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Newbie2
Guest
If you converted to Catholocism, was there a single sticking point that you had to overcome to be comfortable making the change and if so, what was it and how did you manage to overcome it?
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CindySpeaksUp
Guest
Being raised a Pentecostal there were many things that kind of put me off in the beginning, luckily I have a wonderfully devout Catholic boyfriend who patiently and lovingly explained these things to me so I was able to realize that what I thought Catholics did was really not so.
But the biggest would have to be praying to Mary. Now, you’d think her being the mother of Jesus would be enough to make you comfortable with honoring her, but like i said, coming from a Pentecostal background it was really hard to overcome this ingrained fear of having committed the grave sin of worshiping someone other than God. Even though i was explained it was not worship or idolizing, but honoring and venerating her, i still could not get passed it. Then i listened to a speech by Tim Staples on Mary and everything he said made perfect sense. If i can ask my own mother to pray for me when i am sick or going through a rough time, why is it bad to ask Mary, Jesus’ own mother, the highest of all women, to pray for me? After all, she is closer to him then anyone down here is
Jesus while on the cross says to Mary ‘Woman, behold, your son!’. Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!’" (Jn 19:26-27) this establishes a relationship of love not just between Mary and the disciple John, but to all of us, she is also our mother. And how lucky we are to have Mary’s motherly love and affection! Since then one of my favorite prayer is the Hail Mary
But the biggest would have to be praying to Mary. Now, you’d think her being the mother of Jesus would be enough to make you comfortable with honoring her, but like i said, coming from a Pentecostal background it was really hard to overcome this ingrained fear of having committed the grave sin of worshiping someone other than God. Even though i was explained it was not worship or idolizing, but honoring and venerating her, i still could not get passed it. Then i listened to a speech by Tim Staples on Mary and everything he said made perfect sense. If i can ask my own mother to pray for me when i am sick or going through a rough time, why is it bad to ask Mary, Jesus’ own mother, the highest of all women, to pray for me? After all, she is closer to him then anyone down here is
Jesus while on the cross says to Mary ‘Woman, behold, your son!’. Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!’" (Jn 19:26-27) this establishes a relationship of love not just between Mary and the disciple John, but to all of us, she is also our mother. And how lucky we are to have Mary’s motherly love and affection! Since then one of my favorite prayer is the Hail Mary
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Schluns
Guest
Everything I had learned about Catholics and the Transubstantiation. Those were the biggest hurdles.
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Newbie2
Guest
(Bump) 
Nobody else? I really didn’t have any significant issues.
Nobody else? I really didn’t have any significant issues.
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NHInsider
Guest
Mary was the big issue for me, too, as I had been taught all my life that venerating any human being was idolatry.
I also struggled to accept a lot of Church teaching, especially the disciplinary bits like priestly celibacy.
I was drawn in by the Eucharist, studied enough to settle my mind about the history of the Church and what was wrong with sola scriptura, and crossed the Tiber. The rest has come gradually since.
I also struggled to accept a lot of Church teaching, especially the disciplinary bits like priestly celibacy.
I was drawn in by the Eucharist, studied enough to settle my mind about the history of the Church and what was wrong with sola scriptura, and crossed the Tiber. The rest has come gradually since.
Newbie,(Bump)
Nobody else? I really didn’t have any significant issues.
If I recall, you came out of Lutheranism. How did you reconcile Justification, purgatory, intercession, and the primacy of the papacy? Just curious.
Jon
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Newbie2
Guest
Yes, I did. Missouri Synod Lutheran.
Justification wasn’t a real biggie as at that time I hadn’t studied the issue in depth; I subscribed and still do to the common belief that we are saved by God’s grace, and not by any deserving actions we can do to save ourselves. Now that I’ve done some extensive study, I come to the same conclusions (a big relief too…it would have been problematic to convert, then discover that for me it WAS a big issue afterall.
)Purgatory was pretty easy for me. Since nothing unclean can enter heaven, we have to be spotless. Now I don’t know anyone who hasn’t sinned between the time of their baptism and when they die. Purgatory, as understood as a process rather than a specific place, made and makes sense to me. That, and since purgatory is an after-death thing, there wasn’t a great deal that I could do to influence whatever time or process that I was going to go through. My understanding has always been even as a Lutheran that while we are forgiven for our sins, that doesn’t mean we won’t be punished for them.
The Papal thing was also pretty easy after understanding what infallibility really means. Any denomination has a hierarchical structure to one extent or another. Even a 20 person church has a leader in their minister/pastor. Especially when I looked at some of the wacky theology that comes out of some of the splinter of a splinter of a splinter independant churches somewhere i.e. the Westboro Baptist Church, it became apparent to me that Apostolic succession makes sense. It might have been a bigger deal if the Pope was more visible in American Catholocism, like if I lived in Italy.
