m sure that’s true for many others as well
steve-b said:
so she remained Catholic?
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Yup.
OraLabora said:
As my confessor says, God does not expect perfection, He expects effort ,
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It’s true that we will never be perfect enough. But there are still things we can’t do to get to heaven. It’s even harder especially when you’re a loner. If you converted, your family and friends would have a different set of beliefs. Even if you’re a cradle Catholic too, actually. Unless you are lucky enough to have found a sense of community.

One additional obstacle would be having faith. Which I’m sure people of all faiths struggle with. It’s hard to believe in something that you can’t see or feel. Especially in today’s culture.

Fr Mike Schmitz once gave a talk about a guy who suffered torture for the Church in China, but when he went to the US, he became a lukewarm and lazy Catholic. The comfort of US did something that systematic oppression and torture couldn’t!
 
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Although I was raised Catholic, I left the church in my 20’s & then “reverted” back a year later. Less than 10 years later, I became a “Reformed Catholic” which I have remained since. I never regretted reverting to Catholicism, because it meant me objectively embracing it on my own understanding & choice, rather than merely being “born into” it, which everyone is born into whatever worldview they are brought up in. I could honestly say, my decisions weren’t based on what other people told me was true from my youth, but about me objectively looking into it myself.
 
steve-b said:
Actually, talking about regrets IS part of the OP’s question
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Lea101:
True, but about converts!
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Converts / reverts even regrets etc, are all going through the same process… agreed?
steve-b said:
Can you share some examples?
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Lea101:
Same thing we all go through. Persecution, albeit not the kind our early brother and sisters go through.

Living life counter culturally is also isolating and just tiring, tbh. I would have less to worry about if I lived live on my terms, and I’m sure that’s true for many others as well
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Persecution, Counter culturally? isolation?

Can you be more specific? And where is this happening?
 
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In a weird way, CAF is almost like an online support group for converts. I’ve never met a Catholic convert outside of church. Even in church adult Catholic converts are rare, and most converted, at least in part, because their spouse was Catholic. Here online, you can’t help but to regularly bump into converts.

@Crocus, @(name removed by moderator) …I’m happy to be a Catholic convert. In a strange way, being able to convert as an adult is a blessing too. It gives you a much different view of life, and it forces you to think through your beliefs early on.

By the way…I know you guys mean well about being happy to be raised Catholic and come from a Catholic family. In some ways it absolutely makes life much easier and happier I’m sure.
 
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When I came into the Church, I remember receiving some gifts as a welcome to the Church - & with those gifts came many invitations to participate in various ministries within my parish. Of those I chose the Adult Choir & Candle Care. I’ve also participated in other things as well, but those are my passions - prayer, song, & candles…I think these are in line with the spiritual gifts I’ve received, but I’m sure there may be others.
 
I do actually. I went through RCIA in 2015/2016 and was welcomed into the church at Easter 2016. Shortly after I quit my job and went to work for the church.

Maybe if I hadn’t gone to work there I wouldn’t be considering leaving the Church, but as it stands right now, I feel very discouraged. I no longer attend Mass, and I dread the thought of going to work. People are rude and condescending. I see where the money that comes in goes and it’s not helping the poor or needy. Everything is about money and filling seats, but when you have a suggestion it gets knocked down.

Pastors that backstab you and lie to your face are fun too. Begging for volunteers to help with ministries and having no one show up. Having parishioners attack you in the pews when you’re trying to pray because they didn’t like something in the bulletin.

I guess I expected something more. When I became Catholic I dared to believe surrounding myself with Catholics would help me strengthen my faith and to learn and grow. I even dared to believe that Catholics were kinder, gentler people because they had God and Jesus and Mary. Now I realize it’s all just a lie.

It really saddens me. I wanted to be Catholic for decades. Now I am and I wish I could take it all back.
 
@PDXSeeker_1975

I’m so very sorry that you had this experience. I do know what you mean. I will keep you in my prayers and hope that you find the peace and support that you need.
 
@SugarLand I will pray that your faith is restored, SugarLand.
 
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@Yep I’m sorry that you feel the way you do, Yep, and I pray that you’ll come to a greater understanding and acceptance of the issues that upset you now. May you find the peace that you seek.
 
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