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During our early married life neither Tom or I gave God much thought. We were just living our lives. And then God used what we cared about most to get our attention. Hannah had a terrible teacher in public school and nothing we tried solved the problem so halfway through kindergarten we switched her to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School. Her religion teacher asked all the kids who went to Mass every Sunday. Almost all the kids raised their hands. Hannah didn't. Mrs. McDaniel told those children that they needed to go home and tell their parents that they should be going to Mass every week. Dutifully Hannah passed the message. There is no one for knowing black from white and "yes" from "no" like a kindergartener. She didn't buy our feeble excuses and started quoting her religion lessons to us. Pretty soon we were attending weekly Mass at St. Thomas. Tom is Catholic but he hadn't attended church in a long time. I wasn't even sure if there was a God. How are you ever really sure? Most of the “proof” anyone ever offered seemed an awful lot like coincidence to me. But, I couldn't sit there week after week listening to Father B. without starting to wonder … is there a God or not? I was so clever, I figured out a sure fire way to find out. (I'll just say here that I am thankful God protects fools because looking back I can't believe I had such nerve!) About a year before, we had tried everything to sell our house. Even though the realtor said everything was just right and there should have been no problem, no one would even make an offer. So, kneeling at Mass one day, I made God a deal. All He had to do was to get a me a new house as a sign. Then I’d know He was there … and I’d have a new house. Of course, nothing happened. Except, that because I had made that deal I found myself listening more carefully at Mass and thinking even more. After about a year had gone by, when we were kneeling at Mass one Sunday, I told God the deal was off. I didn't need proof. It wasn't because of any dramatic feeling or discovery. I just didn't have a reason not to believe anymore so I went ahead and took His existence on faith. That week our new accountant found major errors in the past three years' taxes that gave us a huge refund ... $11,000 ... enough for a down payment on a new house, new furniture and some remodeling. In a time when houses were being bought within days of going on the market, we found a house that had been sitting on the market for months for no apparent reason … except it was perfect for us and the price just been lowered to exactly the amount we could afford. Two weeks after that our house was sold without ever going on the market ... to a girl who was determined to have a house with our exact specifications, only within a six block area that we were right in the middle of. All the realtors and the people at the title company individually marveled at how smooth and fast things went on the sale of our old house and the purchase of our new one. They all said they had never seen anything like it. I don't believe in coincidence any more. Becoming Catholic Now I had faith but I didn't see any reason to become Catholic. Hannah and Rose had their First Communions and Tom went to confession and started taking communion again. I didn't mind sitting in the pew until they got back. But, over time, whenever everyone went for communion I developed a yearning for the Eucharist that became an actual physical ache. This went on for months. A few weeks before Easter I decided I’d better find out how to become Catholic because I couldn't stand it any more. I couldn't believe it when I found out I would have to wait about a year before completing RCIA and entering the Church the next Easter. That was the longest year of my life, although I found RCIA to be an interesting spiritual journey in itself ... which I did not expect. I think it is funny that I am such a reader (and have been my whole life) but God chose to reach me in a way that was totally outside books at all. Finally it was the Easter Vigil of 2000, the wonderful day when I was Catholic and could have the Eucharist. I love it. I love the traditions, I love the saints, I love the Eucharist … I love being Catholic. (That was about 6 years after I told God I believed in Him.) And God blessed me that day in a way that I will never forget. When I was kneeling after Communion I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up to see my father-in-law smiling at me as he walked toward the altar. He had not been to communion since the 1960s when Vatican II changes made him so mad that he turned his back on the Church altogether. Tom’s devout mother and his aunts had been praying for many, many years for his return to the faith so I was thrilled to see him take communion. His sister, Tom’s