How was your childhood? We know that you have entered Jesuits school at the age of 7 but had a question toward religion at one time in your life. Would you please tell us about the question and the pain you had?
My family was very strict and my father sent me to the Jesuit school so that I could have real discipline.
The chains of rigor were so heavy throughout my youth that very quickly I started to doubt this religion that showed no mercy, only constraint and suffering.
I remember being obliged to attend mess and the constant threats of hell in the mouth of the priests. Everything was sin, everything was forbidden, joy was ruled out.
I think that my rebellion was what saved me: I doubted about Catholicism, and felt that I must try something new. Later on, in my teenager years, I became a hippie. During this time, I traveled a lot, met people of different backgrounds, and had learnt different paths to come closer to spirituality. I started to see other paths and started to see that my own religion wasn’t restricted to the Jesuit perception.
After I did a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, I returned to the Catholic faith – just because it is in my blood, not because it is the best religion.
I don’t think you can put God in a church. God is everywhere. All religions have advantages and disadvantages.
Furthermore I don’t think love is at odds with Christianity. Jesus message was above all a message of love to humanity.
God is–as William Blake said–in a grain of sand and in a flower. This energy is everywhere.
Why ‘me …… not deserving’, dear Agnieszka?
I see you with awe reflecting straight ‘from the heart’ as it were or as you say, your many flows’; aren’t you contributing that way in a valuable way to the ones around you worldwide, while you probably give the same to the ones who are physically around you… Continue to show your dreams and contemplations as I will do, but in a lesser intensive way than you do. You have and devote your time to it, grand! I might tonight react on the great drawing by my widely known countryman Maurits Escher. Where a small country (The Netherlands) thus contributes today to thinking’s and contemplating’s progress (and making the world a little better day by day).
Continue as you do, and in my opinion,’you deserve rightly…’ just as others, truly!
Love,
Niek
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Thank you for your words dear Niek, but saying:
“It is you and me who… ” it’s, as for me who has many flows, not deserving however compassionate I may be, but thank you for your kindness.
love
Agnieszka
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Whatever religion you may have as long as you believe in HIM iam sure that peace of mind,happiness in your heart will be forever. GOD BLESS.
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It was my experience that religion was a hindrance for me exploring spirituality.
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It is so comforting to learn of others with similar experiences and to know that it is so important to learn about both the advantages & disadvantages of the church and religion first hand. I visit churches often… by choice… not by demand. No Priest or Rabbi or Mullah can ever distort the love I feel bestowed upon me… by God… and the universe…
I pass it on, Love Paul
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I think Paulo went back to what he knows for safety and the comfort of the known? I think he choose something that he could relate his new version of God and life to so that he had a context in which to understand it? and to better his own practice?
I bet God (life) looks at dogmatic practice and arcane beliefs and thinks that the nature of life is pure - its the interfereance of man that creates confusion and pain.
Because man knows he is going to die he creates all these belief systems to help him - many of which lead to bitter conflict and pain
Everthing in life is yours at all times, you are always loved, you are always forgiven - you have only to control your own thoughts and learn and teach others of the way of life and nature.
Everything in nature other than man seems to be able to live every day in complete faith except man - because we have some limited intelligence we create an endless list of nonsense beliefs to support us.
Flowers blossom every day without any guarntee that the sun will shine or that the rain will come.
As far as I can see only the Native American Indians and buddists really understood the true nature of things whilst everyone else invented practices based on hearsay and supposition.
Perhaps life is a religon of its own and all we have to do is imitae its disciplines and faith.
Regards (and no offence to any catholics out there)
John
London
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I agree with what you say, Agnieszka… Religious and spiritual feelings come from inside, reflect and influence the world. It is you and me who show the world around us what impact religion and spirituality have. Being yourself and showing compassion to the people around you. And it comes back to you undeniably, and so on and so on! A circle between your inside cosmos and the cosmos outside you… With music as a facilitator. And it doesn’t matter then if you were brought up Catholic and feel now already for a lon period at home in a Protestant community; it might even be an advantage to look more lightly at life…
Love
Niek
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Hi!!
Well my story is similar. Even my name Maria de Lourdes came from a promise that my mother did to the Virgin Lourdes.
I grewup in a fundamentalist catholic family, went to the Teresianas (very close to Jesuits), and all the family life was around fear, forbiding, prayers, obligation of going to mass, and faults.
Now I thanks live for that. Thanks to that I was able to re-consider all the imposed beliefs and came to my personal vision of God. If someone ask me if i am catholic I could say Yes as well as No, I am because I grew.up on this culture, but just that.God is everywhere and certainly is much than a religion…
Hughes!!
María de Lourdes
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And, do you believe that a soul can be put into a body?
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Entendo quando voce diz que o cristianismo está em seu sangue, isso não dá pra ser mudado e é maravilhoso porque quando algo corre em nosso sangue faz parte de nós.
Fui criada em colégio de freiras, embora minha familia fosse catolica não praticante.
Talvez por isso, não sei, nunca consegui ser católica embora tenha tentado. Me informei muito sobre todas as religiões disponíveis, mas não consegui escolher nenhuma..
Então, deixei os preconceitos de lado e assumi, sou pagã. Pagã com todo aquele paganismo florido, com fogueira, cachoeira, fadas, elfos e tudo o mais..
