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Prodigal Daughter
Member
| Joined: | Wed Nov 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 200 |
| First Name: | Deborah/PD | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptized Catholic, received First Communion, left during Confirmation year. ... |
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Posted: Sun Aug 3rd, 2008 03:16 pm |
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It was almost 10 years ago now that I first read "Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic," and the evangelical foundation that I had so firmly stood on for years began to crumble. Within weeks of delving into "all those books" from my local Catholic bookstore I became thoroughly dismayed and confused and after only a few months was on the verge of losing everything including all my closest friends and my marriage. Realizing that I must stop persuing this inquiry into Catholicism or lose everything, I retreated into a lonely world of resignation and surrender to our Lord.
For the next few years I prayed and applied as many Catholic truths to my daily walk with Christ as I felt comfortable doing. I offered my suffering and served my family as a "devotion." keeping in mind Christ's words "Whatever you do for the least of these..." As time went on, I became filled with more and more peace and joy. After several years I began to attend daily Mass and prayed the rosary afterwards. My deep longing and primary prayer during those months was "Lord, please help my husband be willing to allow me to convert so that I can come back to the CC and receive You in the Eucharist."
It didn't take long then and my prayer was answered beyond my expectations when my husband too re-verted and we were gratefully received back into the CC on April 30, 2004.
Once returning however there were still many obstacles such as dealing with rejection from friends and family, adjusting to a whole new rhythm of life and worship, as well as negative reactions from our teenage children.
In the mean time, we have continued to submit to all that the CC has and continue to be blessed. Has the rejection stopped? Not really. But the rhythm of Catholicism is beginning to settle into our bones and oh how we love to be a part of all the CC has to offer.
Among the many blessings we enjoy are regular confession, daily Mass, spiritual direction, visiting shrines, Catholic prayers, novenas, and devotions, amazing reading material, wonderful Catholic friends...I could go on of course, but my point in telling the story is to encourage those in the midst of the struggle.
There is no guarantee the struggle will ever go away in this life, but for us it has gotten easier and my prayer is that for you it will too.
http://www.crossedthetiber.com
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"Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all Heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest."
St. Francis of Assisi
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David W. Emery
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2410 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Online
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Posted: Sun Aug 3rd, 2008 06:24 pm |
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Yes, Deborah, I too have seen things stabilize, although it didn’t happen for me in a span of four years. My childhood was difficult because I was misunderstood; my parents sent me to a psychiatrist for years trying to get a “handle” on me. My teen years — the years when I was wrestling with God and going through the conversion process — were difficult because I was intellectually and emotionally isolated and was constantly criticized for favoring Catholicism. And after I entered the Church at the ripe old age of nineteen, the journey into full adulthood was difficult because of the upheavals in my family (a divorce was brewing), in society (it was the 1960s) and in the Church itself (the so-called “spirit of Vatican II”), not to mention continued oppression from my anti-Catholic family and friends. It took me until 1978, when I married, to begin the actual integration process. This process was not complete until 2002 when, after several more tragedies, I was beginning to emerge from the trauma of “losing” my wife to Alzheimer’s disease. This is when I started to volunteer with CHNI. Now, six years later, by the grace of God I am still here and feel that I have finally found my niche. Whatever else happens, I am at peace serving the God of my life.
David
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