>>21880241
>>21880258
Well, for what it's worth, I was raised Catholic, and I am sold out for Jesus Christ with all my heart and soul.
I haven't attended Catholic Mass in decades, but when I was in college (starting in 1982) I was a "closet Catholic" who went to Mass every morning at 7. I was "in the closet" about it because I left the dorm so early that nobody knew I was going to church every day to worship God and Jesus Christ.
The reason I was so strong, in my Catholic faith then, is because when I was very young I used to always get goosebumps in Mass when I went there with my family. My grandmother often visited on weekends, and she noticed the goosebumps and said stuff like, "you got something going on there with God. He's going to ask you to do something big."
I never forgot those words, and they've carried me through a long battle that will soon culminate with success for all of us.
As for that wise grandma, she was a strong Catholic but it was always more about Jesus Christ and the resurrection than it ever was about the men (and nuns) who ran the "church."
In 1978, when I went through the sacrament of Confirmation, I was all dressed up and ready to go to the church with my parents and grandma.
My grandma said, "Pssst. Come out into the back yard. I need to tell you something."
So we went out into a big yard, where nobody could hear us, and then my Grandma grabbed me by the shoulders and said, "Listen. You don't have to go through with this "confirmation" thing. Are you really sure you want to do this?"
I was surprised, 'cause my Grandma always seemed so strong in her faith.
"Yes, I'm sure," I said. "Don't you think I should?"
She said, "Oh, yes, I think you should be confirmed, but only if you promise God you'll become a soldier of Christ, and you'll never stray from that. This isn't a joke. Confirmation means confirmation. Are you sure you really want to become a soldier of Christ? It might not be too easy, so don't do it unless you're willing to do whatever He asks of you in the future."
I thought about it for about ten seconds, and said, "I'm sure. Let's go."
. . . . and here we are.
I'm sorry for such a long rant about how I got here, but I wanted to take the time to say that if not for my strong-willed, faithful, Irish-Catholic grandmother (who had a tight shoulder grip, when she was making a strong argument, like she did with me that day), I might not be here.
She instilled in me my commitment to God, and it's carried me through some things you would never believe, things that no human could ever endure without the constant presence of the Holy Spirit and the connection to God, Himself, that I know that I have.
It's been a long, long road to get to the point we're at now, and I feel so honored to have played a little role in the taking back of this world from the evil ones.
[THEY] did a number on us, but soon it will be our turn, in the holy name of Jesus Christ.
Thanks for letting me share why I don't think Catholics are all bad. If not for my Catholic grandma, whom I absolutely adored, I might not have committed my entire life to Jesus Christ, like I did.