Oops, almost forgot intercession(s). Not a biggie for me either. It made perfect sense to me that if we ask our pastor and other people to pray for us, why not ask someone who is that much holier, i.e. the Apostles and saints to do so? Why not ask Mary, who knows her son so much more intimately than we ever could to ask him to hear our prayers? I guess who I asked to pray for me didn’t affect my conversion one way or another. As a Lutheran, I always felt that the “communion of Saints” was a connection with those who had gone before me in the Lord, and that they were “pulling for me” up there somewhere.
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rpp
Guest
I am a convert. In my case, the only real sticking point was whether God really existed.
Then a six years ago, God stepped in and showed me in no uncertain terms that He actually existed and that it was the Catholic Church that held the fullness of His truth. In showing me that He existed, I realized that I was wrong about pretty much everything and that I needed to utterly change and conform my conscience to the Church.
Thus I went from a rabid, left of Clinton hateful, ACLU supporting, pro-abortionist with hyper-liberal political leanings to a faithful Catholic who hates abortion, knows the ACLU is an utterly evil organization, utterly pro-life and politically conservative to the right of Reagan.
(My conversion from being an atheist for my entire adult life was sudden, supernatural and miraculous. No, I was not an addict or criminal. Just a guy who stopped to help at a car accident where the driver, who managed to get her brain tissue on my hands, died in my arms.)
Then a six years ago, God stepped in and showed me in no uncertain terms that He actually existed and that it was the Catholic Church that held the fullness of His truth. In showing me that He existed, I realized that I was wrong about pretty much everything and that I needed to utterly change and conform my conscience to the Church.
Thus I went from a rabid, left of Clinton hateful, ACLU supporting, pro-abortionist with hyper-liberal political leanings to a faithful Catholic who hates abortion, knows the ACLU is an utterly evil organization, utterly pro-life and politically conservative to the right of Reagan.
(My conversion from being an atheist for my entire adult life was sudden, supernatural and miraculous. No, I was not an addict or criminal. Just a guy who stopped to help at a car accident where the driver, who managed to get her brain tissue on my hands, died in my arms.)
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BootCampJr
Guest
Understanding that the Blessed Sacrament is the body and blood of Christ, as opposed to being a symbol. I get it now
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rpp
Guest
Thanks, N2. How did family react?Yes, I did. Missouri Synod Lutheran.
Justification wasn’t a real biggie as at that time I hadn’t studied the issue in depth; I subscribed and still do to the common belief that we are saved by God’s grace, and not by any deserving actions we can do to save ourselves. Now that I’ve done some extensive study, I come to the same conclusions (a big relief too…it would have been problematic to convert, then discover that for me it WAS a big issue afterall.
Purgatory was pretty easy for me. Since nothing unclean can enter heaven, we have to be spotless. Now I don’t know anyone who hasn’t sinned between the time of their baptism and when they die. Purgatory, as understood as a process rather than a specific place, made and makes sense to me. That, and since purgatory is an after-death thing, there wasn’t a great deal that I could do to influence whatever time or process that I was going to go through. My understanding has always been even as a Lutheran that while we are forgiven for our sins, that doesn’t mean we won’t be punished for them.
The Papal thing was also pretty easy after understanding what infallibility really means. Any denomination has a hierarchical structure to one extent or another. Even a 20 person church has a leader in their minister/pastor. Especially when I looked at some of the wacky theology that comes out of some of the splinter of a splinter of a splinter independant churches somewhere i.e. the Westboro Baptist Church, it became apparent to me that Apostolic succession makes sense. It might have been a bigger deal if the Pope was more visible in American Catholocism, like if I lived in Italy.
Oops, almost forgot intercession(s). Not a biggie for me either. It made perfect sense to me that if we ask our pastor and other people to pray for us, why not ask someone who is that much holier, i.e. the Apostles and saints to do so? Why not ask Mary, who knows her son so much more intimately than we ever could to ask him to hear our prayers? I guess who I asked to pray for me didn’t affect my conversion one way or another. As a Lutheran, I always felt that the “communion of Saints” was a connection with those who had gone before me in the Lord, and that they were “pulling for me” up there somewhere.
JOn
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Newbie2
Guest
Wasn’t an issue in the slightest. I’m the only kid, and my parents didn’t see any problems with it. Lucky me, huh, considering all the stories that I read of families being split apart by conversions one way or the other.
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