Photo Credit: Michael Caven.
Posted on 03/20/2015 9:46:29 AM PDT by NYer
Photo Credit: Michael Caven.
This Easter I become a Catholic.
It’s been a strange, unexpected journey. Something I often think about, and reflect on, is what I would’ve thought of myself, today, if I’d met me ten years ago. What if, by some miracle of space and time, the twenty year old me was able to visit the thirty year old me, today. What would the younger me think?
Becoming a Catholic is something I never could’ve imagined or envisioned.
I became a Christian at the age of about fifteen. I found an incredible local Pentecostal church, and incredible youth group, and was welcomed into a group of fantastic, devout young Christians. It’s hard to imagine all the grace I received through the friends I found and the experiences I had.
Then, at a time when so many Christians lose their faith and their identity, by the grace of God I was plugged into an incredible campus ministry in my university years. There I met lifelong friends, and my beautiful wife.
I fellowshipped, alongside my wife and our best friends, at a non-denominational church for many years. We still attend. It’s been an incredible place of grow, grace, and meeting God.
But the trajectory of my faith life—which impacts, of course, the whole of my life—changed one day when a Protestant pastor asked me what’s more important, the Bible or tradition. I didn’t have an answer, and that stumped me. And when I dug for answers, I was even more stumped, and unsatisfied. This began a long journey of searching, prayer, and unexpected discoveries.
A journey which will culminate at Easter, and continue for the rest of my life, in an entirely new direction.
What I know now, I didn’t know then. I’m becoming Catholic because of what I’ve learned—and I’ve learned it, I believe, by grace of God.
St. Francis de Sales is a favourite saint of mine. In the 16th century, as the Reformation split apart the Christian Church in Europe he wrote, preached, and worked tirelessly to explain the Catholic faith, and bring Protestants back into the fold. He was incredibly successful and something in his mission of cordially explaining his faith resonates deeply with me.
To paraphrase St. Francis de Sales to the early Protestants: If you’d known what the Catholic Church really taught you’d never have left.
In my case, if I’d known what the Catholic Church really taught, I’d have become Catholic much sooner.
Catholics Don’t Worship Mary
The Catholic Church doesn’t teach the worship of Mary. Worship (and adoration) are for God alone.
As a Protestant I thought, for a long time, that Catholics worshipped Mary alongside her son, Jesus. There are plenty of churches named in her honoured, Catholics seemed obsessed with statues of the Virgin, and the Rosary, of all things, seemed to be nothing more than vain repetition of praise for Jesus’s mother.
The reality, I’ve learned, is much different. Catholics don’t worship Mary but, because of her special role in salvation history, she is venerated. How is that different? In Catholic theology, which, remember, was the theology of the whole Christian Church for 1,500 years, we ask Mary to pray for us.
Like Mary’s request to Jesus at the wedding at Cana, Catholics believe that Mary has the ear of Jesus in a special way. This is also reflected in biblical typology—the same kind of exegesis that Jesus used to explain His role in salvation to the apostles on the road to Emmaus. In the same way I can ask my best friend—a living, breathing Christian—to pray for my intentions, the Catholic Church teaches that Mary can be asked for prayer in the same way. When Catholics say they pray, “to Mary,” they don’t mean that Mary will answer our prayers. When we “pray to” Mary, we ask for her to pray for us, to Christ.
Jesus answers all prayers. We ask Mary to pray on our behalf.
Catholics Don’t Worship the Saints
In the same way, the Catholic Church believes that holy men and women (more women than men, for the record) are, presently, in the presence of God. We call these people saints and, like the Virgin Mary, we can ask for their prayers.
As pictured in Revelation, the prayers of the saints gathered around the altar float up like incense before God. That’s why, since the very beginning of the Christian Church, there has been a strong belief in ability of the dead to pray for us—and the practice of us asking them for their prayers. This is why the earliest Christian Churches were built on sites where holy men and women were killed.
The beautiful theology of the Catholic Church says that the Church, as a body of believers, is made up of all past, present, and future Christians. We’re all one and the same and just because I pass away doesn’t mean I cease to be a part of that active body. The saints, as Christians, continue their role in the body, only now in the presence of God.
Jesus is Present in the Eucharist
For all the different Protestant branches and denominations I’ve learned that no one in Protestantism takes Jesus’s words more literally than the Catholic Church.
