- Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:02 pm
#26694
Hi Folks:
As some of you may have noticed, I am new to this forum, and have posted on a few of the other message boards, but I thought I would give you good people a little introduction and let you know how I came to know our Lady of Medjugorje the Queen of Peace.
To start with, when I was a kid and a teen, I had a morbid fear of going to hell and spending the rest of eternity suffering. I was focused on the punishment that would befall those who didn't "make it," and thought very little about Heaven or Eternal Life. I also had, and still have I must confess, a "morbid" preoccupation with end time prophecies, predictions and stories. Films like the "Planet of the Ape" series, "When Worlds Collide," "The Omen" "Left Behind" "On the Beach" and a whole host of others were my absolute favorites.
Anyway, I went thrugh high school living in this horible fear, and then when I graduated from high school, I entered college, started hanging with some of the wrong people, was introduced to alcohol and marijuana and that fear and my faith started to wain. By the time I graduated from College, I only was attending Holy Mass at Christmas and Easter.
Back in 1985, I was about a year into my career as a professional photographer at our local Community College. My faith was at it's weakest point by then. I still believed in God and in Jesus Christ, but I had serious questions about the validity of any organized religion. I guess I was what you would call a Non Denominational, though I hardly ever prayed, or went to any of their meetings. The three most important things in my life back then were my car, my stereo and marijuana. I lived to get high, cruiz around, and crank out my music.
In January of 1986, my mom handed me a video caseette about Medjugorje. I was told that it was about end time predictions, and that morbie preoccupation got the better of me, so I popped it into the VCR. I watched with total interest as I puffed away on a joint, not quite buying into the story as a whole, but I decided that it would be worth making a trip to Medjugorje to see if was all for real. So in March of 86, I contacted "The Center for Peace," and I booked a reservation on the pilgrimage for that month. While I was there I had such a profound sense of peace and happiness that I didn't want to go home. While climbing the Mountain of the Cross, I caught myself praying the "Hail Mary," as though I was in the habbit of it all my life. I didn't even know I was doing it! I was also NOT in the habbit of praying back then like I am today.
My life has not been the same since. I still smoked pot and drank a little after I got back, but more and more I was pulled away from it. Gradualy, my focus was diverted from my personal possessions, and placed on going to Heaven. I started going to Mass every Sunday again, and my faith grew stronger and stronger. Today, I pray the Rosary twice a day. I am seriously considering entering the Priesthood, and I haven't touched drink or pot in a very long time. The last time I smoked pot, I had a horifying experience which I won't go into at this time.
My faith now, is based on a more positive outlook. Instead of fearing going to hell, I am excited about going to Heaven. Instead of feeling scared all the time, I feel happy, and that God and Mary are on my side ane are pulling for me all the way. Yes, I still like to blast my stereo once in a while, and recently I fell in love with riding motorcycles, but my number one love in life is God, and my main priority in life is getting to heaven. I still enjoy a good "end of the world" tale or prediction, and I must confess that I still tend to be morbidly curious about these things, but all in all, thanks to God and our Holy Blessed Mother, I have a much better outlook on life.
I realize this was a long post, so I will end it here. If any of you have any questions feel free to ask. Thank you for being so patient and reading this long post.
Peace to all
Observer
As some of you may have noticed, I am new to this forum, and have posted on a few of the other message boards, but I thought I would give you good people a little introduction and let you know how I came to know our Lady of Medjugorje the Queen of Peace.
To start with, when I was a kid and a teen, I had a morbid fear of going to hell and spending the rest of eternity suffering. I was focused on the punishment that would befall those who didn't "make it," and thought very little about Heaven or Eternal Life. I also had, and still have I must confess, a "morbid" preoccupation with end time prophecies, predictions and stories. Films like the "Planet of the Ape" series, "When Worlds Collide," "The Omen" "Left Behind" "On the Beach" and a whole host of others were my absolute favorites.
Anyway, I went thrugh high school living in this horible fear, and then when I graduated from high school, I entered college, started hanging with some of the wrong people, was introduced to alcohol and marijuana and that fear and my faith started to wain. By the time I graduated from College, I only was attending Holy Mass at Christmas and Easter.
Back in 1985, I was about a year into my career as a professional photographer at our local Community College. My faith was at it's weakest point by then. I still believed in God and in Jesus Christ, but I had serious questions about the validity of any organized religion. I guess I was what you would call a Non Denominational, though I hardly ever prayed, or went to any of their meetings. The three most important things in my life back then were my car, my stereo and marijuana. I lived to get high, cruiz around, and crank out my music.
In January of 1986, my mom handed me a video caseette about Medjugorje. I was told that it was about end time predictions, and that morbie preoccupation got the better of me, so I popped it into the VCR. I watched with total interest as I puffed away on a joint, not quite buying into the story as a whole, but I decided that it would be worth making a trip to Medjugorje to see if was all for real. So in March of 86, I contacted "The Center for Peace," and I booked a reservation on the pilgrimage for that month. While I was there I had such a profound sense of peace and happiness that I didn't want to go home. While climbing the Mountain of the Cross, I caught myself praying the "Hail Mary," as though I was in the habbit of it all my life. I didn't even know I was doing it! I was also NOT in the habbit of praying back then like I am today.
My life has not been the same since. I still smoked pot and drank a little after I got back, but more and more I was pulled away from it. Gradualy, my focus was diverted from my personal possessions, and placed on going to Heaven. I started going to Mass every Sunday again, and my faith grew stronger and stronger. Today, I pray the Rosary twice a day. I am seriously considering entering the Priesthood, and I haven't touched drink or pot in a very long time. The last time I smoked pot, I had a horifying experience which I won't go into at this time.
My faith now, is based on a more positive outlook. Instead of fearing going to hell, I am excited about going to Heaven. Instead of feeling scared all the time, I feel happy, and that God and Mary are on my side ane are pulling for me all the way. Yes, I still like to blast my stereo once in a while, and recently I fell in love with riding motorcycles, but my number one love in life is God, and my main priority in life is getting to heaven. I still enjoy a good "end of the world" tale or prediction, and I must confess that I still tend to be morbidly curious about these things, but all in all, thanks to God and our Holy Blessed Mother, I have a much better outlook on life.
I realize this was a long post, so I will end it here. If any of you have any questions feel free to ask. Thank you for being so patient and reading this long post.
Peace to all
Observer
"Lord, let it not be my will, but Thy will be done, and help me to want to be what You want me to be"