The Steady Stream Home [of people converting to the Catholic Church] Marcus Grodi

The Steady Stream Home

Marcus Grodi

For the first forty years of my life, I never considered the possibility of becoming a Catholic. No Catholic ever talked to me about the faith and it never crossed my mind that there was any reason whatsoever to even consider the Catholic Church. In those forty years, I had freely processed from the Lutheran church of my youth, over to the Congregational church of my adult "born again" reawakening, and on into the Presbyterian church of my pastoral ministry. We even considered moving on into other Protestant churches as we struggled with the "problems of Protestantism", but the Catholic Church was never an option.

One piece of disinformation that reinforced my disinterest was that I had never heard of a Protestant minister becoming Catholic. I was very aware of Catholics becoming Protestant—a third of my congregations were ex-Catholic—and I had heard of priests and nuns being "rescued from the whore of Babylon." I was also aware of Protestant laity becoming Catholic through marriage, but I assumed they could do this only because they either had not understood their Protestant faith or merely lacked convictions. But the idea that a well informed sincerely convinced evangelical Protestant minister could become Roman Catholic was far beyond the pale. Absurd! And I have found that this similar lack of information was shared by most of my convert friends.

Then through the grapevine I heard a rumor that my old seminary classmate Scott Hahn, who upon graduation had also become a Presbyterian minister, had "poped." Because this didn't fit into any of my mental categories, besides running cross-grain to my personal knowledge of Scott's staunch Calvinist convictions, I gave the rumor no heed. I waved it off and moved on.

Later I discovered that not only had he and his wife Kimberly become Catholic, but that there were others, such as Father Ray and Ruth Ryland, who were instrumental in my wife's and my conversion, Steve Wood, who had also attended my seminary, and, of course, John Henry Cardinal Newman. Then during our journey we began discovering others, both those who had converted or were presently on the journey. The fact that there was this steady stream of men and women clergy on the road to Rome—many of whom were like I was, unaware of others on the journey—eventually led to the formation of the Coming Home Network International. We are here to stand beside, to give encouragement, prayer, resources, fellowship, and assistance to any and all, clergy as well as laity, who sense the Holy Spirit calling them home to the Church Jesus established in his apostles.

As of this newsletter, our data indicates (see page 6) that we are in touch with 1383 Primaries (clergy, seminarians, academics, missionaries, etc) from nearly 100 different non-Catholic traditions who have either already converted (760) or are on the journey (623).

Now: Is this stream of highly informed non-Catholic intellectuals into the Church, however, only a modern phenomenon? Is it merely the result of modern crisis within Protestantism teamed with the increased accessibility of truth about the Catholic Church through technical media?

Many of us only became aware of conversions to the Catholic Church through contemporary conversion stories, like Rome Sweet Home or Crossing the Tiber, or contemporary collections, like Surprised by Truth, Spiritual Journeys, or Journeys Home. The truth is, however, that throughout the twentieth century there was a continuous stream of these books (we have several shelves full of them in the CHNetwork's lending library). Moreover, books like Patrick Allitt's Catholic Converts: British and American Intellectuals Turn to Rome and Joseph Pearce's Literary Converts indicate that there have always been clergy and lay converts to the Catholic Church.

A recent addition to our library, however, really opened our eyes! In 1907, a D.J. Scannell-O'Neill published a book entitled Converts to Rome: Distinguished Converts to Rome in America. This 180-page book contains nothing more than an amazing annotated alphabetical list of 3000 American converts since the discovery of America! The author writes, "The list of converts contained in this book, while as full as the compiler has been able to make it, is by no means exhaustive. Of the revisers who have looked it over, not one but was able to add from personal knowledge the names of several converts of prominence. No doubt many hundreds of others are still wanting. Perhaps they will be supplied some day. Until then we are sure the present list will prove quite serviceable." What is amazing to us is that these converts were not limited to the "usual suspects" (Anglican, Episcopal, or Lutheran) but were from over fifteen different Protestant groups, and included a bishop, 372 clergymen, 3 Rabbis, 115 doctors, 126 lawyers, 45 US Senators and Congressmen, 12 governors, and 180 military officers! Many of these names are well known in history—though most historians and histories ignore their Catholic convictions.

If you are a convert to the Church, feel reassured that you are a part of a long stream of men and women who by grace God has called home to His one, holy, apostolic, and Catholic Church. If you are reading this and are not a convert, than know that there have always been men and women who by God's grace have come to love and cherish that which you have always had.

