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Akathist
Member
| Joined: | Thu Apr 26th, 2007 |
| Location: | Wenham, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 3 |
| First Name: | Patrick | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Baptist Reformed, Byzantine Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 12:19 am |
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Growing up my family moved around a lot. I was born in Charlotte, lived in Baltimore, have pretty good memories of Kansas City, KA, saw my sister born in Red Wing, MN, and kept moving from there.
By the time I was six we finally settled in the shadow of Wheaton College in the suburbs of Chicago. My father and mother had met in a hippie commun in Iowa and left in '85, and my dad's moving us around was because he got a job in insurance that didn't stop relocating till he started working in Munich Re-Insurance. My parents were Reformed Baptist. That is not to say they were fundamentalists, my parents are quite open to things such as Evolution or even Biblical minimalism. But they were very condemning of Catholicism for reasons I will get to later. So that's my family at a glance.
When I was 16 a fellow student (also 16) converted to Catholicism. The community around us, which was very Evangelical, reacted very harshly towards him -- as did I, I admit. His parents, our teachers, and his friends all argued with him at every chance. But he was just one guy and no one was really influenced by him (apart from a girl a year older than us, who was so quiet no one cared), so though the community was angry nothing really happened.
At 17 I realized what the guy was saying was true, and was gonna ask him that day to get into my car after school and have him lay it to me. But that day I had stopped for a drink at a local resteraunt, didn't check left well enough while pulling out and totaled my car. I was so flustered that day I completely forgot about talking to him, and never really thought about it again. People often think that I might've interpreted that as a sign that I shouldn't talk to him, but I never really have. The fault of mine was that I just didn't care enough about God. For about a year I really didn't care about God any more and turned to self-abasing pleasure.
January of 2006 I went on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. It was cool, the weather fantastic and the whole group had a lot of fun. There was a new Christian in our group and a close friend of mine (we'll call him Carlos). He had recently dropped nihilism to be "born again" Protestant style. Carlos, the mission team and I were doing a Bible study on Hebrews. Eventually we got to Hebrews 6, and Carlos noticed Hebrews 6:4-10, which, if you don't know, says that anyone who "keeps on sinning" "cannot be brought back to repentence" "for they have trampled His image underfoot" and mocked the Holy Spirit. Carlos, who was a "Christian" before, became very fearful and desparaging of his salvation.
I myself found that the year I had spent in carelessness of God and (*warning* crude language) how I didn't care about masturbation though I knew it to be wrong, seems to suggest my own condemnation. For a month I read the New Testament left and right, one time I read most of it in a day. I thought I was truly lost.
One night, in a pit of sorrow, I wept for a sign (and this will be the short version of the miracle, though there was more to this that I love) that would show me I was or was not lost. At this time I was still a Protestant, not even considering Catholicism. The next day, I walked to my car after school and found a piece of plastic in a disgusting pile of mud over a sewage drain. To this day I have no idea why I felt led to pick it up. As soon as I had it in my hands the memory of praying for a sign came into my head.
The plastic was caked in mud and I couldn't read it. I rubbed some of the wet mud and read in gold, "Jesus, I trust in you!" I turned it over and rubbed another line of dirt off and saw, "For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
I didn't know it at the time, but it was a prayer card of Divine Mercy. The amazing sign of forgiveness in that card was only the beginning of my walk towards the Biblical Christianity, but a strange and beatiful one.
Over the rest of the month I devoured apologetics works from both sides. I also started reading Church Fathers; the only stuff I had ever read before was the Didache, which I found boring and didn't care much of. The first, and most important book, of the Fathers was Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea's "Historæ Ecclesiastica". If you ever want to break a Protestant down, that's the book to go for. It completely tore down my old view of Christianity and built up the real and true history. By the time of April, I publically announced to my parents I was going to become a Catholic.
I expected to be condemned and I was. There was a lot of hurt, a lot of slammed doors and a lot of tearful nights that I don't like talking about. Things have never been the same between my parents and I, our conversations always spent working around my conversion and how much that has hurt them.
