Fellow Converts

[FaustinaVianney]

Ali Kramer that is....

ThyWill...you have an awesome story as well, sorry if I did not mention that earlier...I actually have my entire story written out and it is 19 pages singled spaced!

I love hearing others' stories..I hope more will share!

[allis-challmers]

[quote]Yep, I am a member of St Joseph's![/quote]


[quote]OMG!!!  Faustina, you must be close to me!!  [/quote]



Faustina and Cathlic 4 life who are both of you, are you both from Jasper I am from Schnellville. I didn't know that many people from Dubois County went on Phat mass

[Fiat_Voluntas_Tua]

I love you guys!

Pax et Agape per Maria, Andy.

[dramaqueen]

I liked reading these stories. They give me chills. It is funny how so many of us "converts" have had these attractions that we can't explain long before we realize it. I have always been attracted to the reverence and the beauty of the Church. My parents never really took me to chuch. When I was little 3 or 5 or so We went to the Lutheran Church by my house because I think my Dad's family might have been Lutheran. I liked it and I remember the Sunday school teacher asking who wanted Jesus to be thier friend. I raised my hand (insert AWWWWWs here ) and all growing up I have had this pull and this love for the Lord. I did go to vacation Bible School every summer at that church and I think it probably put some of the reverence in me to start with.
As I got older, in Jr. High, I asked to go to church with my friends who were United Methodist. I din't know a thing about Protestant or Catholic, I just knew it was Church and I could go visit God. I chickened out being bapitized and confirmed when I was in 8th grade because (how stupid is this) I was afraid to be in front of everyone. It just wasn't time for me.
High school is when I really started to feel the pull. I was a photographer's assistant and we did weddings in Catholic Churches. This one in particualr was GORGEOUS! I remember being so in awe and so curious I even "snuck" a bunch of literature home in my pocket. You see, I only knew one Catholic and she never talked about it. All I ever heard was from my mom about how WRONG they are and how they are all GOING TO HELL! (LOL hey mom...guess what?! )
Her grandma had been a BIG TIME fundamentalist so you can imagine that her mind was not quite open. I always defended the faith though. It didn't seem right to knock it-it bugged me down deep.
I got out of HS and then went to college, I "found religion" again and went back to the only church I knew and FINALLY got baptized and confirmed in the methodist church of my home. I was 21 at the time.
I always had been close to God even when I had lived in ways contrary to his Will. I always sort of knew but never KNEW. I talked with Him and listened the best I could. I always felt I was destined to be or do something great. It was when I was 23 that He urged me to move from my home in Michigan to California.
I did and reconnected with a cousin who led me back to religion again...only this time I found FUNDAMENTALISM! WOO HOO! I loved the "rules and the certainty" of it all. I felt like this was finally the place I had found God. I got "saved" and all was right with the world. Until I fell away time and time again. I just couldn't live right enough or do good enough. I turned into a judgemental, holier than thou type. I knew with great certainty that I knew who was going to heaven and who wasn't. A litlle voice kept nagging me in the back of my mind..How can you be so sure? Are you GOD?
It was around this time that I met my best friend, sister in Christ-Sponsor and my "Jesus with skin on". Guess what she was???? Yep, a cradle Catholic. Man, she didn't stand a chance against my great Bible quoting skills! I remember even laughing at "her Bible" with the "extra" books in it! I challenged her on the usual. (Why do you need a priest? was the the biggest one since I really didn't know anything about the rest of the beliefs) I took her to Church with me so she could get "saved" from the awful religion (at least that was what I was told, but there had to be something going for it if it could produce a 24 year old virgin). I mean, she didn't do things like me so it had to be wrong.
