What was your biggest obstacle to Catholicism?

[Mimi]

speaking of marian devotions i really want to get that book this summer called Behold your Mother by Tim Staples… I heard it is the best book out there to proof Marian devotion with scriptures

Either case I want to read it anyway to see more view points on marian devotions

Hi all - v interesting thread, topic. I am a “prodigal” Catholic; baptized as an infant, lapsed & then returned. I am interested in apologetics and conversion stories. I have learned so much about my faith through listening to Catholic Answers, reading here, and reading books (something many of my fellow parishioners don’t do, unfortunately).

I’m about 1/3 into Behold Your Mother, which goes in depth to answering criticisms on Marian doctrine.

Staples uses another book (among others) as a reference which is short (101 pp), but I think very good: Refuting the Attack on Mary: a defense of Marian Doctrines

That may be a good one for those who are just getting started investigating that topic.

God bless the converts! They are often the most enthusiastic about the faith. Many have given up so much to become Catholic, which I have grown to appreciate. 

Happy Easter,
Mimi

 

[ptisme]

My biggest obstacle is family opposition- like all too many people a lot of persistent rumours and myths about the Church exist. Some of my family are atheist and mock all religious beliefs too.

My second obstacle is being too scared to step inside a Catholic Church for some stupid reason.

The other way to look at it is your ancestors were all Catholic

 

[Selah_KY]

The other way to look at it is your ancestors were all Catholic

LOL! For many of us, very true!

Then, when the child has reached the age of accountability and can reason for himself/herself, they can be baptized when they have a spiritual awakening that draws them to Christ in such a way that they desire to be baptized of their own free will like the people did with John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

It seems to me that you misunderstand exactly what baptism does - churches that baptize infants do so because we believe that it DOES do something. It washes away original sin (which we are all born with), it imparts the gift of faith, and we are marked with the seal of Christ forever. Baptism IS the spiritual awakening. Coming from the Lutheran church, baptism was never an issue for me because I already believed these things.

Forgive me for quoting the Catechism if you’ve already read through, this…

*1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.”

1250 Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called. The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.

1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

1272 Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation.

vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm*

 

[Tommy999]

**There’s an underlying bias amongst many Protestants, not all of them Fundamentalists, that the Catholic Church is some kind of foreign/odd entity that isn’t quite “right.” **

Hi Della,
While I agree there can be bias by Protestants toward Catholics, that knife can cut both ways.

For example, when I was in the tenth grade at high school and hungering for God in a real way for the first time in my life, my best friend was a Catholic. We were close and wanted to grow closer to God together even though we attended different churches.

We made a deal that I would attend Mass with him one Sunday and then he would attend my church (Presbyterian) the next Sunday to see how each other worshipped the Lord. There were no thoughts or intent of conversion by either of us – just pride in our faiths that we wanted to share with the other.

I asked my mother if I could attend Mass with Kevin. Although she wasn’t too keen on the idea, she knew my heart and allowed me to go. I went to the Mass and enjoyed it. I felt the reverence and presence of God there. My friend even told me to go up and take the Eucharist with him, which I did. **I wasn’t aware at the time that I shouldn’t or I wouldn’t have done it, but I did actually believe the bread and wine were really the body and blood of Christ there because my friend had told me that in advance. **

However, the next week came and I waited patiently in the narthex of my Presbyterian church for my friend to come but he never came. I had been so excited and honored that he would be visiting that I had told others at my church he was coming and to save a spot for us.

When I called him on the phone later that day, he told me that his mother didn’t allow him to go. She told him it was ok for me to visit their church and for me to come to their house anytime (because she liked me and I was a “nice boy”) , but it wasn’t ok for him to visit my church.

That was a big blow to me and it took a long time for me to get over it but I finally did.

 

[Tommy999]

The other way to look at it is your ancestors were all Catholic

Yes, I try to keep that in mind as a reminder, except that when a relative of mine traced back the family history, it went back several centuries and all were protestants since sometime around 1600. Although that’s still several centuries of Catholicism before that.

 

[ptisme]

Yes, I try to keep that in mind as a reminder, except that when a relative of mine traced back the family history, it went back several centuries and all were protestants since sometime around 1600.

A mere stitch in time

 

[Tommy999]

A mere stitch in time

True

By the way, I sense you have a kind heart and are a nice person, ptisme. I like and respect you and would appreciate your prayers.

 

[ptisme]

True

By the way, I sense you have a kind heart and are a nice person, ptisme. I like and respect you and would appreciate your prayers.

