My question! :)

[Suzannah]

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in the Holy Name of our Lord!


I am completely "Catholic friendly" so please don't think I am here to antagonize. I know that has been done to you before, and so I thought I would say that at the outset.
I don't have any doctrinal problems or prejudices with Mary, the saints, the Rosary or any other of the common anti-Catholic issues. If I say something that is wrong, or incorrect, I hope you will correct me. Please have patience with this sinner...I really am working on it all! I asked my best friend, Katie, a Roman Catholic this question and her response was so satisfying and intriguing, and I would love to hear your experience.

My question is very basic:
How do you experience your relationship with Jesus? Is it through prayer? Contemplation? Also, please tell me how you came to be a Catholic if you were not born to the Faith? What was it that drew you in?

I am truly searching for Jesus' will in my life, and I am drawn very much to the honest history of the Church, both RC and Orthodox. I am absolutely fascinated and captivated by the heartwrenching beauty of the Orthodox icons. My background is: I was raised in Baptist and AofG missionary churches in Africa and the Middle East. I am very much fascinated by the history of the Apostles, and want to know more about the "traditional" way of following in their footsteps, more closely with Jesus.
Thank you!

Love in Christ,
Suzannah

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

prayer, contemplation, mediation, adoartion of the holy sacrament. receiving communion at mass, reading the bible, through art, icons, stain glass, the loves of others, and the list goes on and on

 

[Suzannah]

Aaron-Aggie: Are you my friend Katie in disguise???? That's exactly what she said almost word for word. And it so intrigues me! It makes me feel that I am missing something. And I think I am. In Protestantism, the relationship is only through prayer. Often, one feels, at least I do, that I am wrestling with the prayer. This is my problem with Sola Scriptura....

 

[FullyMT]

Started realizing and experiencing my relationship with Christ during my first visit to adoration. I continue to keep my relationship going by reading the bible, attending Mass and recieving Communion, as well as going to Reconciliation at least once a month. Also, I pray whenever possible (during school, when I'm at swim practice, anytime really!) as well as just talking to God everynow and then and telling Him how my life is and how awesome He is. And I'd also add the stuff that Aaron said that I didn't! The list goes on and on and on...

 

[thereselittleflower]

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in the Holy Name of our Lord!


I am completely "Catholic friendly" so please don't think I am here to antagonize. I know that has been done to you before, and so I thought I would say that at the outset.
I don't have any doctrinal problems or prejudices with Mary, the saints, the Rosary or any other of the common anti-Catholic issues. If I say something that is wrong, or incorrect, I hope you will correct me. Please have patience with this sinner...I really am working on it all! I asked my best friend, Katie, a Roman Catholic this question and her response was so satisfying and intriguing, and I would love to hear your experience.

My question is very basic:
How do you experience your relationship with Jesus? Is it through prayer? Contemplation? Also, please tell me how you came to be a Catholic if you were not born to the Faith? What was it that drew you in?

I am truly searching for Jesus' will in my life, and I am drawn very much to the honest history of the Church, both RC and Orthodox. I am absolutely fascinated and captivated by the heartwrenching beauty of the Orthodox icons. My background is: I was raised in Baptist and AofG missionary churches in Africa and the Middle East. I am very much fascinated by the history of the Apostles, and want to know more about the "traditional" way of following in their footsteps, more closely with Jesus.
Thank you!

Love in Christ,
Suzannah

Hi Suzannah

It is so wonderful to hear of your searching and your journey.

How to answer your question . . oh my . . the answer is so simple, yet so complex . .

Simply, I experience my relationship with my Lord in prayer, in reading the bible, in worship, in simply turning to Him . . and He becomes more real to me than anything I can see, hear, taste, smell, touch . . and then to explain this could take volumes . . If I am understanding your question rightly, I experience Him most strongly, clearly, and fully when in a state of contemplation.

How did I become Catholic? Well, I am Catholic in my heart, and becoming Caatholic in actuality . .

I was born and baptized as an infant as an Eatern Orthodox of the Antiochian Church . . but I was not well formed in the faith. After a very profound conversion experience my freshman year in highschool (while I was dabbling in the occult), I was given a Protestant Evangelical interpretation to my conversion experience and spent the next 30 years in Protestantism . . .

Then, by accident, I stumbled across some information about Luther and the reformation that I found shocking and didn't believe . .but as I investigated, I found that not only was it true, but it was the tip of the iceberg . .and God ripped away all my misconceptions of Protestantism . . several months later, I began, much as you are doing now, searching for the historical Church . .stunned, I found Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy . .

I love the Eastern Orthodox Church, I love the icons, the beauty of it all . .