I am so ashamed of this time in my life. It is a true testament to what a great person she is to have stayed friends with me. The whole time she walked quietly beside me living her beliefs and never saying much. I found out later she had been criticized when I wasn't around by the people at the other church. That would have been the last straw. Catholic or not she was by buddy and you just don't talk to her like that. (*DISCLAIMER* there were actually some very nice people there too)
I became disenchanted when I saw myself in these other judgemental people and I tried to find a new church. I went to several and never went to hers. I mean, it wasn't even an OPTION. (guess someone forgot to mention that to GOd )
So many things happened around this time I am hard pressed to recall them all in a coherent fashion. I had been praying and seeking. I wanted truth. I wanted God's love in me more than anything.
I had been ashamed of my divorce, (I was flat out told by God not to marry him in the first place and did anyway-ironically enough..he was Catholic too LOL) I was ashamed of my past and I just wanted a clean start.
That was when I started to have..well for lack of a better word...visions. Sometimes it was feelings, sometimes it was images. Like a dream when you are awake. It was revealing to me a picture of my future one piece at a time. Who I was going to marry-was what came first. This guy, I knew of but hadn't really thougth about since we were basically strangers. (This in itsself is another story that is quite miraculous) Anyway, he was Catholic..and VERY Catholic at that. I felt sad since I could not be with him since he wanted a Catholic girl and that was not me. (again...I guess someone forgot to mention that to GOD )
September 2002 I found a book at the Public Library Bookstore about the sacraments. I was sooooo drawn to it I had to buy it. I couldn't put it down. I asked my friend all kinds of questions and the thing I got out of it most was "you mean it is just like a big family?" Of course it was and that was what I had been looking for.
It was while I was reading the book I had another very powerful vision. All I saw was light and all I felt was peace and well, basically God told me "Go to the Church down the street and you are going to be Catholic" It lasted about 5-10 minutes the peace and the light and I could only describe it like I had been taken to heaven.
I had never experienced anything like that before...it was so real.
Needless to say, I couldn't really argue with that. I marched myself down to the Church and began the process. I strated asking questions and reading like a fiend. I have a great Catholic bookstore by my house and so it helped a lot. (In fact that was how my mom found out I was Catholic LOL She was making a joke aobut it and I said..I am catholic and I shop there a lot- THAT WENT OVER WELL! LOL)
It has been almost 2 years and I have grown in the Lord and my understanding more than I can even begin to describe. I am 34 now and I will be receiving my first communion and confirmation this Easter Vigil. I can't wait to become "one of the family"
As for my family, well...my dad doesn't say much. In fact I half think he is behind me and I am not going to be surprized if he follows me someday.
My mom, well she makes her cracks and I try to educate her, but as far as she knows I bow down to bread and worship mary. She does get curious sometimes and asks questions, which encourages me.
Thing is though, I have developed a new patience with her because of it that has brought us closer. She is even arranging a celebration dinner with my 2 friends to honor my confirmation. I am truly lucky to have a family that can agree to disagree. Down deep I really do belive they will end up Catholic, but that is for God to do not me. I live my faith and give a ready explaination for what I believe but use the example that my friend did with me. Preach the Gospel...use words if necessary.
About my future life, things are becoming both more clear and less clear at the same time. I am in a place where I don't need to hear Him talking so loud and I am learning to hear the whispers and to trust. Everything He has ever revealed to me and told me about things has come true with frightening accuracy it is making people I know believe in miracles or at least be able to see God at work.
I want to sing and do a happy dance all the time about being Catholic. Sometimes I get overzealous probably. LOL It is just such a gem I am so greatful that I have been included in this family. I better stop now before I get al mushy! It truly is the best thing that ever happend to me!