When Jesus said, “This is my body; this is my blood,” the Catholic Church—and the whole of Christianity for 1,500 years—takes Him at His word.
Incredibly, the Catholic theology of transubstantiation says that when the priest consecrates the elements (the bread and the wine) they become the actual body and blood of Jesus through a mysterious, miraculous process. The fact that we can’t see, touch, or taste these elements are real flesh and blood is part of the miracle.
This bold claim is backed up not only by a thousand and a half years of Church history but by solid exegesis of the gospels.
Jesus, from Bethlehem (which means “the house of bread”), who was laid into a manger (which is a feeding trough) when He was born is the actual manna from Heaven.
If I had known that I can actually receive Jesus in the Eucharist, I would’ve stormed the doors of my local Catholic Church a decade ago.
There’s Only One Mass
What strikes me as even more incredible is the Catholic theology of the act of the Eucharist itself: There’s only one.
Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross was once and for all, final, and this is something that all Protestants can get behind. The brilliant, beauty of the Mass and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic elements is that it links us up with all of Christian history—past, present, and future.
Jesus only died once. When the priest prayers the Eucharistic Prayers and says, “This is my body; this is my blood,” we are, as a church community, reliving the Last Supper and Jesus’s death on the cross. We are linking up, together, with all of the other Christians who have ever, and will ever, celebrate the Eucharist. And we’re linking up with the saints, angels, the Virgin Mary, and God Himself in Heaven as we see this same celebration taking place in Revelation.
As a Catholic, then, when I go to Mass I am experiencing something universal: Jesus’s death re-presented before my eyes.
The Priest Acts as Jesus
In a similar way, I never understood the importance of the priest in Catholic theology. As a young Protestant the priest, like Mary and the saints, stood in the way of my personal relationship with Jesus. But I had it all wrong.
The priest, as understood by Catholic theology, acts as Christ. The priest is a stand-in, if you will.
In the Mass, the priests acts in the place of Jesus, as he consecrates the bread and the wine. In the blessing of people, in Baptism, in prayer, and in the healing of the sick the priest, based on the authority that Jesus gives His apostles in the New Testament, is acting in His place. Where Jesus is not tangibly, physically with us, the priest is here in His place.
In confession, the priest, based on the direct charge from Jesus, “whoever’s sins you forgive they are forgiven,” represents Christ in forgiving our sins for us.
We don’t have to imagine God among us: there He is.
God Gave Us a Real, Tangible Church
Perhaps the greatest, most incredible thing I’ve learned, and wish that I knew a long, long time ago, is that Jesus left us with a real, tangible Church.
As a Protestant, I thought of the Church as a non-physical, spiritual union of Christians all over the world. But this isn’t how Jesus meant it, I’m convinced. Because this isn’t the Church as conceived by the apostles, the fathers of the Church (who were taught by the apostles), and all Christians for more than fifteen hundred years.
As I become Catholic perhaps the greatest gift I’m to receive is union with a real, tangible Church founded by Christ.
A Church with bishops and priests who can trace their authority, historically, all the way back to the apostles. Authority that we see manifest in the New Testament as the ability to forgive sins, drive out demons, and define an understanding of doctrine. These authoritative charges, according to the Catholic Church, remain with today’s bishops and priests through Apostolic Succession.
That’s why when the priest says, “You’re forgiven,” he means it. Because Christ said he’d have that power.
Rather than having to “feel” or “know” it on our own, God gave us the beauty and the blessing of a physical, tangible Church to be His hands and feet on earth. I don’t need to pray and ask for God to give me a sense of His grace, although I certainly could, and do. But in the Eucharist, in confession, and in the knowledge that God gave us the Church, we can be certain of His grace. This, in my experience, has been the most powerful aspect of the Catholic Church—and something I wish I knew years ago.
The most beautiful gift that Jesus gave us, beyond His sacrificial offering, was the establishment of a Church to proclaim, celebrate, and safeguard truth.
There’s a lot—a lot!—I wish I’d known about the Catholic Church a long time ago. I would’ve become a Catholic. And, of course, now that I know I can’t help but do anything else. At Easter I’ll turn in a new direction, take a new path, but I suppose, really, it’s the path I’ve always been on: A slow road to Rome. But I’m finally getting there. My new orientation, then, will be to continue to explain and champion this incredible faith I’ve found. And to be a cordial Catholic.
I'm a revert and my wife a convert and we've never been happier.
