as to the question why did you become catholic, it's very simple i met jesus there, later i met his beautiful mother. my family had been catholic for years, only i did not know this. I always felt drawn to the catholic church. you see i had an aunt who hated anything associated with the catholic faith, and she kept it from us.I had a very abusive childhood, mother and father died early, sent to live with this wonderful aunt!!!.my older brother did our family history and he kept across all of these catholic people in our family. so long story short after searching so many faiths on my own, and never satisfied from budda to pentacostal, i never felt complete until one sunday i went to a mass at st.francis xavier cath church and i knew i was home. after service i went to pray on the altar i like to leave a prayer at the altar, i was looking up at the crucifix and Jesus asked where have you been i've been looking for you. I think i must have cried for an hour, the next mass started at 9:30 they were about really for me to leave! I have been there since 7:30 so i stayed for the 9:30 mass..still crying people looking at me, but i did'nt care Jesus asked me! where have you been!. So whenever anyone asked me I tell them this story, it's because that's Jesus wanted me to be.
I decided to explore Catholicism 3.5 years ago, after having a profound religious experience which occurred after being prayed over in a Catholic church. That was the second major religious experience I'd had specifically after interacting with Catholics.
The more I learned, the more I became certain that I already independently believed nearly everything that is in Catholicism.
Attended RCIA and was brought into full communion with the Church in 2008. It feels like home to me.
Whoooo, the journey was tricky! Thankfully still continuing.
I'm originally of a solid Methodist background, and baptized by a female minister in fact (which is valid for us :). My mother's family was very religious. My siblings and I started going to church very young, from about age 6 or so, even though we liked Sunday school we were too young to appreciate services (they were 2 hours long). My mother had an interest in Catholicism, so at about age 9 we started attending a local Catholic parish.
Now even though I was too young to really know about Methodism or religion in general, it was still a bit of a shock for us and definitely a big culture change. The first time we went up for communion the man who is today our priest refused my siblings and I communion because we hadn't taken First Communion, and the deacon (who was a jerk and is now gone) gave my mother a dismissive gesture, saying, "You're not Catholic." Now they were right, but the deacon was very rude and condescending, so my mother would have quit coming if it hadn't been for a man who is now a close friends of ours in the parish. 2 years later we all formally entered the Church -- mom by RCIA, us kids by First Communion (except the youngest one, who did it later on).
For a while I just didn't get Christianity or religion and I was close to agnostic. I don't know what turned me around except for the fact that I still went to church regularly (maybe I think I miss it more often now than then) and was involved in our church activities. That's why a parish needs to have collective energy, to jumpstart and pull in the people who are on the very fringes like I was. It took a while but now I'm fully reconciled to the Church and its teachings.
To me, unlike Protestantism, the oldest forms of Christianity have a lot more depth with their theology and customs. I even visisted an Episcopal church today to look at its chapel, during their Palm Sunday services before heading to Mass. Beautiful music, especially the bells. A sincere and motivated pastor. Friendly congregants. Very spiritual too. But there wasn't even communion, and the pastor suggested that this particular community does their liturgy in its own way. Close but no cigar. Something is lacking, just a little.
Second thing I like -- the security measures in place. I like that the catechism is the 1 and only official view, so there are no "sub-sects." I like that I can go to an English Mass in California or in Australia and they will be almost perfectly the same. I like that no priest can legitimately insert his own personal opinions into the liturgy. I don't have to take the Bible literally or as my only authority. I don't have to go, "Oh shit, not again," because my spiritual leader says the world will end in 2011 (we all know who I'm talking about), because I know my spiritual leader doesn't have to get converts by scare tactics.
I am an ecumenical minister. That means that I have a Protestant mind and a Catholic heart! My theology is more Protestant, but my spirituality is more Catholic and contemplative. Had I been a member of the Catholic Church, I certainly would have been a monk in a monastery! I come from a high-Anglican background, so it has been easy for me to be incredibly enriched by Catholicism. I have a tremendous love and respect for the Catholic Church; for its historical witness, sacramentalism , incorporation of different spiritualities, and also for its tremendous witness of spiritual unity. It is just that I cannot wrap my mind around some Catholic doctrines. We can all learn so much from each other - I think it is marvelous! After all, there is only ONE holy, catholic and apostolic Church - in Jesus' eyes. I only wish I had more Catholic friends!
on this season of Lent..I am so appreciative of my Catholic Faith..and heritage....it truly, with all of it's problems, is still the one faith that came from the Apostles....the Sacraments keep me coming back....
