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LOL *same* 🫣

You can always test the seminary and change your mind if you need to. If it’s right for you , you will know

@Hunterr8 Bro, same! Will pray for you and any other blokes in our position right now 😊 Please pray for me too!

How does God call u though? Is this a strong thought you have or what and how do we know this is God? I’m honestly curious.

@connorgray2896 I imagine it's different for everyone. For me it was kind of like a thought, but in a wildly distinct voice that came from somewhere inside that I can't quite put words to. It wasn't my normal inner monologue voice. That day, the voice/thought clearly said "Go to a Catholic Church nearby and confess." I can't prove it's God, but without diving too far into the details of my faith life all I can say is I believe it was God smacking me with the direction my thick skull needed in order to get my life on track.

@@BigKB275 that’s really interesting, thanks for telling me this.

@@connorgray2896 No trouble. May the Lord be with you always.

@@BigKB275 Exactly. You imagine.

Awesome! If I may humbly add, to those who may be unfamiliar with the story, that Jonah was thrown overboard because he tried to run away from what God called him to do. Jonah was thrown overboard, swallowed by a whale and then thrown up on the beach of Nineveh. Nineveh was the name of the city which God had called Jonah to preach to for their conversion, lest they otherwise be destroyed for their numerous sins. Jonah accepted God's calling for him in humility, preached conversion to the city of Nineveh until the whole city had converted, even the king and the pasture animals. The city was therefore saved from the destruction it had otherwise faced as a natural consequence to their sin.

@@csongorarpad4670 We don’t know for certain that anyone converted, although we can assume that, with Jonah’s notoriety as having survived in a whale for 3 days, that many would have believed Jonah’s God was the one true god. So I believe a good number did convert. What we do know for sure is that the people of Nineveh, including the king (Babylonian or Assyrian?) REPENTED of this iniquity. The king decreed that neither man nor beast would eat, and that the people would wear sackcloth and cover their heads with ashes. And he and the people meant it. They were committed to their repentance. We know this because the Lord relented and He did not turn Nineveh into the next Sodom…at least not until some generations later when the Persians arrived. I told my granddaughter to story of Jonah and she liked it so much that she has become interested in the Bible. It’s short, you can make it a humorous story easily, as I did, and it has a happy ending, more or less, which can be rare in the OT.

Everything in God’s time. He’s still working things out. He’ll let you know when it’s time. Stay close to God and listen to that call. I’ll be praying for you. 🙏

@@sophiahace9920 thank you, I’ll pray for you too. You’re right, it is in His time I just hope I’m not too stubborn to answer when He does call. I feel so inadequate in my worship and prayer life sometimes. I don’t have a bad life, but it still feels like something is missing. However you’re right to say to stay close to Him, I always try to remember that. God bless

@@Mashfan6507 Have you tried going before Our Lord in Adoration and sharing with Him about your feelings of inadequacy? I find it very helpful. I’ve even taken a notebook into Adoration and spilling it all out onto paper and offering it up to Him. God wants a personal relationship with us. That might be a good start…? I’m just sharing my experience when I felt insecure, inadequate, or big heavy feelings that I didn’t know how to sort out-I put it all on paper (I’m not a journal type of person, but there’s something about this exercise that’s very therapeutic) and ask God to please sort it out for me. If that helps…. Thanks so much for the prayers!

Have faith, he won't let you be oblivious forever ❤

@@borkborkimasporkmrspork9300 that’s true, but knowing me I’m just worried I won’t give the proper response or something. I’ll be too stubborn and won’t want to give up my comfort. I also need His help how to figure out being alone the rest of my life because the opportunity to meet a woman is long gone

Maybe the historical evidence for the papacy in the first 1000 years? You can study and come to your own conclusions if you think the orthodox council model or the catholic model is more accurate to history. You could read or watch about “the Christian East and the rise of the papacy” book. I think it’s an orthodox perspective.

@@airpodman1259 yeah ofc I did read all of that, but I think there are good arguments for both. I much prefer the orthodox liturgy and style in general, but at the same time I prefer the idea of the papacy. But anyways, atp I think it would be nice to hear some other ppls perspectives, and not just read about it.