[stargirl3:16]

That's cool dramaqueen!

All right, I promised you my story, so gather round everyone.



Ever since I was little, I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic school. However, life wasn't easy for me. My dad died when I was two, so my mom had to raise me and my siblings by herself. (She did a good job too.) I was also teased by some of my classmates all through elementary school. After a while, being Catholic meant going to church on sunday and trying to stay awake during religion class. I had no relationship w/God whatsoever.

That changed in the 8th grade. I had heard about our church's youth group, and that it was now led by an adult I knew. I decided to try it out, and ever since then I've been going every Sunday.

I had God in my life, but it took on a greater depth when i went to steubenville. After that, I was never the same. I'm glad to be Catholic, and I thank my youth group for supporting me as well as my mom. Without them I wouldn't be here today.

[Catholic_4_Life]

[quote name='allis-challmers' date='Mar 29 2004, 10:09 PM'] Faustina and Cathlic 4 life who are both of you, are you both from Jasper I am from Schnellville. I didn't know that many people from Dubois County went on Phat mass [/quote]
Me either! Wow, another Hoosier! And a Dubois County Hoosier at that!

Faustine, I know Ali K. really well. I am an adult leader at Bosco, so Steve D. is another good friend. Have we met before? What mass do you go to? I usually try to go to the 9:00 am mass. I was in the choir at one point and love going back to hear them.

[Catholic_4_Life]

Okay, here's my story...I'll try to make it short. (BTW, my grammar smells of elderberries, and my punctuations will be wrong!)

It all started back when I was born...In a little town called Ilion, NY. You see, my mother at the time was a faithful Catholic, my dad was still searching but attended with my mom. Jump forward 5 years, we move to Salt Lake City, UT to be near my Grandfather on my dad's side. Shortly after that my parents split. But I remember in those early years how we used to go to mass and afterwards in the cafeteria we would have donughts and hot cocoa. Fond memories of my childhood.

After my parents split we stopped going to church as often. In fact I don't have many memories of church until I told my mom that I wanted to be confirmed. I went to classes for a year or two and realized how much I had missed learning in the time I was gone. I felt like I didn't know anything at all. I felt lost. So, after confirmation I didn't really go back much. Holiday's only, really.

I should add that we lived in AZ for two years and I remember going to mass a few times there as well.

Anyway, back to the main story. For those of you who don't know this, Utah, especially the Salt Lake area, is Mormon Country. 85% of the population there are LDS. So, needless to say I felt like an outcast there for the most part as well. I mean, I fit in okay in school, but because I was such a "good boy" many thought I was Mormon. (Never skipped class, never fought, etc.)

Fast forward to 1997. Many years in between that I am not proud of...so I will skip them. Anyway, in January of 97 I was layed off from a job I had been on. The headhunter company I was working through gave me two choices: Denver for 6 months at Lockhead Martin, or Jasper, IN for two weeks at Kimball International, a furniture manufacturer. Seeing as I was living with someone at the time (again, I don't want to go into the things I am not proud of) I decided the two weeks sounded better.

I arrived in Jasper and I thought I had made a mistake and flown to Europe. AS I drove into town I saw nothing but trees and one Church steeple above them. It was breathtaking to a boy who grew up surrounded by rocks and mountains. (I DO miss the mountains though!) So, my work week began and the people here were fantastic! I absolutely felt at home around this area.

On evening on the way back to the hotel from work I decided to stop in at the church. As I walked up to the main doors I was in complete awe. I had never seen a church as "traditional" looking as this one. The Cathedral of the Madeline in Salt Lake is close though. Anyway, as I started in through the door a feeling of comfort raised up in me. I felt...well, I honestly felt like I was at home! I went into the church and stood at the back just taking it all in. The mosaics, the altar, the baptismal font...everything was perfect. I walked to the front just staring at everything...making my way into a pew I knelt down and prayed. Something I hadn't done much in the recent past. When I turned to leave I saw the pipe organ and the choir loft. I hadn't seen anything like it since I went as a student in High School to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! (Of course, that one is much larger!)

I left the church and went back to my room...dumbfounded is the best word I can thing of to describe how I felt. On the final day that I was in town I went to St. Joes after work and lit a candle. The company had offered me a full time Job, moving expenses, and great benifits, but I only had a week to decide. So, I decided to ask God for His will...for the first time I can remember I asked that His will be done. I asked Him to show me some kind of sign that I am meant to be here.

When I returned home the girl I had been living with could do nothing but tell me how miserable she was while I was away. She wanted to hear nothing about my two weeks or my experience. When she went down the hall to yell at her two little girls (4 and 6) I realized that she was NOT the person I wanted to raise a family with. So I started to ask myself what was keeping me in Utah? The answer? Nothing. Not one single thing made me feel like I should stay there, but I had a ton of feelings pulling me to Jasper.

