Conversion Stories

[Bartek]

Thank You all for Your stories

 

[Auntie]

I have read all of the posts in this thread, and I am so completely touched by everything that has been said here.

 

[IgnatiusOfAntioch]

What does Easter mean?

Easter is the English term used for the season of Pascha. This is when the Christian Church remembers Christs, Passion, Death and Resurrection.

 

[IgnatiusOfAntioch]

I was brought up going to a Methodist Chapel back in Wales from a very early age until I was in my mid teens, then I lost my faith & my way for many many years, even got involved with the occult in my early 20's. I am now 44 and last March I was walking past Wesley Owen's Bookshop (A Christian bookshop in the UK) when I felt the urge to go in & buy a Bible, I dont know why I cant explain, anyway I went in & bought a NIV version & started reading it, then I started thinking about going to Church, I went to an Evangelical one a couple of times & even though everyone was really nice, friendly & welcoming I just didnt feel at home, so for a few months I just left it, then one day as I was on the bus to work i passed a Catholic Church & felt the urge to go there. The following Sunday I went to my local Catholic Church & have been going there for 4 months now, I felt at home immediately have met with the Priest a few times & the guy who runs the RCIA & will be beginning my RCIA course this Sept. Even my 6yr old daughter is coming with me every week now, I am still working on my wife!! whats amazing is I come from a strong Protestant background/area but was drawn to the Catholic Church & cannot explain why! All I know is that I feel at home & blessed & I am grateful to have found the Lord again.

Wonderful testimony. I love to hear of the Faith coming back to Cymru! Welcome home brother.

 

[themaninblack1963]

I am beginning my RCIA this Tuesday coming, I thought it would never arrive, I am so excited!!

 

[Cadfael]

I was baptised and raised in the Church of England, and spent a great deal of my childhood singing in local church choirs. However, much as I liked the music, by my early-to-mid-teens I’d become an atheist, for all the usual ‘scientific’ reasons. Christianity – and faith in general – seemed irrational, and an irrelevance. Catholicism, in so far as I thought of it at all, So I went through school and college, ending up with a research degree in physics. However, about 7 years ago I stumbled across a reference to a new (ok, about twenty years old by this point, but new to me!) translation of the bible into Latin, the Nova Vulgata. I’d always been fascinated by languages, and on a bookshelf at home was a rather battered edition of the Clementine Vulgate, so I looked the new edition up on the web. I found it on the Vatican’s website – right next door to the complete text of the catechism.
Out of curiosity, I started reading the catechism through, and found it made a lot more sense than I was expecting. Some of the stranger aspects (from an ex-protestant’s perspective), such as devotion to Mary, were quite well argued, and it was actually good to have a formal description of what one church at least believed its faith to be – you knew what you were arguing against!
Cut forward a few years, and I was teaching maths in a Catholic school. All teachers of the new intake had to attend a “Welcome” mass, and I was struck by the two passages in the Confiteor, where the text reads “and you, my brothers and sisters...”. Even though I wasn’t a believer, that seemed to sum up a great deal of what I thought Christianity should be – people praying for each other – I thought that was nice. As part of school routine I had to attend chapel fairly regularly, and I became accustomed to the Mass, and Benediction as well.
The next significant moment for me came a few years after that, when I happened to go back into a (low) Anglican church after having attended so many Catholic services. I was surprised that it felt so empty... and realised that I was expecting to see a Tabernacle. I still didn’t believe in God at this stage – but I think I was starting to believe in the Real Presence, if it’s possible to believe in one without the other!
The final stumbling block fell away about a year ago. I still had the idea that believing in God was illogical. With my physics background, though, I was well aware of how finely tuned the laws of physics had to be to allow life to exist in the visible universe. The standard atheist response to this would be to invoke the “Anthropic principle”. Basically this says we shouldn’t be surprised to see the universe supporting life, as out of all possible universes, you’ll only have people able to wonder about the universe supporting life in those which – obviously – support life. So if you have a great variety (probably more billions than you can count) of universes, one or two of these simply by chance may be able to support people inside them.
The catch, of course, is that you have to believe in the existence of these billions of sterile universes, none of which are observable. This seemed to me even less likely than the God I was trying to avoid. So from then on I stopped being an atheist with occasional leanings towards religion, and became a believer, admittedly with occasional moments of doubt thrown in.
So where I am now – I’ve been attending mass regularly for over a year now, have started praying daily, and am currently a catechist, hoping to be received into the church next spring, God willing. There hasn’t been a sudden Damascene conversion moment so far (for which I’m very grateful – it’d probably scare me senseless!), but I do have a strong sense that I’m finally coming home.

