Message: 19
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 04:12:54 -0000
From:
Subject: Hello from a New Member


Hello to Everyone,

I just joined your group and wanted to briefly mention why. Three
years ago I left the Catholic Church and sought to convert under the
supervision of an Orthodox Rabbi. I learned of him through a Torah
teacher in Jerusalem. One of the reasons I left the Church is because
I was deeply influenced by the book, "The Anguish of the Jews," by
Fr. Edward Flannery. I know that Father didn't intend that one of his
readers would leave the Church, but when I read about the terrible
things done to the Jewish People over the centuries by the Catholic
hierarchy, I was heartbroken. I felt like I was personally
responsible for those things. You see, ever since I was a teenager,
and had gone to Israel at the age of sixteen, I always felt a deep
bond with all the Jewish people. However, I didn't know any Jewish
people, or anyone in the Church to talk to about what I was feeling.
That bond has lasted for over twenty seven years. When I read about
what happened to God's beloved people I became very upset. I decided
to try and personally do something about it. So I joined the Jewish
community and began studying the Torah and making friends. After
three years I converted in the Conservative movement (the Orthodox
Rabbi said that they decided to put my conversion on hold). This past
May I was accepted by the Jewish "court" and went through the process
of conversion. I took for my Hebrew name "Chana Ruth" (Hannah was the
mother of Samuel the prophet, who asked God to remember her; and Ruth
was the first convert to Judaism). I expected to feel very happy
about my conversion, and fulfilled. But I wasn't. Instead I began
feeling worse. I then began thinking of the saints I had been devoted
to in the Church, such as St. Margaret Mary, St. Claude de la
Colombierre her confessor, St. Gemma Galgani, and St. Teresa of
Avila. I felt cut off from them. Then I received from a Catholic
friend a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for Christmas. That was
the ticket to my coming back! I had always been greatly devoted to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and when I saw that picture I knew He was
calling me back to the Church. So I went to confession a few weeks
ago and the priest, and myself, were very happy.

Sorry for the long message, but I needed to share with you where I am
in my life right now. I need to reacclamate myself to the Church's
teachings, because I filled my mind with the teachings of Rabbinic
Judaism. I actually feel like I am a Jewish person seeking to learn
the Catholic faith! It is a very strange feeling. I would appreciate
your prayers, and look forward to the group discussions.

Let us continue to pray for the peace of Yerushalayim!

Shalom Rav V'Kol Tuv, (Much Peace, and be well!)

Janice