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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
peace with God	Faisal	Thursday, June 7, 2007
Question: Greetings brother, I came from a muslim backround. I became Catholic in 2003. A few years later I faced discrimination from other catholics and treated like an outcast. Most of the members of the Church refused to associate with me. I am not a person who gives up easily. If God wants me in the Catholic Church then I will stay in the Catholic Church no matter what. I fell away from the Church recently but im willing to come home like the Prodigal Son. I have had hostile attitudes towards God and the Church. I wish I knew where they came from. I am a lowly sinful man and God is all Holy, Loving and Perfect. Im obviously not in my right frame of mind. The problem is with me. The Church is Holy and Perfect as well. I know that I have to change and become close to God. I would like to know how to cope with this and I would like prayer as well. God bless you.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Faisal: First let me welcome you to the Church of Jesus Christ -- the Catholic Church. I praise God that you came into communion with the Church. I also praise God for your resolve to remain in the Catholic Church no matter what. I wish more Catholics had that kind of resolve for their Faith. I am sorry to hear about how you were treated. Those people were wrong and were sinning to treat you badly. There is no excuse for bigotry in the Christian life. Remember, however, that such bad behavior is solely the fault of those individuals. It is not the Church who does this. The Church embraces you and loves you. As for your current situation it is natural for people to have doubts at times, low valleys, and times of darkness in their Faith. The key to dealing with this and to live the Christian life in general is perseverance. We must persevere through the doubts and dark times. The key to perseverance is to continue in the faith, saying our prayers, going to Mass, etc. even when we do not feel like it. Obedience to the God and His Church is the beginning of Faith and the life-preserver of our souls. Sometimes that obedience must be cold and without understanding. When I converted I did not believe in praying to the Saints, but I knew that the Church had the authority to declare those doctrines. So I submitted to the Church on that matter even though I did not understand it. Once I submitted something happened. All of a sudden I understood the doctrines. The full story is found in the article, Obedience: the First and Foundational Virtue. The point is that part of what you need to do is to continue to practice the Faith, even if you have to just go through the motions for a while. Even the Saints have gone through dry times and doubts. As for your hostility (which is a form of anger) I think that derives from how you were treated by those individuals but you are displacing that anger to the Church in general. It is natural to be angry about this, but be angry at the people who have hurt you, not the Church. It is not the Church's fault that some of its members are sometimes the "south end of a horse." While anger is natural you must let go of it and allow God to care care of those people. St. Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:26-27 "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." We must forgive for as is recited in the Our Father, we will be forgiven as we forgive others. To hang on to anger allows the devil to play with you, it damages your psychological health, it can even harm your physical health, and certainly your spiritual health. As St. Paul says, Be angry at those things that are natural to be angry about, but let it go by sundown. Bottomline: God loves you, the Church loves you and welcomes you into her arms. If nimrods discriminate against you, they are sinning. Let God take care to those people. Do not let them rob you of your peace in Christ. If you suffer because of this, think of how you are privileged to share in the suffering of Christ. Offer your suffering to Him, join your suffering with His. That is how saints are made. I hope this helps a little. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

peace with God

Faisal

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Question:

Greetings brother,
I came from a muslim backround. I became Catholic in 2003. A few years later I faced discrimination from other catholics and treated like an outcast. Most of the members of the Church refused to associate with me. I am not a person who gives up easily. If God wants me in the Catholic Church then I will stay in the Catholic Church no matter what.

I fell away from the Church recently but im willing to come home like the Prodigal Son. I have had hostile attitudes towards God and the Church. I wish I knew where they came from. I am a lowly sinful man and God is all Holy, Loving and Perfect. Im obviously not in my right frame of mind. The problem is with me. The Church is Holy and Perfect as well. I know that I have to change and become close to God. I would like to know how to cope with this and I would like prayer as well.

God bless you.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Faisal:

First let me welcome you to the Church of Jesus Christ -- the Catholic Church. I praise God that you came into communion with the Church. I also praise God for your resolve to remain in the Catholic Church no matter what. I wish more Catholics had that kind of resolve for their Faith.

I am sorry to hear about how you were treated. Those people were wrong and were sinning to treat you badly. There is no excuse for bigotry in the Christian life.

Remember, however, that such bad behavior is solely the fault of those individuals. It is not the Church who does this. The Church embraces you and loves you.

As for your current situation it is natural for people to have doubts at times, low valleys, and times of darkness in their Faith. The key to dealing with this and to live the Christian life in general is perseverance. We must persevere through the doubts and dark times. The key to perseverance is to continue in the faith, saying our prayers, going to Mass, etc. even when we do not feel like it. Obedience to the God and His Church is the beginning of Faith and the life-preserver of our souls.

Sometimes that obedience must be cold and without understanding. When I converted I did not believe in praying to the Saints, but I knew that the Church had the authority to declare those doctrines. So I submitted to the Church on that matter even though I did not understand it. Once I submitted something happened. All of a sudden I understood the doctrines. The full story is found in the article, Obedience: the First and Foundational Virtue.

The point is that part of what you need to do is to continue to practice the Faith, even if you have to just go through the motions for a while. Even the Saints have gone through dry times and doubts.

As for your hostility (which is a form of anger) I think that derives from how you were treated by those individuals but you are displacing that anger to the Church in general. It is natural to be angry about this, but be angry at the people who have hurt you, not the Church. It is not the Church's fault that some of its members are sometimes the "south end of a horse."

While anger is natural you must let go of it and allow God to care care of those people. St. Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:26-27 "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." We must forgive for as is recited in the Our Father, we will be forgiven as we forgive others.

To hang on to anger allows the devil to play with you, it damages your psychological health, it can even harm your physical health, and certainly your spiritual health. As St. Paul says, Be angry at those things that are natural to be angry about, but let it go by sundown.

Bottomline: God loves you, the Church loves you and welcomes you into her arms. If nimrods discriminate against you, they are sinning. Let God take care to those people. Do not let them rob you of your peace in Christ.

If you suffer because of this, think of how you are privileged to share in the suffering of Christ. Offer your suffering to Him, join your suffering with His. That is how saints are made.

I hope this helps a little.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.