I thought it would be good to have a thread where we can share news on contemporary conversion and witness stories that can help us better respond to our daily call for conversion. So here it goes, Jim Caviezel, actor of the Passion of the Christ, in his just published interview in Poland with Luka Adamski: Lukasz Adamski: You became the narrator of a documentary about Karol Wojtyła called „Liberating the Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism”. While being in Poland at the invitation of the Knights of Columbus you have visited the area where he lived and worked. Who Karol Wojtyła is to you in a personal, and not only geopolitical sense? Jim Caviezel: During my visit to Poland I came to understand that he was carrying problems of the entire world on his shoulders. Not until now have I realised what a great power that was in Karol Wojtyła’s prayers and his words that had truly „renewed the face of the earth”. Except for this, there is a more personal side to it. Playing Jesus himself I faced a lot of criticism and often derision. I had to get on with it somehow and there wouldn’t be Jim Caviezel as Jesus if it wasn’t’ for John Paul II. Looking at his life and the power of his evangelism, I said to myself: why would you even care about that nonsense? As a young person I read a lot about Nazism and the genocide carried out by Germans on Polish territory. The only source of my knowledge was limited to books but during my stay in Poland I realised how much Wojtyła must have suffered being directly exposed to Nazism. I’ve been to Auschwitz where Maksymilian Kolbe martyrly gave his life for a fellow prisoner. It made me realise the scale of suffering of Polish people. And then the Communism had followed making John Paul II to live under two of the most monstrous regimes. As American I lived peacefully worrying about the Cold War at most. I did not experience the totalitarian power. John Paul II had to live under two of them, just like your entire country. He represents it. In a spiritual sense? Poland, just like the Christ, had been crucified. Virgin Mary is the mother of Poland. Before he died, Wojtyła’s father told him that Mary is now also his mother. It is a great symbol of your nation. Did the Pope’s teaching have an influence on you as well? In the 80’s when I was a teenager, John Paul II came to the USA. He was 90 minutes away from where I lived and my family went to see him and listen to him. For many Catholics his visit was almost like a visit of Jesus Christ himself. John Paul II was the first Pope who has visited the USA [in fact, it was Paul VI - ed. Ł.A.] and met the President in the White House. I didn’t go to see him. I didn’t think it was important. The lightning strike came years later. We will talk about the lightning strike later. You didn’t go to see the Pope but years later you caught up for it. You met John Paul II during the audience after playing Jesus in „The Passion of the Christ”. After watching the film he said „It is as it was”. How did you receive the praise coming from the Pope? „Tak było”! [Caviezel says these words in Polish imitating Wojtyła - ed. Ł.A.]. The Pope always called young people to break away from contaminated and demoralised civilisation. „Be saint” - he said. Impossible? It is doable. I often hear the voice of the Christ in my heart: Jim, you will manage today. It is a message saying that everyone in the world is equally important. It is also an appeal for a Christian life. Life in which one demonstrates to everyone they come across that Jesus is their Lord. I remember the Pope saying to Americans: „You can all be saint!”. It makes me sad that so many people in my country do not seek sainthood. They substitute it with drugs and hedonism. It is simply filling the emotional void. What did you tell the Pope during your audience in the Vatican? I told him how much his letter to artists influenced me. It was aimed at those who look for the beauty and give it to the world in the form of art. I try my best to carry out his instructions. John Paul II was an actor, just like you. Therefore, he knew the power of art better than any of his predecessors. Exactly. This is where his power came from. He understood the people and it helped him to win over hearts of the millions. He is simply saint. You were 33 years old, your initials were J.C. and you played Jesus. Don’t you tell me it was a coincidence! There are no coincidences. I keep on hearing about accident and strokes of luck. Secularisation affects the entire world, also the USA. Only the atheists believe in coincidence. There are no coincidences for God. Even when God resurrects the dead, they will say it happened by an accident. When one doesn’t believe in God, one believed in anything. Gilbert Keith Chesterton claimed that. At the same time one doesn’t have the right to do what they like and decide abut everything. Live without morality? Without goodness? Where is love in all of this? More here: http://wpolityce.pl/kultura/336631-...-else-spiritual-interview-with-hollywood-star
Jimmy Akin's story of conversion is wonderful also. Here is a video from him explaining some of the reason for his conversion
Thank you very much for this video, Carol55. Just last week, I had been defending our Catholic faith against a Protestant, who mentioned this 'petros and petra' argument against the institution of St Peter as the first Pope. Now I can make my defence much better.