@@peachgumdrop8067 I think you also have to think about how Orthodox churches are closely tied to nationalities and all of the consequences of so. But if you agree with Catholic teaching on the papacy already and it is just a matter of liturgy preference, then it might be good news to you that Catholic church is wider, then just its Roman rite. There are a few eastern churches that are part of the Catholic church and they have different liturgies. Read for example about Byzantine or Armenian rites.

​@@peachgumdrop8067 read this book : The Russian Church and the Papacy. This book _The Russian Church and the Papacy_ is an abridgement of the work _Russia and the Universal Church_, first published in Russian in 1889 and republished here by Catholic Answers, by Russian mystic and philosopher Vladimir Soloviev, who was a Russian Orthodox Christian who leaned towards Roman Catholicism, is an interesting study and defense of the papacy from the perspective of Russian Orthodoxy. Vladimir Soloviev (1853 - 1900) was a Russian philosopher and mystic who is perhaps best known for his teachings on the Divine Sophia. While Soloviev was a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, he took an interest in Roman Catholicism (and may even have converted) and offered some profound thoughts on the necessity and importance of the papacy. In this way, Soloviev (along with others such as Leibniz) remains an important figure amongst those who have sought to achieve a re-unification of the churches. In this book, Soloviev argues that the papacy plays a central role in Christian history and that the Russian Orthodox are at fault for rejecting it. Nevertheless, Soloviev maintains that the Orthodox have their own unique heritage and contribution to make and that their Eastern traditions must be preserved. As is noted by Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, O.P. in the Foreword to this book, "Never before in Christian history has a leader of one tradition written so appreciatively, so incisively, about the heritage of another tradition." In this way, Soloviev's writings can be compared to the later writings of John Paul II, who in 1995 wrote in an apostolic letter _Orientale Lumen_ that Catholics must be helped to understand the vast rich heritage of their separated brethren in the Eastern Churches. As such, this book offers a unique foundation upon which to build the ensuing dialogue between the separated Eastern Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, particularly as that concerns the office of the papacy. This book begins with a Foreword by Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, O.P. which relates the goals of the late Pope John Paul II to those of the philosopher Soloviev, showing that Soloviev remains unique amongst Orthodox thinkers in this respect. Following this, appears a Preface by Scott Hahn which outlines the life of Soloviev and his opposition to the "positivists" as well as commenting on him from the likes of the Catholic theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar, who ranked Soloviev second only to St. Thomas Aquinas as "the greatest artist of order and organization in the history of thought". This is followed by an Introduction by Fr. Ray Ryland which lays out the thinking of Soloviev, noting his relationship to the famous novelist Dostoyevsky, and explains the role of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the life of Soloviev. The book proper begins with Part One, "The Papacy and Six Centuries of Eastern Heresies" which explains the relationship between the churches in the East and the papacy. This part traces the history of the Eastern churches from the time of the Byzantine empire, noting that by maintaining Christendom within the pagan state the emperors were prone to tolerate the heresies. Examples of such heresies are seen in Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism, the Iconoclastic heresy, and Arianism. Soloviev also discusses such things as the role of the emperor Constantine (recognized as a saint in Eastern Orthodoxy), the relationship between the Greeks and the Romans, the "robber council" of Ephesus, the _Henoticon_ (a heretical document which sought to reconcile Catholics and Monophysites), the Council of Chalcedon, the Photian schism, and the role of Islam as an anti-Christian heresy which grew from an anti-Christian movement in Byzantium (Indeed, Soloviev writes "Islam is simply sincere and logical Byzantinism, free from all its inner contradictions."). Soloviev notes the rise of an anti-Catholic and anti-Roman sentiment in the East, the role of caesaropapism in the East, and then discusses Charlemagne and the Germanic empire. Soloviev ends this part by praising Roman Catholicism and noting the relationship between East and West. Following this appears Part Two, "The State of Religion in Russia and the Christian East". This part includes chapters entitled "The Russian Legend of St. Nicolas and St. Cassian. Its