Done… BTW, I don’t believe you need to become Catholic in order to be saved as some would. It’s my opinion that as long as you believe in JC and obey his Gospel/Commandments you will be saved… I have two children who are completely different yet I love them both equally… I believe God is the same way with us. I also believe the reformation had to happen because perhaps Christians were getting a bit lazy in their relationship with God… However…

I believe the Catholic Church is the buffet whereas much of the non-Catholic denominations are the appetizer. Much more richness and completeness with biblical support for all of it…

God bless and I’ll pray for you today. Peace brother…

 

[ptisme]

PS, check this out:
John 17

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

 

[PJM]

=SalusaSecondus;12891468]When I converted to RC it was the Mary dogma that I never really got over.

Thank you for sharing:

It might help to understand why Protestantism pretty much in total teach that Marian “worship” is idolatry. BUT is it actually?

Briefs because space is limited, non-Catholic Christians find themselves in a position of always being in competition with the Church and in need of having and defining biblically supported [thank you Sola Scriptura] Catholic teaching to enable them to justify their own existence. This is very difficult to do.

So claiming [in error] that Catholics “worship” Mary" seemed like a good target to lactch on too.

We see here that on multiple occasions Yahweh-God commanded Moses to built for Him [God] what by dictionary definition ARE “Idols”; so what gives here?

Exod.25: 18, 20 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. [20] The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be

Num.21: 8-9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; ***and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live." ***

The lesson here is that it is NOT the item [or person] that determines in God’s view the worth or value; BUT the purpose for the item or person that God Judges. ANY and all things that can lead one to a closer relationship with God ARE “good” while all things that actually can draw one away from God are evil.

Jn. 19:26-27 “] When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman,*** behold thy son***. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own”

1 HERE Jesus give to the world His Mother as OUR Mother!

2 WHY requires a explanation of Christ WORD from His Cross; “I THIRST” that space does not permit here

3 Catholics if correctly catechized do NOT “worship” Mary. The RCC teaches that “WORSHIP” is reserved for Christ ALONE

From the Catholic Catechism: "266 “Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son’s is another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal”

What Catholics are taught to do is **[and this is optional personal piety[/COLOR]] is to pray THROUGH Mary & Saints as ALL prayer is to end with God.

4 The most common Marian prayer is the Hail Mary which is solidly biblical

**Hail Mary, [Lk. 1:28]
Full of Grace [Lk. 1:28]
The Lord is with thee [Lk 1:27]
Blessed are you among all women [Lk 1:42]
And Blessed in the fruit of your womb: Jesus [Lk. 1;42]
Holy Mary [Lk.1: 28]
Mother of God 1:35
Pray for us sinners [our catholic petition]
Now and at the hour of our death
Amen” ****

5 Lk. 1 46:48 "And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

Mary is closer to Her Son tha is any other Saint or Angel and therefore as OUR Mother too has the HIGHEST place of honor and is able to aid us with Her Son.

While Marian Doctrines are MANDATED; praying to [actually THROUGH] Mary is optional.

Mary & Saints ADD to our own prayers and petitions, their own pleas on our behalf on top of ours and then present them to God FOR US. Adding to the urgency and effectiveness of our prayers.

There is very much more I could share, but limited by space cannot.

God Bless you,

Patrick**

 

[PJM]

=SalusaSecondus;12891468]When I converted to RC it was the Mary dogma that I never really got over.

PLEASE SEE POST #76:thumbsup:

 

[PJM]

=plainatheart71;12891471]I’m still dealing with issues a year after joining. But the biggest has been the Marian doctrines. Also the commandments being different in the catechism. The papacy is another. The biggest though, are the anti-Catholic teachings we learned in the Messianic movement. How Catholics are sun worshipers, that the Pope is anti-Christ, that the church is the whore of Babylon.
But 3 times we have asked the Lord for confirmation that we are where He wants us and 3 times He’s confirmed it. I just went today to reconciliation after being away from Mass for 3 months because of these hang-ups. And I love the moving of the Holy Spirit in reconciliation and the grace and mercy that’s shown.

Please see POST #76:thumbsup:

 

[IdiNaPut]

I can relate to this. I had been in Catholic churches before as a tourist in the UK, but it was scary to attend my first Mass in the Catholic church in my own neighborhood, which I’d either walked or driven past a few thousand times. When I first went in for Mass, it was like going to a foreign country, where the customs were different, and I was a foreigner. But that was soon changed when a friendly parishioner welcomed me after I asked her about where to sit. The Mass was so peaceful and Christ-centered. Of course I went back.

G.K. Chesterton writes about this in his book, ‘The Catholic Church and Conversion,’
which is an excellent book, and I would recommend it to anyone considering conversion to Catholicism.

This sounds exactly like me…I’m going to force myself to go to church this weekend though…I’m going to have to go at some point.

I’ve heard of that book actually, I’m going to have to see if I can find a copy. Luckily for me there is a large Catholic bookstore in the next city over.

 

[Techno2000]

This sounds exactly like me…I’m going to force myself to go to church this weekend though…I’m going to have to go at some point.