 

[Maggie893]

I was baptised and raised in the Church of England, and spent a great deal of my childhood singing in local church choirs. However, much as I liked the music, by my early-to-mid-teens I’d become an atheist, for all the usual ‘scientific’ reasons. Christianity – and faith in general – seemed irrational, and an irrelevance. Catholicism, in so far as I thought of it at all, So I went through school and college, ending up with a research degree in physics. However, about 7 years ago I stumbled across a reference to a new (ok, about twenty years old by this point, but new to me!) translation of the bible into Latin, the Nova Vulgata. I’d always been fascinated by languages, and on a bookshelf at home was a rather battered edition of the Clementine Vulgate, so I looked the new edition up on the web. I found it on the Vatican’s website – right next door to the complete text of the catechism.
Out of curiosity, I started reading the catechism through, and found it made a lot more sense than I was expecting. Some of the stranger aspects (from an ex-protestant’s perspective), such as devotion to Mary, were quite well argued, and it was actually good to have a formal description of what one church at least believed its faith to be – you knew what you were arguing against!
Cut forward a few years, and I was teaching maths in a Catholic school. All teachers of the new intake had to attend a “Welcome” mass, and I was struck by the two passages in the Confiteor, where the text reads “and you, my brothers and sisters...”. Even though I wasn’t a believer, that seemed to sum up a great deal of what I thought Christianity should be – people praying for each other – I thought that was nice. As part of school routine I had to attend chapel fairly regularly, and I became accustomed to the Mass, and Benediction as well.
The next significant moment for me came a few years after that, when I happened to go back into a (low) Anglican church after having attended so many Catholic services. I was surprised that it felt so empty... and realised that I was expecting to see a Tabernacle. I still didn’t believe in God at this stage – but I think I was starting to believe in the Real Presence, if it’s possible to believe in one without the other!
The final stumbling block fell away about a year ago. I still had the idea that believing in God was illogical. With my physics background, though, I was well aware of how finely tuned the laws of physics had to be to allow life to exist in the visible universe. The standard atheist response to this would be to invoke the “Anthropic principle”. Basically this says we shouldn’t be surprised to see the universe supporting life, as out of all possible universes, you’ll only have people able to wonder about the universe supporting life in those which – obviously – support life. So if you have a great variety (probably more billions than you can count) of universes, one or two of these simply by chance may be able to support people inside them.
The catch, of course, is that you have to believe in the existence of these billions of sterile universes, none of which are observable. This seemed to me even less likely than the God I was trying to avoid. So from then on I stopped being an atheist with occasional leanings towards religion, and became a believer, admittedly with occasional moments of doubt thrown in.
So where I am now – I’ve been attending mass regularly for over a year now, have started praying daily, and am currently a catechist, hoping to be received into the church next spring, God willing. There hasn’t been a sudden Damascene conversion moment so far (for which I’m very grateful – it’d probably scare me senseless!), but I do have a strong sense that I’m finally coming home.

What an amazing testimony!!! So often the more educated and/or wealthy we are, the less we think we need a God. Thank you for sharing an amazing journey. I hope you stick around OBOB for a long time!

 

[themaninblack1963]

Cadfael I know just what you mean, I to am travelling the same path as you and looking forward to next Easter to take my 1st Communion. God Bless.

 

[helenofbritain]

Hugs all round!!

 

[foxsta]

What an amazing testimony!!! So often the more educated and/or wealthy we are, the less we think we need a God. Thank you for sharing an amazing journey. I hope you stick around OBOB for a long time!

Very admirable. From reading your story, I see some of myself in it...I am a convertee too lol!

 

[hopeblossom]

Hello. I just came and started posting on this christian forum last week. I really wanted to be able to talk about my decision to take the adult baptism classes at the catholic church.
I really don't know very much about the catholic religion. I've always believed in God and His son, but it has been a hard road just being an "island" (example, not going to church, just reading my bible) so to speak. Life has been hard and the last couple of months I have started praying for peace. A friend invited me to a bible study at the catholic church. Through these bible studies I have had some of my questions answered. It was kind of weird because I did not even ask my questions- they were just answered. I do believe the priest was blessed with the Holy Spirit.
I felt very soothed when I went to the bible studies, and now I feel very joyous with my decision to attend the baptism classes. I finally feel as though I am going to get some help with my problems. I am handing my life over to Jesus. I have quit worrying about everything. It's amazing. There has been such a difference in me. I have a hard time explaining it to people, but I know it is there and my family can see it.
I am now, finding in myself, more understanding, more love, more patience and the peace that I thought had become nonexistent in our modern world.
It does exist! It does!
I have found peace.

