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I Am Christian (roman Catholic)

Technically, not yet. I am taking RCIA class and I will get confirmed next year. Going to Mass. But not partaking of the Eucharist. That's my story in a nutshell.

A few months ago I had a very personal encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. I was praying the Rosary on my drive into work, going through the Hail Marys... "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee...." One one particular day I got to the part "...pray for us sinners..." and this image of her came to my mind. She looked so beautiful. So pure. So holy. I told her, almost begged her, "Mother Mary, please pray for me. I'm such a sinner and I can't do this alone." (I cannot go to confessions as I'm officially not Catholic. And I have mortal sin on my soul. That means if I die without confessing it to a priest, I will go straight to hell.) She was speaking to me. Speaking to me directly. But her mouth was not moving. And she seemed to be telling me something like, "It's ok. You can tell me this. You can tell me everything. All your sins. And I will pray for you." And this came from the Mother of Christ, the Queen of Heaven. I've never felt such compassion. Even though I am stained with mortal sin, she still prays for me.

I've been attending Mass at St. Peter's in Merchantsville, NJ. I a couple weeks ago I would occasionally light candles and ask the Blessed Virgin to pray for me. There's an almost life-size statue of her. Sometimes I would simply talk to her like having a conversation with another person. I asked her, "Why couldn't I find you before?" Her inaudible answer to me seemed to be, "You weren't looking."

I lit another candle. And I knelt before the same statue of the Blessed Virgin tonight for just a few minutes. Thanking God that I found a new friend in the Blessed Virgin. I looked around and saw all these statues of these saints I've never met. A man with a couple of keys in his hand. Ok, that's St Peter. I know who that is. An old priest. Who is that? A bishop holding up a Monstrance containing the Body of Christ. Who is that? In the Catholic Church there seems to be many saints in "...so great of a cloud of witnesses..." (Hebrews 12:1) that I would like to know.

I crossed myself and got up. I passed by the Chapel of Perpetual Adoration. What's in there? I went in to investigate. I see an altar with a niche above it. Inside the niche is a monstrance that contains the Body of Christ. I knelt down and prayed. Not many words. I was at a loss for words. I don't know how long I was in there for. But this is the closest I have come to the Body of Christ. I truly felt like I was in the Presence of God. Kneeling there, nothing else in the world mattered. I felt like I was floating. When I left I felt like I was floating. My face felt a whole lot different. My whole body felt a whole lot different. And I don't know how to explain this feeling. I'm still feeling it. It's a feeling I've never felt before. Never ever.

Is this what's known as ecstasy? If it isn't, it's got to be pretty close.

Because two hours later, I'm still feeling it.
BinaryBill
Well, it may very well be an ecstatic experience -- time will tell.

I certainly thank God that you have a special relationship with Our Blessed Mother, and I am especially glad that you are growing in confidence that your sins are forgiven. I'm also glad that you are coming to appreciate the communion of saints.

You know, I hope, that when you are confirmed you will be allowed to take on a new name, the name of a saint of your choosing. Take the trouble to read about the lives of the saints. One of them, I'm sure, has lived a life that you will especially identify with. You can make him your patron and you can take comfort in the fact that the same grace that redeemed him from his sins is available to you as well.

I am curious, though, to learn how it is that you decided to enter Christ's Church? In the general sense, of course, we all have the same answer to that question which is that God called you to the banquet and you accepted His invitation.

Just the same, though, I would be curious to know the details of your particular path to Our Lord.
rfrr56
That's a beautiful story. Congratulations on your walk Home. I must warn you to be ready who are going to try to ridicule you for being Catholic. Don't let them sway you away from the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Even on this group we have people coming in to try to dissuade Catholics, and in some instances even dissuade any other Christian. Please don't play in their hands. God bless you, prisoner1972.
Bozko
Maybe for your confirmation name, when you get there, you should pick (St) Bernadette, she saw Mary and felt her presence in her life.
I can understand the reverence you felt, I was a lapsed Catholic for a while and it began to pull me back when I visited Mary's house near modern day Ephesus in Turkey. Powerful stuff.

 
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