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Robin
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 12th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 4 |
| First Name: | Robin | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Disciples of Christ, Non-denominational Christian, awaiting entry into the Catholic ... |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 11:25 am |
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I used to think that my journey to the Catholic Church began with "The Psssion of the Christ" movie. But upon further reflection, I realize that it began with our move here to Georgia a little over four years ago. We were very blessed to attend a nondenominational church in KY that had weekly communion. I have always done an examination of conscience during that time, along with thanking our Lord for His unimaginable sacrifice. Communion, for me, was spiritual food. When we moved here to Georgia, we did a lot of church hopping. We landed first at a Baptist church. There was wonderful Christian fellowship and the kids were happy. My husband was not. He was raised Baptist and felt that the church and the denomination offered a heaping plate of guilt with every sermon. I wasn't brought up in a Christian home, so I didn't have a problem with the preaching of holy living, even if wasn't always presented in the most appealing way.
I began to notice that I really missed Communion. This church took Communion perhaps 3 or 4 times a year. I couldn't understand why our Lord's command to "do this in remembrance of Me" was ignored. So my frustration with this issue, along with my husband's criticisms motivated us to begin looking again. So, we decided to go to the local megachurch. He loved it. The kids really loved the programs - high energy worship and small group teaching. Problem for me: I began searching for a deeper relationship with God, in particular, with the Holy Spirit. In May of 2004, I attended worship at a local charismatic church. I went forward and the pastor prayed for me to receive the Holy Spirit with power. I have never been the same.
After about six months at the megachurch, we visited the Vineyard. We both liked it. They offered Communion once a month and it was treated with great respect. However, it is 45 minutes from our home. The commute began to wear on us and we went back to the megachurch. But now I had tasted intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit and I was not content to go to a seeker-centered church.
It was about this time that I had a dream. I dreamt that I was walking forward in a Catholic Church to receive Communion. I didn't tell anyone about this dream because it upset me. But the very next night my husband had a dream. The next morning he looked at me and said, "What's going on with you? I had a dream that you became Catholic." I was mortified and said nothing. This began a year-long wrestling with the Lord.
I continued to hunger for Communion and began taking it at home. But after doing this for some time, I began to feel that "I just shouldn't be doing this." So I started to pray for Jesus to teach me about Communion. After reading the Catholic beliefs on Communion on a Catholic forum, I decided to pray and read. I started reading the Early Church Fathers. I read that it was the teaching of the Church right from the beginning that it is His actual body and blood. I would pray, "Jesus, you are the Author and Perfector of my faith, please teach me truth. Don't let me believe anything that is not truth!" I prayed this daily. I came to accept that it is truly Him in the Eucharist. With that, I would never be satisfied in a church that didn't believe that, not to mention didn't celebrate the Lord's Supper with any regularity.
So, I started attending Mass during the week. I was so moved the first time I went because I felt the presence of the Lord so strongly. When the priest raised the host, I was in tears. But I was still very frightened. I couldn't believe that God would want this for me because my husband (and not to mention my children) were quite content in their Protestant church. My husband attended Catholic high school and didn't mind talking about the fact that not one person ever shared their faith with him. He has the gift of evangelism and didn't see many Catholics actively sharing their faith.
About this time, I started facilitating women's Bible studies. I loved it! There's nothing like getting together with a group of people who hunger to know God more and study His word. But a problem arose. We were inter-denominational. We had Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, Non-denominationalists, Pentecostals just to name a few. This, naturally, led to doctrinal conflict. I was asked questions relating to infant baptism, baptism of the holy spirit, etc., and found that I could not give a specific answer without offending someone. I had to say, "Well, some denominations believe this and others believe that. I couldn't believe that Jesus would leave us that way.
I began reading lots and lots of books by Catholic apologists. My husband was disturbed. So I agreed to back off for a time. But I could not deny that I was being drawn to the Church. We had lots of difficult talks. There were hurt feelings. But to his credit, he turned the situation over to the Lord. In the Fall of 2005, he gave me his blessing to enter the Church.
I completed RCIA in April of 2006, and Lord willing, I will enter the Church this coming Easter. I cannot even begin to describe how much closer I feel to Him. I have found such richness. There is something so edifying about going to a church where there are things to look at to remind me of Jesus and what He has done for me. The crucifix, paintings, statues, beautiful stained glass, I now underestand their value. It is one way that He draws us closer. I have also found Eucharistic Adoration to be such an amazing time with Jesus. I feel such a peace and closeness with Him when I spend time with Him there in the chapel.
Last Spring, I felt very strongly that I should pray for spritual unity in our family. My husband agreed to listen to some Scott Hahn CDs. Over the course of a few months, he realized that the fullness of the faith is found in the Catholic Church. He enrolled in RCIA this past Fall, along with our 16 year old daughter, who did so very reluctantly. But after nine months of solid teaching, she has just informed us that she will be entering the Church with us. Our middle son is finishing up RCIC and our youngest son was baptized into the Church last summer. Truly ALL things are possible with God!
