The Conservative Cave
Interests => Religious Discussions => Topic started by: franksolich on May 17, 2013, 08:17:56 AM
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All right, I know I belong in the DUmpster, but I'm still working my way through something, with people who were children and adolescents alongside me in the Sandhills of Nebraska long ago.
In explaining what I'd been doing the past years, decades, eons, when they were out of my life (I pushed them away), I've been doing tons of writing, to explain myself; tens of thousands of words, I'm wearing down the keyboard. These are things of a nature one wishes only to share with friends from one's childhood and adolescence, though.
Anyway, I wrote this, describing something that'd happened during my years in the wilderness, and got an awesome reaction. It's from something about my testy relations with an aunt; I was living in Pennsylvania at the time.
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In the late 1970s, a most curious phenomenon began evolving among the grandchildren of Joseph [xxxx] and Mary [xxxx], although it was not until twenty years later that we noticed it’d happened, and come into full flower; some sort of collective cousin unconsciousness, in which we arrived at the same place but drawn from different directions, and independently of each other.
As we were all children of the Age of Aquarius, this was an anomaly, definitely contrary to what was going on with our generation.
I had many cousins, and of course there were eight [in my family], nearly all of us born 1951-1961, with only a few before and a few after. And there were of course exceptions, mainly in my own family, although [a brother who died at the age of 40] too near the end was affected, but alas had little time for it to evolve.
In religiosity, our parents had ranged from the standard devoutness of my mother to the total indifference of her brother, but essentially the children of our grandparents, our parents, merely observed Roman Catholicism in form, but not so much in belief and actions.
But beginning about this time, and for the next twenty years, most of we cousins, again, independent of each other, gravitated towards some sort of “center,†exclusively ours, becoming in sincerity, more Catholic than the Pope himself; an overpowering consciousness of the Glory, the Majesty, the Power, the Compassion, of God, and where nothing else mattered.
Although this phenomenon happened about the same time, this was not a consequence of the influence of the rising “religious right†or the popularity of televangelists; we’d all been raised Catholics, and that was never any part of our "culture."
It just happened, and it seemed to have happened as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
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But beginning about this time, and for the next twenty years, most of we cousins, again, independent of each other, gravitated towards some sort of “center,†exclusively ours, becoming in sincerity, more Catholic than the Pope himself; an overpowering consciousness of the Glory, the Majesty, the Power, the Compassion, of God, and where nothing else mattered.
Although this phenomenon happened about the same time, this was not a consequence of the influence of the rising “religious right†or the popularity of televangelists; we’d all been raised Catholics, and that was never any part of our "culture."
Frank, you describe my up bringing to a "tee". I find that I'm a non practicing Catholic, but, in many ways, "found" God without being overtly religious.
For me, at least, the outdoors is my church, foundation, center of life. I feel close to God each and every time I'm out in nature, real nature. Look at the pictures of my fishing trips. I have wept in joy just be able to go to these places, and have thanked God internally that he put me here just so I can see it/live it.
As a friend of mine, who feels the same way says, "A forest is the best Cathedral imaginable".
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God calls us in His time and for His purposes. My little brother and I were called live in the presence of the all mighty God at around the same time but independent of each other. The Lord used my brothers medical and health issues and with me He used by alcoholism. At any rate we arrived at the same place spiritually about 1 year apart. Looking back it is an amazing thing to behold.
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God calls us in His time and for His purposes.....Looking back it is an amazing thing to behold.
It was truly amazing. The first one it happened to was a cousin three years younger than me, the son of the wholly secular uncle. He was your stereotypical rich kid frat boy at the University of Tennessee.
Then he started changing; I was (am) close to him, and I supposed at the time he was simply growing up.
There was no Saul-on-the-road-to-Damascus; it was an awareness that just slowly grew.
Whatever it was that was happening, was erratic and random; it didn't happen to me until after I quit drinking in 1987, about ten years after this unconscious collective thing started among us.
Okay, I'm talking about 25 people here, all but two of us born 1951-1961; about half in Pennsylvania, the other half scattered around the country.
We've all long ago agreed it wasn't any external influence; it came wholly from within, this realization of the Glory of God. It's not anything one can preach, or convert others to; it's just something one senses, and if one has it, one's very lucky indeed.
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It was truly amazing. The first one it happened to was a cousin three years younger than me, the son of the wholly secular uncle. He was your stereotypical rich kid frat boy at the University of Tennessee.
Then he started changing; I was (am) close to him, and I supposed at the time he was simply growing up.
There was no Saul-on-the-road-to-Damascus; it was an awareness that just slowly grew.
Whatever it was that was happening, was erratic and random; it didn't happen to me until after I quit drinking in 1987, about ten years after this unconscious collective thing started among us.
Okay, I'm talking about 25 people here, all but two of us born 1951-1961; about half in Pennsylvania, the other half scattered around the country.
We've all long ago agreed it wasn't any external influence; it came wholly from within, this realization of the Glory of God. It's not anything one can preach, or convert others to; it's just something one senses, and if one has it, one's very lucky indeed.
A person or event may plant a seed but ultimately it is God who makes it grow.
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My story is a little different.
I was raised Catholic by a father who I never saw in church, and a mother who made sure I went to church while I was in Catholic grade school. Once I reached a certain age my mother stopped going but "pushed" me to go until I stopped going.
While in Marine boot camp, I went to church because I felt required to go when the DI asked who was this or that religion to get in this or that line. :-)
When I came home, I started going again briefly but remembered a Nun I had in school who often told us if we went to church just to satisfy the "requirement", then we were not being honest. She told us praying no matter where we were was far more important. I guess I was about 22 when the Nun's words started repeating in my head.
I go to church only occasionally but I do pray every day.
Now that we have grand children, and seeing what is happening all around the country and the world, my wife and I have decided going to church is more important than ever before.
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We didn't attend church often after I was confirmed at 12. I decided to come back to Him after years of messing up. What surprised me was my brother's return!
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I wasn't saved until I was 18. Hated going to church. I didn't grow up in church, and being a teenager I did all the things teenagers do (except drugs and drink). When I was younger went to some messianic synagogues, but wasn't all the time. One Sunday preacher preached on "He's got the whole world in his hands." I don't remember the day I got saved, but I remember the message and I remember two of the songs 'How Great Thou art' and 'He's Got The Whole World In His Hands'
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I was saved and baptized at age 45 after a life of paganism. When the Lord calls it's hard to say no.. :)
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I grew up Catholic, fell away when I was in college, and came back in my mid-20s. Now, I'm in our church's Traditional Choir, I cantor, and I'm on the Liturgical Music Planning Team. Plus, I'm one of the two or three drivers behind my church's Community Garden.
I'd say that I came back.
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I was raised Catholic. I had thoughts of becoming a priest. I went to a preparatory seminary high school.
I drifted away after college, mostly because I was smarter than 2000-plus years of tradition.
I came back when I started dating my wife. I'm all in now.
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I was raised Catholic. I had thoughts of becoming a priest. I went to a preparatory seminary high school.
I drifted away after college, mostly because I was smarter than 2000-plus years of tradition.
I came back when I started dating my wife. I'm all in now.
Sentence 1 almost describes me to a tee
Sentence 2 close, but I include that when a lot of things are going for you and you feel invincible, it's much easier to rebel.
Sentence 3 Not all in now, but close, a lot closer than I've ever been.