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garyb444
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sacramento, California USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Gary | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Episcopal, Fundamentalist, SDA, Eastern/New Age/Spiritualism, to Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Oct 19th, 2007 12:47 am |
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I just had to share what happened today.
I'm a new member, having started RCIA in September. I've been praying the Rosary every day since July, when I started to go to Mass. The Virgin Mary is definitely the reason I am back in the Catholic Church. She led me back to it.
Anyway, my wife and I went to a Rosary rally in Sacramento on Saturday to honor the 90th anniversary of Fatima, and also attended the Divine Mercy conference taking place there.
Today, Thursday, I got home from work, and my downstairs neighbor got home right after me. He knocked on the door. By the time I got to the front door, he was almost inside. I asked him if he was the one who knocked, he said yes. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a religious medal and handed it to me. He said he noticed it on the ground, right in front of my front door, and wanted to give it to me. I have no idea how it got there. Nobody in the neighborhood even knows I've been going to the Catholic Church.
It is a religious medal of Lady of Fatima. It looks very old. It's in the shape of a heart. On the front is a picture of Lady of Fatima with the 3 children, along with the description "N-S-DO ROSARIO DA FATIMA" On the back there is something contained in the middle , along with the words "TERRA DE FATIMA." I'm assuming that is Portugese for "Earth of Fatima." The back of the medal must contain a small bit of soil from Fatima. I will try to attach a pic, but my camera is not taking a sharp enough picture of it. I will try to get a better picture of it.
Anyway, I really have no clue how it could have gotten there. My house entrance is off the street, so someone would have to come in and place it there? I really feel it came from Our Lady, I really do. I feel that It's a sign from her that my prayers and devotion are reaching her. My life has not been too easy lately, so I think it's a message too - to believe in the power of miracles, and not to give up.
Thank you,
Gary
Attachment: Fatima Medal.jpg (Downloaded 62 times) Last edited on Fri Oct 19th, 2007 12:50 am by garyb444
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David W. Emery
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2277 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Oct 19th, 2007 09:23 am |
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Mary is feared and despised in some quarters, but loved everywhere else. I never understood what is so threatening about a humble peasant woman who led a godly life and raised a son like Jesus. All the same, I do remember struggling with Mary and the saints during my own journey toward the Catholic Church 40-some years ago.
There is no telling how that medal came into your yard. And I guess it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have received it and with it a blessing.
The message, in Portuguese, reads “Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima” and “Earth from Fatima” or “Land of Fatima.” The medal may have been part of a rosary, necklace, bracelet or packet, or it may itself, as you say, contain or have contained a grain of earth from Fatima. (Some people, in like manner, carry a drop of water from Lourdes. It would serve as a sacramental — a blessed object.) Again, it may simply be a memento, having come from Fatima.
The reason it looks old may be that it was carried in someone’s pocket, rubbing against other objects. I have noticed that coins and suchlike tend to become worn very quickly in this manner. Then again, it could be old; unless it is a reproduction of a much older medal, the style of the images and type used in the design could be used to assign an approximate date.
David
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garyb444
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sacramento, California USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Gary | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Episcopal, Fundamentalist, SDA, Eastern/New Age/Spiritualism, to Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Oct 19th, 2007 11:17 am |
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Thank you David. Your comments were very helpful.
Gary
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BettyBoopToo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Camas/Washougal, Washington USA |
| Posts: | 538 |
| First Name: | Betty | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Fist Baptist/Calvary Babtist/Secular Confusion/ Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Oct 19th, 2007 10:44 pm |
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Gary
What a lovely blessing you received from Our Lady. Those suttle little gifts that you receive from Our Lord & Our Lady, that you know it was only meant for you, are so special.
Thank you for sharing your's with us.
Betty
____________________
Patience
"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
St. John of the Cross
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BodRod
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 2nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Apple Valley, California USA |
| Posts: | 825 |
| First Name: | Cliff | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Raised an SDA, then Generic Christian, finally at home with ... |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 10:55 am |
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Hi GAry,
Your story reminds me of my own experience. I had been thinking about Catholicism for a long time. While coming out of one of the casinos in Las Vegas and walking toward my truck, something on the pavement caught my eye. I picked it up and I could see that it was a gold crucifix. My conclusion is that someone walking that way the night before must have had a broken neck chain and the crucifix fell off. I brought it home and saw that it was 18K gold so I bought a gold rope for it and wore it for several years while I continued my reading about the Church. There was no way of knowing if it had been blessed or not so after I joined RCIA and we were learning about blessings I took it to a priest, explained that I was not yet a member but I was in RCIA and could he bless my crucifix. He did and now, every time I put it on I think of his prayer asking God to bless me when I wore it and in my continuing studies of the Church.
BTW, I see that you are a former SDA. Same here. I refer to myself as a recovering SDA! 
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Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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garyb444
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sacramento, California USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Gary | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Episcopal, Fundamentalist, SDA, Eastern/New Age/Spiritualism, to Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 01:42 pm |
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BodRod wrote:
Hi GAry,
BTW, I see that you are a former SDA. Same here. I refer to myself as a recovering SDA!