 

[IgnatiusOfAntioch]

I was baptised and raised in the Church of England, and spent a great deal of my childhood singing in local church choirs. However, much as I liked the music, by my early-to-mid-teens I’d become an atheist, for all the usual ‘scientific’ reasons. Christianity – and faith in general – seemed irrational, and an irrelevance. Catholicism, in so far as I thought of it at all, So I went through school and college, ending up with a research degree in physics. However, about 7 years ago I stumbled across a reference to a new (ok, about twenty years old by this point, but new to me!) translation of the bible into Latin, the Nova Vulgata. I’d always been fascinated by languages, and on a bookshelf at home was a rather battered edition of the Clementine Vulgate, so I looked the new edition up on the web. I found it on the Vatican’s website – right next door to the complete text of the catechism.
Out of curiosity, I started reading the catechism through, and found it made a lot more sense than I was expecting. Some of the stranger aspects (from an ex-protestant’s perspective), such as devotion to Mary, were quite well argued, and it was actually good to have a formal description of what one church at least believed its faith to be – you knew what you were arguing against!
Cut forward a few years, and I was teaching maths in a Catholic school. All teachers of the new intake had to attend a “Welcome” mass, and I was struck by the two passages in the Confiteor, where the text reads “and you, my brothers and sisters...”. Even though I wasn’t a believer, that seemed to sum up a great deal of what I thought Christianity should be – people praying for each other – I thought that was nice. As part of school routine I had to attend chapel fairly regularly, and I became accustomed to the Mass, and Benediction as well.
The next significant moment for me came a few years after that, when I happened to go back into a (low) Anglican church after having attended so many Catholic services. I was surprised that it felt so empty... and realised that I was expecting to see a Tabernacle. I still didn’t believe in God at this stage – but I think I was starting to believe in the Real Presence, if it’s possible to believe in one without the other!
The final stumbling block fell away about a year ago. I still had the idea that believing in God was illogical. With my physics background, though, I was well aware of how finely tuned the laws of physics had to be to allow life to exist in the visible universe. The standard atheist response to this would be to invoke the “Anthropic principle”. Basically this says we shouldn’t be surprised to see the universe supporting life, as out of all possible universes, you’ll only have people able to wonder about the universe supporting life in those which – obviously – support life. So if you have a great variety (probably more billions than you can count) of universes, one or two of these simply by chance may be able to support people inside them.
The catch, of course, is that you have to believe in the existence of these billions of sterile universes, none of which are observable. This seemed to me even less likely than the God I was trying to avoid. So from then on I stopped being an atheist with occasional leanings towards religion, and became a believer, admittedly with occasional moments of doubt thrown in.
So where I am now – I’ve been attending mass regularly for over a year now, have started praying daily, and am currently a catechist, hoping to be received into the church next spring, God willing. There hasn’t been a sudden Damascene conversion moment so far (for which I’m very grateful – it’d probably scare me senseless!), but I do have a strong sense that I’m finally coming home.

Wow! Magnificant testimony brother. Welcome Home!

 

[InTheCloud]

Cadfael will be very interested in reading the history of Georges Lemaitre. The father of the Big Bang theory. There is a book in amazon called A DAY WITHOUT YESTERDAY. Lemaitre also was a catholic priest, abbot and bishop.

 

[New Creation]

It took me 2 hours to read this whole thread and it was worth every second! Thank you to all of you for your candor and your encouragement. It is good to know that there are so many people who are coming HOME.

My story is a bit more than strange and takes a while to tell. I’ll try and be as concise as possible.

I was born into a non-practicing Anglican family. We did church for about 3 years when I was about age 9-12. Church was painfully boring but I still remember the liturgy to this day because of it. I didn’t learn much of anything unfortunately. My parents and I were confirmed together and I remember more about the outfit I wore than anything taught to me in confirmation classes. (Pink dress and my first "high" heels...lol)

My teen years were very tumultuous – depression, cutting my wrists- not to kill myself but to get attention from my parents; constant collisions with my father and endless attention seeking which ended in me getting pregnant and aborting my child at 17. I became a stripper at 18 to support myself after getting kicked out of the house. The abortion was a turning point in my life after which I buried myself very deeply in dangerous habits to cover the self-hatred I felt.

I did an extreme amount of partying for many years after that; traveled the country headlining as a featured stripper, made and spent a lot of money, married at 23 and remember being driven to the church thinking "this is a huge mistake".

