What is it with these women that when they are actually SHOWN that they are wrong they won't admit it? And if they won't admit to little stuff like this, why the heck would I ever expect them to be open minded enough about anything else?
ever get that sense of spinning your wheels?
11 comments:
Hi Elena,
I probably am going to make some enemies by posting this, but oh well. Thank you for starting this blog. I used to read Candy's blog fairly often but her attitude has really disappointed me. Two of my uncles converted to Catholicism before I was born and they have both passed away. I am absolutely sure that I am going to see them in heaven and for her or anyone to suggest otherwise is very hurtful. You may not be able to change her mind or the mind's of others like her, but I am sure that you are educating many people about the truth about Catholicism.
Elena,
RE: "ever get that sense of spinning your wheels?"
All the time, sister, all the time.
Listen, I read your post on your MDC blog and the comments. To me, that one comment reinforces all that I've suspected for these past weeks. You and I both know that Candy is but one of a multitude who behave in that way. I often wonder why I do what I do, why I bother to even try to discuss, explain, convince, whatever you want to call it. Somehow I feel driven to do it yet, at the same time, I am constantly trying to discern my "true" motivation as I know that I can be prone to argue for argument's sake, and that I have difficulty sometimes with wanting to be "right." I feel like I could be seeking out the near occasion of sin. To my core, I find some of the things that I read so incredibly offensive that I cannot turn away. So, is my intent to change another's heart or to shut them down. I don't always know. It's difficult at best to communicate effectively in this medium, for me, because it becomes so easy to view people as jumbles of words. I can't see their expression as they "speak." I can't hear their tone or inflection. I can't communicate in real time. I feel compelled to type out my thoughts before I lose them, which is so different when one is actually talking to someone and the opportunity to remember it and say it will most likely present itself again. The biggest difference though is that I think many people would say things in this forum that they'd never dream of saying face to face. I try never to do that. It can be too easy to lose sight of the importance of civility. The thing that gets to me the most is that someone would speak such hate all dressed up in a disguise they like to call Christian charity when in actuality that disguise is nothing more than contempt and arrogance under no disguise at all.
You are well-grounded in your faith. You are a talented writer and a good communicator. Several have commented that they ended up here and have learned much. To that end, your mission is successful. What we read here is genuine. What we read on MDC blog is genuine. There is no doubt that you are sincere. Your honesty and your faith are more than skin deep. That speaks volumes. Keep up the good work. Keep praying. I pray for you and I'll pray with you.
Elena,
I know you are frustrated. I feel the same way sometimes - I am married to a non-Catholic, and I seem to entertain a stream of Mormon and JW missionaries as well.
Your job is not to "be right and prove it" no matter what. Your job is to present the fullness of Christ and His church. You are planting seeds; you may, or may not see the harvest.
Another thing you are doing is showing others along the way a resource that they can go to if they ever have questions (You!). I end my talks with JW's, etc. with "If there's anything I can ever do for you, please call me!" If they ever were to leave their church, they would be shunned and have noone - knowing that you will be there for them could make a difference.
Sometimes it takes truth a long time to percolate and penetrate. If someone has designed their entire life around a belief, including their church life, friends, etc., it can be hard for them to turn away from that. That is where we come in, neighborly shoulders to help with their burden.
Don't worry about being right. Worry about showing Christ's love to our neighbors on the web. Only the Great Physician can heal the wounds and change their hearts.
Have you ever read Patrick Madrid's Search and Rescue? It is excellent.
May you be filled with His mercy,
Milehimama
milehimama wrote: "Sometimes it takes truth a long time to percolate and penetrate."
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This is so true, and don't forget it! Also, you may NEVER get through to Candy or others you have in mind, but I am convinced you are planting seeds in some people's minds right now, people you may not even know are reading your blog.
My conversion to Catholicism started when I was watching a topic on a Christian parenting msg board that became heated between Protestants and Catholics. As the debate progressed, the other Catholics dropped out and there was one lone Catholic defending her faith among a huge number of Protestants. She was well catechized and articulate, and gave excellent answers to all the accusations placed on her by the Protestants. I started researching the Catholic church from that point.
Years earlier, I had accidentally run across a blog written by a woman who had converted to Catholicism. I read through a few posts, and then shrugged it off and forgot about it. I just wasn't interested at the time, but I'm telling you, I know seeds were planted then. For the first time, I had learned a little about Catholic teachings, and realized that Catholics were truly my brothers and sisters in Christ (something I had suspected all along... ;-) ). I have no idea who she was, or what the name of her blog was.
I know you're not out to convert people, you just want to get the truth out there. Keep it up!
I often wonder why I do what I do, why I bother to even try to discuss, explain, convince, whatever you want to call it.
Another thing you are doing is showing others along the way a resource that they can go to if they ever have questions (You!).
Whatever initial motivations have been around here I can honestly say that I have learned more about Catholicism, and religion and the bible, than I've ever known before. If nothing else comes of this, there is one person out here who has been educated. I value that, and I hope those of you who have educated me do as well.
I cannot say that I am now suddenly a Christian or Catholic or anything...I am still me with my own doubts and beliefs, etc. But, I have a much further understanding of where others are coming from.
Prejudice begins in the home and some people find it acceptable to teach their children to be prejudice. With the Internet, more people can be reached in more ways and hopefully some of that "home grown" prejudice can be countered. I think this blog is a good thing, nor matter its origins or future.
Perplexity, how did you come upon Elena's blog?
Actually, I'm curious as how anyone found their way here.
As for me, I found it when Candy went public with her one-sided gripes about Elena back in the spring and did a little googling.
On a message board, totally unrelated, people were talking about "blogs you read just because they irritate you". One of the people in that discussion linked to Candy and in a later post linked to blogs that took what Candy said and contradicted it. This was one of them. I read for a while and never commented, but the more I read here the more crazy, in a literal sense, Candy seemed to me. And, instead of just sitting back, I thought a non-Catholic voice wouldn't hurt the arguments. That's when I posted. Simply because one doesn't have to be of one religion or race or whatever to be offended by the prejudices and hatred of someone else. Or to want to stop them.
I guess, like many other sites on the Internet, this blog was found simply through following links from someone else.
I knew we were getting hits from message boards but I was never able to get on to find out what people were saying about us. Glad you found your way here Perplexity.
There is nothing wrong with someone being mistaken about the faith. I, on many occasions, have been corrected myself. I try to approach the knowledge of the Catholic faith with humility. Also, I make it a point never to comment on another's religion, and if I'm corrected, I take their word for it. I never get combative with someone about what they believe, because they are the foremost authority on their faith as I am the foremost authority on mine.
I have told Non-Catholic Christians that I don't worship statues, and they have told me "yes you do!". I'm flabbergasted! Really, I don't. So I point them to the official documents on the Vatican website that explain what we believe and they still persist in stating that "Catholics worship statues!".
At that point they are committing calumny and are bearing false witness against me and a billion other faithful Catholics.
If there is someone who calls themselves Catholic, and actually worships statues like some sort of god, they are not practicing the Catholic faith. They may call themselves Catholic, but they are actually pagan.
That is the neat part about having the deposit of our faith in a central location. We can refer to it, and show what Catholics actually are supposed to believe, and those who don't aren't Catholic.
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