This weekend marks the one year anniversary of something very special to myself, and to Mr. Hydrangea. A year ago from Saturday I converted to Catholicism.
Changing religions can be a controversial topic, and I’m not here to preach. I just wanted to share my experiences with all of you, as marriage often brings up the issue of religion.
I grew up in a small, southern and religious town, yet I never was a regular church attendee. I was never baptised, never a member of a church, but I was always curious. My parents raised us with morals and values, but we never went to church and we never really spoke of it much throughout my life. I believe my parents had some issues with religion in the past, so they raised us to be open-minded and never really set any guidelines when it came to religion.
When Mr. Hydrangea and I began getting serious, he asked me to attend church with him as it was important in his life. He grew up Catholic, my sister-in-law is a practicing Catholic (my brother, however, is not), and my Aunt and Uncle are also Catholic so I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the religion. Although I’ve had struggles with my faith throughout my life, I enjoyed attending Sunday Mass with Mr. H and I feel as though it brought us closer together and helped us to discuss topics that we might not have regularly discussed.
About ten months into our relationship, I decided to attend RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation), the process one must go through to become Catholic. Mr. Hydrangea never asked me to do so, and never voiced any concerns about our future together being affected by religion. To me, it was important that if we were planning on one day starting a family, that our religious values be on the same page. I admire those who will be raising their children in inter-faith marriages, but since I didn’t previously have a faith, I knew I wanted to become Catholic.
(Mr. H and I on the night of my conversion)
So, after about 6-7 months of weekly classes, last year, on the eve of Easter Sunday, I was Baptised, Confirmed and received Holy Communion all in one night. It was a long mass (3-4 hours), but one of the most beautiful and moving nights of my life, thus far.
I’d be lying to you if I said that I didn’t still struggle at times with my faith, but overall I am more at peace with myself then ever before. I know this was the right decision for myself, and for my future.
What sort of a part has religion played in your relationship? Are you converting to a new faith?
My fiance’s parents are devout Christians, and he was raised in a household that went to church every Sunday and prayed before every meal.
I was also raised a Christian, but much, much more lax. We tried to go to church regularly, but ended up going pretty much on Easter and Christmas (sorry about that, Lord!).
Religion, or more specifically, faith has played a growing role in our relationship. My guy’s parents have encouraged us to grow within our faith and we’re definitely taking steps to do that.
I don’t think I’ll ever be exactly the kind of Christian that they are (and might expect me to be), because they’re Baptist and that’s a little too strict for me, but I do want to grow in my Christian faith, and I’d like to do that beside my fiance. I think it will strengthen our relationship even more.
Common beliefs was always very important to me, and to my husband as well. I did end up changing to his church. We were both mainstream protestant, so it wasn’t like a major change. From time to time we still debate how much water needs to be invovled for baptism, but other than that we are on the same page.
It really helps, when kids come along, to have that already settled.
I’m in the process of converting to Judaism. I was raised Methodist, but had been lax with it the past six years.
I’m Greek Orthodox and FH’s family is very conservative Catholic. We’re marrying in my church, and despite a very public, infuriating lecture from a Catholic priest about how our marriage woul dbe invalid and our children would go to hell, FH’s family has never, ever had a problem with it and I’ve been blessed with a very loving set of in-laws. In that sense, we dodged a bullet; in broader terms, FH and I are mainly on the same page in terms of beliefs. Funny how that works out.
I’ll be making my confirmation tomorrow!! I’ve always been Catholic but stopped short of making my confirmation in high school because I thought I was a rebel and I would never get married in a church. Well fast forward to 2008 and lo and behold I’m getting married in a church. At first I was sooo apprehensive about the whole thing because I don’t approve of some church scandals (obvi) but I have to say that after taking those classes for 6 months now, I’m definitely overall happier and feel more connected to myself and my fiance. In the end it’s all about just trying to be a better person and spreading that vibe.
Good for you. I’m glad you made this decision on your own. My Fi is not of faith, he is a seeker and a studier. I am more faithful and have my own spiritual beliefs and practices. We have come to our own balance and our looking forward to growing together.
Miss Hydrangea, I’m in the same boat as you were last year! I’m so excited to be converting on Easter (not at the Saturday vigil, though, because I”ve already been baptized). I actually was raised Southern Baptist, so it was quite a big decision for me to convert. My fiance is Catholic, but he never pressured or even asked me to convert. I took RCIA mainly to better understand Catholicism (which is a big part of his and his family’s life). In the end, I decided to convert myself. It’s been a tough decision, and one I’ve wrestled with, I believe that it’s the right one. I’m very excited and my parents are even flying in to be with me during this occasion (which is a BIG step!).
what a timely post! the Boy is actually getting baptized in the Episcopal church tomorrow at the Easter Vigil. Like you, he was never raised in a particular religion, and was always searching for something. I was raised Catholic but have left the church for various reasons. We both found our way to the Episcopal church, and tomorrow seals the deal for him. I’m excited, because this is the last step for us to be approved to marry at our Episcopal church! let’s hope my family doesn’t have a coronary when they see it’s not a Catholic wedding…
Congratulations! My fiance is converting tomorrow evening. It’s exciting for me too, because he comes home from RCIA and teaches me all sorts of stuff that I didn’t know before 
Thank you so much for posting this. BrianSea is having his ceremony tomorrow night and he was glad I shared your story with him. We’re both so excited that we’ll be the same faith so soon and will be united in the Eucharist in addition to all the other connections we have.
congratulations!
my boyfriend and i have been taking the steps to involve ourselves more in our faith. he was raised as a catholic and hasn’t been practicing for years, my parents never really wanted to pick a religion (my mom’s idea was to move us into houses literally next door/down the street from churches).
but we’ve been attending church regularly and praying and reading the bible every night together and it has improved our relationship tremendously!
i’m hoping we can be baptised together, eventually.
That’s incredibly awesome! Though not always as active in our church as I would like to be, I love being Catholic. I struggled as a teenager and studied and went to many different houses of worship before realizing that I wanted to stay where I started!
Ah, congratulations! My fiance and I are of different faiths. I’m Catholic and he’s Hindu, but largely practices Sikhism - the religion of his mother. It’s definitely a….job to be on the same page, and while he had voiced some brief intentions to convert, I think his parents would disown him. I’m perfectly fine with him not being of my religion, although I feel like it’d be easier, I’m glad he’s making his own decisions (although the parental influence is a large part of it, I’m sure). It’s been a bumpy road for us, especially when the talk turns to the future brood, but we’ve seemed to have reached an understanding, and hopefully it’ll work out beautifully.
Mrs. Hydrangea, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 26, Administrative Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network Analyst
Engagement Date: June 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: January 14, 2008
Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W Hotel
About Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
Congratulations on a special anniversary! My Dad decided to convert to the Catholic religion when I was 21. He always attended Mass with us, but never felt the pressure from my Mom to convert. The Mass was so special (and long!). I have to say it was *nice* that my FI and I are the same faith. I do have friends who are raising children with two faiths and are doing a beautiful job! It all goes back to the communication thing, right?!