I financially supported my husband the entire time we were married. He and I were major drunks and spent a lot of time insulting each other and physically violating each other.
Around the time I turned 25, I began to have a crisis of identity and spirituality. I became terrified of dying. Certain people I encountered and books they recommended slowly turned my attention to feminism and wicca.

Husband and I separated after the second time he tried to kill me. My subsequent "freedom" was a great excuse to excercise vehement promiscuity. The years in the stripping business were really taking their toll on my psyche and I began to hate men with a true passion. I would use them before they could use me. I also made feminist activism and wiccan spirituality my full time past-times. I dove into these things (along with alcohol) with everything I had for 7 years. I was very much alone in my world.

Fast forward 7 years to a little club in Brantford Ontario.... I parked myself at the bar for the night, exhausted and unwilling to make the rounds for table dances. I sat beside a handsome man named Lloyd who was watching a ball game on tv.

We struck up a conversation and talked with intimate familiarity for 5 hours. He was the first person to tell me about Christ and did it with such love that I couldn't get it out of my head for days. We corresponded by phone for 3 months (we lived on opposite sides of the country...he was only on vacation visiting his mother the night I met him) and he answered my many many questions about Christ and Christianity.

During this time of seeking, I had a profound experience of the Holy Spirit touching me during a Christmas Eve service at the church next to my parents' house. I went alone and cried uncontrollably for 90 minutes. At the end of the service, I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see one of the old managers of a strip club I had worked at standing there with his wife and children weighing a hundred pounds less than the last time I had seen him! It had been 2 years since I had seen him and hundreds of miles away. What was he doing at this church that night? Divine intervention indeed. He told me that Jesus Christ had turned his life around and I KNEW I had to take it all seriously.

Of course there were things happening all around me to turn my attention to Christ, but satan was pulling out all the stops as well to keep me.

One of my major problems was that I was very fearful that being a Christian meant being forever delegated to second place as a woman. I had been very effectively propagandized by the feminist movement; being told over and over about the “patriarchy” and how the Christian machine was there to keep women in their place blah blah blah….However, I knew I was hearing the TRUTH for the first time in my life and I didn't care anymore if I DID have to sit in the back seat. Truth was always the most important thing to me and I had always considered myself a seeker. I took the leap.

I asked Christ to be my Saviour on Jan. 26 2003 and everything changed from there. I must divulge that one of the first things the Spirit revealed to me was that women were as precious to Him as men.

Now Lloyd was a lapsed Catholic who had gone to Catholic school but was "saved" as a young adult in a Baptist church. He was hardcore in the church for about a year but fell away to drink and serious partying for over a decade. He always declared Christ Lord however.

I moved in with him and slowly we learned more about our faith. We began to go to an Evangelical Anglican church which was in the middle of breaking away from the Anglican communion in Canada over the same sex marriage issue.

We both quit drinking, smoking, doing drugs, and eventually, pre-marital sex. During this time, and I really can't remember WHY, but it may have been my sweet ignorance about all the denominations and whatnot, I was very interested in both the Catholic church and Messianic Judaism. I felt that the Messianics had the fullness of the faith as they had had Christ's original faith but also KNEW Christ now. At the same time, the pull of the Catholic church was also very strong. I began to come here to CF and visited OBOB often.

Jeffery LLoyd from OBOB sent me a package in the mail with a SURPRISED BY TRUTH book, a rosary, a book called WHAT CATHOLICS REALLY BELIEVE and a bunch of other literature. I dove into it deeply and the TRUTH book really affected me. I instinctively knew that what I was hearing was truth but I was not ready for it. I was afraid that I would be unable to marry Lloyd because I was still not officially divorced from my husband. I was truly tortured by all that divorce stuff in the Bible...I really was. My Anglican minister (divorced himself) assured me it was ok though and ...

Lloyd and I married in 2005 and had our amazing baby girl Meaghan in 2006. This obviously changed my life more than any other prior event save my conversion. It taught me how truly selfish I am. Nothing makes you have to be more like Christ than having a child, imho.
We settled into our church life and loved our Christian family very much. Lloyd became a warden and I was on several committees. We were “the young family” for a long time even though we’re both in our late 30’s. Christ helped to heal me of many things during this time including the pain and guilt of having aborted my baby almost 2 decades prior. This actually put me on the page with a lot of Catholics again as well and had me looking in that direction.

There were always questions that never seemed to get answered at my church, and the issue of authority and the lack of it sounded loud and clear in our parish and in the Anglican Communion around the world. Our church split from the Anglican Church over the issue of same sex marriage and the interpretation of the bible. It really made me think about how many splits there were, why they happened and where the original church was! It really hit home because of the endless problems in our church. (We had our church building confiscated by the Anglican Church and have spent hundreds of thousands to buy a new piece of land and new building. I feel that we have become preoccupied with this whole process and have forgotten about the widows and the poor.)


