tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post2918486458146536393..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: My past, part XSheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-52643960319718145302014-08-14T02:57:56.442-04:002014-08-14T02:57:56.442-04:00Sheila, thanks for telling your story. Without get...Sheila, thanks for telling your story. Without getting into my own story here, I want to get in touch about it. You can find me on google+ as +H Daniel.<br /><br />Perhaps it was very hard to revisit your experiences, but I'm grateful you did because they can be of service to others. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-59373206684015156392013-04-08T15:05:31.272-04:002013-04-08T15:05:31.272-04:00Shelia, I just read over all ten posts in your Reg...Shelia, I just read over all ten posts in your Regnum Christi series. I had remembered you writing them, but didn't go through them thoroughly at the time. I just finished reading a book called "The Vatican Diaries" which contains a chapter on Fr. Maciel. I don't know that I made the connection before between the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi, but then I remembered you writing about Regnum Christi. This was *fascinating*. I'm so sorry that you had such a bad experience, but I'm certain that your posts will help others. Thank you for writing them!Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772700828819881141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-16280468876935017192012-07-23T10:23:12.844-04:002012-07-23T10:23:12.844-04:00Sheila,
Thank you for your detailed account. You ...Sheila, <br />Thank you for your detailed account. You have amazing strength.AncientBeetlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17321037489469103429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-27474962786299923462012-07-17T14:24:21.444-04:002012-07-17T14:24:21.444-04:00I'm so glad this story has affected others. I...I'm so glad this story has affected others. I think society is only beginning to come to an awareness of the damage done by emotional abuse. You find it in RC, in other restrictive groups like ATI (which fascinates me, when I look at the parallels) and even in individual families.<br /><br />I would encourage anyone who's gone through something like this to write it up and post it somewhere, even if anonymously. I have found it really healing and I've spoken to many others who say the same.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-53889828350079910212012-07-16T19:58:46.909-04:002012-07-16T19:58:46.909-04:00Hi Shelia! After reading your story, I am so, so g...Hi Shelia! After reading your story, I am so, so grateful we didn't agree to let Mary Beth stay past the summer program. She wanted to, because like you, she loved the atmosphere of prayer and all those other girls striving to be holy. At the time, we lived in New Jersey and she was having a tough time with the "friends" she had made. But Chuck said absolutely not, she couldn't stay; and my father-in-law said something that I didn't agree with at the time, but I see now had great wisdom. He said the world is no longer what it was during the days of St. Therese of Lisieux, that a girl of 15 was much too young to be making such an important life decision. I see now that the atmosphere at the school was not one that respected your individuality. I am so grateful you left and that you have found your true vocation!<br /><br />On a side not, I almost incorporated into RC while we were in New Jersey. But something (Someone?) held me back, and I am very thankful!<br /><br />God bless you and your family, and thank you for sharing your story.Mollie BAkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-11004424378297208372012-07-11T13:32:11.613-04:002012-07-11T13:32:11.613-04:00I'm so impressed by your bravery and courage. ...I'm so impressed by your bravery and courage. I was controlled in a similar fashion by my parents, with similar results, even now when I'm almost 40 I've not really addressed it with anyone other than dh, and even then there are big periods of time that I've blanked out and can't bear to think about. That you have come so far so quickly is wonderful and a real credit to you.<br />God bless you and your lovely family<br />-TheresaTheresa UKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-36812629146813495522012-07-11T10:55:06.223-04:002012-07-11T10:55:06.223-04:00It sounds like quite a few of you went through sim...It sounds like quite a few of you went through similar phases. As a Catholic, but outsider to RC, it is a wonder that any of you have come past severe self-esteem issues. <br /><br />I applaud that most of you have freed your spirits from the slavery that was RC. I hope Pope Benedict will do the right thing and make it go away.<br /><br />Sheila, thanks for referring me to the other sites. Very interesting, some very sad stories. I'm happy for the victories you've achieved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-13954414794777913792012-07-10T18:33:35.390-04:002012-07-10T18:33:35.390-04:00Wow. I just read through your whole story.
I w...Wow. I just read through your whole story. <br /><br />I was involved in ECYD growing up. I remember thinking about being a coworker, maybe a consecrated. I knew though that I'd never go to the school (I think I thought my parents couldn't afford it?). I truly believe now that God kept me from that. I have plenty of my own issues without having to add that on!<br /><br />What really sticks out to me though is how similar your story sounds to the stories of wives in polygamy in the FLDS. I just finished reading one book about one woman (the book is "Favorite Wife") and I'm reading another one. The same techniques of saying "This is God's Will for you" "don't you trust your superiors", the emphasis on being happy all the time (in the one book, it's called "Keeping Sweet"). It's crazy how similar they are.<br /><br />Actually, it's similar to another group I consider a cult, Bill Gothard's ATI, who's most famous family is the Duggars. A lot of the same issues there too.<br /><br />Thank you so much for sharing your story. I pray that you continue to find healing and that you can help others find it too.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02474415590995348479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-66995814481622082132012-07-09T20:08:51.141-04:002012-07-09T20:08:51.141-04:00Sheila, this is such a beautiful, courageous testi...Sheila, this is such a beautiful, courageous testimony. I was a member of RC for more than 5 years, and many of my experiences in the movement and recovering from it mirror yours. Though I never was a PC or a candidate, I spent some time as a coworker. For years afterward I had panic attacks. A few months ago I picked up my spiritual journals and flipped through a few pages. It reads like a journey into madness -- obsessive self-criticism, constant fears about my failure to do the will of God, apprehension about telling the truth about my doubts about RC to my director for fear I would get kicked out, being terrified of having a vocation because I'd been told I had one but had no feeling I was called, the sense of isolation I felt after I left. No one from my family understood the pain that my life in the movement brought to me, and the long process of healing for my faith and my prayer life that had to follow. Even now, years later, I struggle to trust God and others. I am so happy to see that you are happily married and a mom, and that you have persevered in faith. I hope that God blesses you a million times for what you suffered.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-10400933441723465192012-07-09T13:21:52.668-04:002012-07-09T13:21:52.668-04:00I am glad that you were able to write this through...I am glad that you were able to write this through and share it away from being pent up inside! Also, I am glad you found the forum before it got shut down. I hadn't realized your process of rediscovery went into your engagement period, as well, but I think that is just testament to how much wiser than your years you come across as. It's a deeply touching, yet painful, story to read; thank you for your strength in helping to bring it to light.Heather C.http://heatherjchin.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-3130527455537932442012-07-09T03:05:29.403-04:002012-07-09T03:05:29.403-04:00Sooo...I read your whole story. I was also a "...Sooo...I read your whole story. I was also a "PC" through 9 and 10 grade , but in México City. I can only tell you, as I was reading your blog, I felt I was reading my own journal (I don't know if that sentence makes any sense in english).<br /><br />Anyway, I'm really happy you were able to pull it together, sometimes I still find my self struggling with some insecurities I piked up in the "Precandidacy" (less and less frequently, though) but all and all I've also managed to move on. I'm now in college having the time of my live, remembering my "PC" years more like a bizarre experience and less like a "gift of God."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com