Oh are you a convert? Please tell us a bit more about it, your experience with converting and the Eucharist.
I was baptized Catholic and vaguely remember Mass in Latin. Thanks to V2, I wasn’t taught anything and that includes two years in Catholic school. It would take too long to tell the entire story. Suffice it to say I was a bit like St. Augustine, checking out dozens of “Christian” denominations from age 18 to 48. Through a very strange spiritual journey, God led me full circle back to the Catholicism of my youngest childhood. Although I attended n.o. mass until age 18, I did so out of respect for my parents. So far as knowing what Catholics believe, I knew virtually nothing outside of “the gospel of social justice and nature conservation.”
By lots of reading and prayer, I came to the conclusion that Catholic was THE religion. So I went to the n.o. for about two months and it was exactly as bad as I remembered from my teen years, perhaps worse. I tried to go to Confession. The priest stopped me and said making a general confession is not necessary and “something that’s not done anymore.” He gave me a very short penance and said that nothing I’d mentioned so far was a sin! So I quit going to church altogether as I thought I was some kind of religious freak. I was Catholic for sure, but of the kind of Catholic that no longer existed. I didn’t know about Tradition or that it even existed.
About two months went by and I was invited to boy’s Confirmation, the son of a lady on temporary position at my work. She was a bit eccentric and many of my colleagues didn’t like her. She was “just weird.” On the spur of the moment, I woke Saturday morning and decided to go despite the long drive. To my surprise, I saw very nicely dressed people, some of the women putting on “old-fashioned” veils. I was fortunately dressed appropriately except for a veil. There was a box of extra veils in the lobby, so I took one of them.
H there it was, the kind of Catholic Mass I remembered! Only this time, I read along in the missal in English. I was blown away by the sermon and the very stern Bishop who gave it.
A kind lady invited me to the meal and conference to follow.
That was my introduction to Tradition and to H.E., +Bp. Williamson.
Topic: Converts, what do you think most cradle Catholics take for granted? (Read 367 times)