aunt, was my sponsor and she hissed in my ear, “Has he been to confession?” I was so happy I just said, “That’s between him and God. Let it go.” Later Tom’s mother said that my father-in-law told her that if I had decided to become Catholic it was because I had thought about it thoroughly and knew it was the right thing to do. That was when he decided to come back to the Church. And, yes, he had been to confession. He had carefully planned to have his return to communion be at my confirmation. He had gone before they left Houston. For my father-in-law to show such total respect of my decision to become Catholic by rethinking his faith was overwhelming. Even more overwhelming was the realization that God had used my conversion not just for my good but to reach someone close to me ... and I had been totally unaware of it. One of the things that made my conversion so powerful to me in retrospect is that it was done without any reading or influence from outsiders at all. This was all just between God and me. No one else's opinion was even solicited as I really didn't talk about that sort of thing. (I know a bunch of people probably wish I was still that way!) One of my confirmation gifts was a book by Scott Hahn that started me down a whole new path of reading. I had no idea anyone wrote books about this stuff! I devoured Scott Hahn, Peter Kreeft, Francis Sheed, books about the saints, everything I could get my hands on ... and so on to the CRHP retreat and so on to Happy Catholic ... and here I am today, waiting to see where He's gonna take me next on this wild, but very interesting ride. Julie blogs at Happy Catholic. She discusses popular books and movies from a Catholic perspective with Scott Danielson at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Her Forgotten Classics podcast currently is focusing on the Book of Genesis. Her new book, Happy Catholic, will be published in April by Servant Publishing.
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Julie Davis živi sa svojim mužem u Dallasu. Imaju dvije kćeri i već 20 godina vode vlastitu firmu za grafički dizajn. Moj put obraćenja Moji roditelji su ateisti tako da kod mene doma nije postojala vjera. Oni nisu pokušavali stvoriti (u nama djeci) neke predrasude prema vjeri, jednostavno nikada nisu pričali o njoj. To je bilo poput razgovora o sexu… postojalo je nepisano pravilo da se to ne spominje. Kada bi se susreli s određenim poteškoćama, vodili smo se moralnim vrijednostima – uvijek vrijedno radi i uvijek daj sve od sebe, budi iskren, nemoj krasti ili varati. Naučili smo da je mnogo pitanja zapravo relativno. Dokle god ne činiš loše drugim ljudima i ne kršiš zakon, sve što radiš je tvoj osobna stvar. Iako nikad nismo razgovarali o tome,svi smo smatrali kako su oni dosadni crkvenjaci zapravo slabići jer trebaju vjeru da se drže za nju. Na početku našeg braka, ni Tom ni ja nismo previše razmišljali o Bogu. Samo smo živjeli svoje živote. I tada, Bog je iskoristio ono što nam je najbitnije da dobije našu pažnju Naša kćer Hannah imala je užasnu učiteljicu i što god da smo napravili nismo uspjeli riješiti probleme s kojima smo se suočavali. Zbog toga smo je, nakon nekog vremena, prebacili u Katoličku školu St. Thomas Aquinas. Jednom prilikom, njena vjeroučiteljica je pitala tko sve ide nedjeljom na Svetu Misu. Skoro svi učenici su podigli ruke. Tada je gospođica McDaniel rekla djeci koja nisu digla ruku (uključujući i moju Hannah) da kažu svojim roditeljima kako bi morali ići na Svetu Misu svaki tjedan. Hannah nam je naravno prenijela tu poruku. Mi smo se probali « izvući » sa slabašnim izgovorima, no nitko ne zna bolje razlikovati « crno » od « bijelog » i « da » od « ne » od odgajatelja Vjeroučiteljica nam nije povjerovala nego je počela pričati o svojim predavanjima. I ubrzo mi smo počeli ići svaki tjedan na Misu u Thomas. Moj muž Tom je katolik no već duže vrijeme nije išao u crkvu, a ja nisam bila sigurna postoji li Bog. Kako uopće možeš biti stvarno siguran u to ? Većina « dokaza » koje su mi ljudi davali izgledali su mi kao najobičnije slučajnosti. Međutim, nisam mogla sjediti u crkvi, tjedan za tjednom, slučajući Oca B. bez da se ne zapitam – pa dobro postoji li Bog ili ne ?! Mislila sam da sam pametna i da sam pronašla način kako odgovoriti na to pitanje (sada mogu reći kako sam zahvalna što Bog štiti budale jer kada gledam u natrag ne mogu vjerovati da sam bila toliko drska). tprilike prije godinu dana, probali smo prodati kuću. Iako je savjetnik za nekretnine rekao da je sve u redu i da ne bi trebalo biti problema oko prodaje, nitko nije bio zainteresiran za nju, a mi nismo primili niti jednu ponudu. Tako sam jednom prilikom, dok sam jednom klečala na Misi, sklopila dogovor s Bogom. Jedini znak koji mi je trebao dati je nova kuća. Tada bi znala da je On stvarno tamo i ja bi imala novu kuću. Naravno, ništa se nije dogodilo. Osim