Almost A Complete Catholic

I am well on my way to being a "Complete Catholic", I got my letter from the Tribunal yesterday and my first marriage was annulled!  I am no longer married to my first husband in the eyes of the Church!  I'm sure I will have to have my present marriage blessed in the Church which is not a big deal but the thing I've wanted most and what prompted me to get the annulment to begin with is that fact that I was not confirmed as a kid. Of course that was another long story that I will not get into now.

I am so excited at the fact that I am eligible to attend the classes to get confirmed!  I'm sure it won't happen until Spring but that is okay....I can wait, I've waited this long a few more months are going to kill me!  After  I get confirmed I want to attend classes to be able to give communion.  I think when things get into place I will be doing a lot more in my parish.  I didn't realize all the things there are for lay people to do in the church and I want to be involved with all of that.....but can't do anything until I get confirmed!!   I have to say...THANK YOU JESUS!

My Annulment

I finally got a letter from the Archdiocese concerning my annulment!  I was not aware that it had to go through two conforming decisions for it to be final.  But I am happy that I did get the first affirmative decision!

I did talk to Sr. Annette this evening at Mass....she was as excited as I was about it!  She did tell me that it should only be about another month and I should have the final decision, apparently it goes to another Archdiocese for approval.  So I am well on my way to getting confirmed!!!!  This is just a great big weight off of my shoulders.  All I have wanted was to get confirmed since it didn't happen when I was a kid.  It may not be a big deal to some, but to me it is everything!!!

I can't do anything in the Catholic Church without being confirmed.  I totally get it, but I'm just impatient!  I know I will finally feel like a "Complete Catholic" after confirmation.....I'm so excited about it!  Someone said to me.....is it really that big of a deal to get confirmed?  Guess what?  IT IS!

I love my religion I want what so many other Catholics already have.....the seal to my baptism.....can't wait!

Disappointment and Patience

Every day I go to the mailbox holding my breath.....hoping, praying, wishing, an envelope from the Dubuque Tribunal is sitting in the box, but day after day I'm totally disappointed.  It's been 14 months since I first went down the annulment road.....Sr. Annette, said it would take somewhere between 9 to 12 months.....well, we are way past that!!!  I wish someone could tell me WHEN this whole thing would be over!!!!

It's not so much actually getting the annulment, it's what is holding me up from getting confirmed!  It's a long story why I was not confirmed as a child, and I'm not going to get into it, except to say the priest we had was not a Christian in the least and should have never been a priest at all....with that said....I continue on my journey to finally being confirmed "someday".

I would also love to be able to participate in other things in my church but until I'm confirmed I can't do anything.  I find it sad that something I want so bad and can't have other's take for granted.  I have a friend who swears she is a "good" Catholic yet she never attends Mass she does on occasion go to other churches (not Catholic).  For me this is frustrating, why go to other churches when you claim to be such a devout Catholic?  She said she would always be Catholic but enjoys going to other churches.  I don't get this in the least.   However, I do go to Mass each week, but every other Sunday I do go to another church (not Catholic) with a friend who is trying to find a church home.  I do this because I want her to find what I have found....a relationship with Christ.  I did bring her to my church and she said that while it was nice she didn't think the Catholic Church was her cup of  tea.  I totally get it, it's a lot of work (but well worth it) to become Catholic.  She is looking for something different. She is afraid to go to this church by herself so I offered to go with her whenever she wanted to go which seems like we go every other Sunday....I for one need that connection to Christ weekly....apparently she is good with twice a month, which is fine with me.

May main goal is to get confirmed....hopefully before I die....that would be nice!!  As you can tell I am of little patience.  Something that has escaped me forever.  I'm not one that likes to wait.....just ask the Good Lord, he will tell you I am not good at waiting!!! LOL!!  Which is probably why my annulment has stalemated....He's MAKING ME WAIT ON PURPOSE!!!!  And I will, because I have no other choice!
Good things come to those who wait.....that is one hard lesson for me!!!

