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TwinMommy
Guest
I will have to look him up for sure. That is a good response indeed.
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TwinMommy
Guest
This must of been a hard journey. My husband isn’t sure if he believes there even is a God. He is supportive of me. He wasn’t me happy and at peace. That is so wonderful that your husband is going to go. I bet you are so excited!! That is great you are writing about your journey.
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TwinMommy
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Thanks
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TwinMommy
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Thank you so muchI would recommend…Upon This Rock…by Stephen Ray, telling of his conversion story. If I recall, he had to write a letter to his father, which turned into his book…
Here is his blog site…you can ask advise/insights from him…catholic-convert.com/
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Miss_Primrose
Guest
I have to agree with you, I am facing a simular problem, and I agree that people hate the Catholic church without knowing the Catholic.Well, you are a Christian.
That has not changed.
Now however you are a Christian in full communion with the Church of Christ.
This answer they would not understand or agree with.
So you can simply tell them that you are now a Christian in the Catholic Church.
And you do not have to argue with them, nor answer their objections, nor try to convince them that it was a good choice, nor try to convince them to follow you.
You have to simply be yourself.
When St. Paul received light and sight from Christ, he simply became a member of the Church. He did not bother to explain it, neither to the Church, nor to his previous brothers in the faith. He was simply himself, the same Paul of old.
Some of his friends greatly pondered what had taken place - and it is reasonable that some of them may have converted as well - others simply didn’t care, others hated him. That does not make the least of a difference. Ultimately, we are who we are in the eyes of the living God.
In fact, the sign of the Christian is profound peace amidst tribulation. The greater your serenity in sharing the good news to them, and the greater your serenity in the face of their probably quite upset reaction, the more you shall reflect the mark that Christ has placed on your heart.
Do you think it is shocking for a protestant friend to find out that you are joining the Catholic Church - as if their doctrine and everything they say or do was not based on 15 centuries of Catholic Church? How much more was this shocking for those early Christians who were Jewish? How much more was this shocking for those early Christians who were pagans? The risk they took was more than to make their friends upset or to lose their friendship…it was their life what was at stake. We often think that martyrs are a thing of the past…they are not…just like there is exterior and interior mortification, there is exterior and interior martyrdom…and a Christian is always ready to die to himself for the love of Christ.
Remember that Christ wants all to be united in one body with one shepherd. Your witness is for the greater glory of the Lord. It will make them ponder. It will make them think. Perhaps it will make them curious about this Church they dislike or hate - probably with no real reason. When I was not a fully initiated Christian and far away from the Church, I thought it was quite natural to dislike the Catholic Church, even to be angry at her. I had no good reason, except, of course, the usual worldly reasons. Only when I opened my eyes and looked at Her, I realized that I did not know what I was talking about. I heard, though not with my ears, the great question: “Saul, why do you persecute me?”
So do not worry about having to defend yourself…you don’t! It is them who are called to defend themselves, though they may not know it. Remember when Pilate and Herod interrogated the Lord, and He replied nothing? Who was the judge? Who was the ruler? Who was the king? The man with the scepter and crown, or the man bound in chains? Now you are more and more aware about how great a Tradition is found in this Church that is “the world’s largest, and Christianity’s oldest, religious body…a colossal success and a colossal enigma”. Consider the humbleness of the Lord’s mother, that sweet “lowly handmaid of the Lord”…realizing the wonderful and mysterious things that were engulfing her, she simply bowed her head and treasured all in her heart…not fearing her parents, or Joseph, or her community…simply trusting that whatever God had deigned to begin in her, He would bring to completion for His greater glory, for her own good, and for the benefit of souls. To Elizabeth calling her the mother of God, she simply replied: “my soul magnifies the Lord…my spirit rejoices in God, my savior…for he has seen the lowliness of His handmaid…he who is mighty has done great things for me…”
As to telling your friends, family etc, I had some advice about this recently, just be positive that you are where you are supposed to be, what they believe is there choice, it’s difficult but God is with you.
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SonSearcher
Guest
I had almost the same problem.
Except with secular friends.
After about a year of coming back to Catholicism and my wife’s conversion we started to form our consciences. There were a lot of conflicts with our old friends. We finally had to make a split. We had to move away from them and deeper into our faith and parish.
It was not easy. I did not feel courageous enough to be a witness to them, I did not feel that these opinions I once shared (abortion for all!, contraception for all!, did Jesus even exist?, organized religion is wrong…etc.) were representative of the Truth and we faded away into our new identities in Christ.
So I am thinking that may be where you are headed. Less confrontation. There is some difficulty there but have faith, do not be afraid He is with you.
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TwinMommy
Guest
Yes He is with us and never leaves.I have to agree with you, I am facing a simular problem, and I agree that people hate the Catholic church without knowing the Catholic.
As to telling your friends, family etc, I had some advice about this recently, just be positive that you are where you are supposed to be, what they believe is there choice, it’s difficult but God is with you.
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TwinMommy
Guest
We are moving but in the same state, I still want to have these friendship. All of my friends are through church. I am looking forward to making many Catholic friends when I move,
When we stick to what we believe and what the Lord has shown to be right or wrong, it can easily separate us from others but it is worth that sacrifice to know the truth and to know we are children of the Most High.
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SonSearcher
Guest
agreed.
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Z_Ninja
Guest
I believe there is the baptism of desire. So you most certainly can call yourself Catholic.
As far as your friends, if they are truly your friends, you have nothing to worry about, though they may not understand, but hopefully they are supportive. Unfortunately, you may lose friends over this if they are extremely anti-Catholic. If you do not know the answers or how to explain something when questions arise, just tell them you don’t know, but you will find the answer. When it comes to the issues you had, tell them how you came to your decision, and share your enthusiasm and joy.
Good luck and may God bless you on your spiritual journey and may you find the guidance of the Holy Spirit along the way.
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TwinMommy
Guest
My mom is here from FL (playing hide and seek with the boys) and I told her about all of this and she was so happy to see how happy I am. It was so nice sharing everything. She is going to watch my boys Sunday so I can go to Mass
Since it is all going to be new to me I want to go alone the first few times. I had already told them that when we move will won’t be going to the same church and they were very concerned about that. They are there Monday nights, Wednesday night and Sunday, so it has been a big part of their lives.I think after Sunday I will tell some friends, especially my best friend. My mom asked if I am going to tell my Pastor. I will be telling him. We are pretty tight. I see him a lot since I am at the church a lot during the day working in the library and helping with research, we text and he is a good friend. I am not sure at all what his reaction will be.
It seems strange but I don’t feel I can call myself a Protestant at all.
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