But as I moved forward in my journey, I realized that I had gone past the point where I could no longer call myself Protestant, and then eventually came to the point I had been avoiding . . . of acknowleding that if I was going to be true the to what I had learned then I had to choose between returning to Eastern Orthodoxy or becoming Catholic . .

So, I had to deal with the last hurdle . . either Peter was Pope and the claims of the Catholic Church were true, in which case I had to submit to the authority of the Catholic Church; or it wasn't true, and I had to reject Catholicism and return to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

As much as I wanted to return to Eastern Orthodoxy, in my heart, I kept feeling drawn to Catholicism . . so I investigated my last issue . . and I found my answer and why I felt the prompting in my heart to not simply return to the Eastern Orthodox Church of my childhood . . I found the claims of the Catholic Church regarding the Pope and his authority to be true . . I no longer had a choice if I was going to be true to all the truth that God had given me. This was something full of peace and joy for me . .

Something you may consider in your journey is to look into the Eastern Rite Churces of the Catholic Church . . If it wasn't for the fact that my husband has only been exposed to Western Christianity, we may be attending an Eastern Rite Church. But I definitely feel the Lord's leading to be in the Western Roman Catholic Church and the parish we are in receiving RCIA classes.

Eucharistic Adoration is something that has become very important to me .. it was something I began while I still considered myself a Protestant and I do believe that the grace I received during those times (every week) has helped me in my journey to the fullness of truth in Christ.

I don't know if this adequately answered your questions or not . .but it is what I have to share

What I have found is that the Catholic faith is one of Grace, pure Grace . . of us receiving and responding to God's Divine Sanctifying Grace and in responding, receiving more Divine Sanctifying Grace . . and as we continue to respond to and receive more Divine Sanctifying Grace of God, we move upwards as in a unpwards spiral . . to understand that this is all Grace, of receiving and responding to Grace, is an incredible thing to me . .



Peace in Him!

PS as I am not yet formally part of the Catholic Church, I have not experienced receiving the Eucharist in many, many years . . but I do go up for a blessing and the presence of God is so strong sometimes as I approach the Eucharist in the hands of the priest . .

 

[Suzannah]

Dear Theresa,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me! I am having the same problems right now. It is just mainly about having a "heart" that is not Protestant. I just don't believe in Sola Scriptura anymore as the only way to know Jesus. I am seeing Him everywhere I go these days: in icons, in art, in stained glass. I am having dreams of this particular icon, and it is so excrutiatingly beautiful, but when I wake up, I can't remember enough of it to look it up! I hear Someone calling me, and I don't know what to do! Please pray for me!
Thank you for sharing your testimony....it will strengthen me in times to come!

 

[Axion]

My mother was a lapsed Catholic, my father not interested in religion, but I went to a Catholic School for several years.

Later on I got caught up with Evangelical Protestant Pentecostals for a time, since they were friendly, open, and appeared to believe and study the bible with real depth.

However I soon found a lot of the "spontaneousness" of their services forced. They did not have a proper Eucharist (communion) There was constant pressure to speak in tongues, and a huge emphasis on the one-off conversion/salvation experience, after which you were supposed to be "saved" and definately going to heaven. I found that I could not tell people that if they said a "sinners prayer" faithfully, and came forward at a meeting, that was all they needed, and their mansion in heaven was secured. As I read the bible, I didn't see this. I saw Jesus teaching that Christians needed to do what He said, to love others and to endure in the Faith if they wished to gain the prize. It wasn't "all over" after the initial acceptance by Faith. I grew less and less convinced by the small number of proof-texts that the protestants relied on.

It also worried me that according to the evangelicals, most of the Christians of history between 100 AD and 1530 AD had apparently been totally wrong about what the gospel taught. So wrong, that virtually all of them had ended up in hell! I found it very hard to believe that St Columbus, St Clare, and St Francis were all going to hell, while modern millionaires who had oppressed the poor and never lifted a finger to help anyone were going to bask in eternal joy in heaven because they had once said a prayer at an evangelical meeting. Anyway, how could God have let His Church persist in such deadly error for 1500 years until Luther appeared, especially when He had promised to be with the church always? It didn't make sense.

When I read in the short Catholic Catechism published by CTS, that God had promised that the gates of Hell would never prevail against the Church founded on Peter, I found this very convincing.

As I read more about the history of Christianity, what the early Church believed, how protestantism came into being, and of the sinful lives of leading protestant reformers like Luther, Calvin, Knox, Cranmer and Cromwell, I wondered why God acted through such sinful men. I began to realise that protestants were denying the historic Church that Jesus founded, and that most of their distinctive beliefs were "new" ones, unknown to Christianity for its first 1500 years. I began to see that what the Catholic Church taught did dovetail with the whoe of scripture, and that if there had been some things wrong with the medieval Catholic Church, what the protestants had done was to overreact and throw out much of the historic Christian Faith.

