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setapart
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 13th, 2007 |
| Location: | Austin, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 117 |
| First Name: | Bill | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Born Catholic, Non-Denominational Charismatic, Catholic |
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Posted: Mon Jun 4th, 2007 08:07 pm |
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This was previously posted in the fellowship hall as part of one of my replies:
Here is my story of how my return to the CC began:
I was born in NYC and attending Catholic schools and 1 year of Catholic college. I then flunked out of college and joined the USAF (during the height of the Vietnam era). During this time I attended mass every Sunday. I was protected by God with a holy fear of Him during my HS years but began to throw it away during my time in college. After joining the AF, I continued to fall further away from my Catholic upbringing by much drinking and exposure to sins of the flesh. In the meantime I got married and had 3 sons. This cycle continued to the point to where my wife and I divorced and went bankrupt. We re-married 9 months later, but my life was a total mess and for sure we were headed toward splitting up for good. It was at this point that I started to become convicted of my sins. At this point my father died (my Mother was Catholic and my Father was Protestant). I then remembered all the preaching my Father used to share with me and on top of that my oldest sister, who became an evangelical Christian, had an effect on me also. I remember sharing with her how Dad is in heaven, she then asked me straight out where would I go if I died right then. I immediately answered that I would go straight to hell. This hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought to myself how stupid it was that to know that my lifestyle was leading me toward hell! I then told her that I would visit my friend's church when I got back to Austin.
Sure enough I followed through on that and on my 2nd visit there, during worship, I was totally overcome by an overflowing of the Holy Spirit and an immediate release of the burden of sin that I carried. I was totally converted at that point and forsook my past lifestyle and became a member of that non-denom charismatic church. I grew steadily in the Lord and was grounded in my faith.
My wife thought I went off the deep end and at one point wanted to leave me because of my total commitment to Jesus. But I trusted Christ in this and chose Him over all knowing that he did not want me to divorce again. So a year later, my wife experienced a deep conversion and we started our walk with the Lord together. During this time I rejected my Catholic upbringing wondering why I never experienced this deep conversion and why I was never told about a personal relationship with Christ during my 12 years at Catholic School and Church. This rejection was with a vengeance, destroying rosaries, Mass plagues for my deceased brother that were obtained by my faithful mother, etc. I did all I could to pull away my wife's family away from the CC and to witness to my Mother and Grandmother. I abhorred going to Catholic funerals, mocking the ceremony all the while. I was about as anti-Catholic as you can get. I devoured anti-Catholic literature and believed every bit of it.
About 31/2 years into this journey I attended the National Fire Academy up in Emmitsburg, MD. This facility was previously owned by the CC. Next door was a huge retirement facility for priests and the Elizabeth Seton memorial. I read an announcement of a Catholic Charismatic prayer meeting next door and decided to go to it. The nuns there were awesome prayer warriors and I enjoyed my prayer time with them. At the end of it, a nun told me how mary is my Mother and that I should ask her to reveal herself to me in that way. After leaving the meeting I felt spooked by this and blew it off.
Over the years, I mellowed in my opposition to the CC even to the point of respecting the infant Baptism that my sister-in-law claimed as valid refusing to be re-baptized after accepting Christ as her Lord and Savior (she remained Catholic). My fellow church go-ers did not agree with me on this but for some reason I "stuck to my guns" so to speak and accepted her infant Baptism as valid. Another "incident" occurred in my journey. There was a Catholic co-worker who was active in the Church with whom I and other evangelical co-workers would have discussions with. He was totally committed to the CC. I remember sharing with him how when someone received Communion in the CC, he should also open his heart as well as his mouth since he was after all he was receiving Christ at that moment. Little did I know at that time how this would affect me later on.
About a little over 4 years ago I began to explore the CC on the Internet. After a while I could not stop researching the CC even into the wee hours of the night. I would read conversion stories on the CHN and apologetic web sites. I was totally absorbed into this. I bought books and read them one after the other. I even went on a private retreat up to John Michael Talbot's center. I talked to some people there, including a nun who encouraged me in the Faith. Finally after about a 1/1/2 years into this I went to confession at Church and confessed my past rebellion against the CC and indicated to the priest that I was being called home to the CC. My penance was receiving Communion for 6 times. I took this as a big "welcome back" to the CC.
The first doctrine to grab my attention was the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This was very easy for me to accept and this is what has kept me thus far in the CC. Another Sacrament that to me was a no-brainer was the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This was a powerful grace to me in my return to the CC. The peace and the power of God's grace that I have received from it was unmistakable and freeing.