Sincerely in Christ,

Marcus Grodi

From The Coming Home Network Newsletter October 2007
Used with permission.

A great article about his conversion to Catholicism.

1 posted on 04/24/2011 7:35:35 PM PDT by Salvation

This 180-page book contains nothing more than an amazing annotated alphabetical list of 3000 American converts since the discovery of America!

** I'm wondering whose names are in this book?

2 posted on 04/24/2011 7:40:01 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

That was a great read for a peaceful Easter Sunday evening.

Thanks for posting it!

3 posted on 04/24/2011 7:41:14 PM PDT by Bean Counter (Minn sez your feets stink...)

4 posted on 04/24/2011 7:43:51 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...

5 posted on 04/24/2011 7:46:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

The fact is that liberal protestantism has nothing to offer the hungry soul. New Age junk food doesn't get it. One by one the mainline churches are self-destructing; and to the extent they even exist as organizations thirty years from now, they will not be churches as the term is ordinarily understood.

6 posted on 04/24/2011 7:55:14 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard

To: Salvation; Bed_Zeppelin; YellowRoseofTx; Rashputin; StayoutdaBushesWay; OldNewYork; MotherRedDog; ..

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.

7 posted on 04/24/2011 8:11:33 PM PDT by narses ("Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions." Chesterton)

To: hinckley buzzard

to the extent they even exist as organizations thirty years from now, they will not be churches as the term is ordinarily understood.

Agreed. They'll be secular social movements. The MSM will love and promote them, because the word "God" will never be heard.

8 posted on 04/24/2011 8:20:14 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)

9 posted on 04/24/2011 9:56:51 PM PDT by redhead

Wow! Glad I wasn’t the only one!/s Seriously, thank you for posting.

All of us had our own reasons, I suppose. That’s the best I can do for a profound thought after another Easter Vigil!

10 posted on 04/25/2011 12:02:13 AM PDT by tanuki (O-voters: wanted Uberman, got Underdog....)

"I'm wondering whose names are in this book?"

Get the PDF or read online here: Converts to Rome: Distinguished Converts to Rome in America

11 posted on 04/25/2011 1:50:57 AM PDT by GonzoII (Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea...Quare tristis es anima mea?)

Conversion is such a GREAT thing, be it by those who had come home from the outside and for those who were in the inside but took their faith for granted. I should know, I am in the latter. :)=^..^=

Christ is RISEN, He is RISEN INDEED!!!!

12 posted on 04/25/2011 3:36:11 AM PDT by Biggirl ("The Best Of Times, The Worse Of Times", Charles Dickens)

Overheard on the radio [paraphrase mine]:

It is easier to bring a Protestant pastor to Catholicism than a Protestant layman. Typically, the layman would simply say, "yeah, my community of faith works for me so stop bothering". Whereas a minister would have an attitude more like "show me Christ and I will go where He is".

The goal of Marcus Grodi's Coming Home Network is precisely to help the Protestant ministers who convert. That is because they have a peculiar problem: they are driven to ministry and become excellent Catholic apologists, yet they are often unable to enter priesthood, since they are married people. The apparent rise in the strength of Catohlic apologetics lately is in great part thanks to them.

13 posted on 04/25/2011 5:40:12 AM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)

Many of these ministers bring parts or whole congregations with them. I attended a talk a couple of years ago given by a recent convert who set about learning the ways and worship of the early church. As he learned more and more about it, he found himself pulled to the Church. When he was received into the church, he came with 200 of his flock. It was an amazing story.

What I love about these tales is hearing the fresh and exciting “discoveries” of truth. I felt that way when I reverted, I couldn’t get enough. 10 Years now and I still get excited.

14 posted on 04/25/2011 7:55:14 AM PDT by Jvette

Thanks - this is an excellent, interesting program. He is a great interviewer.

15 posted on 04/25/2011 8:18:49 AM PDT by ex-snook ("Above all things, truth beareth away the victory")

I just dealt with the html version. Thanks, I figured it was out there somewhere in cyberspace! LOL!

16 posted on 04/25/2011 9:11:55 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

We had 37 join on the Easter vigil, 19 baptized. Our Monsignor has an Alienated Catholics program and he said in the 26 yrs he has had it he has never had a time where no one attended. It is such a great parish.

17 posted on 04/25/2011 10:49:18 AM PDT by Citizen Soldier ("You care far too much what is written and said about you." Axelrod to Obama 2006)

18 posted on 04/27/2011 2:14:01 AM PDT by Cronos (Christian, redneck, rube and proud of it!)

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