Já enfrentei muito preconceito, embora seja discretissima, mas fazer o que…está no meu sangue.
Ne verdade para mim tudo o que importa é sermos nós mesmos e seguirmos nosso coração.
Bjs
lia
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I am brought up as a born again Christian and even though our church teaches us about faith and everything in between I still have my own opinions because I don’t always agree with what my friends are saying.
I also sometimes wonder what it would feel if I were in a different religion but again the only different thing about us is our doctrines.
We have faith and believe in God and that’s all that matters for me.
-Angeline
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Greeks, we are Christians Orthodox. I feel always free and Jesus teachings are LOVE. I think that every religion teaches LOVE. But if we notice on the map, where there are conflicts and wars, they are made in the name of …Religion. They put fanatism into the minds of the people to succeed in gaining their support for material benefits. The Communists used to call religion the ‘Opium’ of the masses.. But when people lose their faith they lose their morals and morality.
I have read the book “THE POUR of GOD” Ο Φτωχούλης του Θεαού’[is it a correct translation?] about Saint Francis of Assises and it gave me the complete meaning of LOVE.[and a beautiful film]
LOVE,
Thelma
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I have also been brought up a Catholic and ever since my teens i have been on and off on my spiritual journey, visiting other religions on my way. Although many have given me new insights, the Catholic faith is closest to home, but the Church as an institute isn’t. I used to sing in a choir and loved the atmosphere and songs, but I too found it difficult to accept that the door of the church are wide open to some and closed to others. In the future I would love to bring up my children with a sense of spirituality, but I don’t know if the Catholic faith will be my choice. I believe in the teachings of Jesus, but find it impossible to accept that we enter this world as sinners and need to be baptized to free us from this sin. I wonder if Jesus in his time would have agreed with this. If this is a narrow perspective of mine than I would love to be enlightened.
Love is, Ed
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You are a beautiful flower.
Love
Hildegarde
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God is everywhere & God is within us all… we have the honor to be a part of this wonderful universe… no matter how small, or no matter how insignificant we sometimes feel… if ALL of humanity believed this, it would reflect in the soul of our existence…
Love & dare to believe in your proximity to God & the universe, Paul
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Peace be with you all …Blessings Tania
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Fortunately, my first encounter with Catholic religious training was given by an order based on Marian spirituality, on a milder discipline, and with a much gentler approach to upbringing and education. So, the Catholic Church is as you say, wider than the restricted Jesuit perception. I am fascinated about the excellence and perfectionism of Jesuit education, but with no experience of it, except having been lectured by Jesuit priest as an adult, I can imagine what negative effect a regime like that would have on a young 7 year old boy. I am very sorry for the scares this probably meant for you.
Myself, I miss Mass and Church when it’s been long since I attended. Attendance, Adoration, Prayers is a great way to inspire our spiritual life. Nobody should be forced to go. Working as a religious educator, I’ve seen children with very rich spiritual experiences, and find First Communion being a wonderful tradition. I thought threats of hell belonged to the middle age, but have also in recent years seen children being emotionally abused by members of the Church. Outrageous.
We find abuse everywhere, inside and outside the religious sphere. I cant blame a faith for having members abusing their power, when such abuse goes on everywhere human beings gather. We should stand up against abuse, as well in our Church as outside. The Church is one place God dwell, and so is every other place where God decide to reveal Himself/Herself. Each human being is a temple for the Holy Spirit, God pours into our hearts. I believe in a personal God. God as sand, flower, energy is true, it’s Gods creation.
My only concern about a lot of spiritual journeys, guided by a mentor or not, is that if we search too much alone, we never know what kind of spiritual encounter we have, weather its the good or evil spirits. My search therefore is for the Holy Spirit anywhere I can find it. The face of the Holy Spirit is Joy.
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Yes…God is everywhere..but the Catholic faith teaches us how to be humble..how to love…and be grateful for life that has been given to us…and also how to deal with the pain when it comes.
It may have some flows, as other religions have, but those flows comes from people not from religion itself.
love
Agnieszka
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You put it so beautifully. I too believe God is everywhere and it was only through being raised a strict Catholic that I had a yearning to search for my idea of God, an all loving, non punishing God who cared for my well being and in the end that is what I believe in. A God that teaches us through our journey to love ourselves and one another. To take care of eachother.
Blessings,
Adriana Garza
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Dear Paulo,
To add a few more lines. I and my brother and sister were obliged to attend Mess every Sunday with rest of family. In these years it was not so good politicaly to do it. I used to go to Jesuits for confesion but after one rather unpleasant time I decided not to go to Confession at all. My father somehow understood what was going n and one day before Christmas he told me to go to Fratres Minor (Franciscans in franciscan monastery in my home town) and he added that they are more realistic and nearer to people.
That saved me from rebelion and I stayed and still am with Catholic faith.
Love,
Luce
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Dear Paulo,
Your words are like mirror of my soul. Only difference is that my family though strict Catholics never imposed rigour and they always put love on the first place.
S for me religion is exactly as you described it: faith and love and vice versa.
Probably that is reason I feel at peace and happy no matter what is going on in my life.
With love and understanding,
Luce
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