Tomas' conversion story(part1)

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OK, it took me all this time to figure out how to do this.
I grew up in communist Czechoslovakia (now a Czech Republic) where religion was (and even today is) virtually non-existent. The Marxist ideas about “Dialectic Materialsim” were the common worldviews that everyone had to adopt since kindergarten. There were churches (mostly Catholic), but only a few “old grandmas” attended them (so we were told, there was an underground movement as we all probably know).
My parents were (and still are) atheists (not even agnostics). And one summer we were visiting Poland (Krakow) and me (I was barely 10 years old) and my mom went to this incredibly beautiful cathedral (don’t ask for the name), it was a Catholic cathedral, totally empty.
And I saw this guy, hanging on the cross, with blood oozing from his head and I felt totally sick (as I never saw anything like that). I asked my mom about the meaning of this. She told me this: “This is Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins”. And I asked whether it was true or just a story…and my mom told me that it was just a story: “Dont be silly, only fools believe in this, this is just a fairy tale that used to be told before we knew better”.
And she left the church
And I was standing there alone and…(no winks from Jesus)…but suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling that my mom was wrong. I was a child and never doubted my mom, but at that instant I felt that she was just wrong and the story about Jesus was true.
To this day I cannot comprehend what happened there to me, it was a very peaceful and powerful feeling about God. I think it must have been the Holy Spirit??? I don’t know. But from that time on I did believe, the only one in my family.

…the story goes on, I became a Jehovas’ Witness…but this is for Part2 of the story if there is an interest.
Thanks for reading this
Tomas
 
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St.Eric:
Thomas. Please continue with the story up to the present day!
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Thanks St. Eric for asking me to continue with my conversion story.
So, from the experience in the Poland Catholic church which turned me into a believer amongst unbelievers, I met this group of people who didn’t believe in hell and who claimed that the eternal bliss is not in heaven but right down on earth. I liked that and so I joined. I was never a “knock on the door” Jehova’s Witness, this was impossible in Communist Czechoslovakia, I was more a “philosopher” or “apologetic” of their theology.
The most striking feature of their theology (among others) is their refusal to think of Jesus Christ as God and they totally deny Trinity. But I don’t want to get into that right now.
Once I spent the summer in a german town (I was supposed to learn german, the hard way), all I had was a torned up Bible and I read it for most of the day. I realized that Jesus was much more than what my Jehovas’ Witnesses friends claimed about him. Again, I was just a teen (around 15 possibly) an, ust by reading the Bible I was getting into the proper Theology about Christ.
But upon my arrival back, I was “deprogrammed” back into thinking that Jesus was just another angel (however supreme) who mediated for our sins.
When I grew up, I moved to this country to study mathematics (and I did earn my doctorate in it), and I started to be greatly troubled by the fact that Jehova’s Witnesses claimed that their’s is the only true religion and the “Organization” was it. I just couldn’t accept the thought that there was no salvation apart from this (monstrous) Organization.
To make the story short (or shorter), I met this woman (Marcy), who adopted me as her nephew (informally), and she was a very devout Catholic. She explained the Catholic faith to me and I was dismayed at my ignorance about it, the way Jehova’s Witnesses present Catholic teaching is totally distorted (I suspect that this could be said about many other protestant groups). Then she introduced me to Father Stock (from Boston) and spent an incredible weekend at a Catholic retreat, where I submerged myself into study of the Catholic faith.
I remember that I realized for the first time the “universalness” of Catholic church, I deeply appreciated the authenticity, the apostolic succession (all the way to the Rock, Peter) and I felt God’s presence (at that retreat) so clearly, I could almost sit down and speak to Him like if I spoke to a friend. This was a very formative experience for me.
I got baptized and confirmed right after that, with Marcy now acting as my goodmother and became Catholic. Both Marcy and Ft. Stock are in heaven now and I know that they are reading these lines.
I never regretted having been a Jehova’s Witness, however, as it is giving me a deeper understanding of protestant issues (Jehova’s Witness are ultra-fundamentalists) and encourages me to study the “counterarguments” against their theology (mostly from the Catholic Cathechism, which I cherish).
So, here comes my story in a nutshell. There is more, but I don’t want to overwhelm this site with my own little life.
But God is great and so is Jesus and Jesus is God, of the same essence, eternally begotten, not made, one in being with the father…these are so powerful words for me, an ex-JW, I recite them every day.
Tomas
 
Tomas!!! What a story!

