I have noticed on the Forum that there are some members and others who have come back to the Faith. Sometimes even through reading the Forum, which is so touching. Since I have a little more time at the moment, since I am using Public Transport, now I am sixty I thought I would write a little more exstensively and deeply on the Spiritual Life for newbies and reverts to the Catholic Faith, especially from a Marian Perspective. I intend this too for a future time , after the Illumination of Conscience, when people of all Faiths and none will be comning to the One, Holy , Catholic and Apostolic Church. (Others much further along the path to the Holy Mountain may find these poor words useful.) This initial period when the Gospel Seed had been planted in men's hearts can be a time of great danger as Jesus taught us in a parable: Matthew 13 The Parable of the Sower 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” View attachment 3681
I welcome comments or questions as I meander along in this. By the way it may help you to know that there is the most terrific series in EWTN , hosted ny a former Presbyterian Pastor Marcus Gordi, in which converts are interviewed concerning their conversion. These can all be viewed on utube. 'The Journey Home' A great favourite of mine.
Before we set out on a Journey we must of course know were we are heading , especailly if we are to Journey thorugh strange and sometimes difficult country. For if we do not know towards what we travle how will we reach Journey' End and how shall we know what changes we may expect along the Way. For inthis , the Greatest Pilgrimage of All we may expect to be changed into the image of that which we Seek. Isaiah 2:3 The Mountain of the Lord …2Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.…
There is a yearning in the heart of every exile even if that exile is self imposed and he has lost touch with much of home. This yearning is like that of the deer that longs for running water and the heart that is restless till it rests in God. On his deathbed my old dad asked me somewhat angrily,"Why did you choose to live so far away." I knew the answer but could not tell him. I suspect that deep down we all know why we choose to "live so far away." "and after this our exile, show unto us the Blessed Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus." Celtic Woman. Isle of Inisfree Utube
As a fairly recent "revert" I am looking forward to this thread. I was not only away from Church I was furious with God and not looking for Him. In no way did I deserve or even ask for my faith back. Our Lady is entirely responsible for my conversion in one 16 hour period. I wish I could say Totus Tuus, but I am not even worthy to say that. I was bought back by her for a price. I know she wants to use me for something but I am not sure what. I am desperately seeking spiritual guidance, but it is very rare these days. Maybe on this thread some will pass my way. Recently I have had stirrings toward the priesthood, but I cannot tell if they are leftovers from a vocation I gave up in my 20's or genuinely inspired by heaven.
Praetorian, I will pray you find a spiritual director who is a good fit! Mary, Seat of Wisdom, guide Praetorian to those who will help him better discern! Safe in the Refuge of the Immaculate Heart!
This is the famous passage from St. Augustine's Confessions (Lib 1,1-2,2.5,5: CSEL 33, 1-5) in which Saint Augustine states "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." It is used in the Roman Office of readings for the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary time with the accompanying biblical reading of Job 28:1-28. Great are you, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise; your power is immense, and your wisdom beyond reckoning. And so we men, who are a due part of your creation, long to praise you – we also carry our mortality about with us, carry the evidence of our sin and with it the proof that you thwart the proud. You arouse us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you. Grant me to know and understand, Lord, which comes first. To call upon you or to praise you? To know you or to call upon you? Must we know you before we can call upon you? Anyone who invokes what is still unknown may be making a mistake. Or should you be invoked first, so that we may then come to know you? But how can people call upon someone in whom they do not yet believe? And how can they believe without a preacher? But scripture tells us that those who seek the Lord will praise him, for as they seek they find him, and on finding him they will praise him. Let me seek you then, Lord, even while I am calling upon you, and call upon you even as I believe in you; for to us you have indeed been preached. My faith calls upon you, Lord, this faith which is your gift to me, which you have breathed into me through the humanity of your Son and the ministry of your preacher. How shall I call upon my God, my God and my Lord, when by the very act of calling upon him I would be calling him into myself? Is there any place within me into which my God might come? How should the God who made heaven and earth come into me? Is there any room in me for you, Lord, my God? Even heaven and earth, which you have made and in which you have made me – can even they contain you? Since nothing that exists would exist without you, does it follow that whatever exists does in some way contain you? But if this is so, how can I, who am one of these existing things, ask you to come into me, when I would not exist at all unless you were already in me? Not yet am I in hell, after all but even if I were, you would be there too; for if I descend into the underworld, you are there. No, my God, I would not exist, I would not be at all, if you were not in me. Or should I say, rather, that I should not exist if I were not in you, from whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are all things? Yes, Lord, that is the truth, that is indeed the truth. To what place can I invite you, then, since I am in you? Or where could you come from, in order to come into me? To what place outside heaven and earth could I travel, so that my God could come to me there, the God who said, I fill heaven and earth? Who will grant it to me to find peace in you? Who will grant me this grace, that you should come into my heart and inebriate it, enabling me to forget the evils that beset me and embrace you, my only good? What are you to me? Have mercy on me, so that I may tell. What indeed am I to you, that you should command me to love you, and grow angry with me if I do not, and threaten me with enormous woes? Is not the failure to love you woe enough in itself? Alas for me! Through your own merciful dealings with me, O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Say it so that I can hear it. My heart is listening, Lord; open the ears of my heart and say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let me run towards this voice and seize hold of you. Do not hide your face from me: let me die so that I may see it, for not to see it would be death to me indeed. https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/621/Our_Heart_is_Restless_St_Augustine.html
