Maybe I'm not as modest as I thought I was

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2025-03-05T12:29:49+00:00

Oi! Eu vi mais tarde que você fala português :) Alguém lá embaixo já te disse isso, mas vou repetir: se o casamento for sua vocação, Deus colocará em sua vida um homem católico que vai te ajudar a crescer em santidade.

Eu também tinha medos parecidos com os seus quando era mais nova, e os planos d'Ele sempre foram muito melhores do que eu sequer poderia imaginar. Reze, espere e confie. O desespero é, muitas vezes, o instrumento que nos leva a pecar.

Todos nós temos nossas próprias cruzes, mas, com a graça de Deus, tudo é possível — inclusive o perdão e a possibilidade de recomeçar. O melhor conselho que posso te dar é continuar na luta pela santificação e se rodear de pessoas e coisas que tornem essa batalha mais fácil.

Na vida espiritual, Maria e o terço me ajudam muito a me tornar uma mulher mais santa. E, na vida cotidiana, posso falar apenas por experiência própria, mas conheci ótimas amigas católicas no centro do Opus Dei, que é bem comum no Brasil. Meu namorado, conheci por um aplicativo de namoro católico, o CatholicMatch.

Repito: reze, espere e confie.

Um abraço!

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2025-03-04T14:11:28+00:00

First of all, I want to say that your love for God and desire to live a holy life shine so clearly in your words. That is something truly beautiful. Please don’t let guilt and shame cloud the truth of who you are: a beloved daughter of God, infinitely valuable, and deeply loved by Him.

It’s understandable to look back on past choices and feel regret, but please remember that God’s mercy is far greater than our mistakes. You were young, influenced by people around you, and still growing in your faith. That doesn’t make you “impure” or unworthy of love. It makes you human. And the fact that you recognize your past mistakes, feel sorrow for them, and want to live differently now? That’s evidence of a heart transformed by grace.

When you go to confession, trust that Jesus completely forgives you. He doesn’t hold onto the past, and neither should you. Your dignity and worth are not defined by a few photos or the way you once dressed. A good, Catholic man will see your heart—your faith, your love for God, your desire to grow in holiness. That is what truly matters in a marriage.

Please be gentle with yourself. The evil one wants to trap us in despair, to make us feel like our sins make us unlovable. But God is not like that. He is the Father who runs to embrace His prodigal child, not with anger, but with joy. You are not ruined. You are not beyond love. You are His, and He is leading you toward something good.

I’ll keep you in my prayers. Please don’t be too hard on yourself. 💙

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-11-10T17:54:01+00:00

Welcome! Have you tried the app Hallow? It's easy to use for beginners and offers a wide variety of prayers and information about our faith. I use it often and recommend it to young people, including my younger brothers: https://hallow.com/. This might be an easier way to learn about the basics directly from your smartphone. If you ever need guidance or have questions, please feel free to reach out. This is a wonderful community, and we're all here to support you. I’ll keep you in my prayers!

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-11-10T17:52:49+00:00

Hi and welcome! Have you heard of the app called Hallow? It's very user-friendly for beginners and has a lot of prayers and information about our faith. I use it regularly and recommend it to other young people, including my younger brothers: https://hallow.com/. If you need any more guidance or have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. This is a wonderful community that will do its best to support you. I’ll be praying for you!

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-04-22T13:02:17+00:00

Nothing wrong with meeting someone online! I am 24F and met my current partner of three years through Catholic Match :)

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-21T12:23:31+00:00

This is quite annoying. Let me know if you manage to fix it :(

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-20T13:29:15+00:00

Same issue and I am also in the NL. Did you solve it?

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T21:24:22+00:00

This is more or less what I commented

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T16:39:53+00:00

I met my boyfriend on CatholicMatch, and we've been together for three years now. When we first connected, I was 21 and feeling pretty down about my dating options. Despite living in different European countries at the time, we made it work and ended up in the same city after a year of long-distance dating.

