First RCIA Class

[isshinwhat]

It is a beautiful thing to watch God working so powerfully in your life. You must be scared to death!

God Bless you, brother!

Neal

 

[KC Catholic]

That's what we're here for!

 

[pax]

Originally posted by humblejoe
At the start of class, we also each got a Rosary, because of a feast or holy day that was going on... I can't remember which.

Monday October 7 was actually the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, one of my favorite feast days.

 

[Caedmon]

Originally posted by isshinwhat
It is a beautiful thing to watch God working so powerfully in your life. You must be scared to death!

Das Stimmt!

I'm scared, of course. I want to make sense of all this. I'm trying to decide what I want to believe in, and it's really, really hard.

 

[Caedmon]

Well now, I just went to my third meeting tonight. We talked about the Catholic Mass. It was actually pretty interesting. We got to watch a video about the Mass, narrated from the perspective of several children. It was so cute to hear those kids talk about Jesus and their Masses and all that, hehe. It was a constant viewing of different phases of one recorded Mass.(the kids narrated, but didn't "star", lol) I got to see all the parts, from the procession, to the bringing of gifts, the Eucharist, and the sending at the end. It was pretty neat. I got to ask different questions about the things that I didn't understand. It was a very beautiful Mass. All the people were singing and praising God, and they were so close and compassionate with each other. There was so much love between those people. And there was so much reverence too, especially before the Mass began. That's one of the things that I really miss at the church I go to. They just "herd" 'em in when church starts. I commented that last Sunday at my parents' church, I sat and looked at a painting of Jesus' Agony at Gethsemane for several minutes. I just know that passers-by were thinking, "what's wrong with that loon?" But in the Mass I watched, people were quiet and still. Some were praying, some were reading, some lit a candle, etc. It was very nice. They seemed like a family too. I just don't see people love on each other like that at my church. I wish they did -- and they do try sometimes -- but they just don't know how to love that closely like that. *shrug* Well, anyway, it was a very productive meeting. Everybody(all TWO of us, and the two teachers) had good questions, and we had a really good time talking about the Lord and the Catholic Church. Well, I just thought I'd update you guys. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for listening. Bye...

 

[isshinwhat]

God has truly blessed you with a love for family, Joe.

 

[Caedmon]

Originally posted by isshinwhat
God has truly blessed you with a love for family, Joe.

I know it.

Lord willing, one day He will bless me with a very large family, wife and children of my own.(awwwww)

 

[Caedmon]

Tonight we talked about the Bible... woohoo!

I love Scripture. I think it's just one of the best gifts God gave us. We talked all about the different versions of the Bible, and how we got the Bible we use today, and all that good stuff. Basically, it was like a review lesson from my old Bible courses. If there's one thing I realized tonight, it is that I have grown so much in my love of God and Scripture over the last few years. I truly have grown closer to God through my love of it. I really, really enjoyed talking about the Bible and different scriptures with my Catholic friends. I would even say it approached "fun", lol. One of the teachers even complemented me on my knowledge of the Bible! :o I was like that little blushing vulture on the Bugs Bunny cartoon: "Ah, nah-nah-nah-nah-naaahhhh... AHH nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-naaaaahhhhhhh".

Anyways, I guess there was nothing earth-shattering, other than me learning the difference between "Imprimatur" and "Nihil obstat"(not that there is one), and I don't think that counts, lol. I think the best thing that I got out of tonight was just being able to talk to people about significant things. It's good for my soul to just be able to talk about family, spirituality, politics, economy, government, etc, with a group of really good Christian friends, where I'll never be rejected, scorned, or left alone in the dark. It's truly wonderful to have people that love you and care so much about you. *sigh* I love God, I truly do, and I love the Christians He has put in my life, dearly.

 

[KC Catholic]

Joe - Your "journey" is inspiring. May GOd continue to bless you with this fire!

 

[Caedmon]

Originally posted by KC Catholic
Joe - Your "journey" is inspiring. May GOd continue to bless you with this fire!

Thanks dude!

PS... "Two men entuh... one man leaves!"

*guffaw*

 

[VOW]

To Humblejoe:

Did you have class this week?


Peace,
~VOW

 

[Caedmon]

Originally posted by VOW
To Humblejoe:

Did you have class this week?

Hehe! :o Sure, I'll tell you about it...

This week we talked about interpreting the Bible. I must say, at times I was tempted to get hot in the collar and bust out all over the place. :o But I kept my cool and tried not to be a bad boy. FORTUNATELY they didn't talk about any issues I could have gotten unruly about, like Eucharist or Marian doctrine... Being a literature student, I tried to offer what I knew about interpretation and criticism. It was kind of fun, because we talked about Fundamentalist Young Earth Creationists(YECs), lol. I was really happy that they could at least be open to the Big Bang Theory and evolution. It's refreshing to have Christian friends that won't tell me I'm a fool for believing in those things, ahhh. *sigh of relief* Afterward I talked about what I'm doing in college a little bit, then about puppy dogs(essential topic!), and such things. Then at the end(she always does this), the leader let me take home a bunch of rainbow chocolate chip cookies, mmmmm... Well, that's all for now. Talk to you later!

 

[VOW]

To Joe:

Yes, one thing I have found is that the Catholic faith of today is perfectly compatible with whatever science has to offer. And if you are a Creationist, you can be comfortable, too.

There are some places where you can be FLOGGED for saying you believe the dinosaurs are millions of years old.

But not the Catholic Church.

You were a good boy to keep silent, and have your ears remain open. There will be plenty of time for animated discussion later. For now, though, Hon, just be a sponge.

