To and From The Catholic church

[Hiskid1973]

For the sake of my use of Catholic church, I will define it as after the schism and just the sees aligned under the authority the pope…Not the church catholic with all the sees together…I have a friend who left the Catholic church to be a “regular” christian…She had decided that what she had to take by faith about the CC is no longer believable to her…My question is to those who left or for protestants who changed, how long did it take for you believe everything…Like say the separated brethren thing and leaving the CC church is like walking away from Jesus…Joining the CC takes a leap of faith above the leap of faith just being a regular christian…Are there still, for those who turned Catholic, struggles believing some things…For those who left, how long did it take to release yourself from all that you chose to believe before ? This is not a debate thread, please keep it charitable…Grace and peace to you…K

 

[Marie5890]

…Joining the CC takes a leap of faith above the leap of faith just being a regular christian…Are there still, for those who turned Catholic, struggles believing some things…

Yes, there are something I dont believe in lock stock and barrel, and God knows this. I go to Him in faith and complete honesty about my doubts.

I realize I am not asked to understand everything and all things, but to have faith in Him.
So I do.

It’s been my experience that He helps straighten out my disordered way of thinking, of believing. As time goes by I have had explanations come to be that take the edge off my doubts. I still dont understand many things, but they dont concern me nearly as much as they used too.

 

[Lancer]

I believe that I am on very thin ice when I try to separate or segregate any and the slightest aspect of my belief in Our Lord Jesus Christ…from my belief in ALL the Catholic Church’s teachings on FAITH and MORALS…i.e. the Pope, and all the bishops in communion with him (The Magisterium)…the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Jesus and the Catholic Church are One Body…I profess that as a Catholic…I can’t separate the Head (Our Lord Jesus) from his body (The Catholic Church and the faithful in communion with the Pope and Magisterium)…anymore than I can separate my head from my body and still be alive…in fact I would be dead! Jesus is very clear and somewhat blunt to me on this issue…

John 12:47-49 (New International Version)

47"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

Luke 10:15-17 (New International Version)

15And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.
16"***He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." ***
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Whether I like is or understand the Catholic Church’s teachings on Faith and Morals…is simply not a factor. In other words…if one of Jesus’ most animated names is The Obedient One (he clearly was locked onto and determined to do the Father’s will…no matter what it cost him)…how can** I **think that I can be close to him or draw even closer to him by being The Disobedient One in following his command (what he told the 72 disciples as he sent them out to preach His Word) in Luke 10:16…to accept that the Peter (the Pope) is his Vicar, and the Magisterium and the Catholic Church speak for him on teaching the faith that he gave to the apostles…always actively led by the Holy Spirit…on all matters of Faith and Morals…It is my first and most important first response the the gift of Faith…Obedience!

For you consideration,
Pax Christi

 

[Carlan]

Yes, there are something I dont believe in lock stock and barrel, and God knows this. I go to Him in faith and complete honesty about my doubts.

I realize I am not asked to understand everything and all things, but to have faith in Him.
So I do.

It’s been my experience that He helps straighten out my disordered way of thinking, of believing. As time goes by I have had explanations come to be that take the edge off my doubts. I still dont understand many things, but they dont concern me nearly as much as they used too.

Thank you Marie, and yes it is a life long process in growth in his love and grace and it will continue until we are finally saved and with him face to face,:heaven:May his light guide us into all Truth, Calan

 

[Hiskid1973]

Lancer, how long were you protestant ? How deep was your faith at the time…Thanks Marie and Carlan…

 

[fbl9]

It wasn’t till i tried to prove the existance of my non-denom church from scripture that i came back to the true Church.Upon leaving the Catholic Church i didn’t beleive i was being apostate cause i still held beleif in Christ.The gift i rtecieved when i came back to the Church was greater than anything i have ever experienced in my life…There comes a true sense of peace in KNOWING the truth rather than knowing of the truth.

 

[Hiskid1973]

It wasn’t till i tried to prove the existance of my non-denom church from scripture that i came back to the true Church.Upon leaving the Catholic Church i didn’t beleive i was being apostate cause i still held beleif in Christ.The gift i rtecieved when i came back to the Church was greater than anything i have ever experienced in my life…There comes a true sense of peace in KNOWING the truth rather than knowing of the truth.

Thanks fb19…Is there anything your struggle with from knowing the scriptures so well…Or did you just blindly accept things that you didn’t understand…How do you feel about your protestant friends ?