So, I packed up and moved! A few days after I got to Jasper I went to the church and "signed in" as a member, even though I lived closer to Precious Blood, a more modern church, I felt St. Joe's was where I belonged. I joined the choir, I joined the youth group, and from there I met Fr. Ken Steckler. Fr. Ken and I became great friends. One day I asked him to hear my confession. He gladly took me to the church and I confessed, although not completely...more on that soon. Anyway, after I was done we talked about things and he gave me my "assignment". He told me to read a parable in Luke. I am sure you all heard it recently, as it was the same one that was read this past Sunday in mass. The Parable of the lost son. AS I read that, I realized what God was telling me...He was welcoming me home!! Although I had been gone, and I did sin greatly, He forgave me and welcomed me home, and He was feeding me again!

Things were great for a long time. I made a TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) retreat as an adult observer. During TEC I realized that I had to die to myself and rise anew in Christ. I also realized that I had not given a whole hearted confession in some time. So, I did at TEC. Fr. Bernie heard my confession, he told me that God has forgiven me, now I need to forgive myself. I went to a pew to pray and while I was praying I got this "tingly" feeling that started from the tip of my head, and it moved down my body to my toes. I realized in that moment that the Holy Spirit had layed His hands on me and forgiven me. I wept. I cried for what seemed an eternity. I was home. I was loved.

Recent years haven't been as good. They changed our Pastors like I change my underwear it seems. Fr. Ken is now far away (2 hour drive), but I still talk to him and we went to Europe in 2002. Fr. Tony and I got to be good friends, but the Pastor at that time wasn't as nice. He and I butted heads and I felt pushed away. New he is gone and Fr. Ray and Fr. Burns are there and they again are helping me to feel at home. I am an adult leader again in our Youth Minsitry. I am still learning as I go, but it has been a great journey.

BTW...I just want to add one small token. I envy (I know it's a sin, but it is the only word I can think of) converts. I envy them because they understand it all so much better. They know in their hearts where they are. I know it sometimes, but I am never as on fire as they are. I envy that...I wish I had that passion, that fire. I hope someday I will.

That's it...sorry it's so long! God Bless you all!

[homeschoolmom]

Okay, my turn...

I was raised in a United Methodist home. We always went to church, but the minute we got home, that was it. My mom taught me to recite cute kid prayers before meals... not out of reverence.... but because it was cute and probably a good thing to do. My parents divorced when I was little.

In junior high, I was really into learning more about Christ and I wore a cross necklace all the time. I reallllllly wanted to know more about Christ. Thought I would learn more in confirmation-- I didn't... but I know all about the history of the Methodist Church and can name all the books of the bible in order really fast (course, I'd have to leave out the deuterocanonicals).... I always thought that Catholicism was pretty interesting. I knew that they were seriously into God.

So, then in high school, I was involved with an evangelical bible study and I learned a TON of stuff. I actually found out what was in all of those books that I could name! That's when I really started my Christian life... I was going to be serious about loving the Lord. And I was.

When I went to college I went to church every week with my friends (a secular university, no less). I met my future husband and we got married in that Baptist church we went to together. We were very happy.... and we continued to learn about Christ and love and serve Him....

... skip ahead to 1999. We have two children and decide to open our home to a high school student from Russia. We love other cultures and Russia was expecially interesting. So, she comes.... she's from an Orthodox background and pretty secular. However she is interested in church and goes with us. She learns about Christ and becomes a Christian then. Since our relationship is really good and she wants to go to college in the US, we agree to let her stay with us. Everything is hunky dory... we are all loving Christ and going to church etc...

...until 2002. She meets her very traditional Catholic boyfriend. We didn't think too much about that... after all, we didn't realize that he was actually a religious Catholic... We thought that if we simply explained the error of his ways, he'd come around. Well, that didn't work. After about six months of discussions, she decided to convert. Needless to say, my husband and I were CRUSHED!!! I was pregnant at that time and upset all the time. So, we read everything we could to argue with her and win her back. My husband went with the more scholarly works (church fathers, and actual true bible scholars). I went with the more propaganda items and websites (which is how I ended up here, ironically).

