+JMJ+

First, I want to say how grateful I am to the Holy Trinity that I have found this website. I didn't even have to visit FE or Newchurch 'Answers' before I found CathInfo.

Second, I'd like to share some observations about things I have read while I've been here these roughly 30 days.

It seems there are those here who want nothing more than to shut their eyes really tightly and pray really hard that the abominations of Ratzinger & Co. will just go away or somehow be magically NOT defections from the Faith. Deo gratias, unlike over at the CAF, those people do not have much of a voice here.

There are others who have been, as has been demonstrated, bent on nothing more than pushing their agenda of home-alone-ism and radical misinterpretation of the teachings of Scripture and of the Church. I won't name names because I don't have to; you all know who I am speaking of, and if the jack-boot fits, wear it, I say.

Then there are some, a very few, who seem to think that unless a person cuts and pastes dozens of paragraphs at a time from encyclicals and Canon Law, they don't know what they are talking about and therefore have no place in these discussions. Sadly, the people who insist on showing off their Internet searching skills in an attempt to display their 'wisdom' often seem to slide into comfy company with the above two groups.

Lastly, there are those who simply look, without judging, at the landscape of the Church around them, and see clearly that things are very, very perilous right now. It is easy for those commentators to be able to plainly demonstrate what Tradition is, what the Newchurch is, and how they differentiate.

I have NEVER seen those who are truly defending Tradition call one another names, belittle one another's character or intellect or otherwise engage in hurtful conversation. I have seen charitable suggestion after helpful explanation, and, again, could not be more grateful, as some things which I formerly mistakenly thought have been corrected by their fruitful input.

That said, I do not agree 100% with the conclusions of ANYONE on this forum, and that is as much due to our common fight against sin as it is to any actual error on anyone else's part. I know that I do not contribute anywhere near the depth or breadth of knowledge that some on here do, and so, despite our few differences, I look forward to the posts from those who contribute so much to these discussions.

200 posts now, and I cannot say with any certainty that I have done any good at all; the only worthwhile things I have shared are clearly found in Scripture and in the Church, not in me as their source whatsoever. For the occasions on which I have been able to share even a shred of what is right, true and pertinent to the Faith, I give all thanks to the Holy Ghost, Who inspired every right notion anyone has ever had.

I have tried to encourage piety, especially in those who are young and inexperienced. I do not come to these discussions as a 'babe in the woods'; I was formerly an 'ordained' minister of Protestantism and a frequent preacher and contributor to other forums in years past. In short, what I mean is that I took my time 'crossing the Tiber', as it were, and know the landscape of Protestant religion at least as well as anyone here knows the Church.

I hope that I have made clear that any opposition I have is NOT directed at PERSONS on this forum, but rather at the falsehoods which they have been victimized by. I pray every day that God will send His judgment through the House of God soon, so that those things which are against His will and His Church will finally be destroyed.

I know 200 posts is not a lot in the larger scheme of things, but I have faithfully read and fairly regularly contributed to topics here for a month now, and my desire with this post is simply to thank God for the chance to learn and grow in faith that this Forum represents.

My prayers are with every one of you that your hearts and minds would be more conformed to those of Christ every day and that you would 'abhor that which is evil [and] cling to that which is good' (St. Paul to the Romans, chapter 12, verse 9).

Immaculate Heart of Mary, triumph soon.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Though I probably fall somewhere in you categories mentioned above, I agree with what you have said. I enjoy reading your posts, even though you play guitar :pop: jk

I am glad you left the protestant church.

Stephen Francis,
Thank you for your charitable and helpful input here.  I think I've read all your posts.  So that means I've read 200 posts from you in 30 days! Wow!

Do I remember correctly that you haven't been baptized yet in the Catholic Church?  and that your wife is still a Novus Ordo Catholic?  

May Jeus and Mary bless you and all of your family with the merciful and gracious gift of full union with the Mystical Body of Christ.  

Stephen Francis,
You and your family are in our prayers.  We look forward to continuing to hear about your journey to full communion with the Catholic Church.  Thank you for sharing with us the workings of God's merciful graces in your family.