 

[fbl9]

Thanks fb19…Is there anything your struggle with from knowing the scriptures so well…Or did you just blindly accept things that you didn’t understand…How do you feel about your protestant friends ?

I wouldn’t say i know scripture so wellIn accepting the aurthority of Church one can not blindly accept things(doctrinally) one accepts these doctrines in faith.

Well i’ll be right honest it has taken some time for me to be gentle with those of other faiths when discussing doctrinal matters.It took some time for me to get over being mislead.

just so yuh know it’s a lower case L not a one.fbl9

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

For the sake of my use of Catholic church, I will define it as after the schism and just the sees aligned under the authority the pope…Not the church catholic with all the sees together…I have a friend who left the Catholic church to be a “regular” christian…She had decided that what she had to take by faith about the CC is no longer believable to her…My question is to those who left or for protestants who changed, how long did it take for you believe everything…Like say the separated brethren thing and leaving the CC church is like walking away from Jesus…Joining the CC takes a leap of faith above the leap of faith just being a regular christian…Are there still, for those who turned Catholic, struggles believing some things…For those who left, how long did it take to release yourself from all that you chose to believe before ? This is not a debate thread, please keep it charitable…Grace and peace to you…K

I was a Catholic for 38 years, and have been a non-Catholic Christian for 13 years. By the time I had left the Catholic Church, I had already released myself from the things that are “uniquely Catholic”; reading through the entire bible took care of that. The hardest part was the actual formality of leaving the Catholic Church, including a letter to my parish priest and telling my parents.

 

[Hiskid1973]

I was a Catholic for 38 years, and have been a non-Catholic Christian for 13 years. By the time I had left the Catholic Church, I had already released myself from the things that are “uniquely Catholic”; reading through the entire bible took care of that. The hardest part was the actual formality of leaving the Catholic Church, including a letter to my parish priest and telling my parents.

Wow 38 years…When in all that time did you feel you had a conversion experience? Did you have to deal with that guilt trip I hear some saying about your walking away from Jesus…? What caused the change ? Thanks

 

[Hiskid1973]

I wouldn’t say i know scripture so wellIn accepting the aurthority of Church one can not blindly accept things(doctrinally) one accepts these doctrines in faith.

Well i’ll be right honest it has taken some time for me to be gentle with those of other faiths when discussing doctrinal matters.It took some time for me to get over being mislead.

just so yuh know it’s a lower case L not a one.fbl9

Thanks fbl9 …Canadian aye…It’s hard sometimes to respond with grace with what we believe…peace to you…

 

[Monica4316]

I used to be a Protestant… I started out believing only one thing: the Eucharist. lol. I disagreed with literally every other Church doctrine. It took me several (very difficult) months of prayer and research…until one day, I realized - I believe everything! over time, God helped me to accept every Church teaching that I know about. (I’m sure I don’t know everything about the Church).

But everyone has a different journey… for some it takes a week, for others 50 years. God leads us all in a unique way… but we need to trust Him and be open to His truth.

God bless

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

Wow 38 years…When in all that time did you feel you had a conversion experience? Did you have to deal with that guilt trip I hear some saying about your walking away from Jesus…? What caused the change ? Thanks

I had my born-again experience in December, 1996, at the age of 38, with the realization that no amount of religion, church attendance or good works could save me from my sin – only the blood of Jesus could do that. In addition, I found that I had developed an insatiable hunger for God’s word, and a desire to know Him in a more personal way. My journey out of the Catholic Church led me to a deeper faith and to a church where questions and discussion are encouraged, and there are opportunities to grow spiritually, both individually and with other Christians.

 

[Hiskid1973]

But everyone has a different journey… for some it takes a week, for others 50 years. God leads us all in a unique way… but we need to trust Him and be open to His truth.

God bless

Amen …It’s a journey…Do you still regard your protestant friends as equal in Christ or do you see them as separated and lacking all that Christ has for them ? Thanks God Bless…

 

[peary1]

For the sake of my use of Catholic church, I will define it as after the schism and just the sees aligned under the authority the pope…Not the church catholic with all the sees together…I have a friend who left the Catholic church to be a “regular” christian…She had decided that what she had to take by faith about the CC is no longer believable to her…My question is to those who left or for protestants who changed, how long did it take for you believe everything…Like say the separated brethren thing and leaving the CC church is like walking away from Jesus…Joining the CC takes a leap of faith above the leap of faith just being a regular christian…Are there still, for those who turned Catholic, struggles believing some things…For those who left, how long did it take to release yourself from all that you chose to believe before ? This is not a debate thread, please keep it charitable…Grace and peace to you…K

I think one’s prayer life (if authentic) has a lot to do with it. Leaving the Faith and joining a denomination is a leap of faith…one in the wrong direction. The Holy Spirit will NEVER lead one away from Christ’s Church, and yet you hear of so many who have left the Church because of “the Holy Spirit.” I don’t know what ‘spirit’ it is but it sure isn’t the Holy Spirit.

