What Has Strengthened Your Faith?

[TruthSaves]

God Bless to Everyone,

I am brand new to these very insightful forums. Until recently, I was a previously “lukewarm” Roman Catholic who got suddenly re-awakened back into my Faith. I had been praying for enlightment and God has been showering me with all sorts of wisdom about the Path of Truth.

Firstly, I had become complacent and distant from the Church by the FALSE belief that “most people would go to heaven because of God being merciful.”

I used to argue with my devout mother on this topic all the time, and she would explain that if that was the case, then Jesus had died and suffered on the cross in vain. I stopped rationalizing and decided that I would go back to the Church on a regular basis; fully confess, take the Holy Eucharist so as to be in “active grace.” I would then be in perfect shape to search for the Truth.

Almost, immediately after praying I was flipping through the TV and ran accross the Biography Channel series called “I Survived…Beyond & Back,” which featured a Near Death Experience (NDE) episode on this one guy named Matthew who died and went to hell. This reinforced and answered many questions, e.g., even if one is not killing or stealing one can still go to hell for placing money / materialistic lifestyle before God; it also answered why the Catholic Church does NOT believe in “unplugging us” from life support (if this had happenned Matthew would have stayed in hell!) Etc…

Here’s a link to Matthew’s video dl.dropbox.com/u/22547352/Biography%20channel%20-%20I%20survived…Beyond%20%26%20Back%20-%20Matthew.mp4

Shortly, after that I came across the testimony of Dr Gloria Polo who was struck dead by a lightning and was destined to hell but was given a second chance by the loving prayers of a complete stranger. Dr Polo’s testimony is here testimony-polo.blogspot.com/ Her website is gloriapolo.in A summary version can be found here eng_pdf.gloriapolo.in/

God could have not answered my prayers better. After reading this amazing testimony, there’s no turning back for me. I have become a more devout Catholic and suddenly all the rules in the Catholic catechism make complete sense to me. I have re-read this testimony several times and every time I read it learn something new. What do you all think? Aside from the Bible and attending Holy Mass, What Has Strengthened Your Faith?

God Bless All in this forum and All over the world.

 

[underacloud]

Great to hear how God has brought you closer to Him.

I’d say a couple of key things have strengthened my faith:

a) A total acknowlegdement to God that I am nothing without Him. A surrendering of my will to His, in as much as my sinful self can.

b) Reading scripture and the writings of the saints. God has allowed His wisdom to flow freely through these sources. The more I read, the more this catholic faith makes sense, and the more beauty I find in it, and in God.

I’m not sure what you mean by “false belief” here…

Firstly, I had become complacent and distant from the Church by the FALSE belief that “most people would go to heaven because of God being merciful.”

It would be wrong to *assume *that God saves most people, but I believe it is perfectly reasonable to hope and pray that He does. The discussion of how many are saved always goes around in circles. Some cite scripture and saints that indicate very few are saved, but we simply don’t know. God’s mercy, however, should not be underestimated.

 

[po18guy]

Two things strengthened my faith. First was the ever controversial “baptism in the Holy spirit” at a Catholic charismatic seminar. That awakened my faith and released the gifts of the Holy Spirit that I had received at my Sacramental Baptism, but had never used. This prepared me for the second strengthening: cancer.

While I in no way claim to be fit to undo Saint Paul’s sandal straps, like him, I die a little each day, out of the grace of knowing my mortality. This has been a wonderful blessing and has awakened my sense of gratitude.

 

[ZDHayden]

A few things, I think, has strengthened my faith, a few of them quite odd.

i) The very thing that made me leave Christianity when a Protestant and become an atheist (temporarily, I am quite cured of that condition ): my mother’s cancer and my brother’s muscular dystrophy.

ii) Frequent confession (weekly, if I can make it).

iii) Latin, oddly enough. I was enamored by Latin the first time I came in contact with it. I am currently on track to becoming a Latin educator. (My Latin classes are Classical, which means a more complex grammar, but I prefer the Ecclesiastical pronunciation. This means that I will be able to, in a few short years, read Virgil with limited difficulty and the Vulgate with no difficulty.)

iv) These forums.

v) The traditions of the Faith. (I’m conservative, yes; I love the traditions of the Latin Rite, yes; but I am not a Traditionalist by any means: my home parish is one of those modern circular parishes - but the priest is an excellent homilist and confessor.)

vi) The Rosary, when I pray it (rarely, but it is beneficial when I do pray it … which reminds me, that is what I was going to do for Lent according to a list made two weeks before Ash Wednesday).

vii) The Divine Mercy Chaplet, when I pray it (it is a favorite penance of a priest at another parish I sometimes go to)

viii) Philosophy

ix) The Jesus Prayer: “Domine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei, miserere mei, peccatoris.” (which is what I ended up adopting for Lent this year, a constant stream of these when I walk to class. Did I mention I prefer J over I and æ over ae and œ over oe?)

Thank you.