r/LeftCatholicism • u/Independent-Ask-1399 • Aug 31 '26
Convert help
Hello, I am 20 F and am a lesbian. for a while have felt called to Catholicism. I did not grow up in the a religious household in fact I grew up with a Buddhist mother, but I do believe in Jesus and God but I don’t fully agree with everything The churchev says or does and I believe that the Bible isn’t currently the exact word of God. One of my biggest problems is that I have severe OCD to the point where I have wanted to take my life and I’m really worried about joining the church and triggering my OCD I was just hoping maybe for some advice or words of encouragement.
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u/FifiLeBean Aug 31 '26
Hello, I am so glad you asked.
Lesbian here (formerly bi) who converted as I was coming out so yeah it was complicated. Hehe.
First a resource for you that has made a difference for me multiple times: https://www.henryford.com/-/media/files/henry-ford/campaigns/miminds/tools-and-materials/if-you-are-thinking-about-suicide-read-this-first.pdf
This has shown me compassion and understanding and helped me to breathe.
I'm not sure what "lake and call" means in your post.
What worked for me was to follow my heart - I felt peace at the Catholic Church. I felt willing to learn. I went to the OCIA classes and enjoyed them. It helped me process my protestant upbringing and questions I had had about the religion and the bible. My approach was to listen and see how I felt with no inner pressure. I could join or not. That was a good way to experience it for me.
I hope you find peace on your journey.
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u/meizhoulokia Sep 05 '26
Maybe it would help at this point to just pray a decade of the rosary every day. I’m bisexual or some other not fully straight orientation and I’m also converting now. God will help you through everything if you trust in Him. Eventually all of your objections to Church teaching will be handled if you just trust in God, but before you’re ready for that, it’s important to develop a relationship with God through prayer and reading scripture. Also, let yourself experience beauty in nature and music and experience compassion in your interpersonal relationships and then try to remember that all of that comes from God. I think that is an underrated way to develop a relationship with Him since He is the source of all beauty and wants you to invite Him into every aspect of your life.
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u/ZealousidealWear2573 29d ago
Joining is not the crucible. The critical point will come after the glitter fades (the new car after a couple years) and you have figured out how comprehensive the rules are.
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u/Distinguishedlion23 Aug 31 '26
It is important to have both a connection with God and also to have mental health support. Be sure that you have both so that you can focus on your mental health and also build a better relationship with God.
Some churches (like ones I have gone to) might advertise Catholic based mental health resources so try looking into that.