I suspect your friend left the Church because either she refused to embrace the Church’s teachings on a myriad of moral teachings (i.e., birth control, abortion, cohabitation, sin, etc.) or even a foundational belief on the Eucharist and the sacramental life. There is no such thing as a ‘regular’ Christian. A ‘regular’ Christian is a practicing Catholic Christian. The rest are incomplete.

 

[Hiskid1973]

I suspect your friend left the Church because either she refused to embrace the Church’s teachings on a myriad of moral teachings (i.e., birth control, abortion, cohabitation, sin, etc.) or even a foundational belief on the Eucharist and the sacramental life. There is no such thing as a ‘regular’ Christian. A ‘regular’ Christian is a practicing Catholic Christian. The rest are incomplete.

So you don’t think there are Christians outside the church of Rome…Or do you mean small “c” catholic…As for BC, cohabitation or abortion they are in their 50’ s(married for a while) and are a very godly couple…BTW, How long were you protestant?

 

[YADA]

Unlike Priscilla Ann,I came the other direction … I grew up Protestant … I knew for some time that the Church held the fullness of the Christian faith …

A study of history can only lead one to with Catholic or Orthodox if one is convinced that Christianity is the Truth and that Jesus is the Messiah, the Second Person of the Trinity, God and Man who gave His life for the Salvation of the world …

Priscilla Ann left because she thought the Chruch taught other then that we are saved byt he Blood of Christ … how very sad because I have not found any place where the Chhurch teaches that we are saved by attending Mass … Scripture and the Church do teach that a faith without works is a dead faith, one that does not reflect the Christian “Way of Life” …

Scripture … I have read scripture from beginning to end - many times and studied scripture … I have a masters in theology … and I find a reachness rooted in scripure embodied in the Catholic faith … The liturgy is all about the scriptures …

I am deeply greatful to the Christan faith that was nurtured in me in my youth in family and Church … I am saddened by the anti - catholic leanings of some of my family - some that exists to this very day … but I learned to first love Christ and the Scriptures in protestant faith … but due to family circumstances I was able to see the dis-unity and relativism of “Truth” within the fractured christian community … a study of history lead me home and I have not regretted the journey of faith … not the beginnings nor where I am …

The fullness of all that it means to be Christian is rooted in the early Church - in the controversies and how they worked out through the first couple of centuries … I hear St Paul tell me to Eat and Drink while discerning Jesus in the Bread and Wine - broken and blessed - a participating in the Life and Death of my Lord … this is not a mere symbolic action …

I desire to follow Christ and Christ is not divided, Chrst is One, Christ is Life and Truth … I will do as Jesus commanded … I will Eat and Drink the True Bread from Heaven so that I might hve life within me …

 

[Writer]

When we were preparing to cross the Tiber in 2005, we took the novel approach of having faith in the authority of the Catholic Church as to those things that failed to make immediate sense to us. We accepted the teachings as right, then tried to grasp why. This approach worked well for us. Since the issue of being “saved” was raised, I’ll say that this is a biblical concept, which means that it’s also a Catholic teaching. Whlie “second conversions” (consciously turning towards or making a decision for Christ) are critical, we often focus more on the bigger picture of being saved. That is, we were saved, we are being saved, and we hope to be saved. It’s the process, the journey that matters. I thank God for the Catholic Church, and I’m stronger in my convictions with each verse I read.

I’ll end with the call to Christian unity of John 17:11, which reads…

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.”

 

[Hiskid1973]

Thanks for sharing Yada…God bless you…Do your best to love and care for you non catholic family members…

 

[Hiskid1973]

That is, we were saved, we are being saved, and we hope to be saved. It’s the process, the journey that matters. I thank God for the Catholic Church, and I’m stronger in my convictions with each verse I read.

Amen, I can agree with that we’re all a work in progress once we choose to follow Christ…I always loved this verse:
Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: