X_Protestant Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I'm new here. New to Phatmass as well as relatively new to anything related to Mass in general! I'm one of those "older women" ~ grandma stage now, who has been a life-long Protestant and has a son who became Catholic about 10 years ago. 20-20 hindsight now shows me that my son's conversion is where the gradual drawing of me to Catholicism started as I asked him serious questions of faith differences when he converted and he answered them well enough that I was at peace with his decision to support him in his conversion and I started realizing that things I had been instilled with about what Catholics believe were by & large untrue. And the questions have continued over the years. In an attempt to understand more of what he was embracing I did some browsing of EWTN from time to time, listened to EWTN radio off & on while commuting for work, and spending a great deal of windshield time pondering. First & foremost I started to clearly see strong, unequivocal, unwavering testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior. I started hearing homilies and teaching that was more evangelical and straight-forward that what I have found in the churches I was accustomed to. It was based on Truth of who Jesus is, who God is, and not a bunch of psycho-babble from a pulpit to try to make people in the pews feel good. It was refreshing. Oh my! I had to start affirming that I recognized this strong witness to the Truth. In parallel with these awakenings happening, I've felt increasingly uncomfortable and not_at_home attending any Protestant, Pentecostal or independent churches common in my past. So I simply stopped going. But when my son came home I was anxious to attend Mass with him, drawn to the reverent worship. As I've accepted and supported my son, he on his own journey has been discerning becoming a priest I think pretty much for most of these 10 years. He finally came to the place of entering the serious process with the Archdiocese and is now a seminarian. I'm immensely proud of him. I visited him at his seminary on family day this last fall, me still a non-Catholic. Because my husband was not able to attend I brought a daughter along for the "moral support" of another non-Catholic. Not that I believed anything bad would happen, I just felt, you know, a little out of place with the unfamiliar. This long story short, as the seeds were planted and have grown, I came to recognize that the Catholic church is where I find Truth. Mass is where I find worship, and I am shockingly finding that the Mass liturgy it is not *very much* different from the liturgy I am familiar with growing up in the home of a Methodist minister. I do recognize some important differences in the True Presence and I've come to embrace them. There is a fullness and beauty unfolding before me all leading in one direction. About a month ago I announced to my husband and family members that I am drawn to the Catholic church and am going to pursue confirmation and I started attending RCIA. There has been much I've wrestled with and come to understand over the years. Long-held Protestant views have been stripped and replaced with new light and it came to the point where I had to say, yes, I believe and I need to not just believe in my heart, I need to start acting on the beliefs, publically declare and move forward. My heart is ready, my heart needs no further convincing. I'm looking forward to the journey ahead of me growing deeper in the faith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Welcome! I'm glad you are finding your way into the Church, and that you have found your way into Phatmass. Most of us 'older' ones tend to hang out here on Open Mic, or in Vocation Station (where we nurture those thinking of vocations, and get some nice community for ourselves!) and in Lame Board where people of all ages just have fun (or 'phun') if you will. If you like a good, gloves off debate, enjoy the Debate Table... but be prepared for it to get stormy in there sometimes. But yes, :welcome: ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Dear X: Welcome aboard! You'll find a number of others already on board who weren't raised Catholic but have followed a path similar to yours. And I must say that I appreciate your articulate explanation of that journey. AnneLine gave a good overview of the board, but I'd like to add that there's also the Prayer page. We (mostly) all pray for each other's intentions - if you'd like us to pray for you, or your family's acceptance or your decision, or your son as he prepares for the priesthood, just post it there. The Prayer board doesn't allow response - we "pray in silence" - but yu'll know folks are praying for you when they hit the Like button. On a completely other note - I never did well in high school algebra, but I think I may finally have found X! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I'd stay out of the debate area for awhile. I'm pretty sure that's where the Christian-eating lions retired to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaTherese Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Welcome! While people are mentioning the boards I guess I'll add that the Q&A board is a wonderful resource. People classified as Church Scholars are the only ones allowed to reply there and can be a good help, not to mention that it's nice and informative to read others' questions and the answers provided to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadrePioOfPietrelcino Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Just so everyone knows...X_PROTESTANT is my mom :bounce: :bananarap: I am so proud of my mom for the journey she has decided to take, and I am really excited that we can share this journey together as we grow in deeper love with Christ and with his Church. Welcome mom :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) WELCOME PPOP MOM!!!! :welcome: :winner: :saint2: PPoP & X_Prot, my mom came back to the church after 40 years of being away (and about 15 after my OWN entrance into the Church), and it was a special thing to share that journey.... She would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Feb 24th, so this is a special month for both all of us! Edited February 7, 2014 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Just so everyone knows...X_PROTESTANT is my mom :bounce: :bananarap: OH, SHE'S A SAINT THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the171 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I LOVE IT WHEN MOMMIES JOIN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immanuel Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 welcome to the pham :bananahi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 welcome to phatmass :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Just so everyone knows...X_PROTESTANT is my mom :bounce: :bananarap: I am so proud of my mom for the journey she has decided to take, and I am really excited that we can share this journey together as we grow in deeper love with Christ and with his Church. Welcome mom :) Then shouldn't her Phatname be MadreOfPadrePioOfPietrelcino? We could abbreviate it as Moppop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Welcome to Phatmass. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Just so everyone knows...X_PROTESTANT is my mom :bounce: :bananarap: I am so proud of my mom for the journey she has decided to take, and I am really excited that we can share this journey together as we grow in deeper love with Christ and with his Church. Welcome mom :) THIS is really awesome! Welcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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