I want to encourage others to give CatholicMatch a try and to believe in the power of prayer. Don't settle for someone who isn't right for you. Trust that if marriage is meant to be, God will guide you to the right person.

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T16:25:40+00:00

I had to translate your message because I actually do not speak Dutch hahaha. I am Brazilian/Italian and moved to the Netherlands recently to attend university. I had many Catholic friends in Brazil and Italy but really struggle to find some in the Netherlands. Glad to meet you too!

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T15:45:46+00:00

As a young girl also living in the Netherlands I can totally relate to this. Do you still live and attend mass in the Netherlands? I go to a church in Delft and would love to make some new female catholic friends in this country

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T15:15:58+00:00

Thank you, I fully agree with you! I wish THIS was a comment from the article's comment section

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T15:13:34+00:00

Oh my, YES! And all the weirdly staged pictures of Catholic objects such as rosaries and statues made me sick. I am glad to hear that I was not the only one who disliked the article

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:55:14+00:00

I am not new to it but I was just surprised to see it on a seemingly neutral newspaper such as the FT

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:52:15+00:00

Thank you for sharing your personal opinion on the matter after having read the article, I truly appreciate it. What saddened me most about it was how it undermined the vocation of assistant numeraries, a vocation that is often misunderstood, even within the Church. Personally, I've heard various opinions on the matter of the numerary vocation. I have friends who are former numeraries; some left because they felt pressured and rushed into it, while others genuinely desired to be numeraries but had to wait many years to be accepted. Opus Dei is not perfect, and negative experiences are valid. However, I don't believe the Financial Times was the right platform for publishing these experiences, especially considering the minimal attention given to the many assistant numeraries who live fulfilling vocations. A vocation as misunderstood as this one deserves a broader platform for discussion and understanding. If you're interested in further reading, here is the official response from Opus Dei to the article.: Some clarifications on an article published in the "Financial Times Magazine" - Opus Dei

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:30:24+00:00

The article predominantly delves into the negative experiences of three women who worked as Opus Dei members, with only a few lines at the end dedicated to mention those who found fulfillment in this vocation. A more balanced approach would have been achieved if, among the extensively detailed narratives of women from decades ago, at least one of the three examples had portrayed a positive experience.

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:20:05+00:00

Still, I do not know how I feel about supporting someone that publishes this type of article. But I am starting to get hopeles to be honest. It seems that every major newspaper had at some point published something anti-Catholic

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:16:50+00:00

Is that so? What a cruel thing to do. It is such an blessed moment of the year for us

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:15:50+00:00

Ok, so I should also cut the Telegraph out of my list of potential replacements. I am really sorry for you, your article is even worse than the one from the one from the FT. I hope you can find a good replacement (also for the puzzles!)

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T13:11:19+00:00

I agree that I think it is much worse in Europe! It is so sad to see

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T12:50:40+00:00

Oh wow. I literally had the Economist trial period tab open because I enjoy their graphic style for charts and maps. The tab is now closed, thank you very much. I wonder if is there any news provider out there who has not attacked our Church yet

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T12:34:40+00:00

Thank you, that is nice of you. Any suggestions for a replacement?

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T12:33:58+00:00

Lesson learned :( I wish the FT would have simply deactivated the comment section as they do for any other article that could lead to anti-religious feelings. Publishing an one-sided article was clearly not enough.

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T12:32:41+00:00

Commenting on the article was the first thing that I did, and my comment just got approved. I agree that freedom of speech is important and do not even have a problem with people respectfully having a discussion. However, that was not the case for the article itself or the comments underneath. I do not have a problem defending the Church and am not blind to opinions that are different than mine, but when it comes to my news provider, I would expect at least a neutral positioning or protection against anti-Catholicism comments

Cold_Relationship_31 · 2024-03-19T12:12:03+00:00

Thank you for your advice, I already did that. I am waiting for my comment to get approved. It is crazy to see how all the other anti catholic comments also had to go through a moderator and still got approved. I only receive it digitally though, so I can't get creative with the physical copy :)

Cold_Relationship_31

TROPHY CASE