Thanks BettyBoopToo and BodRod. I was a member of SDA for about a year, but couldn't bring myself to make a complete commitment, with the full immersion baptism and all that. Soon after that, I got lured into a lot of new agey stuff. And looking back, as much as what they teach made sense, I just didn't feel comfortable there, not like I feel in a Catholic church. The funny part is, right before I left I remember finding that passage in Revelation 12:1 and asking myself "who is she?" and promising myself I was going to ask the pastor about it, which I never did. Life sure is funny.
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BodRod
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 2nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Apple Valley, California USA |
| Posts: | 825 |
| First Name: | Cliff | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Raised an SDA, then Generic Christian, finally at home with ... |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 05:11 pm |
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Hi Gary,
A major problem I had was with the writings of Mrs. White. I eventually made contact with the White Estate. My question was, "Did EGW ever give a prophecy that came true exactly as she said it would." They answered "No." Then, they sent to me 42 pages of gobble-dee-gook that amounted to an excuse as to why they still held her writings in high regard and prophetic even though she has NEVER prophesied anything that came true. Another problem I was having was that according to the Old Testament AND EGW, herself, a true prophet of God was not a person who was 80% or 90% or even 99% accurate. A true prophet would be 100% correct 100% of the time. On one occasion, while EGW was in Australia, she supposedly had a vision about Kellogg, of breakfast cereal fame. In her "vision" from God, she had been shown that Kellogg had purchased a large warehouse so he could expand his breakfast cereal business. Her point was that the end of time is near and he should have given that money to the "Lord’s work." So, she fired off one of her famous "nasty grams" to him telling him what she "had been shown in vision". The problem was he had NOT purchased the warehouse. The material for her "vision" came from gossip brought to her by a person who had arrived recently in Australia from the US. In other words, she was wrong. She was also wrong about humans having sex with animals and producing some of the tribes of Africa. She was also wrong about women getting sexually excited if they wear their hair in buns on the back of their heads, etc., etc., etc.
BTW, in the 1980s, in the Sabbath School Quarterly, I read a quote from her where she said that down through the ages, God had NEVER left His people without someone to guide them and care for them. I got to thinking about that. I think the reformers were around the 1500s to 1700s. The "Johnny come lately" churches were in the 1800s to the present. I also noted that, so far as I knew, all the current non-Catholic churches were started by a disgruntled former member of the RCC. It occurred to me that the ONLY people who had religious leaders to care for them and to guide them down through the ages, were the Catholics with the Catholic Church for their guides. So ….. here I am. 
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Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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BettyBoopToo
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Camas/Washougal, Washington USA |
| Posts: | 538 |
| First Name: | Betty | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Fist Baptist/Calvary Babtist/Secular Confusion/ Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 09:39 pm |
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garyb444 wrote: BodRod wrote:
Hi GAry,
BTW, I see that you are a former SDA. Same here. I refer to myself as a recovering SDA!
Thanks BettyBoopToo and BodRod. I was a member of SDA for about a year, but couldn't bring myself to make a complete commitment, with the full immersion baptism and all that. Soon after that, I got lured into a lot of new agey stuff. And looking back, as much as what they teach made sense, I just didn't feel comfortable there, not like I feel in a Catholic church. The funny part is, right before I left I remember finding that passage in Revelation 12:1 and asking myself "who is she?" and promising myself I was going to ask the pastor about it, which I never did. Life sure is funny.
Hi Criff & Gary
Funny thing too is, I have a SIL that is a very devoted SDA. I had spent quite a bit of time pondering and I almost went to the SDA church as I did find some truths in my own experience and I also admired the commitment these folks had to their faith. They just held a few committed beliefs that sent up a red flag for me and I really believe that the HS was involved in helping me to stand back and take a longer look, as he was pointing things out to me.
Life is sure very funny Gary
Peace
Betty
____________________
Patience
"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
St. John of the Cross
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BodRod
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 2nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Apple Valley, California USA |
| Posts: | 825 |
| First Name: | Cliff | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Raised an SDA, then Generic Christian, finally at home with ... |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 10:00 pm |
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SIL ???
HS ???
____________________
Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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David W. Emery
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2277 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 10:03 pm |
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Oh, Criff! You’re living in the wrong world. SIL = sister in law; HS = Holy Spirit. At least you know SDA.
73 CUL OM.
David
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BodRod
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 2nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Apple Valley, California USA |
| Posts: | 825 |
| First Name: | Cliff | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Raised an SDA, then Generic Christian, finally at home with ... |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 10:08 pm |
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HS = Hidradenitis Suppurativa
SIL = Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion
I don't think you would want one of those!!!
Last edited on Sat Oct 20th, 2007 10:10 pm by BodRod
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Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5457 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 10:11 pm |
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BettyBoopToo wrote: Life is sure very funny Gary
We tend to think of God as all-powerful, all-merciful, etc. We forget that God is also all-loving and all-humorous. My own personal favorite example is male pattern baldness.
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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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garyb444
Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sacramento, California USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Gary | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Episcopal, Fundamentalist, SDA, Eastern/New Age/Spiritualism, to Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2007 10:16 pm |
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CajunRick wrote: We tend to think of God as all-powerful, all-merciful, etc. We forget that God is also all-loving and all-humorous. My own personal favorite example is male pattern baldness.
Hey Rick - I have personal experience with that aspect of God's humour too! 
Gary
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