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I just have to say it was a unique experience having you "do color" for my journey.

Welcome to FR, Patty!! I am new to Patrick Madrid's blog and have enjoyed your posts there. When I followed his link to your personal story, I was so moved, that I had to share it with the other catholics in this forum. As I posted earlier in this thread, cradle catholics sometimes need a reminder of what they inherited through their own baptism, especially in times such as these.

If you lurk in the Religion Forum long enough, you will come to recognize the various religious leanings of my fellow freepers, by their posts. They run the gamut, even amongst the catholics. We sometimes pull out the gloves but have great respect for each other.

Have you appeared on Journey Home? It is my absolutely, most favorite program. Last year, I caught James Akin's interview with Marcus Grodi. It moved me to tears, as did Marty Barrack's. Your faith journey is truly inspiring. May God continue to bless you and your family.

Hi NYer,

Yes, I have been on Journey Home and will be again in October. I prefer live talks to television though. Cameras are intimidating and they don't smile.

To Dr.Steve,

Sorry I have not been answering, I spent most of Saturday fighting with AOL over my connection being down. Did you know their technical support is not even in this courtry any more? They won't even tell you where it is. But after a complete reinstall and some other fixes, I'm back up and running.

I find it disconcerting that you keep beating the "experience" drum. It shows that you hear only what you expect to hear. The emotions that are produced by the early phases of a conversion experience (especially when that involves conversion from one theology to another) is a sense of terror and confusion. For a long time your theological puzzle does not fit any more and you feel completely adrift. You aren't sure what you believe and the more you read the more you realize you have spent your life trusting in the presuppositions of people who lived 500 years ago. The house you thought was built on rock you find sitting on sand. So if you want to talk emotions with me, you should list only those related to stark terror. The peace I enjoy now was won only after struggling trough the miriad of issures that had to be investigated and surrendered to God. Have you ever read Surprised by Truth? You won't find people partying and dancing in the aisles praising God that Peter is the Rock in the early parts of their journey. You will find them in tears with their Bibles open seeking God all day and half the night. I didn't get a decent nights sleep for about two months till I came to peace on the Eucharist. And when that battle was over, it only meant that in order to be that close to Him I was going to have to research every other facet of the Catholic faith. Daunting, let me tell ya.

No, Dr. Steve, if you were raised anything like I was, it strikes terror in you that you might possibly experience anything sacramental. You've been raised to disdain anything that other's claim can convey the grace of God as some kind of occult behavior or at least demonic deception. But read the Fathers of the Church and then read your New Testament again. I promise you, it will read like a whole new Bible, because you have never read it in it's context before. In fact, my challenge to you is to spend a year in the first four centuries of the Church. Just hang out there for a while. Especially on Saturday nights, so that its fresh in your mind Sunday mornings. ;)

Peace