Comments on Crossed The Tiber: My Personal Conversion Story

It is my pleasure to help other believers see the ...

2008-07-03T21:26:00.000-04:00

It is my pleasure to help other believers see the beauty of the Catholic Church. I hope to spend the rest of my life doing just that. I will continue to pray for you.
In Christ
TJ

Thank you so much for your prayers and the resourc...

2008-07-03T17:57:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much for your prayers and the resource recommendations. I have been immersing myself in the study of Catholic doctrine the last several days and, although I still have many questions and uncertainties, many of my questions have already been answered through the web sites you provided, in particular the Coming Home Network.

Thank you again.

Laura

Dear Laura:I would be happy to point you in the di...

2008-06-29T09:56:00.000-04:00

Dear Laura:
I would be happy to point you in the direction of the Church! The web has some good stuff and not so good stuff.
First, I recommend getting a Catechism of the Catholic Church and perusing it. It's a lot of material but you can look up in the index on topics you are interested in. There are several online versions. Just google "Catechism of the Catholic Church"
Regarding web based sites, I have several on "my links" and I suggest checking them out. Particularly Catholic Answers site.
Below are some of the links I suggest you go to on the left side of of the home page of my blog. They can be accessed there at my blog
*Reasons to Be Catholic
* Catholic Information Network

* Beginning Catholic
*Catholic Bridge (This is excellent site)

* Catholic Catechism
* Thinking About Converting?

* Catholic Answers(Another great site for questions and answers)

* Catholic Apologetics

* BeginningCatholic.com

* Info About Catholicism
* Scripture Catholic(If you ever need scripture to support Catholic belief, here it is)

* Early Church Fathers
* Catholic Converts

If you have trouble finding any of these, let me know, you can e mail me any questions
at: dobrodoc1@gmail.com
God bless you I will pray for you today.

I am a Protestant but am feeling increasingly draw...

2008-06-28T20:47:00.000-04:00

I am a Protestant but am feeling increasingly drawn to the Catholic Church. The thought has crossed my mind more than a few times about becoming Catholic. Can you recommend a good starting place for exploring the Catholic faith more, resources, etc.?

Thank you and God bless you!

Laura

Dear Ilsmwanh:God bless you! Thanks for reading m...

2008-06-27T08:19:00.000-04:00

Dear Ilsmwanh:
God bless you! Thanks for reading my story.
You are a great witness to the redemptive power of suffering.
I will pray for you today.

Thank you so much for your story. I was raised in ...

2008-06-27T06:31:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much for your story. I was raised in a modern Mennonite denomination as a child. My parents were divorced and I experience horrible sexual assualt for many years as a child. When I was a bit older I dated someone that was Catholic and my eyes were opened. I knew God was calling to me through my suffering - and I found Him in the Catholic Church. It was during my RCIA program that I was diagnosed with a large tumour on my left ovary. I was lucky and received a healing and have since devoted my life to serving Him. I am currently a 4th year theology student and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to spend each day learning about God.

Dear Karen:God bless you on your journey. My sugge...

2008-06-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

Dear Karen:
God bless you on your journey. My suggestion is to do both! Start attending Mass, even if u can't receive the Eucharist there is a spiritual communion u can make with our Lord as He is present in the Blessed Sacrament. You can go up to the priest in the communion line and fold your hands across your chest and he will give you a blessing.
Ans while attending Mass, I suggest finding a priest and talk to him and get signed up for rcia classes at your local parish. it takes 9 months of preparation to enter the Church but they want to make sure u understand everything you are getting into. Some RCIA classes are better than others and you may need to ask questions to make sure you are getting the straight scoop. For instance, if they don't hold to Church teachings on artifical contraception or abortion, Run as fast as u can. There are sadly some Catholics that think they can decide which teachings of the Church they should follow and which they can blow off.
You may be able to get that sense from the priest you speak to.
Mywife went toMass on/off for 5 years before coming back to the Church because her block headed husband was so resistant to the idea of being Catholic, but the Holy Spirit had His way!
Let me know if there's anything else I can help with and check out
the Coming Home Network for assistance.

What a wonderful story! Your experience of the cha...

2008-06-10T13:09:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful story! Your experience of the charismatic church and reactions are simular to mine.
I first felt drawn to the Catholic faith in childhood(Catholic friends) Attending a born again evangelical church for past 24 years to present day. All that time still drawn and now feel I must DO something!! I ve done a lot of study, a lot of thinking and praying and can't decide wheather I should just turn up at Mass or contact the Priest first
I love the Lord and feel Heis guiding me Karen

Mike:Thanks for your story too.It is always his ki...

2008-03-21T14:03:00.000-04:00

Mike:
Thanks for your story too.
It is always his kindness and mercy that leads us Home. I am so grateful to have come back home before leaving this earth and facing a discovery, immense and too late, that the Catholic Church is truly the Church God had intended for all to be a part of.
Many of us had mocked the Church and railed against it not realizing that we were unwittingly siding with the gates of hell in our attempts to impune the bride of Christ.