Well, God was working on both of us... last summer we started asking each other what we thought, but didn't want to confess to each other that we were interested in Catholicism. Remember, we were very happy in our church and we were learning a lot, had lots of friends, envolved in all kinds of ministries, small groups etc. We had two children in Sunday School, a baby in nursery etc. We had been active in that church for 12 years and had all kinds of conections there.

We really weren't CONVINCED until January of this year ("Oh my word... this stuff is so biblical! Where do those Catholics come off using the bible???") .... We decided that we couldn't deny it anymore... that the New Testament seemed more Catholic to us. We joined RCIA in February. We'll be received at Easter Vigil.

Our friends are stunned. They had no idea we were studying this or even thinking this way. That was a big mistake, not letting them see it coming. They still love us and we are able to joke about it... But they don't understand us. My mom thinks I went from being too religious to too religious and supersticious. My dad doesn't know and won't care. My in-laws don't know yet. They won't be happy. Both of us come from Protestant backgrounds with NO Catholics anywhere... except my dad's mistress/second wife... but that doesn't really count, does it?

So, that's my story...
BTW, I am eternally grateful for the Evangelical background that I have. I have learn a lot from them. Believe it or not, our understanding of MOST of the Scriptures is NOT that different.

Edited March 30, 2004 by homeschoolmom

[DojoGrant]

Hey all,

Been meaning to type this up for some time now. It'll probably be rather long also, so I apologize up front! And this is just the first half!

I am currently 20 (will be 21 a week from yesterday!). I was raised in a very faithful LCMS (Lutheran Chuch Missouri Synod) family, attending church every Sunday, as well as Sunday school, of which both my parents taught. I was an acolyte for years, was confirmed Lutheran, sang in the choir, etc. I was active in our small youth group (being from a very small town, with an even smaller Lutheran population). I was gonna be Lutheran all my life because, frankly, why wouldn't I be?

Then I started dating a Catholic my junior year in high school. She was my first (and only) girlfriend, and frankly the only real Catholic I had ever met (or at least gotten to know on a personal basis), as there were no Catholics in my home town (she was from a neighboring town). We were very close and our faiths were very important to us. We continued to date throughout high school and a full year into college (we both still go to Mississippi State).

We were pretty serious, and had been talking about marriage down the line for quite a while. Because of that, and the importance of our faith and the desire to go to the same church, I more or less decided that somehow I had to get this Catholic girl to become Lutheran. But, I'm not a big meanie; it was reciprocal. When we got to college, we started attending both services on Sunday (Lutheran and Catholic), and started going to classes at both of them to learn more about the faith.

As it turns out the Lutheran class wasn't so much catechesis as it was just spiritual growth in general, and was at an inconvenient time (we would always be late for it), so we took a break from it and just kept going to RCIA. Now, starting out, remember that I had no desire to become Catholic and wanter her to become Lutheran. Already the Lord was showing that His will be done, not mine.

Many, many things in Catholic teaching were disagreeable to me...because that had been ingrained into me. My Lutheran education had very little time for understanding of Catholic heritage, and I was led to believe such things as that the Catholic Church was not a church of grace. They were superstitious, too.

But the more time I spent in RCIA, the more questions were raised, and the more I began to read. I began to digest books at an unhealthy level; for almost a full year, I was studying Scripture and reading Catholic and Lutheran doctrinal literature for several hours a day. One stumbling block would fall down after another, until I found myself (even while having extreme problems with some areas) totally in agreement with others.

But then I had to tell my parents. Talk about nerve-wrecking. My parents were ardent Lutheran (even though my mother is a convert from the Baptist faith), and while they liked my girlfriend, they were never too pleased that she was Catholic (that just meant I'd have to work at converting her!). When I approached my father to tell him that I wanted to become Catholic, this is how it went:

"Dad, I have something to tell you that you're not going to like very much." (What a great way to start out, right?)

"Grant, you know I love you no matter what...(jokingly) as long as you don't become Catholic."

