Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his mercy endures forever (Psalms 118:1)
Today is American Thanksgiving, and the beginning of this blog. I picked today because as a time to reflect upon what I am thankful for, I realized how truly wonderful my journey through RCIA has been so far. Among other things, I am also thankful for my wonderful boyfriend, his great family, and some awesomely open-minded and supportive friends. Without them, my year would not have been so joyful and my RCIA journey would not have been so fulfilling.
Before I can talk about my experiences with RCIA at this point, I think it's only fair to give some background as to my journey up to that point.
I have identified with being Catholic since I was 19. I came from a family where denomination wasn't important, and we "Church Hopped" often throughout my formative years. From a young age I wasn't comfortable with the way Protestant Churches practiced. In many cases, I found they preached fear instead of love, punishment over compassion. I eventually looked for answers on my own, while professing an Agnostic outlook.
After much research and soul searching, I found myself in a Catholic Church and I was moved. It's corny, but it was a life changing experience.
From that point I made the decision to learn about Catholicism and convert. I even started the RCIA class, until my Rheumatoid Arthritis caught up with me. After much consideration and reflection, I waited until my health and life were more stable to begin the process of full initiation into the Catholic Church. I spent the next 7 years working towards good health and stability.
In this past June I contacted my local parish so that I could begin the process of conversion, and on November 20th, 2011 I went through the Rite of Welcome and officially become a Candidate. The next few posts will be my thoughts on the process so far, and my experiences as an aspiring Catholic.
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