bmb144 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 Thank you everyone. I'm basicly putting the brakes on everything until I have healed from everything I am going through....and yes there is some other stuff that cannot be put on an open forum. Please pray for me, and thank you again. Belinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 consider yourself to have a small army praying for you Your Brother In Christ, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmb144 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Just cross posting from Vocation station. I just want to thank you all for being there. At this point I need to step back and take some time to re-assess my spirituality, what I believe and in which direction I am being lead into. Thank you for being there. Belinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 You have my prayers, Belinda. As Job said, "Even though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." That would be a good verse to meditate on. One more thing: don't assess your spirituality. Let your spirituality assess you. God bless you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccountDeleted Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 [quote name='In His Light' post='1165033' date='Jan 14 2007, 09:01 PM'] Just cross posting from Vocation station. I just want to thank you all for being there. At this point I need to step back and take some time to re-assess my spirituality, what I believe and in which direction I am being lead into. Thank you for being there. Belinda [/quote] Belinda - I think you were discerning Tyburn in Australia, weren't you? I am discerning the London Tyburn, so we are "sisters" in spirit. If you ever need someone to talk to, please email me (or I guess that is PM on here?). I have been where you are so I understand. I am 54 years old and just now am able to think about a vocation. I have been through all the spiritual crisis times and know how hard it is -- please know that you are loved by lots of people, as well as by God. + Annie [email=anniemac@calequus.com]anniemac@calequus.com[/email] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmb144 Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 Hi everyone, I thought I would stop by and add a brief update. Well...... *sigh*......from 4 friends dead to 10 dead......I'm having a shocking start to the new year........ I'm sorry.....but I simply cannot be catholic right now.......[b]it hurts sooooo much[/b]....please pray for me feeling totally lost................ Belinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddington Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Prayers for you for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRMiller Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 [quote name='In His Light' post='1171209' date='Jan 20 2007, 10:28 AM'] Hi everyone, I thought I would stop by and add a brief update. Well...... *sigh*......from 4 friends dead to 10 dead......I'm having a shocking start to the new year........ I'm sorry.....but I simply cannot be catholic right now.......[b]it hurts sooooo much[/b]....please pray for me feeling totally lost................ Belinda [/quote] I will pray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 [quote]I'm sorry.....but I simply cannot be catholic right now.......it hurts sooooo much....please pray for me feeling totally lost................ [/quote] Oh, you poor thing. I'm aching for you. Grief is never easy. At the moment I'm in the frightening position of not knowing whether a close friend of mine is going to die or whether she's going to make it, so I understand a small bit of what you are feeling. It is difficult to think about religion at times like this, but I would like to give you to things to remember. Firstly, Jesus couldn't stop being God even when the hurt of it was killing Him. Secondly, "There are exchanges of love that only take place on the Cross." (Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity.) Bl. Elizabeth was a Carmelite nun who died at a very young age as a result of Addison's Disease, physical and spiritual. There were no sophisticated painkillers back in the nineteenth century and she was nearly driven to suicide by the agony of it all. She felt completely trapped. I will ask her to help you bear this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Are you able to tell us how these friends died? I will keep you and them in my fervent prayers. God bless you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmb144 Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 My friends were murdered The local parish....they are no help at all......they really don't care My non-Christian friends have been wonderful......they have been there, held my hand and in some cases have reached out from across the world to hold me....... I'm sorry......becoming catholic was a mistake................