To pray for something good is to have that prayer answered. There are still many excellent Spiritual Fathers and Mothers around. If I had to give advice about finding one it would be to look in the Religious Orders. They have a special charisma for this. http://www.apocryphile.org/chi/desert.html 'A brother from Abba Poemen's neighborhood left to go to another country one day. There he met an anchorite. The latter was very charitable and many came to see him. The brother told him about Abba Poemen. When he heard of his virtue, the anchorite wanted to see him. Some time afterward when the brother had returned to Egypt the anchorite went there to see the brother who had formerly paid him a visit. He had told him where he lived. When he saw him, the brother was astonished and very pleased. The anchorite said to him, "Please will you be so kind as to take me to Abba Poemen." So he brought him to the old man and presented him, saying: "This is a great man, full of charity, who is held in high estimation in his district. I have spoken to him about you, and he has come because he wants to see you." So Abba Poemen received him with joy. They greeted one another and sat down. The visitor began to speak of the scriptures, of spiritual and of heavenly things. But Abba Poemen turned his face away and answered nothing. Seeing that he did not speak to him, the other went away deeply grieved and said to the brother who had brought him, "I have made this long journey in vain. For I have come to see the old man, and he does not wish to speak to me." Then the brother went inside to Abba Poemen and said to him, "Abba, this great man who has so great a reputation in his own country has come here because of you. Why did you not speak to him?" The old man said, "He is great and speaks of heavenly things and I am lowly and speak of earthly things. If he had spoken of the passions of the soul, I should have replied, but he speaks to me of spiritual things and I know nothing about that." Then the brother came out and said to the visitor, "The old man does not readily speak of the scriptures, but if anyone consults him about the passions of the soul, he replies." Filled with compunction, the visitor returned to the old man and said to him, "What should I do, Abba, for the passions of the soul master me?" The old man turned toward him and replied joyfully, "This time, you come as you should. Now open your mouth concerning this and I will fill it with good things." Greatly edified, the other said to him, "Truly, this is the right way!" He returned to his own country giving thanks to God that he had been counted worthy to meet so great a saint.'
'If the Word became a man, It was so men may become gods." Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons (c. 130–202) "Yea, I say, the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god." f one knows himself, he will know God, and knowing God will become like God. . . . His is beauty, true beauty, for it is God, and that man becomes a god, since God wills it. So Heraclitus was right when he said, 'Men are gods, and gods are men.'"[6] Clement of Alexandria also stated that "he who obeys the Lord and follows the prophecy given through him ... becomes a god while still moving about in the flesh." Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215) "The Word was made flesh in order that we might be made gods. ... Just as the Lord, putting on the body, became a man, so also we men are both deified through his flesh, and henceforth inherit everlasting life." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria (c. 296–373) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinization_(Christian)
So many beautiful young devout people all recieving Our Lord kneeling and on the tongue, it looks like a fore taste of heaven.
So happy I found this forum over a year ago.Was scared to join as everyone seemed so knowledgeable about the faith and I was and am still learning about it.I'm a work in progress.Our good Lord picked me up out of the gutter a little over 4 years ago.Lot of strange things happened and I don't think auld red legs was too pleased about losing his grip.Felt alone for ages,when I'd go home to Ireland and talk to friends about it,I'd often get the eye roll as if I had 5 heads or comments like "do you believe in faries too"...Could only talk to my Dad about it,other family members didn't really want to know.Thanks to you all I realized I'm not alone and it makes me happy to know but the worry is always there for the folks who have fallen away and don't want the truth.Thanks again Padraig for accepting me on the forum
Beautiful words of wisdom and faith Barry! Sounds like you have a Dad filled with wisdom as well. Glad you are here. Peace.
We are all a "Work in Progress", Barry! Anyone here/elsewhere who does not think so better pull their head out of .... well .. Ya know! GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
Welcome Barry. Don't feel like you're alone or on the fringes. Today the fringes is where you want to be. The mass of people are walking lockstep off the cliff. God has blessed you with a great gift. Sadly the faith in Ireland like much of the west is dying rapidly. I live in America but have a lot of relatives in Ireland. Recently one of our relatives died there, he was very religious and Marian in devotion. Trying to make sure he got the last rites in his last few days of life was like pulling teeth. From this side of the pond we tried to get the family over there to make sure a priest saw him, but sadly many of them now think this is all poppycock. In the end we had to just trust in Our Lady to take care of him.
Oh yes, I think I was in that same gutter 5 or 6 years ago when I got yanked!! It is easy to feel alone and this forum is my refuge. I can speak to my mom about this stuff a bit, but sometimes she gives me strange looks too. But soon enough those who had been giving us eye rolls and 5 headed looks will be seeking our guidance. We are all here to help each other prepare for that...I know I am not ready!!