Application to the Two Seperated Churches" (explaining a legend about these two saints in which St. Nicolas comes to represent the Western church remaining faithful to its apostolic mission and unafraid to plunge itself into the mire of history and St. Cassian represents the Eastern church emphasizing contemplation and withdrawal such as is seen with the monks at Mount Athos), "The True Orthodoxy of the Russian People and the Pseudo-Orthodoxy of the Anti-Catholic Theologians" (noting how pseudo-Orthodoxy exists by negation, by negating dogmas maintained by the Roman Catholic church and by emphasizing difference), "Russian Dissent. The Relative Truth of the `Raskol'. Archbishop Philaret of Moscow and His Conception of the Universal Church" (noting the role of the "raskol" (schism) and the "old Orthodox" and their beliefs about the Russian tsar), "Critical Observations of the Russian Slavophiles and Their Ideas Concerning the Church" (noting the idealistic theories of the Slavophiles and their ideas concerning the church as a moral organism), "Religious Freedom and Ecclesiastical Freedom" (emphasizing the differences between these two types of freedom within churches in East and West and noting the confusion of these two types by the Slavophiles), "Relations Between the Russian and Greek Churches. Bulgaria and Serbia" (noting that while the Russian and Greek churches possess a common faith there is little solidarity between them and discussing the case of the Bulgarian church which was excommunicated for the heresy of phyletism and also the role of the Serbians), "The Fulfillment of a Prophecy. Caesaropapism in Action" (noting how the Eastern church has abdicated in favor of a secular power), and "The Design to Eastablish a Quasi-Papacy at Constantinople or Jerusalem" (noting how such attempts by the Eastern churches have failed). Following this appears Part Three, "The Ecclesiastical Monarchy Founded by Jesus Christ". This part includes chapters entitled "Preamble" (noting the role of Peter in the founding of the church), "The Rock of the Church" (noting the role of Peter as the rock of the church against which the gates of Hades may not prevail), "The Primacy of Peter as a Permanent Institution. The Three Rocks of Christendom" (noting the role of Peter as the rock of the church having the power of binding and loosing), ""Peter" and "Satan"" (noting that Christ refers to Peter as Satan, noting that as a private individual Peter is a hindrance), "The Church as a Universal Society. The Principle of Love", "The Keys of the Kingdom", "The Government of the Universal Church. The Center of Unity" (all noting the role and primacy of Peter as the center of the universal church), "The Monarchies Foretold by Daniel. "Roma" and "Amor"" (noting the role of Rome in the prophecies of Daniel), ""The Son of Man" and the "Rock"", "Ancient and Modern Witness to the Primacy of Peter" (noting witnesses to the primacy of Peter even from outside the Roman church including from secular, Jewish, and even Eastern Orthodox sources), "The Apostle Peter and the Papacy" (noting the importance of the papacy for unity and the failure of the Eastern churches to achieve this universality or even to summon an ecumenical council without the papacy), "St. Leo the Great on the Papacy", "St. Leo the Great on Papal Authority", "The Approval of Leo's Ideas by the Greek Fathers. The "Robber-Council" of Ephesus" (all noting the role of St. Leo the Great in defining the papacy and mentioning the "robber-council" of Ephesus), and "The Council of Chalcedon" (showing how orthodoxy prevailed at this council and noting the recognition of the pope's authority at this council). The book ends with Part Four, "The Pope, The Universal Father". This part discusses the role of the God-man on history, fallen manhood, and the Trinity of God. In the end, it questions why the Orthodox will accept the need for the paternal authority of priests and bishops but not the parternal authority of the pope himself. In this book, Soloviev offers a brilliant defense of the papacy and a profound critique of the Eastern Church from the perspective of a Russian Orthodox Christian. Such a book offers an important study of the importance of the papacy for the church and the need and hope for re-unification of East and West. This book is especially important in light of recent ecumenical tendencies in both East and West and in light of the writings of some of the recent popes concerning the churches in the East. As such, it offers a profound message of hope for those who pray for the re-unification of the Christian churches in East and West.

@@peachgumdrop8067 Read this book *The Russian Church and the Papacy by Vladimir Soloviev Preface by Scott Hahn*, I think it will answer all your questions.

This is something I never hear anyone talk about. It's frustrating because being able to discern between what you want and what God wants is critical

Have you asked Him?

I think that was Gideon