I was born Catholic and never left. I think that the Catholic Church is greatly enriched by people of other faiths that join. We are one, holy, catholic and apostolic. I think the Eucharist is at the heart of our faith. Even many Christian faiths do not celebrate the Eucharist as we do. Throught the Eucharist we are united to Christ and also to each other in faith. God bless you all. Peace - Mareczku
No other faith celebrates the Eucharist we do by that I mean that we believe that Jesus truly is there in the Eucharist. Only church that is close is Eastern Othradox since they broke off from the church and kept almost everything the same
Hey guys, I'm interested in attending some of the Catholic meetings/services and learning more about Catholicism. Therefore, may I ask why out of countless of religions (and numerous divisions in Christianity alone), what are some of the factors and reasons that helped you decide to become a Catholic? Thank You and Blessings edit - I just read the post "Questions About Catholicism," I apologize if this post is in the wrong section.
I just entered the Church this most recent Easter, so your question is one that is still pretty fresh in my mind from personal experience. I'll do my best to answer it. I'll begin by quoting from GK Chesterton's essay "Why I am a Catholic" (which everyone should definitely read in its entirety, available online here: ) Chesterton opens his essay with the following words: "The difficulty of explaining "why I am a Catholic" is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true." The reasons that I joined the Catholic Church are various, some more personal, some more theological. I came from being a very high-church Episcopalian, so I had a strong sacramental understanding already, and that naturally lead me to be very close to Catholicism (I'd been regularly attending Catholic parishes for daily mass for a good while before I even considered conversion, just b/c Episcopal churches didn't offer services during the week where I live). Also, as you may have heard, the Episcopal Church in America has been in the business of coming up with new doctrines a great deal in recent years (to be fair to them, they sincerely believe that they are listening to the Spirit, guiding them in new ways). I'm a student of the Church Fathers, though (as in that's what I'm majoring in & plan to go to grad school in), and I saw how inconsistent my community's beliefs were with those of the early Church. So I shopped around to figure out who hadn't changed the doctrines, and I found that really only Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy have legitimate claims in that regard, to continuity with the early Church. I ended up with Catholicism largely on account of the Papacy, which I believe is Scripturally supported and divinely instituted to be a guard and a uniting force for the Church throughout the ages. Ultimately, there are a lot of different reasons to be a Catholic. There is the Eucharist and the other sacraments, there are the saints, there is the universality of the Church (both in space and in time), there is the unity of the Faith, there is the continuity with the early Church. But what all these reasons amount to is, as Chesterton said, one reason. The Catholic Church is the "one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church" spoken of in the Creeds, founded by Christ, preserved in Truth by the Holy Spirit, and which will be waiting faithfully for the Lord when He returns in glory. That is why I am a Catholic.
l have been a cathoic for 22 years and l love it. l think the hardest thing in be a good catholic is not using birth control. there is so much good belive in the faits
When we pray to the Saints we are asking them to intercede with God to answer our prayers. In the same way you might ask a friend to put in a good word for you when you are trying to get a job.
As many here have said, 'I was born a Catholic/baptized into it as a baby. My parents were very strong Catholics from Ireland, and my siblings and I were raised Catholic and had the benefit of a Catholic education at least through elementary school. When I reached adulthood I stopped attending, my excuse being that I was moving around a lot, moving across the country after college, joining the military, etc.
After being away from it for a couple of years, I found myself missing the sense of community, welcomeness and comfort I didn't realize was a part of a parish until I wasn't in one. Since I have been back, it has always been a great experience, connecting the faces I see at my church with the faces I see in my community. We are a small but growing parish in NC, and my growth inthe church has lead me to become a Knight of Colombus, a CCD teacher, and continue my calling as a Lector.
P.S. I do know of at least one person who has joined the Faith as a result of knowing my mother, but I don't think I can make that same claim! LOL