*ALERT* HEART FAILURE *ALERT*

We have never even discussed this. Yes, one time about a year prior to this conversation we spent a day in Little Rock and we visited a priest so that I could ask some questions, but other than that, this was not even something discussed with my parents. Now, I know my dad loves me more than anything, and still does, and he was totally joking when he said that, as he would have never expected that to be it. But it was, and I was a tearful mess.

He was relatively calm about it, and later told my mom about it, who then proceeded to pretend like it never happened. She was too upset to talk to me about it, so just ignored it for a while.

As time progressed, they supplied me with some anti-Catholic literature (which angered me, and I days later refuted every single point it made) and we got in a big fight; probably the only fight my parents and I have ever had in my whole life. They forbid me to join the Church. Forbid. They said that I could do it after I graduated from college and they were no longer financially supporting me...that was a three+ year wait. Somehow, one thing led to another, and it escalated to tears and yelling (both parties) and a general resentment that was not quick to go away.

I wanted to join the Church, darn it! And yet, looking back, is that the kind of maturity that one should have when making such a life altering choice as this? No. The Lord, again, in ways unbeknownest to them still, was working through my parents, because all good things happen in His Own time. My parents continued to forbid me to come into the Church during the Easter Vigil, and after discussing all this with our priest here, we decided it was best for me to not come into the Church this year. I was heartbroken, but I too knew that it was not worth it to join the Church while dishonoring my father and my mother. The ends don't justify the means. There had to be some serious resolvement first, and a whole lot would take place over the next year.

Part Two coming soon!

[FaustinaVianney]

WOW so many God-awesome stories...everyone keep posting!

Catholic 4 Life -- I do not recall meeting you, but who knows! I have met so many 'new' people in the past year that I do good to remember my own name! I go to daily Mass at 8AM and Sunday Mass at 9AM (when I am home). I am a student at XU (we are all mourning the loss...). We get a 5-6 day weekend for Easter, so I shall be home... You can ask Steve or Ali about Missy... I know what you mean about St Joe's the power there is soo overwhelming!



I have always been jealous of cradle Catholics...

[prov31girl]

[quote name='FaustinaVianney' date='Mar 30 2004, 08:48 AM'] WOW so many God-awesome stories...everyone keep posting!

Catholic 4 Life -- I do not recall meeting you, but who knows! I have met so many 'new' people in the past year that I do good to remember my own name! I go to daily Mass at 8AM and Sunday Mass at 9AM (when I am home). I am a student at XU (we are all mourning the loss...). We get a 5-6 day weekend for Easter, so I shall be home... You can ask Steve or Ali about Missy... I know what you mean about St Joe's the power there is soo overwhelming!



I have always been jealous of cradle Catholics... [/quote]
Hey I go to Wright State University in Dayton. Maybe I'll venture down your way sometime and go to a mass or something.

[DojoGrant]

PART TWO:

My parents felt that I was too immature (in life in general, being only 18 at the time) to make this decision at this point in my life. They were also shocked that I would do this to my predominantly Lutheran family; they considered what I wanted to do as "breaking them up." That, and they thought that I was doing this because I was in love with my girlfriend, that God was not really calling me to this.

Rewind to about January 2002. Catholic Student Association (college Catholic group) dinner, and the guest speakers are two seminarians. No big deal. I didn't go to the weekly dinners very often (I wasn't Catholic yet, so I felt a bit out of place), but they were never a bad experience or anything. So, I should have had no reason to be nervous or anxious.

And yet I was both extremely nervous and very anxious. Heck, I was scared. I'm sitting here with my lovely girlfriend listening to seminarians, and I'm all but sweating. "You need to talk to them," I kept hearing in my head. "But I don't know these guys, and I'm not even Catholic...and these guys want to be priests, and I'm thinking about getting married in a few years!" Why am I being drawn to talk to them? When they talk about their call to the priesthood, why does that scare me to death?

I didn't talk to them, except a quick word to one of them about how I was joining the Church, and I asked him to pray for my parental difficulties. Weirdly enough, my girlfriend sensed that I needed to talk to them, and was encouraging me, but I was just too nervous.

