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". I got much more involved in my church, attending Mass and confession regularly, but with all of this, I was not at a point where I was confident I was ready to meet God...."
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I was born and raised n Skerries, Co. Dublin, Ireland. I was brought-up in the Roman Catholic Faith. To me, The Roman Catholic Church was the only “true Church.” My parents confirmed this by their attendance at Mass and other religious activities. I took my religion as any young boy of my generation, which was to go to church on Sundays and Holy Days and observe Lent by attending Mass and abstaining from luxuries during that time. Sin, to me, was disobeying my parents, saying a “bad word,” and being late for Mass on Sunday. I regularly prayed at my bedside at night and prayed prayers that I believed would release me from any punishment for sins committed and not confessed. I had a fear of not being ready to meet God.
At age 15, I went into the commercial fishing business. I found myself with a lot of money at my disposal, and what followed was a well-funded social life. I had the best of motorcycles and cars. All through this period, I continued my Mass attendance and prayers at night.
In my early 20’s on two separate occasions, I spent 6 months travelling and working in the US, which opened a whole new world to me. A lot of my time there was based around social activities. To me, another religion was not even an option, but here I found myself with fewer obstacles to consider another faith. I was brought-up to believe that to set foot inside the door of another religion was sin. While fishing in Norfolk, Virginia, I found myself one Sunday morning looking for a Roman Catholic Church, but to no avail. I ended up in some kind of Baptist Church with no real conviction about it. Some months later, I met some members of a cult called “The Moonies.” Among other things, they began to direct me on a new path to God and the Bible, which I knew very little about. After a couple of weeks with them, I confirmed that these people were not in accordance with Roman Catholic teaching. I eventually came back to Ireland and started my own fishing business. I got much more involved in my church, attending Mass and confession regularly, but with all of this, I was not at a point where I was confident I was ready to meet God.
In March 1985, I suffered an accident on my fishing trawler, which resulted in the loss of my right arm. This did not leave me bitter and blaming God, as is often the case with those who lose a limb. I continued in my religion and deepening it that bit more. I even made inquiries about becoming a Roman Catholic Priest. My openness to other religions and beliefs were cautiously still there. One day in October 1985 when the bad weather left it too rough to fish, I went into Dublin City. When I got to Henry Street, I saw a small crowd gathering around a man who was talking about spiritual things and using a Sketchboard to illustrate his message. At the end of his message was the word “Sin” and a Cross. I remember him saying to the crowd that he was sure he was going to Heaven when he died. This disturbed me. He had an American accent, so I thought he was another one of these “Moonie-type” people. I questioned him on his confident attitude towards Heaven. Here was I, regularly attending Mass & confession and praying the Rosary, and at best, I could only say I hoped I would go to Heaven. The message he did next with his paints explained it very well. He spoke of man’s way of trying to please and be accepted by God and God’s very own way. He explained how people from all walks of life on their religious paths end-up trying to please God with the best they could offer. Some of the things he mentioned were things that I could identify with (religious duties and such). He told the crowd that these things could not get us to God, because of the problem of sin. He told us that sin is the major obstacle between us and God. I kind of knew that to a point, which is why I went to confession, but deep down I knew that even after a good confession, I was not quite ready to face God. He spoke about Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. To me, the cross was a religious symbol that always showed Jesus dead; it was never a thing that I thought I should take too personal. But that day, the cross of Christ was shown to me as more than just a religious symbol, but as an act of God against His Son for the sins of mankind. For the first time in my life, I began to understand that with all that I do in my religion, this was still not what God was looking for - it was much, much more, so much more that I could never give it. It became simply so clear that only the sacrifice of Jesus was going to be accepted as payment for my sin, and it had nothing to do with what I do or could ever do in my lifetime. Access to God was only available through Jesus Christ. Although it all made sense, it seemed like it was just too easy, but I went home that evening knowing (for the first time) that Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, was the only way to God. Soon after that, I put my full trust in Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior of my soul.
Since that time, Jesus Christ has become more real to me, as I attempt to live a life pleasing to Him. I can now say, that I know where I am going when I die, and with that knowledge, I can live with a peace that only God can give. Do I still have temptations and sin? Of course! But this time, I can be sure of what happened to my sins, as I reflect on what took place on the cross of Christ 2000 years ago. The Bible is a book that now reveals God’s truths to me and allows me to know Him more. One of the verses that is special to me is found in Paul’s letter to Titus, Chapter 3, verse 4 - 7:
But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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Ordinary people in Ireland with Real life Experiences with God
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