 

[Stormy]

I walk with Christ. He is my constant companion and confidant. I pray and I read the Bible. I meditate on the words of God. Just today I began to pray the Rosary. It is hard for me, because I break down and cry when I visualize the suffering that Jesus went through for all of us.

I have just recently began RCIA classes. There was a time when I debated against Catholics, not because I did not like them, rather it was because I had so many misunderstanding of the faith and I wanted to help them. The Catholic posters here have showed me so much kindness, even when I did nothing to merit it. Slowly I began to see the light... then the Spirit gave me a great big push. I was still kicking and screaming when it became clear to me that I would one day become Catholic. After many more months of praying, asking question, and finding answers.... I found that I was now Catholic. God has called me into His Church. I feel so blessed.

I love all my Protestant friends, but I could never again not be Catholic. There is a fullness to our Faith that I could never give up!

 

[KennySe]

My story may be the most boring, least awesome of all.

My question is very basic:
How do you experience your relationship with Jesus? Is it through prayer? Contemplation? Also, please tell me how you came to be a Catholic if you were not born to the Faith? What was it that drew you in?

The Mass and the Eucharist and Holy Tradition and Holy Scripture.

It is the history, and the historical documentation of the Church which helps my confirmation that the Catholic Church is what She has always said She is: The Church founded by Jesus upon St. Peter.

I'm a cradle Catholic. I think that I should answer what KEEPS me in the Catholic faith. It is proof from God in the witnesses through the ages of the continuation of His Church on Earth.

I don't get overwhelming sensations as some do, nor do I have visions, which some do.

I get peace. Total serenity. When all else may be topsy turvy in the world... my Catholic faith is peaceful. Even if walking through that valley of death, etc. I read once, somewhere that God says, "be not afraid" 365 times in the Bible. That's once a day.

I often use His words when I address posters who are troubled/perplexed or even angry. "Peace be with you."

The Church is built on the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets (somewhere in Galatians 4?) I think of the "cloud of witnesses which surround us", the communion of saints, wherever the saints may be. I think of those who died as Martyrs, who died for Christ, as he died for us, as we die of ourselves for Him and for each other. I think of the One Mystical Body of believers. And when i see images of Saints, I am reminded of them being a member of the One Body, of which I am too. And this gives me great comfort.

Somme people perceive great emotion or sensations.. I perceive tranquility.
I think of those little children who ran into Jesus' arms. Did they know he was God? Did they feel His great umlimited power?

Or did they feel loved and at peace?

 

[Credo]

Greetings, Suzannah! The Lord be with you!

My most profound experience with Jesus is in reception of the Holy Eucharist. This is the most intimate way that I encounter Christ in my life, by receiving Him into my body and He nourishes my soul. Those moments of contemplation immediately following are very special to me, and I let myself be as the beloved disciple after the first celebration of the Eucharist and just let Jesus hold me as He did St. John(John 13:23).

The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is also very important to me. This is when I truly experience the mercy and forgiveness which Christ offers as I whisper into His ear and humbly beg His forgiveness for those times when I fail to love Him enough to follow Him.

I also experience Him in Adoration, especially when He is exposed for me to look upon and meditate upon. Unfortunately, I don't get this opportunity as often as I'd like.

Prayer and meditation unite me with Jesus through my heart, and reading the Bible unite me with Jesus through my mind and intellect.

And the times that I experience Christ the most is with family and friends. I am still working on seeing Christ in everyone that I meet, although my weaknesses as a human and a sinner too often get in the way. This is something that I really want to remedy this year.

Thanks for your question, it was a great one!

God Bless and Peace in Christ!

 

[Suzannah]

All of you, as well as the folks in The Ancient Way have impressed me greatly with your adoration of our Lord, your inner peace. In Protestantism, there is a whole lot of outrage. We get "outraged" at very small things, in my opinion, and miss the larger picture (perhaps Icon!) of our Lord and His Grace. I am slowly getting there. Please pray for me if you have time! I will be visiting an Orthodox church tomorrow. I am grateful for each and every one of you and your willingness to share your Faith with me. I believe I have the same Faith in the same Jesus of the Bible, that you do. I just think that I am not in the right place, mentally, physically and emotionally.
May our Lord bless each and every one of you, for your willingness to follow Him, and to share Him with me.

 

[Filia Mariae]

Suzannah,

It looks like you've gotten some good answers to your questions, but I just wanted to suggest that you might wish to go to Eucharistic Adoration and see what the effects on your spiritual life are.

