My Mother is Catholic, so I was baptized at infancy, and grew up learning being taught about God the Father, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, etc, and witnessing her live the Spirit of God. Through this I also witnessed confirmations of her faith (trust) in God, which strengthened my faith, and led to confirmations of my own. Additionally, when I attend Mass I am always moved by the Eucharistic miracle. Through these gifts, including that of the miracles at Medjugorje, Fatima, etc, and creation of the universe, I know God exists.
I’m Catholic because I know the Catholic Church is the one Jesus built upon Peter. This is the fold Jesus talked about welcoming others into. While I know the history of the Catholic Church doesn’t have an immaculate history, it’s to be expected, because it consists of humans, and while the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, that does not mean there won’t be damage. So, we need to pray for the shepherds God has placed in charge, and for those who they tend to, not find greener pastures. And, no matter the human traditions within the Church, the essential is the greatest miracle, the Eucharist, the communion of the lay faithful, to give praise and glory to God, and living a life of charity.
While I haven’t had a near death experience, and can’t say I know anyone who has, though I know those occur, my Grandmother, Norma, my Father’s Mother, passed away before I turned a year old. Just before she died, she told my Mother I would walk on my first birthday, and on that day, I walked for the first time. When I was two and a half, or three years old, my Mother said I came up to her saying I had seen Grandma, that she called me “precious”, and loved my sister (she was born a year after me), and played with me.
My Mother knew this experience of mine had happened, and that it was my Grandma Norma, because she always called me “precious”, and I was too young when she was alive to remember her calling me that, and it wasn’t a term of endearment my Mother used.
Some years later, when I was still a child, I was on the swing in my backyard. It was a sunny day with a blue sky, and a few small clouds. At one point I looked up, and noticed a figure in the sky, almost transparent, with long wings that moved gracefully up and down, yet unlike any bird. The entire time I was studying it it was flying horizontally, never changed direction or speed, then went behind a cloud. I fully expected it to come out the other side, but it didn’t, and I waited a while. Afterward, I immediately ran into the house to tell my Mother what I had seen.
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