How and Why I am Becoming Catholic

Author: Pete

 

When I tell people that I am becoming a Catholic, the first question I always get is “why?” Understandable. It is a very small minority of people who convert from Protestantism to Catholicism. And the ones that do almost always are married to a Catholic and are really doing it to avoid conflict. I would venture that less than 10 percent of Catholic converts are Protestants (not counting Episcopal/Anglican/Lutheran) who are doing it solely because they feel led to. While this reveals a problem with the Catholic Church in particular in the area of witnessing, that is for another discussion. What I want to do is delineate every single reason that I have chosen to come into full communion with the Catholic Church, and maybe in the process get the ball rolling with a few readers who have never even considered exploring Catholicism. I have a feeling that this is going to be a massive post, so be forewarned.

 

My Journey

If you had asked me this time last year “Pete, what do you think about the Catholic Church?” I would have told you that I thought that they were an extremely well-intentioned but misguided bunch who never had the wool taken off of their eyes in the 16^th century. If you had asked me if I would ever consider becoming Catholic I would have laughed at you. Like many Protestants, I had a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions about Catholics. They worship Mary, they think you can pray people into heaven, they think you have to go through a priest to be forgiven for your sins, etc. Ironically, it was I who had the wool over my eyes. Fortunately it was about to be taken off.

 

At UNC, I hadn’t really found a church that suited me. I was attending a Baptist one, but it had become virtually worthless. I was merely going through the motions, and honestly getting up for church on Sunday mornings had become a chore. In fact, it had been a chore for a very long time, except when I was in Greensboro my parents were there to keep me going every week. Anyway, I gradually slacked off and stopped going on Sunday, telling myself that I’d do my own little praying or whatever. Essentially a justification in my own mind for me to sleep in on Sundays. It was an all-time low point for me, spiritually.

 

When I came back for the spring semester, I felt that something was missing, yet I really didn’t want to keep going to that same Baptist church. It didn’t do anything for me. I decided one week to try and find a denomination that had a more formal worship style. I was debating between Lutheran, Episcopal, and maybe even Catholic, but probably not. Well that same week I was getting really bothered by the atheistic theories that we were reading in Philosophy class. It seemed that Aristotle, Plato, etc had morality all figured out, and that the Ten Commandments were just something that Moses made up to keep the Jews from killing each other. I began searching the internet for refutations to such arguments, hoping to find some Christian blogger.

 

Instead of finding a blogger, I found Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose medal I wear to this day. His exhaustive work, The Summa Theologica, tore the Greek philosophers apart and defended Christianity on an academic level that I didn’t even know existed. He seemed to have an answer to every objection that could possibly be leveled at Christianity. Sidenote: if you are ever having doubts in today’s anti-religion world, then pick up St Thomas. He can hold his own with Dawkins. When I read some of the other sections of the Summa, however, I saw lots of things that were unfamiliar to me, like the “Eucharist”. I realized that of course Aquinas was a Catholic. But wait—he wasn’t talking about Mary. He wasn’t talking about the Pope’s infallibility and authority, etc. I began to see that perhaps I had misjudged Catholicism.

 

As a result, I decided to attend the St Thomas More parish in Chapel Hill, and give it a try. The rest, as they say, is history. I fell in love with every aspect of the Catholic Church. I still can’t get enough of the endless books on Catholicism. And here I am, on track to move forward in the RCIA in September, and come into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil 2008.

 

Now let me get to the good part: “Why?”

 

Why the Catholic Church?

Apostolic Succession

One of the single coolest things about the Catholic Church is that you can directly trace back the ordination of each and every priest to St Peter himself, and consequently to Jesus Christ. The current fleet (or whatever you call them ) of priests are a direct continuation of the original twelve apostles. Jesus ordained St Peter, St Peter ordained X, X ordained Y, …, N ordained so and so, who is the priest of your local parish today. Sure, other denominations symbolically have leaders that serve the same roles as the apostles, and they are not to be belittled, but only the Catholic Church has maintained direct apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders. It’s just cool.

 

The Eucharist

Ah, the Eucharist. Protestants call it the Lord’s Supper or Communion, and believe the bread and wine to be symbolic of Jesus’ sacrifice. Catholics, along with Anglicans/Lutheran/Orthodox/Episcopals, believe it to be the actual blood and body and presence of Jesus Christ when consecrated by a priest. The Eucharist is a font of strength for Catholics, and allow them to be in the presence of Christ, and fully experience his sacrifice. The “symbolic” view is something that came about even after Martin Luther (who believed in the real presence). Christians as far back as the early church celebrated the Eucharist as Christ intended, and as Catholics celebrate it today.

 

The Family

One of my favorite authors refers to the Catholic Church as ‘one big family’. It is really a great metaphor. God is the Father, head of the entire family. Mary is the mother (although this is not to suggest that her role even begins to approach God’s. She is quite insignificant when compared to God.), to whom Christians can go to for a mother’s comfort. The Saints in Heaven are our brothers and sisters, whom we can ask for prayers to God in times of need. These three roles also have less significant, but wonderful Earthy parallels. The Pope and every other priest serve the role of ‘father’ here on Earth. They guide the Church, who is the ‘mother’ that every Catholic should remain faithful to. And of course, all fellow Christians, not just Catholics, are brethren (and sistren?). I love being a part of something that is outside of time. I can ask for Saint Thomas’ prayers in a time of need even though he lived hundreds of years ago. The power of the Holy Spirit makes such limitations disappear.

 

Unity

In case you haven’t noticed, Catholics are mostly of one mind. The Church has held the same moral principles since its inception millennia ago. It does not bend to accommodate social changes. Its sole concern is to do the will of God. Of course, like any organization, it has had its share of rotten apples, but for the most part it has had leaders who unite every Catholic (formerly every Christian) on Earth in the name of Jesus. The unity does not stop there. It can be found in almost every aspect of Catholic life. The liturgy on Sunday, though found in different languages in different countries, is essentially the same everywhere on Earth. Whether you are in Tokyo, Sidney, or New York, you’re going to hear the same readings from the Holy Bible.

 

So while other denominations stand divided on a multitude of issues, the Catholic Church stands strong with the same teachings and values that it has held since it was started by Jesus himself.

 

You’re still here?

Of course, if I laid out every reason that I love the Catholic Church, it would be as thick as Harry Potter 7 (which I anxiously await). This has merely been a little sum-up of the essentials, and I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of stuff. There are plenty of little things that I haven’t mentioned like the Rosary, the Liturgy of the Hours, Incense, the rest of the sacraments, Benedict’s cool outfit, etc. I just hope that this has a.)given you a good idea about where I’m coming from and b.)made you curious about Catholicism.

 

If you are indeed thinking about exploring it (what do you have to lose, really? At the least you’ll learn more about Christianity), then I would highly highly highly recommend Catholicism for Dummies. I’m dead serious. This is the best book you can get your hands on. It’s written by a priest with non-Catholics in mind, and it entertainingly gives you a complete synopsis.

 

If not, then I guess you just wasted 10 minutes

Oh and I almost forgot–I would love to facilitate a debate/questions, so please bring them on in the form of comments below.