New Members, Introduce Yourselves!

[Luigi]

I know we've had two people join recently for the sole purpose of selling us something. May they find better ways to market their so-called products. 

But  think I've noticed three or even four new members in the last couple of weeks. 

Who are they? Where did they come from? How did they find us? Are they strange visitors from another planet? Enquiring minds want to know!

So tell us a little about yourselves so we can welcome with a virtual but hearty slap on the back. 

[sisternightingale]

Hi I'm new ! Should I do the introduction here or should I make a post of my own?

[Didacus]

Here is good... welcome sister-N!  And God bless!

 

[Luigi]

This is a good place for an introduction. Welcome aboard!

[sisternightingale]

Okay  I'm 22 years old from SoCal and I am Chinese by ethnicity. My name is 林粉粉兔 (Lín Fěnfěn Tù) and my English name is Rosarie (and it was given to me by St. Therese after a novena!). I studied in Germany for 4 years in the department of applied linguistics and educational sciences. I'm a catholic christian. I'm 5'3. I love gaming, my fav game franchise is Dragon Age (as you can tell by my user). These days I mostly play DbD, Baldur's Gate 3, and Club MStar. I journal daily about my prayers, spiritual experiences and other things. I also pray daily and I do novenas often. I also pray the rosary daily. Christian values are really important for me. I like k-pop and j-pop also, my favorite japanese bands are Remioromen and Kannivalism while my favorite korean bands are Girls' Generation, 2NE1, Brown Eyed Girls, and 4minute, T-ara, ShinEE, and Super Junior. I like gardening and homesteading and I always do homemade skin care and alike from scratch (things like deodorant, shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste etc.). I am for some reason really into herbalism and natural remedies and essential oils, herbs, natural cures and plants are a part of my daily life. I have a bath and body works collection (it's my favorite perfumery brand). What I do for fun may not be conventionally fun for people because I have never smoked or drunk alcohol in my life and I've never been to a bar or a club either. So I am a pretty boring person but I am happy being a very boring person . I am straight. I am a very devotedly religious person and I'm easygoing. I compile prayer books of all kinds for personal use, such as daily prayers, rosaries, chaplets, novenas, etc. I like Sanrio and my favs are cinnamoroll and pompompurin! I don't like horror; gore, guns or anything violence related, it is not for me. I currently live in china.  And this is my testimony:
 
In 2022, I was in a park with my two friends from high school and there I saw 2 korean girls walking down the pavement in the middle of the park from across where I sat down in the bench we were at. I saw them and I told my friends to look at those two korean girls because they were so cute (all 3 of us are females, don’t get this the wrong way) and my friends turned around and one of them invited them over to our bench. I was so embarrassed and shy at the moment but as it turns out they were speaking our language. I was so happy to be meeting with these korean girls because I always loved the korean culture and people and after some small talk they told us that they were protestant christians and that they were holding a worship service at their church-home every sunday and they invited us over there. So we went there and they had another korean girl that they introduced us to who was their roommate that sunday and it was my first time ever hearing about jesus and they sang songs about jesus and played instruments and it was just so cute and beautiful the whole thing. At the end they told us that they always pray at the end of the service and asked us what we’d like prayers about. Now at the time I had a brain tumor, and a week or so ago I had gone through MRI imaging and I was waiting for my next doctor’s appointment to decide what the course of action was going to be about the tumor, I know for certain I had a tumor not only because of the MRI imaging that confirmed it but also I had gone 4 other tests, 2 different blood tests and 2 sugar tolerance tests. I told them about my brain tumor and they were really upset by it but they put their hands over my head and they started praying really fervently and I swear I could feel this almost warm water like sensation flowing into my head, it was like my head was filling with flowing hot water but it was not unpleasant at all. At my next doctor’s appointment, they did some more tests, and the test results were completely fine, as if I’ve never had any tumor. They ran the tests again, and they came out clean again which was so shocking to me. From that day on I’ve started attending their protestant home-church service almost every week and I told them about how my tumor just miraculously disappeared, which was what happened. Some time after this I had a strange and kind of scary vision. And it was the only vision I’ve ever experienced in my life. In it I was floating in this darkness because there was nothing in existence, nothing existed, not even darkness, I was only floating in oblivion, but then I turned my head around and I saw a church in the distance. Even though everything was nonexistent and completely dark, there was light in the church and I walked through the door and sat down on one of the benches there were other people looking up at Jesus in the church and he stood where the Altar was and he was a giant he was like I don’t know 10 meters tall or more he was a giant and he held up his arms and he looked down in humility and he had a sorrowful expression he was waiting people to come to him. Then the vision ended. Jesus had saved me despite me not knowing who he ever was or what he even was. 2 years passed and in 9th of august 2024 I became a full christian and I moved back in with my parents. Now during this time I did not know what denomination I was supposed to believe in because in my heart I didn't want to be a protestant (even though that was all I had ever known at that point) and I prayed to Jesus like ‘’Jesus I love you and I’m a christian but what denomination am I supposed to believe in? There are over 40.000 denominations and I don't know what to do.’’ And it was then that Jesus gave me to His Mother and led me personally to catholicism within a matter of days, I just happened to find catholicism and started praying rosaries, I don't really know how it happened so quickly. Now I am the first and only christian in my family and I don't know any other christian people in real life. There have been things I've struggled with, and knowing no christian people and having no community I felt really lonely about it all so I registered here hoping I might get some answers and help with the loneliness a little.