But Oh the "power of fear and doubt". This fear robbed me of all the joys that I have experienced in the CC and the underlying "fear of man" was a evil that God put His finger on recently. Like you said in your post, Darlene, the "call" was ever so vigilant. So it is with me. Christ is ever Faithful and He never gives up on us. God has challenged me on this: Am I willing to suffer for His Name's sake and travel the narrow road or am I going to take the broad road. This fear has stolen from me the treasures of the centuries old teachings and experiences of so many thousands of faithful followers of Christ. This fear has separated me from this fellowship in the household of God. This "heavenly Jerusalem" mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews. This fear of man has robbed me of the relationship that is available to me with my Mother, the Blessed Virgin mary of whom it was prophesied that "All generations will call me blessed." It has robbed me of being able to accept as valid the teachings from such great men of faith such as the early Church Fathers, Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Thomas-a-Kempis, etc. What makes todays Bible teachers so much "better" than those men who has labored and suffered for the Faith? Who, like those in the letter to the Hebrews - did not consider this life worthy, and thereby, this world was not worthy of them.
So therefore, I am called to "outside the city" where Christ was crucified and to be willing to "suffer" with Him. (If you can call receiving the awesome graces in the Sacraments - "suffering") My intent now is to pursue this call and be willing to accept God's grace of courage and face these fears head on and thus bring glory to the Father.
Bill
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But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. Mal 4:2
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Credo Catholic
Member
| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Greenville, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 1268 |
| First Name: | Marsha | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 01:08 am |
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| Thank you for your story Bill. We all have a different journey to make to get there but isn't it amazing that all roads do lead to Rome? I was interested in your penance of receiving Communion for 6 times. Don't we get some good penances for having sinned against our Father? When I'm told to say 3 Our Fathers or 10 Hail Marys while meditating on a certain mystery, I think, this isn't penance, this is privilege! It's like when the Prodigal Son returned home and the father put the gold ring on his finger. Going to confession, being absolved from our sin and told to go talk to your sweet Mother, how greater can it get?
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setapart
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 13th, 2007 |
| Location: | Austin, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 117 |
| First Name: | Bill | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Born Catholic, Non-Denominational Charismatic, Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Jun 5th, 2007 10:09 am |
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Credo,
Thanks for your reply. You are right about the fact that a penance can also turn out to be a privelege. You are also right about going back to our sweet Mother. I was praying the Rosary on the way to work this morning. During the Rosary all kinds of thoughts were crosssing my mind. Insights into some of the truths of the faith as compared with faith alone claims. For example, one of the stories in the Bible used to defend faith alone is the Rich Young Ruler. After telling Jesus that he did all of the things that Jesus told him to do to gain eternal life, he was then told by Jeus to sell all he had and to give to the poor and come and follow Him. This is one of the proof texts of works having abolutely no value in our inheriting erternal. Especially after telling Jesus that he obeyed the 10 Commandments. Then it occured to me that Jesus told him to SELL all that he had and to give it to the poor and then follow Him. This to me tells me that FAITH ALONE is totally insufficient - that is having to only acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Obviously the rich young ruler was attracted to Jesus to even approach him. What was required was that he DO something to demonstrate that he did possess faith. Him seeling all he had would have demonstrated the OBEDIENCE OF FAITH. This facet of the teaching on faith is also demonstrated in Chapter 11 of Hebrwews.
I just wanted to share this.
YBIC,
Bill
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But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. Mal 4:2
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Attaflo_5
Member
| Joined: | Fri Oct 13th, 2006 |
| Location: | Spring Hill, Tennessee USA |
| Posts: | 14 |
| First Name: | Maryellen | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Cradle Catholic to Evangelical. Back to Catholic by ... |
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Posted: Sat Jul 7th, 2007 12:13 am |
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I just came across the post of your conversion, and in the opening paragraphs I thought I was reading my own story, except I am female.
I grew up Catholic and remained so with my husband and 6 children for over 40 years. But I was nothing more than a Baptised pagan. After our Divorce, I was lured into non-denom Bible study because it was a Singles Bible study, & I thought I might meet a nice single guy there. And so I did - I met Jesus Christ.
I'm working on my conversion story and not prepared to post it yet, but the 2nd half of it will reveal that my ex-hubby (Catholic always) and I were re-married and I reconciled with the church.
I'm so happy for you! It took me years to understand "why Catholics do that", but now I am thoroughly in love with Christ in the Catholic Church, and I'm fiercly faithful to the Magisterium.
Bill, may you grow by leaps and bound in the richness of the spiritual treasures of the church. May you live in the center of God's Will where true fulfillment lies. Journey on.
Regards
Maryellen
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setapart
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 13th, 2007 |
| Location: | Austin, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 117 |
| First Name: | Bill | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Born Catholic, Non-Denominational Charismatic, Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Jul 8th, 2007 04:25 pm |
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Maryellen,
Thank you for your blessing and encouragement. May God continue to bless you on your journey.
Bill
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But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. Mal 4:2
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