You mention mercy....Divine Mercy is what brought ...

2008-03-21T08:33:00.000-04:00

You mention mercy....

Divine Mercy is what brought me back after 26 years.

My exodus from Truth started "innocently enough" when a group of us started listening to George Carlin's, hit record Class Clown in '72.

I remember the skit of an Irish boy going to a Spanish priest to confess sins of impurity and the Spanish priest being unable to understand. He gave "Tres Santa Marias" penance and the kid ran out free from sin and free to sin again.

Looking back, I have to say that at age 11-13 it was my laughing at this tripe that started me down the long and winding road to self ruin.

CS Lewis had something to say about this kind of humor in his classic, the Screwtape Letters.

I read that book the year after my reversion in '98 and exclaimed, "That's it!" Humor is a very potent weapon for the evil one...if he can get a person to laugh at sin, he can hook a person in sin.

Thanks for your great witness as a no-so-proud Roman Catholic, who truly loves the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Mother.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Mike Rizzio, SOLT

Thank you for sharing your story with us. Welcome...

2008-02-08T18:14:00.000-05:00

Thank you for sharing your story with us. Welcome home.

Thanks for the kind comments Granpa Jim! I honor a...

2008-01-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the kind comments Granpa Jim! I honor and respect folks like you who stayed true to the Church.
If you think your children would watch a DVD instead , just contact me via my e mail at my website and I can send you a DVD of our Journey Home TV interview.
I will pray for your kids, please do the same for mine.
God bless you !

Dear Dr. TiberJumper Your conversion story is a re...

2008-01-25T16:15:00.000-05:00

Dear Dr. TiberJumper

Your conversion story is a real blessing.

I have 8 children and 3 of them are outside the church. I am passing your blog URL to some of the kids in hopes of them taking the time to read it.

I have tried to interest them in conversion stories from Marcus Grodi Coming Home program and numerous books but I guess they just are not ready to realize the enormity of what they have rejected.

The Church and the Eucharist are truly the jewel of great price {prize} that are so cavalierly cast away.

One of your guests [ Mike Greiner] didn’t like your statement about the 2000yr history of the Church but let him try to deny that it is there for all to see. Jesus only started His Church. Mike needs to be reminded of the fact that the Church was established for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls.

Also, he needs to be reminded that the Church history is filled with one heresy after another and evil men who often, just like Judas, insinuated themselves into positions of importance where they could do Satan’s work. And, it continues to this very day.

Jesus knew what was coming and provided the sacrament of confession so that the sinners could clean themselves up if they wanted to.

Cradle Catholic Grandpa Jim

Dear John:I am so sorry that you and your wife are...

2007-12-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

Dear John:
I am so sorry that you and your wife are going through such tough times.
Our prayers are with you. We were very fortunate to have come to the faith the way we did, though my wife had five years (before I converted)of a very difficult road. Please feel free to write to me privately via our website www.crossedthetiber.com .
God bless you
I will lift you both up in Mass today

I found your blog because I was on the Catholic An...

2007-12-09T05:10:00.000-05:00

I found your blog because I was on the Catholic Answers forum and did not know what crossing the Tiber meant. I googled it and found your site. I am married to a protestant and my marriage has been a disaster. We have tried to leave religious disagreements behind but even than our different personalities have drove a wedge between our sacramental marriage. Yes, we were married in the Catholic Church being naive that our Christian faith held us together. But the sacramental marriage is only sacramental as how we live it. Currently, we are at the worst point of our marriage and short of a miracle I don't know how to save it. I am praying to all the saints in heaven on behalf of our marriage and just finished my novena to our Holy Mother. As painful it is right now, I am holding to the hope that God does not allow anything without his divine will. There must be God's hand in this somewhere and I hope to submit to it humbly. Thank you for crossing the Tiber.

HI Tiber,What a beautiful story! You also write so...

2007-11-23T22:52:00.000-05:00

HI Tiber,
What a beautiful story! You also write so beautifully. Have you considered publishing your story as a way of evangelizing to our lost Catholic brothers and sisters?

Thank you for sharing your life with us!

Dear Lani:Thanks for your kind note.I will pray ea...

2007-11-12T23:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Lani:
Thanks for your kind note.
I will pray earnestly that God will continue to draw Him to yourself.
Feel free to write if you have questions regarding the Catholic faith. You will be in my prayers tonite.
God bless you.

Not having a true faith, per se, to be raised by, ...