 

[thereselittleflower]

Dear Theresa,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me! I am having the same problems right now. It is just mainly about having a "heart" that is not Protestant. I just don't believe in Sola Scriptura anymore as the only way to know Jesus. I am seeing Him everywhere I go these days: in icons, in art, in stained glass. I am having dreams of this particular icon, and it is so excrutiatingly beautiful, but when I wake up, I can't remember enough of it to look it up! I hear Someone calling me, and I don't know what to do! Please pray for me!
Thank you for sharing your testimony....it will strengthen me in times to come!

Oh my . . I have wondered about this . . before I began this journey I was awakened one night in the middle of the night by someone calling my name . .

It was the most BEAUTIFUL voice . . It was a woman's voice, it sounded something like my mother's, but it wasn't my mother's, it was ageless, young yet full of wisdom and long age, pure and beautiful and musical or bell like in a way . .it is so hard to describe . it was SOOOO FULL of love!! So gentle, so peaceful . . But SO CLEAR and audible!

The icon you keep seeing . . can you tell us more about it, what the subject matter is? Is it Mary with the child Jesus?


Peace in Him!

 

[Suzannah]

Therese,
I will do my best to describe it. It is in gold and silver, with precious gems all over...in the background is the sea (sapphires), with a ship/boat with some figures standing upon the water. In the foreground, is a man, with a halo, and he is holding something in one hand and is reaching toward the "outside" of the icon (me) with the other hand.

This is all I can really remember. I don't know if it actually exists and somewhere I have just seen a picture, and my memory retained it as a symbol to me of something, or if it is purely out of my imagination or?

I too, have awoken from sleep hearing a voice calling me, but it is a man's voice. (I'm married and trust me, it ain't my husband!)
It is a beautiful voice with a quality that I cannot describe.

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

Kenny, Great Post

Our Lord touches every one in a different way, and many times his way changes as we grow. I know I have gone through many different stages as a cradle catholic.

For some its emotional or full of visions or sensations, for other its tranquility and peace.



I myself am currently in state where my relationship with God can be summed up with one Word: Truth. A powerful truth that I can not deny, hide from, or ignore, just as one can not deny gravity. On one hand it's an overwhelming truth that makes me struggle with the feeling of unworthiness. On the other hand it is an overwhelming reminder that all I have to do is turn to the Lord and he shall guide and protect me.



Suzan, the realization that our Lord is every where is a very powerful one. For so many God is a far off thing that has long sense left us to find for ourselves.



Just remember that the Holy Spirit will guide you and provide you the insight you need and support you need.



I also second Carly's recommendation of going to adoration.

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

I too, have awoken from sleep hearing a voice calling me, but it is a man's voice. (I'm married and trust me, it ain't my husband!)
It is a beautiful voice with a quality that I cannot describe.

[size=+1]The First Book of Kings[/size]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Chapter 3[/font] [font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Samuel is four times called by the Lord: who revealeth to him the evil that shall fall on Heli, and his house.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]1[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Now the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no manifest vision.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]2[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And it came to pass one day when Heli lay in his place, and his eyes were grown dim, that he could not see:[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]3[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]4[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And the Lord called Samuel. And he answered: Here am I.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]5[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And he ran to Heli, and said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. He said: I did not call: go back and sleep. And he went and slept.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]6[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to Heli, and said: Here am I: for thou calledst me. He answered: I did not call thee, my son: return and sleep.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]7[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]8[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up and went to Heli,[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]9[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel: Go, and sleep: and if he shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went, and slept in his place.[/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]10[/font][font=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, as he had called the other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth[/font]

 

[Veritas]

Suzannah,


Welcome and peace be upon you! I would suggest reading the early Church Father's and the lives of some of the great saints of the Church. One of my favorite books and rather cheap too is The Early Christian Writings translated by Maxwell Staniforth. Yeah, you can find sites with many of these writings, but I found myself referring to this book often and there isn't always a computer around. The amazing thing is that these early Father's were students who learned at the feet at some of the Apostles including John. Next, another book that really had and effect on me was the Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean Pierre de Caussade. It is truly a classic on spirtuality. I don't know if this is what you're looking for but I pray for your desire to learn and journey of faith.

Veritas

 

[kimber1]

suzannah s girl, i knew i'd see you here soon obviously i'm very new at this so not sure how much help i can give other than when i made the decision to convert i was filled with such peace in my heart i knew without a doubt this was where God wanted me.
i already know that you have that same soft spot that i did for Catholics and don't ever lose that. it's an admirable quality IMO.
i think too like i think it was therese said, the history first drew me to do more studying and the more i learned i felt like i had been missing out on soooooo much. i'm still thankful for my Baptist pastor for giving me such a solid foundation but this is where i belong!
peace be with you sister,
Kim

 

[ukok]

I read once, somewhere that God says, "be not afraid" 365 times in the Bible. That's once a day.

WoW!

that isn't boring at all Kenny, and neither is your post.

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Kenny's posts are never boring!