Illuminati Banker Ronald Bernard Exposes the Elite 2017 (Full HD Interview): This can also be considered as a conversion.
I heard this a few days ago. He said at one point that those he worked with who also belonged gave in to alcohol and drugs and most of them were now dead. Can anyone verify the reliability of this? There is so much stuff out there. Hard to know real from fake.
ETWN does a show called the Journey Home, mostly conversion stories. I haven't watched all of them but I trust ETWN and would think that the stories that they air are truthful. Here is link to several of these stories. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=conversion+stories+etwn&FORM=HDRSC3 PS- This link contains other stories which are not from ETWN also, therefore you need to check who created the video to be certain that it is from ETWN.
This is not fake. Look at him at 25:02 when he starts talking about the child sacrifices... adding that this is the reason why he started to reveal all this. These tears are no fake... He speaks Dutch and being myself Dutch you can better "feel" if he is speaking the truth or not. And then, come on, we Catholics, knowing the messages of Heaven and the prophecies, we know those things really exist.
For your discernment - my conversion story: (I hope it is OK to post a personal story here) I grew up Lutheran but entered the Catholic Church on Jan. 12th, 1993 (the reason for this is another story) because of many Graces received. How this came about: I was riding a horse in a field one year before coming into the Church, and a large dog came out of nowhere spooking the horse who had recently been a racehorse off the track. The horse took off like a lightening bolt running out of control until he came upon a dressage fence which he proceeded to jump as if the fence was 5 ft. high - straight up into the air. I fell off onto the fence on my ribs. There were two ladies sitting on a bench watching me ride and they came to help me get off the ground. They told me they were watching me and when I mentioned about the dog who ran towards the horse, they told me they never saw a dog. This dog was large enough that anyone would have seen it as I was riding in a field that had nothing but low grass. While lying around my house recovering, (I was unable to stand due to my injury) I noticed a book on my coffee table, "City of God" by Mary of Agreda" (I do not know how the book got there as neither myself or my husband had taken it out of our bookcase and there was no one else in our house!). I picked up the book and began to read. O, how this book turned my heart to the Light of Truth! After several months I recovered and went on vacation - and even then could not put that book down until I finished reading it. When we returned home from vacation, one night after just going to bed and was still very much awake, a very bright light came next to my bed. My body felt completely at peace. The Light asked me something and I replied "Yes" three times in very long drawn out words. As the Light was leaving me I drew up my arms towards it wanting it to take me with it. It was after this experience and many others after this that my life began to change. What came to mind when pondering what may have been asked of me, I remember thinking to myself, "I hope God doesn't want me to give up my horses!" But, that an entire other story. I post this because when I heard the Reading at Mass today, it always reminds me of St. Paul's conversion - God had to make him fall to the ground (perhaps he was on a horse also) in order to get his attention and change his heart, and I felt Our Lord wanting me to tell others about this experience. Regarding the book,, "City of God" which is all about Our Blessed Mother, as a Protestant I never knew anything about the Mother of God: Jesus told me this one day, "It was My Mother who picked you up from the gutter and brought you to Me!" When we give our lives over to our Mother Mary whos heart is completely bound to Her Son's, we become one with their Hearts. Jesus said this through Luisa: "In what have you lacked since you gave yourself completely to Me? " "...what pain I feel in my Heart in seeing that souls do not want to understand this, even those who are said to be the most good." Give yourselves completely to Mary our Mother. No one knows Jesus better than She! May all be for the Glory of God!
What a beautiful story! Thank you so much, lynnfiat. City of God would be a very challenging primer on Our Blessed Mother!
Yes I think you are right. Especially if you could understand him in Dutch. The voice over wS very bland. If it is true and it must be I hope he is very careful. We should pray for him.
The muslim that you see in the video, yes a muslim!, did a pilgrimage to Fatima sanctuary this week on his knees! This just recalls the mysterious role that the Virgin of Fatima will play and is already playing in the conversion of muslims. He speaks to the camera in english about his motivations. I found interesting that he ackownldges Jesus crucifixion, as I thought islam never recognized that Christ died on a cross.
I still need to take the time to watch the videos which have been posted on this thread, it looks like there are so many good ones. Here is a recent story of conversion, https://www.catholicforlife.com/pentecostal-pastor-congregation-convert-catholicism/
I came across the witness of Jewish convert, Dawn Eden Goldstein. She went from Judaism to atheism, to Protestantism and then the Catholic Church. Worth listening to
