Thank you for posting this. I too was born and raised a Catholic, went to Catholic school in fact...and at graduation walked away from the faith into an evangelical situation. I took a very long and arduous spiritual journey through a number of belief systems.
Last year I came home to my Catholic faith, again. I wish I could express with articulate grace just how different the Catholic faith is to me today, than say those so many years ago when I walked away. Today I cannot even get through Mass without shedding a tear or two. The Bible is a lamp unto my feet and the traditions of the faith fill in the blanks once one understands where they are derived from.
Just like a family may keep a family record, so too are the traditions practiced that act as the glue to keep the family together.
Yes, it does pain my heart to see all the anti-Catholic bashing amongst Christians. Oddly, in all my spiritual journey, I never experienced such vitriol as what I see/read take place here on FR. And I have come to embrace the idea of, “shaking the dust from my shoes,” in order to discern through some of these threads.
**Last year I came home to my Catholic faith, again.**
God bless you!
The human mind HATES blanks. This is one thing that cults rely on.