Now what was all THAT about? I've never once in my life thought about being a priest. Again, I'm not even Catholic yet, and my parents have forbidden it! Time passes. Easter Vigil passes. Me no Catholic. My birthday rolls around (April 5, 2002), and my girlfriend and I are about to leave to go meet my parents 2.5 hours away for dinner. We break up. Yes, on my birthday, right before we leave to go have dinner with my parents, we break up. In all reality, I knew this was coming. We were best friends, but the long-lasting connection wasn't ever really there. We had too many differences that ended up just making us unhappy around each other because we had to superficially keep each other happy. We had been dating two and a half years, and it ended on my birthday!

I cried for about half an hour, then sucked it up, because we had to go meet my parents for dinner. We didn't tell them what had just taken place. Halfway through the car ride over, though, I was already finding peace in what happened. For as heartbroken as I thought I'd be if we ever broke up, that half-hour cry and another short instance about a week later was about the only loss I felt over it, because I knew we would remain friends (and we have), and because of the weird feeling about the priesthood that kept popping in my head from time to time, I knew, as scary as it would be, that this would give me the opportunity to explore that tickling in my soul.

About two weeks later, we had an RCIA retreat on a Saturday, out by a lake, where we just got to walk around and think about things. For whatever reason, I ended up telling several people that I felt that God might be calling me to the priesthood, still terrified of what that might mean for my life, not being Catholic with Easter Vigil passed, knowing my family would be shocked, confused, or disappointed, being alone without my girlfriend (really my sole friend at the time), and being incredibly scared of the prospect of celibacy.

That night, I also told her that I felt that I was being called to the priesthood. She told me she wasn't surprised. That would not be the last time that I would hear someone say that.

PART THREE coming soon...

[homeschoolmom]

Wow... this is really a facinating story....

It's weird, because I can understand what your parents felt and what you felt telling them. I have been on both sides of it. I've been the one to get the "bad news" and feel the disappointment... and I've been the child having to disappoint my parents... I *often* wished I had been a cradle Catholic so that I could just stop all the arguing and having to think about what to believe... and that was before I even wanted to consider being Catholic... it's weird...

Can't wait for PART THREE!

Edited March 30, 2004 by homeschoolmom

[DojoGrant]

PART THREE:

So, I wanted to be Catholic and was feeling moved toward the priesthood. I talked again to our priest about it, and he said to give my parents about nine months to think and pray about what was happening, and then bring it up again and see what happens.

School was out, and I wasn't going to take summer classes, so I ended up going home for the summer. My parents didn't want to talk about "it," and I didn't feel comfortable talking about "it," so nothing transpired. Nothing at all. It was like nothing ever happened and yet at the same time, knowing that everyone knows but refusing to talk about it; such an eerie tension. I wasn't even able to go to Mass during the summer, because I knew it would only upset them more and they'd likely forbid me to go anyway (them owning my car and all). All in all, it wasn't a great summer.

School started back in the fall, and I was as lost as ever as to what in the world was going to happen with my life. But, God works in mysterious and miraculous ways, and He immediately got involved in working me through this difficult process.

At the time, I didn't see any way that I was going to be able to join the Church for another three years; my life was more or less put on hold. And if I can't be Catholic, then how am I supposed to be a priest? So my prayer to God at this point in my life, was to put me in the right place to meet some girl, a faithful Catholic girl, who would let me know whether or not I'm called to the celibate life. Now, in my mind, that prayer meant that I wanted a girlfriend who would take this burden off my shoulders. If God allowed me to meet a nice Catholic girl, obviously He wasn't calling me to be His priest.

So I met a girl. Who was openly Catholic and proud of her faith. So of course I mixed up the signals. Almost out of sheer instinct, I flocked to her; I needed to get to know her, because I "knew" she was the girl God was directing me towards. I didn't even know why; I just went.