That in itself will keep you plenty busy!



Peace and encouragement,
~VOW

 

[Caedmon]

Guys, I'm having a problem. At RCIA, when my teachers make the sign of the cross, I've found that I can't bring myself to do it. Also, this past Monday they recited a Hail Mary, and I just couldn't say it! I felt so bad over that. I can do those things for the Rosary when I'm alone, but I have such a hard time doing it in front of them! I don't know what's wrong. I feel like a traitor. Please help!

 

[isshinwhat]

The same thing happened with me, Joe. It'll come with time. I still feel self-conscious making the sign of the cross in public from time to time... On occasion, though, I find myself making it spontaneously, yet prayerfully... that feels nice. I have faith that eventually it won't bother me at all. It's hard, though, after living as a Protestant for 21 years.

God Bless,

Neal

 

[Caedmon]

Originally posted by isshinwhat
The same thing happened with me, Joe. It'll come with time. I still feel self-conscious making the sign of the cross in public from time to time... On occasion, though, I find myself making it spontaneously, yet prayerfully... that feels nice. I have faith that eventually it won't bother me at all. It's hard, though, after living as a Protestant for 21 years.

Well, I do it occasionally, esp when I say the Rosary. When 9-11 rolled around, some of the church groups on campus put flowers at the flag poll. I felt compelled to give the sign of the cross out of respect, so I did it. Of course, this was early in the morning when not many people were around, and when I tried doing it later in the day as I passed the poll, I felt greatly intimidated. I've also made a habit of giving it when I pass cemeteries while driving. My friend said that that is one of the occasions on which it is a standard practice. I don't know if she meant strictly Catholic cemeteries or what, but I believe that all those that have passed on into Glory deserve respect.

The sign of the cross makes me feel good, for lack of satisfactory wording. It makes me feel united with Christ. Sometimes when I go to the Chapel on campus to pray, right before I walk out the door, I will give it, and that reminds of who I am and what I'm supposed to do in this world. I can feel and remember that initial impression upon my forehead, and I "feel" and remember the cross that is "laid" upon me as and after I complete the sign. I feel "marked" for Christ, His child and His conduit for God's love on Earth. It sets the mood of constant prayer upon me throughout the rest of the day. It really is a wonderful thing to feel and behold.

It also reminds me of the love that my brothers and sisters in Christ hold for me. Whenever I give it, it reminds me of the blessing that the priest gave me when I went to my first mass. I remember the love with which he blessed me, the sense of power and love that I felt. It is indescribable. I'm saying that word, "love", a lot, but such an example deserves its constant presence. Love is what I felt when I was blessed, and love is what I am reminded of all throughout the day.

I've never been around a lot of Catholic Christians, and this blessing was a way that I could let them love me, because I have never done such before. It opened me to a new experience of compassion from a "type" of Christian that I had had very little interaction with before. It was a wonderful experience, and I remind myself of it as often as possible with the sign of the cross. It is such a simple act, it requires almost no effort, and yet the power and spiritual reflection that it induces is incalculable.

 

[isshinwhat]

Amen.

 

[Caedmon]

Oh guys... I'm scared.

I don't know what to believe anymore. I'm so confused. Some of this Catholic stuff looks good, but I can't get it all straight in my head. All I get is ambiguous feelings. Like last night when I went to a Christian bookstore, I was absolutely outraged that they didn't have any Rosaries, and that the only books on Catholicism were on the "Cults" shelf, and I don't know exactly why I felt like that. I usually don't think those sorts of things. I felt like going up to the manager and having a little gentlemanly "talk" with him about his customer discrimination. And today when I went to Sunday school... well, I was late, and I glanced in, and there weren't any seats left, so I decided not to walk in. Well, I went downstairs to wait for the next church service and sat next to my favorite painting(Jesus at Gethsemane). I could clearly hear the pastor yelling out a sermon in the current service. It was funneling all throughout the first floor. Then I thought back, and I remembered about how he hates evolution, and how he hates crucifixes, and how much of an anti-Catholic Fundamentalist he is, and I just couldn't stand it. I had a gut feeling that I just didn't belong there. I couldn't stay for that church service... I just couldn't! I felt like I was betraying something. I dunno... that's just what I felt.

 

[pax]

Give it time. No one expects you to have everything straight in your head right away. St. Padre Pio once said "Pray, Hope, and don't worry." Put all your faith in God, and he will lead you to where you need to be. Take your time, pray, and do what you think is right when you think you know what is right.

Pax vobiscum

 

[ZooMom]

Oh, Joe. You are in my prayers. I can remember well feeling self-conscious when I began doing 'Catholic' things. Responding out loud during Mass, making the SotC, going out in public with ashes on my forehead was a biggie. Soon it was coming very naturally as I gave more of my attention to why I was doing it than to who might see me doing it. Now when I do things like the SotC or praying the Rosary in public, I don't even consider what other people think. I went out to lunch with some ladies I work with a while back and, without thinking twice, said my usual prayer before meals and signed myself when my food arrived. I could tell that I had made them uncomfortable, even though one or two are hardcore non-denom (or maybe it's Baptist?) Christians. Anyway, they are church-going ladies, and I sure didn't think that saying a prayer in front of them would bother them.

I love making the SotC. I like to imagine that I'm drawing the Cross in front of me. That it hangs there, indistinct, but visible in front of my eyes all the time. I like reminding myself to look at other people through the Cross, and hoping that they see it in front of me too, by the way I act and speak.

God bless you, my friend, and the Peace of Christ be with you.