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 [quote name='In His Light' post='1172037' date='Jan 20 2007, 09:53 PM'] My friends were murdered The local parish....they are no help at all......they really don't care My non-Christian friends have been wonderful......they have been there, held my hand and in some cases have reached out from across the world to hold me....... I'm sorry......becoming catholic was a mistake................. [/quote] Oh hun, I'm so sorry! But, you know what? Your faith, your religion isn't your parish. I'm so sorry that you don't feel comforted by your parish, but I've heard that experience as well. . . not in the same situation as you, but that, in their time of need, someone within their parish wasn't of help. I myself felt a little 'off' regarding my parish as a teen. . .I left the church for several years, and returned, realizing that it wasn't the Church that was an issue, but the church. . meaning the parish. The Catholic Church, like [b]every[/b] church, is made of humans, fallible, sometimes selfish and even sometimes not-so-good humans, but humans nonetheless. You have to recognize why you've become a Catholic. You became a Catholic, in part, I'm sure, because of Jesus, fully present in the Holy Eucharist, is not present in other religions. The Catholic Church is the one faith that is complete. You know? You don't remain Catholic because of people, who will always let you down in some way or another. You remain because of Christ, our Hope, our Love, and our Desire. I will pray for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Jesus Christ also experienced this abandonment, Belinda. He was let down unbearably...by His own followers. I know, because I am one of the many who have betrayed Him. I'm so sorry to hear about your friends. So, so sorry. I don't understand why your parish isn't offering more comfort, but it might be because they aren't sure how to react. I had a similar experience once. A close friend of mine (who is now close to death) was self-harming seriously, starving herself towards the grave, and refusing to seek help at all. She got this way as a result of sexual abuse that began when she was just a little girl. I managed to persuade her to tell a trusted teacher what she was doing to herself and I felt so relieved afterwards. I thought the teacher would help. I really did. But she didn't do a thing, and a few days later Sophia took a near-fatal overdose. I still can't believe that the teacher was callous or uncaring. Perhaps she just didn't know how to react when a fourteen-year-old student came to her and started pouring all this out. Some people just turn numb when they hear of tragedy. They can't take it. As Christians we should be able to take anything, but the sad fact is that not all people are capable...yet. May you know the love of Jesus and the comfort of Mary at this time. If you can manage it, try meditating on the Stations of the Cross or the Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary. Mary understands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight of the Holy Rosary Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I will pray for you. Look for comfort in our Lady's Rosary and our Blessed Lord's compassion. Im so sorry your parish didn't reflect either of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronyodish Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Belinda, The God who created your non-Christian friends, is the same God that you and I worship as Catholics. It is He who imprinted in their hearts and conscience the natural light of reason, whether or not they know and believe it, and they used that God-given reason to comfort you in your time of need. So, it is really God who is reaching out to you through them. The fact that your friends have helped you, and the local church members have not, only shows how far that God would go to reach out and comfort you, in that, He would use non-believers in order to reach you. Christ is not limited by the actions of any one or several members of His body, that is, if some of His members fail to carry out His mission in the world, then He will use whomever He wants in order to accomplish His mission, and His mission is ultimately to incorporate all the people of the world into His Body the Catholic (Universal) Church. He desires that relationship with you and desires all of us into one body, one communion, and Him being the Head of us all. The only thing that Christ will never do is force you to love Him. He is a lover, not a rapist, He seeks you out in your pain, and desires to walk with you, and sometimes the way He seeks us may not make sense to us, like the example here of unbelievers, instead of local believers, comforting you. Belinda, when you became a Catholic, it was the greatest thing you could have ever done in your life, even though it is very hard for you right now to see that. Becoming Catholic means that you've accepted Christ's invitation of a love-relationship with him, and in a love-relationship, one needs to be patient when confronting the trials of life, and never quit the relationship. It is especially through hardships that the relationship must become closer and stronger. God has promissed that nothing will separate His love towards you, and He will seek you until the end. In turn, don't give up, don't separate your love towards Him. Life is meaningless without Him. The pain you are going through right now is nothing compared to the pain of being without Him. He created the Church for you, to help you, and if the local church is not accomplishing His will, seek out other members of His Church. For one, this is a good forum, and there are several faithful Catholics on here who will pray for you and comfort you in the way that they can. If I knew you in person, I would give you a hug. God loves you Belinda, stay strong. Rony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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