In December, 2006, I worked out my confirmation date at the Roumanian-Byzantine Catholic Church for January's Theophany. I invited my parents who said they even wanted to bring some food! That Sunday, however, was bleek and gray, cold and a bad fog hung over the city. I went through the three exorcisms, crossed with the water, lit my candle. It was beautiful, but it was my funeral. My parents wept the entire time, and nearly everyone there were Protestants who hated what was being done but came out of respect to my wishes.
I remember being in the basement surrounded by parents and icons, and overhearing as one man said to my dad, "Bummer." Which was met by a meloncholic "yeah." It was then I went into the bathroom and wept. My confirmation was the worst day in my life.
Anyways, life has been good so far. God's blessed me considerably, even though I'm such an unfaithful servant. My parents on my confirmation did not stay, nor brought food. They told me bluntly they were going home, and I stayed out as late as I could to avoid talking to them. So far, six or seven friends have also converted, and hopefully many more. Their family's responses have been from welcoming to harsh as well. One has even brought his family with him. Life is dark and deep and we have miles to go before we sleep. And miles to go before we sleep.
____________________
"Because of you, Mother of God,
David the prophet became an ancestor of God.
Praising Him who worked wonders in you,
He Foretold you in joyous song:
The Queen stood at your right hand.
You are revealed as the mother of Life."
~ Tone 4, 8
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5080 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 12:34 am |
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Patrick, welcome to the Catholic faith and to the Coming Home Network. We're happy to have you here with us. Unfortunately, our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters are poorly represented here; I hope you'll be able to help us correct that imbalance. Eastern Christianity is a special interest of mine, even though where I live there are no Eastern parishes at all. We did have a mission parish in New Orleans at one time, but it was one of the casualties of Hurricane Katrina and has not reopened.
We look forward to your active participation, especially in helping us to represent Eastern theology. Any thoughts or resources you would like to contribute would be extremely welcomed.
Welcome once again to the Coming Home Network and to the Catholic faith.
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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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AggieCatholic
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | San Antonio, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 82 |
| First Name: | Lance | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | United Methodist to Roman Catholic (Anglican Use) |
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 10:21 am |
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What a great story. I'm interested in why you chose the Byzantine Rite and could you describe some of the differences between that and the Latin Rite liturgy?
I myself was drawn to an Eastern Rite during my conversion. I would attend Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church and it's true what John XXIII said that the Eastern Rite is, "A Treasure of the Catholic Church; a jewel in the crown of Catholicism."
Currently I attend Latin Mass at an Anglican Use Catholic Church and it just goes to show the variety within the Catholic Church while still demonstrating unity.
____________________
What part of, "Hoc est enim Corpus meum" don't you understand?
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Akathist
Member
| Joined: | Thu Apr 26th, 2007 |
| Location: | Wenham, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 3 |
| First Name: | Patrick | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Baptist Reformed, Byzantine Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 11:07 am |
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Alright, I've gotta run to class so this'll be brief. In short, I chose the Eastern Rite because of its beautiful liturgy, its iconography and the community being so welcoming.
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"Because of you, Mother of God,
David the prophet became an ancestor of God.
Praising Him who worked wonders in you,
He Foretold you in joyous song:
The Queen stood at your right hand.
You are revealed as the mother of Life."
~ Tone 4, 8
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pamflute
Member
| Joined: | Thu Jan 18th, 2007 |
| Location: | Tampa, Florida USA |
| Posts: | 24 |
| First Name: | Pam | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist to Presbyterian to United Methodist to Catholic |
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Posted: Sun May 6th, 2007 05:40 am |
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Dear Patrick:
Thanks for your story. I enjoyed reading it. I am from an independent Baptist background myself and have not told my parents about my conversion (my husband and I were received at the Easter Vigil this year). I know it has to be lonely for you and I ask for your prayers if and when my parents find out about this news. I realize the Reformed Baptists take a pretty tough stance toward Catholicism and it can't be pleasant having to deal with this.
My husband and I have attended a Byzantine Catholic church several times and have enjoyed it very much. We plan to go back in the future whenever we can however hopefully I am getting involved musically with the parish down the street from where I live at present.
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