I’ve heard of that book actually, I’m going to have to see if I can find a copy. Luckily for me there is a large Catholic bookstore in the next city over.

michaeljournal.org/holymass.htm

 

[wmscott]

Thank you for sharing:

It might help to understand why Protestantism pretty much in total teach that Marian “worship” is idolatry. BUT is it actually?

Briefs because space is limited, non-Catholic Christians find themselves in a position of always being in competition with the Church and in need of having and defining biblically supported [thank you Sola Scriptura] Catholic teaching to enable them to justify their own existence. This is very difficult to do.

So claiming [in error] that Catholics “worship” Mary" seemed like a good target to lactch on too.

We see here that on multiple occasions Yahweh-God commanded Moses to built for Him [God] what by dictionary definition ARE “Idols”; so what gives here?

Exod.25: 18, 20 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. [20] The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be

Num.21: 8-9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; ***and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live." ***

The lesson here is that it is NOT the item [or person] that determines in God’s view the worth or value; BUT the purpose for the item or person that God Judges. ANY and all things that can lead one to a closer relationship with God ARE “good” while all things that actually can draw one away from God are evil.

Jn. 19:26-27 “] When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman,*** behold thy son***. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own”

1 HERE Jesus give to the world His Mother as OUR Mother!

2 WHY requires a explanation of Christ WORD from His Cross; “I THIRST” that space does not permit here

3 Catholics if correctly catechized do NOT “worship” Mary. The RCC teaches that “WORSHIP” is reserved for Christ ALONE

From the Catholic Catechism: "266 “Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son’s is another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal”

What Catholics are taught to do is [and this is optional personal piety[/COLOR]] is to pray THROUGH Mary & Saints as ALL prayer is to end with God.

4 The most common Marian prayer is the Hail Mary which is solidly biblical

**Hail Mary, [Lk. 1:28]
Full of Grace [Lk. 1:28]
The Lord is with thee [Lk 1:27]
Blessed are you among all women [Lk 1:42]
And Blessed in the fruit of your womb: Jesus [Lk. 1;42]
Holy Mary [Lk.1: 28]
Mother of God 1:35
Pray for us sinners [our catholic petition]
Now and at the hour of our death
Amen” ****

5 Lk. 1 46:48 "And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

Mary is closer to Her Son tha is any other Saint or Angel and therefore as OUR Mother too has the HIGHEST place of honor and is able to aid us with Her Son.

While Marian Doctrines are MANDATED; praying to [actually THROUGH] Mary is optional.

Mary & Saints ADD to our own prayers and petitions, their own pleas on our behalf on top of ours and then present them to God FOR US. Adding to the urgency and effectiveness of our prayers.

There is very much more I could share, but limited by space cannot.

God Bless you,

Patrick

Good post and what I think many non-Catholics think is that is we only pray through the Blessed Mother and the Saints. When in actuality we pray directly to God probably more than through the Blessed Mother and the Saints. In as much as a non-Catholic will ask his fellow church member to pray for them, we do the same PLUS having the Blessed Mother and the Saints to help us and intercede for us. It is making full use of all of the ways we can pray and petition God in our lives.

In addition as cited in your post, many non-Catholics do not realize just how deeply tied to Sacred Scriptures Catholic beliefs and practices really are.

 

[ptisme]

Good post and what I think many non-Catholics think is that is we only pray through the Blessed Mother and the Saints. When in actuality we pray directly to God probably more than through the Blessed Mother and the Saints. In as much as a non-Catholic will ask his fellow church member to pray for them, we do the same PLUS having the Blessed Mother and the Saints to help us and intercede for us. It is making full use of all of the ways we can pray and petition God in our lives.

In addition as cited in your post, many non-Catholics do not realize just how deeply tied to Sacred Scriptures Catholic beliefs and practices really are.

John 14:6: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

[wmscott]

John 14:6: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

And this is why I feel that some or many Protestants misunderstand the whole concept and value of intercessory prayer.

 

[ptisme]

And this is why I feel that some or many Protestants misunderstand the whole concept and value of intercessory prayer.

And yet they pray for each other

 

[Della]

And yet they pray for each other

Those Protestants who reject the Communion of Saints say that there is no scriptural evidence for the saints in heaven making intercessory prayer, and there are those who say further that those who are dead cannot hear our prayers because they are dead. They’re wrong about both assumptions, but that’s another topic for another thread.

 

[ptisme]

Those Protestants who reject the Communion of Saints say that there is no scriptural evidence for the saints in heaven making intercessory prayer, and there are those who say further that those who are dead cannot hear our prayers because they are dead. They’re wrong about both assumptions, but that’s another topic for another thread.

Fair enough, I was just getting ready to provide biblical support