This has not been without a great many trials. We will be the only Catholics in our family on either side. Our relatives simply don't undertand why we're doing this. But the joy set before us in receiving our Lord in the Eucharist is worth everything!
God Bless you all,
Robin
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Steven Barrett
Member
| Joined: | Tue Nov 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Hadley, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 796 |
| First Name: | Steven | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, Episcopal communicant, Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 01:29 pm |
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 Welcome Home, Robin! May God's Blessings continue for you and your family. I know they will. (But He likes to be asked, anyway.)
Steven
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5079 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 02:39 pm |
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Robin wrote: He enrolled in RCIA this past Fall, along with our 16 year old daughter, who did so very reluctantly. But after nine months of solid teaching, she has just informed us that she will be entering the Church with us. Our middle son is finishing up RCIC and our youngest son was baptized into the Church last summer. Truly ALL things are possible with God!
Amen! Welcome to CHN, Robin, we are very happy to have you here with us, and we look forward to having your participation for a long time to come. And welcome to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ.
We are joyfully awaiting the Easter Vigil with you. Praise God!
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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susiedear
Member
| Joined: | Thu Oct 12th, 2006 |
| Location: | Twin Cities, Minnesota USA |
| Posts: | 186 |
| First Name: | Elizabeth | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Pentecostal / Evangelical / Catholic! |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 03:52 pm |
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Dear Robin, thank you so much for writing your story! Like you, I am entering the Church without my husband or children, but I have great faith that eventually they will join me as well. My husband is starting to read Scott Hahn, and he loves to listen to Fr. Corapi on EWTN. My two kids come to Mass with me from time to time. Last Saturday our entire family went -- since I have started this journey, this is the first time all four of us have attended. We have friends and family who are sending me LOADS of articles questioning and/or dismissing and/or attacking the Catholic faith, and my husband is as upset about the lies these articles pertuate as I am!
Yes, truly all things are possible with God. Thank you again for writing your testimony. You inspired my faith on a day when I needed some inspiration.
Elizabeth
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But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. St. Augustine
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Robin
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4 |
| First Name: | Robin | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Disciples of Christ, Non-denominational Christian, awaiting entry into the Catholic ... |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 05:54 pm |
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susiedear wrote: Dear Robin, thank you so much for writing your story! Like you, I am entering the Church without my husband or children, but I have great faith that eventually they will join me as well. My husband is starting to read Scott Hahn, and he loves to listen to Fr. Corapi on EWTN. My two kids come to Mass with me from time to time. Last Saturday our entire family went -- since I have started this journey, this is the first time all four of us have attended. We have friends and family who are sending me LOADS of articles questioning and/or dismissing and/or attacking the Catholic faith, and my husband is as upset about the lies these articles pertuate as I am!
Yes, truly all things are possible with God. Thank you again for writing your testimony. You inspired my faith on a day when I needed some inspiration.
Elizabeth
If your husband is reading Scott Hahn and listening to Fr. Corapi, then I would say that you definitely have reason to hope that he and your family will join you! My husband could never come up with a good argument for the thousands of Protestant denominations all teaching different doctrines. Considering Jesus' prayer for unity in John 17 and St. Paul's letters exhorting Christians to have no divisions among them, the existence of these many denominations are clearly not what Jesus desired. This is now an argument he uses with his Protestant friends. He's always had a passion for evangelism. It's wonderful that he is using it as a Catholic now!
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Steven Barrett
Member
| Joined: | Tue Nov 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Hadley, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 796 |
| First Name: | Steven | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, Episcopal communicant, Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Mar 23rd, 2007 02:41 pm |
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What? Jesus didn't mean to start up a whol'bunch of different churches? Oh, that'll put me in hot water with my Protestant buddies. On the other hand, the other day I told them the Catholic Bible had in the NT St. Paul's letters to the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and some other faith, let's see, the title gives me a big hint, Romans. Could those guys be the original Catholics? Protestants like to think of them as either "mere Christians" or the "good Catholics" before Constantine came along and messed the Church up for good.
I'm gonna get it now. Now my Baptist buddies noticed that in our Bible the Baptists weren't included on St. Paul's mailing list. Don't fret for them, because some of those fellas even believe, yes, you read me correctly, believe, that Christianity was founded by the first Christian, John the Baptist.
With this little distinction, I think they believe they hit the daily double by claiming both Baptist predominance and get away with justifying man's continual rebellion and falling away from the True Church founded by John's 1st Cousin, who as we all know by now, was more than merely human.
If they have to croak up an admittance that Jesus only founded one Church, and wanted us to keep it at just one, and that these other minor league human-founded Christian breakaways weren't what Jesus had in mind, well, that'll be one crow-pie eating contest I hope I never miss.
It'd be to great watch on EWTN.
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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