što sam zbog toga dogovora, slušala pažljivije na Misi i više razmišljala o svemu tome. Nakon godinu dana, dok sam klečala na Misi, rekla sam Bogu da naš dogovor otpada. Nisam trebala nikakav dokaz. Razlog toga nije bilo nikakvo otkriće ili dramatični osjećaj. Jednostavno, nisam imala razlog da više ne vjerujem i prepustila sam se vjeri. Taj tjedan naš novi računovođa je pronašao veliku poreznu pogrešku i mi smo dobili povrat od $11,000 što je bilo dovoljno da si kupimo novu kuću, namještaj i priuštimo neka preuređenja. U vremenu kada su se kuće prodavale unutar jednog dana, mi smo pronašli kuću koja je bila u ponudi mjesecima bez nekog posebnog razloga. To je bila naša kuća iz snova i cijena je bila spuštena na točno onaj iznos koji je nama odgovarao. Dva tjedna nakon toga, naša kuća je prodana bez da je stavljena u javnu ponudu i to djevojci koja je željena baš kuću poput naše u krugu od 500 metara. I pogodite što, naša je bila točno u sredini tog područja. Sve agencije za nekretnine su se čudili kako je glatko i brzo prošla prodaja naše stare kuće i kupovina nove te su komentirali kako ovako nešto nisu nikada do sada vidjeli. Nakon toga, više ne vjerujem u slučajnosti. Kako sam postala kršćanka Sada kada sam povjerovala, više nisam vidjela nikakav razlog da se ne krstim. Hannah i Rose su već imale Prvu Pričest, Tom se ispovjedio i ponovno počeo pričešćivati. Na početku mi nije smetalo sjediti u klupama dok se oni nisu vratili. Međutim, s vremenom, kad god bi netko otišao na pričest, u meni se pojavila neka čežnja za Euharistijom koja se na kraju pretvorila u stvarnu fizičku bol. To je trajalo mjesecima. Nekoliko tjedana prije Uskrsa, odlučila sam se raspitati kako postati kršćanin jer više nisam mogla podnijeti ovu situaciju. Nisam mogla vjerovati kada su mi rekli da ću morati čekati godinu dana da bi završila vjeronauk za odrasle te da se mogu pridružiti Crkvi tek iduće godine na Uskrs. Iako sam vjeronauk doživjela kao zanimljivo duhovno putovanje (potpuno iznad mojih očekivanja) to je bila najduža godina za mene. Smješno je kako je Bog mene, knjiškog moljca, dotaknuo na jedan totalno drugačiji način koji je bio u potpunosti izvan svijeta knjiga Konačno, za vrijeme Uskrsnog bdijenja (2000. godine) došao je i taj prekrasan dan kada sam postala kršćanka i mogla sam primiti Tijelo Božje. Obožavam to. Volim tradicije, svece, Euharistiju. Volim biti kršćanka. To je bilo otprilike 6 godina nakon što me Gospodin rekao da vjerujem u Njega. I Bog me tada blagoslovio na način koji nikada neću zaboraviti. Dok sam klečala nakon pričesti, osjetila sam kako me netko primio za rame. Bio je to moj svekar koji mi se nasmijao kada je koračao prema oltaru. On nije bio na pričesti od 1960-ih kada su ga promjene nakon Drugog vatikanskog sabora toliko naljutile da je u potpunosti okrenuo leđa Crkvi. Tomova pobožna majka i tetka su se dugo molile da se on vrati vjeri i zato nam je bilo svima nam jako drago vidjeti ga da ide na pričest. Njegova sestra, Tomova tetka, moj pokrovitelj u vjeri, pitala me je li on bio na ispovijedi. Ja sam bila tako sretna i samo sam rekla - “Pusti to, to je između njega i Boga » Kasnije, Tomova majka mi je rekla kako joj je muž (Tomov otac) priznao da se odlučio vratiti se vjeri jer, ako sam ja odlučila vjerovati, to je bilo nakon dugo razmišljanja i mora biti pravilna odluka. Da pokaže potpuno poštovanje prema mojoj odluci da postanem kršćanka, moj svekar je odlučio preispitati svoju vjeru i pažljivo je odlučio da će njegov povratak Crkvi biti na dan moje Svete Potvrde. To je bilo prekrasno. Još ljepše je bilo to što je Bog iskoristio moje preobraćenje ne samo za moju dobrobit nego i da dotakne moje bližnje, bez da sam ja bila toga svjesna. Jedna od stvari koje su učinile moje obraćanje toliko moćno je činjenica da se ono dogodilo bez ikakvog čitanja i proučavanja ili utjecaja izvana. Sve se odvilo između Boga i mene. Nisam tražila ničija mišljenje jer zapravo nisam ni pričala o ovome (znam mnogo ljudi koji vjerovatno željeli da je tako i ostalo). Jedan od poklona koji sam dobila za Krizmu bila je knjiga od Scott Hahna. Ona je u meni započela jedan potpuno novi interes kod čitanja. Nisam imala pojma da su napisane knjige o ovim stvarima. Gutala sam knjige Scott Hahna, Peter Kreefta, Francis Sheeda o svecima. I tako sam krenula s duhovnim obnovama i pisati za blog Sretni Katolici. I evo me, tu sam danas, čekam da bidim gdje će me On poslati na iduće divlje, ali zanimljivo putovanje. katolici. info... No name... No name... No name... No name... Don Damir Stojić... Nepoznat autor... John McCloskey... Nepoznat autor... Julie Davis... fra Antonio Musa... Anonimno... Božidar Prosenjak... Antun Marija Claret... Holy Team... Nepoznati autor... Holy team... Glas Koncila... Glas Koncila... Glas Koncila... Jadranka Pavić/Glas Koncila... Jadranka Pavić/Glas Koncila... Glas Koncila... Ivan Oreh...