What I have learned

[NathanCarson]

What I have learned since entering the catholic church:

I have learned to have hope. Hope in Jesus. Hope in life. Hope for others.

I have learned what it is to have patience.

I have learned the blessing of having a faith that never changes.

I have learned that a lot of those people I thought were mean before, were really just concerned.

I have learned to differentiate between the lies of my previous beliefs.

I have learned that a lot of people hate the catholic church, and even/especially other christians. Which makes me sad. Which brings me back to hope…

what have you learned?

 

[BayCityRickL]

When I have had a chance to point out ot people that it sounds like they hate the Catholic Church, they usually retreat and say that they don’t.

I sometimes tell people like that, that I couldn’t become a Protestant, because I don’t think I could learn to hate the Catholic Church.

When you read all the nit picky stuff in these forums, you wonder why there is a Church that puts people into a nit picky frame of mind, and you wonder if that was what Christ wanted. I don’t think so.

Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible talk about people having a change of heart. I think that’s what we should all strive for.

 

[Knitting_A_C]

What I have learned:

That God loves us all, even those who come to church and chatter when I am trying to meditate.

That God loves us all, even the ugly ones and the girls who don’t know the difference from dressing handsomely and dressing sexy.

That God loves us all, even those of us who like to gripe about how bad this is or how bad that is.

That God loves us all, even the music director.

When I see the people lined up and taking communion, all at very different parts of their faith walks, from the little children who come up for a blessing and sometimes confuse the priest with God himself, to the teenagers who aren’t really sure they believe in anything, to the young parents struggling to keep everything together, to the old folks, some grumpy, some so filled with love of God that it glows through their skin, God sometimes shows me how much he loves all of us, for we are the people he called, those he had compassion on, those he died for. It becomes my job not to gripe about how imperfect this or that is, but to facilitate making the church as holy as possible by giving myself as fully as I can to the loving God who did all of this.

And I sit there at awe at a God who could try to reach so many in so many ways, and I feel ashamed at my petty thoughts. And very loved.

 

[wonkimoto]

I have also learned to hope. What an amazing and powerful thing hope is. Especially when it is grounded in the faith of Christs’ passion.
I have learned that people have dignity because we are made in a likeness of God.
I have learned humility.
I have learned that the church teachs the truth, though very few people are able to actually grasp it. myself included.
I have learned that Christ is present in the Eucharist, in other people, and is here with me.
After 2 years rediscovering my faith, I’m still in awe of it all.

 

[jrabs]

Nice thread -evident of the blessings you have received in your life, Nathan.

I have also learned to have hope and trust. Trust is so important in our lives. God is in charge of the whole picture and we see just a tiny snippet.

I have also learned that to serve God means to give up some of the worldly things. They do not go hand in hand, so it means choices must be made. The choices can be hard, put are very rewarding.

and that is what I have learned. God’s lessons are hard but wonderful and worthwhile.