I’ve heard of other people seeing the crucifix for the very first time and have the same effect…faith. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, just by seeing it.

Thank you for sharing your story…it is a beautiful one…even more it’s a true one. Don’t think that it’s not worth reading. It is.

God bless. Merry Christmas!

in XT
 
Tomas,
In your other thread you stated that you were a former JW, but all this is overwhelming! God certainly has had a hand on you for many years!

From my “:little life.” safe here in America, I say welcome to the Catholic Church, and a delayed welcome to the U.S. I’m glad that we could be here for you. :amen:

JohnPaul
 
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JohnPaul0:
Tomas,
In your other thread you stated that you were a former JW, but all this is overwhelming! God certainly has had a hand on you for many years!

From my “:little life.” safe here in America, I say welcome to the Catholic Church, and a delayed welcome to the U.S. I’m glad that we could be here for you. :amen:

JohnPaul
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I certainly thank you!!!
You are right, this has been an arduous journey for me. But I am sure that all of us have stories to tell, thats why we are here I suppose? I love this site!
 
Tomas, I found your story to be very interesting. I am glad you are content within the Catholic Faith. 👍

Your story, unfortunately, tells the truth about the affects of Communism on Eastern Europe, Socialism and Consumerism on West/North Europe… I just hope God can help our continent, and call us back to the Church.
 
Tomas,
That is a wonderful conversion testimony. May I repost it? Thanks.
 
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Ignatius:
Tomas,
That is a wonderful conversion testimony. May I repost it? Thanks.
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Of course, we are here to help each other, so if my story is of any help, that makes me very happy.
Tomas
 
Thomas,

Yes indeed, great story! I pray your faith grows ever stronger through the Church! By the way, I have been to Prague on many occassions. It is one of my favorite cities in Europe. My. Wif eis from Hungary so we spend a lot of time in Europe. Krakow is also wonderful! Have a Merry Christmas and God Bless!
 
By the way, Tomas what did it feel like to say “My Lord and my God” and mean it?
 
What a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I look forward to reading your point of view on this board.

Peace be with you,
Maggie
 
Tomas, thank you for sharing your story. I never tire of hearing how the grace of God works in people’s lives.
 
Catholic Dude:
By the way, Tomas what did it feel like to say “My Lord and my God” and mean it?
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Well, it is difficult to describe. I feel that God operates with me in a very tender and gentle ways. He is very patient with me. He doesn’t shake me up, he doesn’t give me any personal revelations or dreams, but he uses little things, especiall people to let me know that he is there.
When I was (as a child) in that Cathedral, God didn’t scare me at all (as one could imagine). If that Jesus (that bleedeing guy hanging on the cross) blinked at me or something, I would probably run out to my mom crying.
But I was there, standing alone (the church was completely empty). And yet, the feeling of God’s presence was totally overwhelming. And I was not “making it up” either, because I never heard about God before in my life, so it was not coming from my mind.
Yes, the feeling was overwhelming and yet calming and an incredible peace radiated from it. It was kind of (in an unexplainable way) saying “Tomas, I am the Truth, just trust me , this is real” but it didn’t scare me at all.
I just went out and was overwhelmed with a feeling of joy. GOD EXISTS!!! I was having tears in my eyes.
Little did I know that it would take an incredibly long journey for me to find him fully (in the Catholic Church), but I think that it was His will to send Jehovas Witnessess to me, like a “prep school for an atheist” or something, maybe I am wrong, but I know that God works in totally mysterious and unpredictable ways.
 
WOW , A truly awesome story of your conversion! I really enjoyed reading it Tomas!
 
Thank you Thomas. God has given you the opportunity to help others find Him. That blessed day in the Cathedral may not have been a mere coincidence that your mom led you there. Did you ever think that she said what she did out of self preservation and possibly to protect you? Perhaps she used this way to introduce you to Jesus for lack of any other acceptable way. Just a thought. Your story is remarkable. I have a gut feeling that you are a remarkable person with and incredible life story to share.

God bless and Merry Christmas

Love and peace

Mom of 5
 
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