Earlier this year I got pregnant again but tragically, we lost the baby and I almost died from an undiagnosed tubal rupture. I had to be airlifted to Vancouver for emergency surgery and was told later that I had no business being alive at that point. I lost over half my blood that night.

The loss of the baby was devastating. I am still dealing with it. (I was also told that I couldn’t have any more children and Lloyd and I always wanted more) The brush with death affected me deeply also. I was coldly afraid as I was on the operating table. I knew that I was a sinner in BIG TROUBLE - I just knew it. I knew that God is merciful but I knew I didn't deserve his mercy. I lived through it obviously but things began to change in my heart and mind. When I look at it now, it is beginning to make more sense to me but at the time I didn’t understand why I didn’t have more peace during that very frightening time. The only thing I knew to do was say the Lord’s Prayer and I said it three times that night. I asked for God to have mercy on me, a sinner. I also almost asked for a Catholic Priest then as well....just in case. It was instinctive.

I also read the book “the Robe” during my time in the hospital and it got me to thinking about the early church Fathers. It also deepened my understanding for Christ as man.

My husband Lloyd watches a lot of EWTN and he LOVES Father Corapi and the Journey Home show. I’ve been watching with him for about a year now and although I started out critical (in the short time I have been an Evangelical I picked up the anti-Catholic bias) I have I been really drawn in by what these people are saying. There is so much sense in it. I cannot refute it. There have been Catholic people in my life that have been such loving and genuine people and I thank God for putting them in my path. I have to say that Shannon McCatholic has been a big part of this even though she doesn’t know it. Just the way she loves and lives has been a huge witness for me.

Recently there was a wonderful round table show on The Journey Home with 3 Hebrew Catholics. The similarities between Judaism and Catholicism made so much sense! I finally understood why I felt the way I did about Messianic Jews. Things continued clicking into place for me. It was so exciting!

I also need to mention the surprising (to me anyway) vehement anti-Catholic sentiments that we have encountered in our Protestant friends. They always seemed afraid whenever Lloyd mentioned something remotely Catholic; like they were watching him handle a bomb or something. I mentioned earlier that I DID pick up some of that anti-Catholic bias but my late entrance to the church and subsequent ignorance about church history (and that as a good Protestant I should hate Catholics {tongue kind of in cheek}) was a blessing for me.

We recently bought a Catholic Bible, a Catechism, some Catholic history books and I also began to re-read that stuff that Jeffery Lloyd gave me 4 years ago. More informed and more mature now, I know that I am going in the right direction.
One of the things that I love most about this journey is the love that Catholics have for Mary. One of the things that has hurt my heart in the past is the lack of female veneration of any kind in the church. The love that is shown Mary fills a very big hole in my heart that has been there for a very long time. The issue of Papal authority and infallibility is no longer a question in my mind and neither is Purgatory. These were my biggest stumbling blocks as well as the whole “bible as the only authority” issue. Seeing that the Bible stated this nowhere was like the V8 commercial- smack me in the head for missing the obvious.

I have contacted our local Catholic Priest and I want to become a Catholic as soon I can. My questions are being answered. I can’t tell you what a relief that is. I know I have the full truth which I have been seeking all my life. I am eager and full of gratitude. I love Jesus more than ever. I feel like we are starting all over again but this time I'm wearing my glasses.
My only concern at this point is the hurt that my church family is going to feel at our "desertion". We will be leaving our very vulnerable church at a crucial time. I know people will be hurt and I know some of our friends will be afraid for our salvation. We hope to be able to help them understand what God has revealed to us.
We will be praying for them.

 

[CatholicFlame]

Hi I would like to share some of my conversion stories.

I have a few different ones but here are some that were really big in my life.

God's peace be with you all.

Well after losing all belief in God for most of my life, I had some miracles happen that led me to believe that Jesus was my savior. I began to read the bible (alot) and became very much a new person. I was given the grace of a conversion of heart. Thank God because I was so very lost at the time.

I came to the realization that it is important to be with other believers. I had been learning about Jesus without any outside help - just with me and the bible. I learned alot and began to pray as I read. I became a christian.

Mind you this is the short version of my testimony. I won't go into too many details here but I would like to show how Mary came into the picture.

Well after going to a few different protestant churches, I was ready to give up. I couldn't find the church that believed everything that I believed from my bible study and prayer. I did learn things at each different church but there was always something missing. Usually I would leave for simply doctrinal reasons. There were teaching things contrary to what scripture was teaching me after all. Well I moved a few times and finally said to myself, "Well maybe I'll just go back to the way things were when I started - just me and the bible."