Another Door Slams Shut

We really thought we were on our way to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel  When low and behold the door slams shut once again.  We got my hubby's marriage licenses and thought that everything was in place, well we were wrong. Apparently the Tribunal was not happy because his ex-wife's baptismal record had her birth surname and the marriage license had her adopted name so they didn't match and they wanted documented proof it was the same person.  We called the courthouse and they said the record was sealed and it would take an act of God to get it unsealed, not to mention there was a flood in 2008 which probably destroyed the files anyway. So the Tribunal had Sr. Annette draw up an affidavit and we had to get two people to verify that she had been adopted therefore the name change.  My hubby dropped it off at the church and had some words for Sr. Annette about all the hoops they have made us jump through!  He also told her he was leaning towards maybe becoming Catholic but after all of this hoop jumping he thinks it wouldn't be worth it.

I totally get why they needed this information, but come on lets make it as difficult as you can.  I know being Catholic is privileged and I would NEVER be anything but Catholic, but they had a potential convert and the dwindling number of Catholic practicing their religion is very sad, but to put off someone considering conversion is just crazy. It's stuff like this that makes people leave the church in droves. Being nit picky about stuff is a real turn off.

Hopefully my hubby will reconsider but for now he just has a real bad taste in his mouth from all this!

My Annulment Is Moving Forward!

I went to see Sr. Annette on Thursday along with my hubby who so graciously agreed to get have his marriage(s) annulled so I could get confirmed in the Church.  He was told that he would have to do the same for his first marriage (get it annulled).....long story short we found out his first wife died five years ago so of course now fell on his second wife (who is the most vindictive person I know, not to mention is just pure evil!).  So in talking to Sr. Annette,  my husband happened to mention that her entire family was Catholic, but he was not sure if she was since she baptized  him in the Lutheran church. Sr. Annette had him call her and low and behold she didn't know for sure.....she ended up having to call her mother in Florida to find out where she was baptized....as (good) luck would have it she WAS baptized CATHOLIC!  Well, I didn't like the fact that we shared a religion, but I was thrilled to know that because she was "technically" Catholic her marriage to my hubby was actually invalid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Let me tell you I did a happy dance after that discovery!  Finally something went right!

Now all I had to do was sign my paperwork and Sr. Annette was going to send it in that day!  All we need right now is for the witnesses to do their part (my brother and sister are my witnesses).  I should only take 9 - 12 months and I will be clear to have my marriage blessed in the Catholic Church and get confirmed!!  I am so excited!  I will finally have all the sacraments taken care of and will become a "Complete Catholic". Alleluia and thank you Jesus!!!!!

My Annulment

In order to get an annulment in the Catholic church you have to have 3 witnesses....I am having problems with the third witness no one can get a hold of him!  I emailed Sr. Annette and she was going to call Sr. Maureen in Dubuque and see what she recommended.  I find it weird you have to have 3 witness when you only need two to get married!!! My hubby brought this up the other night.  I told Sr. Annette that I might have to just drop it and not proceed with it.  All I really wanted was to be able to take communion and I can do that (Praise the Lord!). My other goal was to get confirmed but the way  Sr. Annette talked I would have to wait until the annulment was finished.  I really don't see why I have to wait for that to be over, it may not even happen and if it does it will take at least 9 - 12 months to complete! Sometimes I think the Catholic church needs to review their laws somethings just don't make sense!  So I am at the point of just giving up on the whole thing.....I guess I will be an (in)complete Catholic for the rest of my life. Not happy.

Annulment Process Has Started

After 13 years of divorce I finally decided to have my first marriage annulled.  Just doing the paperwork that is required put me in a bad place in my head.  I don't know why I am feeling so horrible about this.  I guess dredging up memories that I worked so hard to forget makes me ill.  I'm sure that is why I feel so bad about things.  I really wish I would have started this process right after I divorced him.  I think it would have been better at least for me to get it over and done with while feelings were so raw and up front.  Now it just seems like rehashing old garbage, and I'm not a fan!  Hopefully this too shall pass.  The only thing that would hold me back from this annulment would be having three witness, I have one and a potential second but I'm having a hard time with number three...nobody I know who knew us both back then is #1 dead and #2 have moved and I have not talk to them in 36 years I don't even know how to find them.  So I'm uneasy about this whole thing.  I guess if it doesn't happen, that is OK at least I can receive communion and that is the one thing that I really wanted next to getting confirmed.  We shall see how this all pans out.  I will have to step up my praying on this matter.