I love to read these and see the "knowledgeable" posters who come on to attack the Catholic Church when the seem to know more about the Church and what we believe than we know.
You are absolutely right! I am about to post another thread from a protestant who is also headed home to the Catholic Church. Like you, she makes the same statement. Will ping you to it.
The Church doesn’t push the Mary “adoration” much because Catholics don’t adore her. And repeating that canard just doesn’t make it so.
On the other hand Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Mark 10:21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
1 Peter 4:16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Acts 14:22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.
Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
1 Peter 4:14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Do you folks have those verses in your Bible?
Welcome home Michael!
God Bless and WELCOME HOME!
Why did I become a RC at age 12, I don’t know.
I knew this pretty RC girl, whom I was head over heels in love with, who asked me to come with her to Adoration one Sunday afternoon in 1947.
The huge monstrance, the ornate vestments, the clouds of incense, the organ music and the solemnity of the occasion all got to me. I told myself: “This is where I belong.”
After studying the theology, I became even more convinced that I made the right choice.
I never married that girl but we do exchange Christmas cards each year.
Some Catholics do claim that Mary was ALWAYS virgin. Never mind the fact that the Gospels (Luke) state she was a virgin at the time of her conception of Jesus ONLY. Period. Stop. End of discussion. Fact is Mary was married Joseph and Jesus had brothers and sisters specifically mentioned in the Gospels. The Lord commands us to be fruitful and multiply and Mary and Joseph did just that. A more recent Catholic dogma-—instituted by the same authoritarian pope who developed the truly wacky concept of papal infallibility, claims that Mary herself was born of an immaculate conception, which of course there is no basis for such a claim and no mention of it in the Bible. No matter what your denomination or faith is, I think it is always best to stick to the facts as opposed to making up yarns out of whole cloth and developing theories and dogmas which have no factual or historical basis.
There’s much about A. Little’s testimony that just doesn’t hold up under closer examination. Seems contrived, on second reading.
“Mary has the ear of Jesus in a special way.” Chapter and verse, please.
I would also greatly appreciate your citing the Scripture reference for any time Jesus ever said, “Whatever you desire, ask my mother in my name and she will see that you receive it; or anything remotely close to that where Mary would be indicated as being part of the chain of command. WADR.
Why did the Catholic Church delete the 2nd Commandment received from God? I guess they are smarter than God.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.”
“Right, because it’s not as if the early Protestants were actually Catholics, including Catholic priests and theologians, or anything like that. /sarc”
It helps to know history. De Sales died in 1622. When he brought thousands of the Protestants in the Geneva area to the Catholic faith they had been Protestants for 50 years or more. Many or most had never been Catholic.
The pamphlets he used to help convert them were later compiled as a book. It’s still in print: http://www.amazon.com/The-Catholic-Controversy-Defense-Faith/dp/0895553872
“
Catholics pray directly to Mary. They don’t merely ask her to pray for them.”
Let’s see...
Hail, Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among sinners,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
PRAY FOR US SINNERS,
Now, and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Well, that answers that one.
Repeating falsity will NEVER make it true.
Let's see...
Statues to Mary....check
Prayers to Mary and about Mary...check
Kneel before statue of Mary and pray to Mary....check
Reliance upon Mary for salvation and other things....check.
Yep, what you've got there is worship.
Let’s see, Jan Hus, John Knox, and Menno Simons were all Catholic priests. Luther was a priest and theology professor, Thomas Cranmer was a Catholic archbishop and had degrees in theology and a doctorate of divinity. Martin Bucer was a Catholic priest, and a Dominican friar, having studied theology under the Dominicans.
Once a gain repeating a falsity will NEVER make it true. Thank you for expressing a completely uninformed opinion that is wrong.
Once again repeating a falsity will NEVER make it true. Thank you for expressing a completely uninformed opinion that is wrong.
I’m not even a Catholic (though I am catholic) and I sometimes mention Mary in my prayers for others. She is, after all, a close relative to Our Lord.
"Other than the assassination, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"
Rather, it is the Holy Spirit that plays a role in our salvation.
Is there some kind of box in your theology that is big enough for Mary, and big enough for the Holy Spirit, but not big enough for both?
Scripture quotes Mary, inspired by the Holy Spirit, saying, "All generations to come shall call me blessed."
What have you done today to make that prophecy true?
sorry charlie-
although i take issue with catholic veneration of mary
i have made no such comments in this post
you’ve got the wrong guy
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