And that's when my Mom asked me "Why don't you try the Catholic Church?" Now I was brought up catholic and went to Our Lady of Perpetual Help school from 1st-3rd grade. Of course I was not the same little boy anymore though. "I don't know about the catholic Church Mom, don't they worship statues and the Virgin Mary? That is definately not in the Bible." Well, (and I know she had been praying for me) why don't you just give it a try." She said. And ya know what? - Somehow I did!

Well, It's hard to explain the difference between the catholic mass and an evangelical service. Basically they are verrry different. It's funny though, cause at that particular time, I was discovering how beautiful obediance was. This was before I visited the Church that day. I had been learning to obey God (seeing that I often went the opposite direction from where He asked me to go and do the opposite of what He asked me to do. I would often fall into sin. And this was not pleasing to me. Or to God. So I went to my old Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help with my Mom.

And so there I was - I would kneel when everyone else kneeled. I would stand when they all stood. And I tried to pray along with everyone there. I even went up to receive communion (although my Mother tried to stop me... but I can be so stubborn) Lord Forgive me for I knew not what I was doing except being disobediant to my Mother...).

Well after the mass was over, we walked home and my She asked me "What did you think?" I responded "Oh Mom! I want to go back!" "Why??" She asked me. "Because", I said "When we were praying in the church I felt so peaceful. I have never felt like that ever before when I pray. I want to go back."

There is a presence in all catholic churches taht is truly the Lord Jesus. It is HIm in the blessed sacrament. there is a peace beyond all understanding if you just pray inside any catholic church.


Oh and as a sub-story let me tell you this:

After reading and learning all that I could about the beliefs of the catholic Church, I still hadn't prayed to the Virgin Mary as this was the hardest thing for me to accept. I felt like I would be offending God somehow if I prayed to Her. And so I wouldn't do it.

But little by little, God was working on my heart and in time I was almost ready but not quite.

And so I had this dream one night. I dreamt that I was laying in bed and that it was dark. Then I saw a wispy face - barely noticable and looking down at me. And I heard a menacing voice say "I am your spiritual enemy." And then I was being smothered there in bed. It was as if someone had put a pillow over my face to kill me. Well, in the dream, I began to pray. First I said an Our Father. I felt like the evil spirit was a little less powerful as I prayed. And then the miracle happened. After the Our Father, I began praying the Hail Mary Prayer. And all of a sudden the evil one rose off of me and was going away. I kept praying so fast and desperately our Fathers and hail Marys one after another. And each time I prayed the Hail Mary, I felt more and more peace from that horrible experience. I woke up in great peace and safety.


This what happened to me you guys. I was really praying and seeking the Lord and open to whatever He might want of me. This is what happened.

peace.

 

[Virgil the Roman]

Gloria in excelsis Deo!---Glory to God in the Highest!

 

[Reader Antonius]

Dear brothers and sisters,

Many people have told me that my personal journey Home (which is not finished yet) is a powerful way to glorify God and help others grow in their faith. So I figured I might as well share it with you all.

I was born in Maryland to a nominal Catholic mother and a father with a Fundamentalist (bordering on extremism) Baptist family. Shortly thereafter, and much to the chagrin of my fundamentalist paternal grandparents I was baptized according to the Roman rite of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, my genetic father was a drunkard and because of his problems my mother divorced him and moved to Florida in order to protect me.

So I grew up a mama's boy. Since she was nominal in her faith, I was never raised Catholic, or indeed Christian, but I did have some knowledge of who God is and a little about Jesus, but I certainly didn't have a relationship with Him. My maternal grandfather unfortunately came down with lung cancer when I was about five, and the doctors told him he had maybe a year to live. He had always wanted to see the beautiful Southern countryside, so we moved to S.C. A year later he died. My mother dated around alot until she met a man who I have no doubt was sent to her by God.

He was a Southern Baptist and a devout one at that. He knew his Bible and his whole family was devoutly Christian. He was kind to me and mother and, in time, he married her and I happily became his adopted son. This of course brought me to God. My father's mother, my new grandma, began taking me to a small Ol' style Southern Baptist Church. The people were loving and they began to teach me about God and the Bible. During this time God granted me the grace of learning His written Word. I began to absorb and retain Biblical knowledge like a sponge. God filled me with a love of the Bible and I read as much as I could, unconciously memorizing many different verses rapidly. I astounded my teachers and my pastor with my knowledge. But then I came to the book of Revelation. It scared me and I went to my parents with my fears. My mother told me to talk to the pastor (my mother had recently become a "born-again" Bible believer). So I did, and he quizzed me about why the Cross was important and what it meant, and when I showed that I understood and believed this, he led me in the "Sinner's Prayer." Shortly thereafter I was re-baptized.