2007-11-12T22:27:00.000-05:00

Not having a true faith, per se, to be raised by, I have always been taught to question things, including faith. I felt the Christ calling me at the age of 11. And though I went to Mass with my adopted parents for 5 years before becoming an adult, I rejected the order and structure it held and became Wiccan for a few years as an adult.
Now, for some reason after a dream I had, I feel as though God is calling me back to him. Your conversion story resonates within me of what I feel, that someone is pulling you toward the church. I have been to Mass twice in the past week (the last time I went to Mass was over 5 years ago). I have wanted to sleep in, do something else, but I felt a pull from the Church each time and gave in. Thanks for giving a girl hope with your story that she can perhaps understand a bit more.

What an inspiring conversion story! Very moving. ...

2007-11-07T16:23:00.000-05:00

What an inspiring conversion story! Very moving. I was raised Catholic (attended Catholic schools etc), but in my early 20's realized I could not give a reason to why I believed what I believed (was questioned constantly by my Evangelical boyfriend). As a result, I began attending Calvary Chapel. I really enjoyed the music. But I must say, I always felt like I was being manipulated by it emotionally. That always bothered me. I stayed for a few years, until I found a tape by Tim Staples, and then began attending classes he was teaching at St. Joseph's Radio in Orange County. It was the first time I heard someone give me a response to my questions. Since then, I have never looked back. I thank God for bringing me back!
Once again, thank you for your story and Welcome Home!

Thanks Natasha!I have never known such closeness t...

2007-10-19T08:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks Natasha!
I have never known such closeness to Jesus as I have in the Catholic Church. The ability to receive Him physically and spiritually in the Eucharist is a mystery yet the saints for 2000 years have written about it and stressed the unique opportunity we have to become one with Him through the Eucharist.
I spent 31 years trying to be close to Him through my own works, praying more, reading more, revival meetings, more intense prayer, fasting etc (all of which are good) but it was ultimately the simplicity of humbling myself to believe He is resident in the Catholic Church(suspending my cynicism and disbelief.) All I need to do is pray, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my soul will be healed."

Thank you so much for sharing your conversion proc...

2007-10-19T07:44:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much for sharing your conversion process. I was raised in a Methodist-Episcopal church of which my stepfather was a minister of but, I attended Catholic school five days a week. Since age nine,I have always had a strong sense of longing to be a Catholic than to remain in the faith of my baptism all my life. I have never felt such a strong connection to our Creator until I felt His Presence as a 4th grade Catholic student. At 41 years of age today, I believed that the Catholic Church is where my true joy and salvation lies. May peace be unto everyone on this blog.

Dear Cinamon:You are welcome and thanks for readin...

2007-10-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

Dear Cinamon:
You are welcome and thanks for reading my story. Truth is always worth pursuing at all costs and at the end of the day, Jesus promises to lead and guide us in all Truth. Catholics believe that He gave us His Church to be the guide for us.
I have grown much closer to Jesus since becoming Catholic and hope that as the misconceptions are overcome, you too will see how much you can grow as a Catholic Christian.
To God be the Glory!

Thank you for sharing your story. I was raised in...

2007-10-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

Thank you for sharing your story. I was raised in the Baptist Church but recently have been questioning some things. When it comes right down to it I just want to be in a church where I can grow in my Christian faith and gain a better understanding of who God is and what he wants for my life. I recently reunited with an old friend from high school who has converted from the Baptist church to Catholicism. She was NOT raised in the catholic church, but says she has never felt closer the the Lord than she does now although all of her Baptist friends think she has lost her mind. (she still attends church occasionally at the Baptist church but attend Mass every week as well.) I think I hold a lot of the same misconceptions about the Catholic church as many out there in other denominations. Searching for answers through prayer and research is what lead me to this site. Thank you again for sharing.

Thank you for reading my story.You are granted a p...

2007-07-03T12:32:00.000-04:00

Thank you for reading my story.
You are granted a plenary indulgence for getting all the way through it! (Just kidding)

May the Lord lead you to where He desires you to find Him .
That compelling feeling tends to not go away. Please let me know if there's anything I can answer for you. My e mail link is in my Music link page on the left in my blog links.
God bless you! You are in my prayers.

I can only imagine how abandoned and let down you ...

2007-07-03T11:59:00.000-04:00

I can only imagine how abandoned and let down you must have felt when the African missionary did not brave the weather as you had to heal your wife. But I wonder if God hadn't spoken to that man to tell him that it wasn't His will to heal your wife, and that may have had something to do with why he did not? This is such a haunting story, but it's something I learned a long time ago, too. I used to attend a Vineyard church, too, (you mentioned the Toronto Blessing) and believed that my mom could be healed if she were prayed for, but I realized gradually over the years that God has purposes in suffering we cannot understand, because His ways are not our ways.

I read your story because I was baptized in a Baptist church at the age of 18, but I have been gradually compelled to become a Catholic for the past three years. I don't have any friends in the Catholic church, though I do have a first cousin that converted and is now a devout Catholic with several kids, but she and I don't know each other very well at all. So, unlike most of you, I am not a former Catholic, and still feel this compelling call to be one.