An atheist conversion to Catholicism – "it’s given me great peace"
ForumCatholic Tradition
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1John5918
My atheist family was appalled when I converted to Catholicism – but it’s given me great peace (Guardian)
By now Father Ben was an old man and semi-retired. He smiled at me as I sat down and stammered out my story, showed him my Dummies book and told him I was learning about the sacraments. Eventually I ran out of steam and stopped blathering. What he said next will stay with me for ever. I can boil it down to three key points, using more or less his exact words.
Firstly, don’t worry yourself too much about all the stuff in that book: 90% of religion is only superstition anyway.
Secondly, don’t worry about not having had a Catholic upbringing: I’m not sure it helps anyway. It’s hard to find God through the church – you’re much more likely to find the church through God...
Lastly... forget about the books, the church and everything else for that matter. Just be still: all you have to do is be still and the truth will come to you. That’s all there is to it...
By now Father Ben was an old man and semi-retired. He smiled at me as I sat down and stammered out my story, showed him my Dummies book and told him I was learning about the sacraments. Eventually I ran out of steam and stopped blathering. What he said next will stay with me for ever. I can boil it down to three key points, using more or less his exact words.
Firstly, don’t worry yourself too much about all the stuff in that book: 90% of religion is only superstition anyway.
Secondly, don’t worry about not having had a Catholic upbringing: I’m not sure it helps anyway. It’s hard to find God through the church – you’re much more likely to find the church through God...
Lastly... forget about the books, the church and everything else for that matter. Just be still: all you have to do is be still and the truth will come to you. That’s all there is to it...
22wonderY
"It’s hard to find God through the church – you’re much more likely to find the church through God..."
S'Truth!
Though exposure to God's Word is also essential.
S'Truth!
Though exposure to God's Word is also essential.
32wonderY
"I’ve spoken to countless Catholics since. Be they devout, furiously against the church or merely lapsed, there is invariably, for better or for worse, a good or bad priest at the heart of their stories. Father Benignus O’Rourke was my good priest."
I doubt I have a good priest story to correspond to my return to the fold. But I do have a good priest story.
Monseigneur Pastorius was our parish priest. He was a little old man who built a school and welcomed all the children without exception. There were no fees or tuition. He drove an ancient black car and his black streetwear was so old it was rust colored. He visited each and every family in the parish regularly, checking on our welfare. He was pure and simply a shepherd.
***
Nope, I was wrong. During my time away from the Church, I went to my uncle for counsel. It wasn't particularly spiritual questions we discussed. It was life in general. The sort of things you'd want to talk to your dad about. My dad, his brother, was not particularly approachable. Uncle Gene had used to be Father Gene, but left active priesthood to marry and raise a family. The love that lived in his household was palpable. It was a sharp contrast to the disfunction in my dad's house. After Uncle Gene died, I found that several of my siblings had had similar conversational relationships with him.
I doubt I have a good priest story to correspond to my return to the fold. But I do have a good priest story.
Monseigneur Pastorius was our parish priest. He was a little old man who built a school and welcomed all the children without exception. There were no fees or tuition. He drove an ancient black car and his black streetwear was so old it was rust colored. He visited each and every family in the parish regularly, checking on our welfare. He was pure and simply a shepherd.
***
Nope, I was wrong. During my time away from the Church, I went to my uncle for counsel. It wasn't particularly spiritual questions we discussed. It was life in general. The sort of things you'd want to talk to your dad about. My dad, his brother, was not particularly approachable. Uncle Gene had used to be Father Gene, but left active priesthood to marry and raise a family. The love that lived in his household was palpable. It was a sharp contrast to the disfunction in my dad's house. After Uncle Gene died, I found that several of my siblings had had similar conversational relationships with him.
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