[Luigi]

Thank you very much! That is a wonderful introduction. I hope we can help you one way or another. We can answer some questions (but probably not all), and we can help you find Catholic resources (at least online - maybe not in China). 

I'm glad you found us and told us about yourself. 

 

[CaCoey]

Hello,

I am brand new to this site too. I just joined because I had a specific question, but I had "lurked" here before, mostly reading posts about vocation and discernment.

[Luigi]

Well, welcome aboard! If you have further questions, be sure to post them! And thank you for the introduction. 

[Didacus]

Welcome Rosarie of St. Therese... it is a delight to have you amongst us.  God bless.

[FamulaDomini]

Hello, I’m new here as well! I have occasionally browsed through old posts on this site but only recently made an account. I am a convert to the faith and was received into full communion a little over two years ago. I have been discerning religious life for 1.5 years now and wish I could apply to postulancy or at least aspirancy soon. It is still a little unclear to which particular community, though I have been in contact with a few communities and will most likely contact one of them again regarding my interest towards their community.

 

In Corde Immaculata,

FamulaDomini

[Luigi]

Very nice to meet you, and prayers for your discernment. A pretty good number of phormer Phamily are in religious life now - may you increase the number, good Lord willing!

[Anastasia13]

Welcome new people. So glad you could join us.

[Discipulus Romae]

Hello, all,

My name is Peter.

I am not new to PHATmass, but have been more lurker than poster over the past 13 years.  My sister introduced me to this website back then, and I know this forum played a role in her discernment and entrance into religious life.  Looking back on some of her old threads here, I am grateful for all the support you gave her during that time.

I am a seminarian (and a poor sinner) in the eastern US.  I started seminary in 2019 and am hoping to complete my studies and be ordained, Deo volente, sometime around 2030. 

I'm a bit of a bookworm, and my favorite authors are Etienne Gilson, Bonaventure, Dante, Josef Pieper, and a uhh... few more...
Currently in my free time I am working on an English translation of a few 13th century homilies which I hope to publish someday.

Thanks for the invitation to introduction, Luigi.  I hope to be more active here over the coming months.

[Luigi]

Very nice to meet you, Peter DiscipulusRomae! I, also, hope that you'll be more active here over the coming months... without distracting you from your seminary studies. And if your sister has any spare time, tell her to update us on her situation. There aren't many of us on board any more, but someone might remember her. 

[Discipulus Romae]

I'll ask her to send something along when I next write to her! She's a super cloistered OCD, so no phone calls or internet or anything like that.  Her handle here was Crucesignata.