By this time I was about nine years old and the Lord set my soul aflame for Him. My love for God and the Bible overflowed in my heart and I was constantly telling others about Jesus. I spent many hours at my Middle School witnessing to others about Christ, and I organized a Bible Study with my closest friends and I began to literally preach sermons before school began. My faith in the tenets of Evangelical Christianity was well-grounded and I was soon mocked for it. I began to be ridiculed as "the Preacher". Yet I continued on trying to help others get "saved" whether on school, in church, anywhere. I believe this was God's work in my life.

Yet when I turned twelve, things began to change. I began to have crippling doubts about my salvation. You must understand that a major preoccupation among Evangelicals is "Eternal Security." Thus, I wasn't afraid of losing my salvation, but I was afraid that I never had it in the first place. Oh, how fearful that made me! I had anxiety attacks and I began to voraciously read any Evangelical document I could to allay my fears. I said the "Sinner's Prayer" maybe seven times during this doubting period, but always I was left wondering.

And so in this fragmented state I entered High School. Having been taken away from my devout Christian friends I was quickly yoked to evil ones, and I began to commit sins against God. I dabbled a bit in Messianic Judaism, and my disconnect with my Baptist church soon led me into darker places. I renounced Christ and Christianity for Celtic Recontructionist Paganism. I was deceived by the beauty of nature and the lies of Satan to the point where I prayed to false gods and I even made offerings to them. I practiced divination and a little magic and this led me further down this road. And as one might imagine, I continued to commit the same sins. Later my love of the samurai of Japan led me to embrace Shintoism and Buddhism. I never became devout in these religions, but I dabbled in them.

Nevertheless, I felt empty and I realized my fault. I had tasted God in my youth as an Evangelical, and I still loved Him. I repented of paganism and repented of my sins and turned back to God, recommiting my life to Jesus Christ. I soon began to study Evangelical theology again and I was back to trying to spread the Gospel, although not with the fervor of my youth. Now fifteen, I began to become an Evangelical fortress of doctrine, I studied many different Christian writers and even anti-Catholic websites, and I began to get into Christian apologetics.

Then two things happened to me that both were little miracles of God. In the first one, a deacon at a local Catholic Church handed me a booklet entitled "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth." I soon learned that it was written by a Catholic org. and I was skeptical that this book would have any Biblical basis, but to my great surprise it made use of Scripture. However, I scoffed at this, assuming w/out evidence that these Catholics had twisted the Scriptures to meet their diabolical ends, so I disposed of the book. But still, what that booklet said came up in my mind every now and then.

Then another incident occured which I believe to have been the direct physical intervention of God. While browsing the shelves of my school, I came upon a book entitled "99 Reasons to Become or Remain Catholic". To this day I don't know who wrote it, but I decided to read what it said. The book was apparently written by a former Presbyterian minister who recounted his journey to the Catholic Church. Throught the book he based almost every single argument on the Bible. What interested me most was when he showed me that there is no guarantee of salvation promised in Scripture. He showed openly that we can indeed lose our salvation if we willingly turn from God by sin. I was shocked, but I knew in my heart what he said was true. And so, I wept...like a baby. Bitterly I wept in fear and shame of my sins which had (at that time) become my chief vices.

I talked with my father about it, I disposed of the book, confident that it was twisting the meaning of the Bible. I bought many books on Eternal Security all of them from a Evangelical perspective, mostly in an attempt to get rid of my doubts about salvation. Then, CARM.org came to my rescue. I read all about Catholicism on CARM and soon became convinced that the Catholic Church was not the Church of Christ. I shared this info with my parents, strengthening my father's faith that Catholicism was too inundated with unBiblical tradition. Solidified in my faith in Evangelicalism, I began to debate with Jehovah's Witnesses.

It was there that God intervened again in my life. I, eager to pick a fight with a Catholic, began attacking the doctrine of Transubstantiation. I regurgitated CARM's arguments almost verbatim and expected those Catholics to be stumped, but to my great and utter surprise the Catholic I was speaking to was unphased. The Catholic said he didn't know how someone could read John 6 and not believe in the Real Presence. I had never really read John 6, furthermore an open-minded Protestant on that very board said that there was little doubt that the Early Church Fathers believed in the Real Presence. This intrigued me, as I had always wanted to know what Early Christians believed, and how they worshipped. I went back to debating with the Jehovah's Witnesses and to add historical weight to my arguments that the Early Church believed in the Trinity, I turned to the Church Fathers.