And let's face it, chasing after girls is not my style. Not being my style, I'm not good at it. Needless to say, things got a little weird for a while, because I didn't know what I was doing and she certainly didn't know what I was doing. A few weeks went by, and it came to a Wednesday night Mass. After it was over, I was outside in the parking lot talking talking to the first lady I had ever told (at that RCIA retreat) about feeling called to the priesthood, and she was seeing how that was going. Well, low and behold, right beside me listening is the girl again, hearing all this. She and her friend were about to go eat dinner, and they invited me to come along, asking me about the priesthood. Not only was the guy she was with someone who has always, at least marginally, considered the priesthood, but when we got to the restaurant, she asked me:

"So, how long have you known?"

"About being called to the priesthood? I guess about a year."

"Oh really? Its been several years for me."

I did a double take, probably. What was she talking about? What did she mean "for her?" As it turns out, the same girl that I had seemingly randomly sought out was the very answer to my prayer. The girl that God led me to was someone who was actively aware of God's call to each of us and in touch with the religious life. We talked about her own discernment and mine over dinner, and by the time I got to RCIA that night (my second year of it), it hit me like a ton of bricks: I am not only called to the priesthood, but I accept that call gladly. Celibacy was no longer scary to me; I began to understand it, too, as a call from God. For the first time in nearly a year, I felt true peace. I felt at rest with God.

Now I just had to join the Church...oh, and tell my parents that I want to be a priest. Piece of cake.

PART FOUR, coming soon...

[DojoGrant]

Once I felt secure that I had an actual call from God to the priesthood, that made it all the harder to sit back and not be in full communion with His Church. But, whether or not it would complicate things all the more, I couldn't leave my family out of the loop. Going home one weekend in October, I had planned to tell them. The whole weekend was like one big leading-up-to moment. I was terrified of facing their response, and ended up waiting right until I was going out the door to go back to school. I guess in my mind, it would provide the least amount of time for argument or upsetting words, and then they would have time to think and pray about it.

So I told them. My mom said, tearfully, said, "I knew you were going to tell us that. I told your dad but he didn't think so." It just keeps getting crazier. Was God silenty preparing them for this? How did <i>she</i> know when <b>I</b> didn't even know? They were of course very unhappy about it, and still clung to the notion that I was doing this for someone else or that it was a phase or something or other. "I was just about ready to accept you becoming Catholic, too," my mom said.

I'm sure it shocked them. If I was still protestant, and my children said that to me, I would be shocked, too. It's not a culturally acceptable thing in the non-Catholic world. Celibacy, as expected, was their primary greivance, as they desperately want me to marry someday, because they feel that I will be missing out or lonely.

However, with my family now knowing, and the fact that if I'm ever going to be a priest, I need to be actually in the Church so that I can eventually go to seminary. It is generally expected of converts to have been in the faith at least for a few years before they can be accepted into seminary. I needed to join the Church; I could not wait another two and a half years for everyone in my life to be totally comfortable with the idea if this was God's will, not mine.

Over the Christmas break that year, one late night, I somehow got the courage to tell them that when I went back to school, I would be joining the Church. My mom quietly said "Okay," and that was that. They later told me they didn't get any sleep that night.

And I did come into the Church. I was received into Christ's Church via Confirmation and First Communion on January 12, 2003 (The Baptism of Our Lord, appropriate day, I think). I received the sacraments at the college Mass amongst peers, and just another little miracle, the person who was sitting directly behind me, when I returned to my seat from receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, out of the blue shook my hand and congratulated me. I didn't have a clue who he was, and he didn't know me on a personal level. Within a month, though, we discover that we are both discerning the priesthood and he is now studying and in formation for the Memphis, TN diocese. We've become very close friends over the last year.

At this point, my parents have more or less accepted the fact that I am Catholic, and while my father still does not talk about it, my mother talks freely about it with me, and I know that my older brother supports me. Life is back to normal with the family (a year later), and its just accepted that when I come home, I'll be attending Mass somewhere. Can't get anyone to go with me, but there's still time for that. My parents still struggle with my call to the priesthood and continue to hope that I will not follow that path. But I have learned to simply live my faith by example and let them see Christ in my life, and He will work out all the details.

Been Catholic now for almost a year and a quarter, and have a meeting tonight with our diocese's vocation director, so things are going well on both fronts.

And I am at peace.

The End!