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I am feeling sad because I am not smart enough to participate here. I feel illiterate when I read and like BA said I should have waited 3 years.
I was born and raised Catholic and it took me 'untold'years to grasp it all....[eta] - to rather grasp much of it.
I know there are a lot of smarter people than me...and why it took me 'untold' number of years to get [some] of it..well, God works in His time to provide us answers.... and only He knows our capacity and at what time we need to know things.
SO if you think you are bad, that makes me a moron of the highest level.
The holiest woman in history was a young girl, around age 14 or 15. She became Mother of God and Mother of the Church.
It is all well and good to be able to argue doctrine and theology, but that is not what makes a good Catholic. What makes a good Catholic is the spirit of giving and humility, which you have displayed quite nicely.
I just feel weird here. Out of place.
I have a lot of questions only God can answer.
I am feeling sad because I am not smart enough to participate here. I feel illiterate when I read and like BA said I should have waited 3 years.
Ahh...well it is true. We all have gifts. I know some people who gift is helping people find their gifts. I think we often don't get the gift we want but the ones we need for God's plan. God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called for their part in His work.
Intelligence has nothing to do with faith.
Why did you become a Catholic? Was it to be part of something you agreed with, or, to give yourself to Jesus?
If its the former, that is not faith, but participation in religion.
Jesus Christ must be the center of your life. Without faith in Jesus, religion is shallow and will become boring to the point where you will leave.
So, to gain faith, turn to the source of faith, Jesus Christ.
Ask Him, to give you the level of faith that sustains all.
Praying For You
Jim
I suck at life.
My summary. Just being honest.
and the gift God gives and the person can be awesome at the gift, they still have to work out their own salvation... gift doesn't mean saved or holy and anything really.
How come I go through this like 3 times a year? Even before I was Catholic?
I believe intellect and faith are intertwined. One see's the evidence of God through his creation, miracles, and revelation through ones intellect, of which one assents to the faith by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
I in part envy the piety of those who need not discover, need not find every theological nuance to believe...
But instead like children, just firmly believe...and just know God called them.
I dont have that - anymore.
When i was a child i did... i lost that with life coming at me.
People threatening my faith by telling me what Catholics believe and how it is evil [et al]
Yes, i should have remained child like and ignored it...
What part of me i dont know, the pride in the faith, the pride in me, i dont know, had to discover the answers...and now to share them.
But believing simply like a child - is the best way, i should think, to believe.
But know, there are answers should anyone need more like St Thomas did.
For every level of seeking - God already put His answer.
Though wrapping ourselves around knowing Gods very Essense has to be child like faith...to get past not knowing.
Child like faith to know, in Heaven, we will understand.
Meepy
That is only logical rationalization, not faith.
The most intellectually poor have the greatest amounts of faith, because their faith is from God and not through their own intellect.
Faith is God's revelation to us, however that may happen and it deepens as our relationship with Him deepens.
We are transformed by His grace, not through anything we do on our own.
Whatever we have, was given to us.
Jim
That's right. Only God can answer and its something you have to accept.
and I understand, sometimes I feel like I wish I could be one of those ppl who can just go to Church and not think so much.
You are a thinker and that is why I feel, you are struggling.
But as far as becoming Catholic, unless your doubting the validity of the faith itself, it should not stop you from becoming a Catholic.
There's almost two types of Catholics, one is taught the basic fundamentals of the faith and they accept it and go about their business and they are all about the strick letter of the teachings and the other gets deep into the nuances of it and wants to know everything and I think that is were we can run into trouble becuase we get to a point where we aren't going to figure it all out... like, we're going to figure out God? No, I don't think so.
Intelligence has nothing to do with faith.
Why did you become a Catholic? Was it to be part of something you agreed with, or, to give yourself to Jesus?
If its the former, that is not faith, but participation in religion.
Jesus Christ must be the center of your life. Without faith in Jesus, religion is shallow and will become boring to the point where you will leave.
So, to gain faith, turn to the source of faith, Jesus Christ.
Ask Him, to give you the level of faith that sustains all.
Praying For You
Jim
Personally, I think God is trying to heal you and there is a road block in the way of that.
It seems, as with us all, there's a lot of junk that need to be brought to the surface and the Holy Spirit could be trying to bring it out and something is preventing it.
We can't heal something that needs healing if we do not acknowledge it and keep suppressing it.
Its good your are learning about yourself, its a gift from God so you can heal what ever it is that needs healing.
I in part envy the piety of those who need not discover, need not find every theological nuance to believe...
But instead like children, just firmly believe...and just know God called them.
I dont have that - anymore.
When i was a child i did... i lost that with life coming at me.
People threatening my faith by telling me what Catholics believe and how it is evil [et al]
Yes, i should have remained child like and ignored it...
What part of me i dont know, the pride in the faith, the pride in me, i dont know, had to discover the answers...and now to share them.
But believing simply like a child - is the best way, i should think, to believe.
But know, there are answers should anyone need more like St Thomas did.
For every level of seeking - God already put His answer.
Though wrapping ourselves around knowing Gods very Essense has to be child like faith...to get past not knowing.
Child like faith to know, in Heaven, we will understand.
the Baptism of infants was around long before St.Augistine
anyway, the reason for three years of Rcia (Rite of Christian intiation for Adults)
is because first century jews knew the Scrptures very well and there was Paganism, the Jews and The Church
fairly simple
now there are thousands of denominations, most people do not know the Bible as well as they should
it is just a lot more confusing time
I wanted to be wherever Jesus is. Its a bonus that I can agree with the Church teachings on most issues. I just wanted to go wherever God leads me and I was praying with my whole heart that I wasn't doing something I'd regret. Coming to the Catholic Church after all I had been taught, heard and read about was a struggle but I only wanted to be where God is.
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