To my immense surprise, I found a Catholic website that cited the Church Fathers to substantiate Catholic doctrine. Curious, I finally chose to open my mind and listen to the Catholics.

Now I had thought that the Catholic Church was one of the greatest threats to Biblical Christianity. I was led to believe that the Catholic Church worshipped Mary, believed that Jesus' sacrfice was insufficient, blasphemed Christ by re-sacrificing Him every Mass, and other things I had learned (mostly on CARM). Yet, to my surprise I learned that the Catholic Church doesn't really teach those things after all. Furthermore, I began to read Catholic Answers, I soon learned that the Catholic Church is more Biblical than I thought.

Imagine a puzzle with missing pieces. Some of the pieces are there, but some aren't and that makes up a fragmented picture. As an Evangelical, there were many passages in the Bible that the Evangelical movement could not explain. As I studied Catholicism however, I was shocked to realize that every doctrine of Catholicism could be found in the Bible. Every missing puzzle piece, every verse that the Evangelical movement could not explain, fell into place. The Catholic Church fit the Bible not just on some levels, but on all the levels. I was also shocked to learn that none of the Early Church Fathers believed anything even remotely similar to Evangelicalism. The Early Church, to my surprise, was firmly Catholic in their beliefs and ways of worship. The more I studied history, the more I realized how faithful the Catholic Church was to the Early Church, and how none of the doctrines of Catholicism have changed over the centuries..I was convinced.

The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church was indeed "Bible Christianity" par excellence!

The decisive moment came when I went to my first Mass. As I set foot in the Church, I was awe-struck at the beauty of the Church. The stained glass, the statues, the tabernacle all let me see a glimse of God's beauty. Also, St. Justin Martyr details in his First Apology the general way the first-century Christians worshipped. To my immense surprise the Catholic Mass followed Justin's account almost verbatim. When the bell was rung that signified that Christ's Body and Blood had become present in the Church. I spiritually fell to my knees in adoration, I knew that the power of the Holy Spirit was in that place, I could feel it. I repeated, "Lord I am not worthy" over and over again.

I soon joined the RCIA program, determined to Come Home to the Catholic Church. I was 16-17 during this period and a senior in High School. I attended only some of the RCIA classes, as I felt that I already had a good grasp of Catholic doctrine. I went to either Mass or Eucharistic Adoration after the classes, and I began to fall in love with Catholic worship, particularly devotion to the Eucharist. When I went to my first Confession, I screwed up because I was too ashamed to show the Physician my wounds, and thus I was not healed. However near the end of the program, I went to a get together at the Church for a "pre-Confirmation" speaker. During this meeting, I went to confession and I laid out all the sins of my past. After I was done, I remember how the priest laid his gentle hand on my head and absolved me of all my filth. After that moment I KNEW that I was clean before God. Every fiber of my body cried out in gladness. It was weird. Remember how I told you all that I had doubts about the certainty of my salvation when I was still a Baptist. Well, the assurance that I was pure in God's eyes that I had so sought after as a Baptist only came to me when I confessed my sins to a Catholic priest.

Unfortunately before after my Confession, I found myself in a catch 22 situation. I won't go into details, but in short I commited a mortal sin prior to Confirmation, and one that I was unwilling to repent of prior to my Confirmation. So, knowing that I was not able to receive Confirmation, I chose not to receive the Holy Spirit. I realize now that what I had done was wrong and I repented of it. I re-enrolled in the RCIA class, and I am determined not to miss any of the classes unless of an emergency or severe illness. I want to be ready for Confirmation this year, I want to Come Home this year.

So here I am. Currently enrolled in the RCIA program awaiting that glorious day when I shall be sealed with the the Holy Spirit in full by Cofirmation, and what I am eagerly awaiting the most: To have the Flesh of my Savior placed on my tongue, and to drink His saving Blood.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest Christians, said what I feel now perfectly:

"I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible" ( Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).

Ah, how his words speak to me!

Anyway, I just wanted to share my story with you all in the hope that it will be a testimony to the greater glory of God and His actions in my life.

I feel that God has led me in my life to do something for His Glory. I have not yet discerned what His Will is for me, but I assume that He desires me to receive all the Sacraments of Initiation before He calls me to His service.

Amen.

 

[Reader Antonius]

But that's just my story.....

 

[Virgil the Roman]

May the Lord God bless you, Knightwolflord!

 

[Reader Antonius]

May the Lord God bless you, Knightwolflord!

Thank you my brother.