Converts: How did you get past reservations about Priests, Confession, Indulgences, praying to saints, real presence

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I’m having a hard time getting past these things, and I know they are common struggles for converts. What helped you make it over these stumbling blocks?

I’m struggling with why I need a priest in order for my sins to be forgiven. Can’t I just pray to God and ask? Do my prayers have so little weight?

I don’t understand how indulgences work, why we need them, or how the church decides their “worth”. The process seems arbitrary.

I can understand revering Saints or other admirable Christians, but I don’t understand why I need to pray to them to ask them to intercede. Can’t I just pray to God directly?

Real presence is still a challenge.

It feels like I am so close yet so far.
 
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Best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

Which would you like to discuss first? AND what is your faith background?
 
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I just accept that the Holy Spirit guides the Church in matters of faith and morals. The arbiter of truth available to our physical senses is the Church. So I just believe…

As for indulgences…I don’t know how they “work” but I don’t spend too much time counting how many days off purgatory I would get either. If we collect enough pennies without counting every cent, it’ll amount to something I guess…
 
I think the first 3: priests and confession, indulgences, and saints are all the same issue. Why aren’t my prayers enough. Why do I need other people to intercede for me?

I was raised Baptist and I’m technically still Baptist. I went to a Catholic elementary school run by Dominicans. So, I’m familiar with the basics. I’ve also studied on my own off and on for several years now. I’ve been actively considering converting to Catholicism for the last 3-4 years. I have a copy of the Catechism for US Adults.
 
mrsdizzyd said:
I think the first 3: priests and confession, indulgences, and saints are all the same issue. Why aren’t my prayers enough. Why do I need other people to intercede for me?
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I’m not sure they’re “needed” in the strict sense that God can never grant anything outside of asking saints for intercession. But for some reason, God wants us to pray for one another, and the prayer of a righteous person is powerful (in Scripture), so I guess no harm in asking?

To pray for one another seems to be participating in divine love — to will the good of another person. So it’s good for the person being prayed for, and good for the person praying. Win win situation.
 
mrsdizzyd said:
I’m having a hard time getting past these things, and I know they are common struggles for converts. What helped you make it over these stumbling blocks?
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Possibly these things were handled differently twenty years ago, when I became a Catholic, and possibly also the rules vary from country to country. But I can answer all five of your questions very easily and succinctly.

Priests and confession.—I knew about both beforehand. In fact the high status of the priesthood in the Catholic Church, and the prospect of being able to confess my sins, were among my reasons for wanting to become a Catholic in the first place.

Indulgences and praying to saints.—Nothing was ever said on either of these two subjects. I was accepted into the Church without being required to know anything about either of them.

The real presence.—Alone among the five topics on your list, this was one that took time and effort. The priest who handled my conversion explained it at length, beginning with John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
 
The fourth on your list is by far the most important. That’s the one that caused so many of Jesus’s disciples to leave Him. When you hold that one … all else falls in place.
 
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For me it was just a continuation of a trust and submission I’d already practiced for years as a Protestant. Many Protestants struggle when one place in scripture seems in tension with another. They may know arguments that reconcile the two, buy they seem contrived. Protestants who successfully maintain faith in the face of this do so on the basis of humbly admitting that they won’t necessarily understand everything, that just because something is hard for them to understand, it doesn’t make it wrong. Faith is worth nothing if you demand understanding first, and many Protestants are very, very good at seeing how this applies to scripture.

So for me it was just a matter of coming to believe the claims that Christ set up a Church, not merely a book, made sense. If I came to that one conclusion, it took care of the rest, just as believing the Bible was inspired took care of the difficulties in it: “If it’s inspired, and if God demands I have faith in it, then that means believing things that I may not have understood left to my own devices.” Well that applies to the Church, too.

Then we keep seeking understanding, of course, but we just don’t demand it, anymore than, in our Protestant Days, we demanded understanding of every little part of the Bible. Faith arrived at only after demands of understanding were met, after all, isn’t truly faith.

So basically, we get past these things by realizing, if Catholicism is true, Church teaching carries a similar weight as we’ve accorded scripture our entire lives: When in doubt or tension, we give the Church teaching the benefit of the doubt over our own difficulties, just as we once did (and still do, in many cases) for Scripture.

Edit: I do have understandings of many of the things you mention to my own satisfaction, but it’s a journey, and I’ve learned that I can’t count on thinking I’ll always have answers. Plus having the sort of attitude I’ve mentioned here is a broadly applicable tool, whereas giving specific answers to those difficulties will only help you until you reach the next stumbling block. It’s important, and noble, yes, but adopting an attitude of faith is even more vital, hence that’s been my focus in this response.
 
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Why aren’t my prayers enough. Why do I need other people to intercede for me?
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Because the Christian faith is all about participation in Christ. Remember how we, Christians, the Church, are the BODY of Christ. Jesus lives and acts through us. But we do not all have the same role:
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:27-31)
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The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
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So clearly, there are different roles in the church. There are Apostles, or those who today succeed them in office — the bishops — and their assistants in ministry, the presbyters (priests) and deacons. Part of the apostolic ministry is to forgive sin in the name of Christ:
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:20-23).
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Paul clearly saw himself and his associates as been given a specific “ministry of reconciliation” that other believers did not have:
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).
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That certain sacramental duties were associated with the priests (or “elders” or “presbyters”) of the church is clear from the New Testament:
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders [priests] of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16)
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I converted to Catholicism many years ago. I had many questions at that time. I still have some now but not nearly as many as then. At some point you have to accept 2000 yrs of church wisdom that they know what they are talking about.
 
I can understand revering Saints or other admirable Christians, but I don’t understand why I need to pray to them to ask them to intercede. Can’t I just pray to God directly?
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You can and should pray to God directly.

But Scripture also commands that we pray for one another.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. -1 Timothy 2
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Here Paul tells us to pray and make INTERCESSION for all people. Christians ought to pray for other Christians. And all of this depends on Christ’s one unique mediation. Christ as Mediator does not negate us as intercessors for each other. Rather, because we are part of his Body, the Body of Christ — the Church — we are enabled to participate in his work of salvation.

If my asking you to pray for me does not interfere with my relationship with God, then why should a saint in HEAVEN do so? On the contrary, it is precisely because a saint IS IN Heaven that makes his or her prayers all the more powerful, for they are full of God’s righteousness, while we are still on a journey. To quote James again: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful in its effects” (James 5).
 
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Confession was my only hangup. I was completely twisted-off anxious about my first confession. I had been dreading it as the date approached. I had gone over and over in my mind how exactly I was going to phrase 42 years of really rotten stuff. When I got into the confessional and the door closed, something changed, a peace came over me, and it all just spilled out. Nothing was held back. The priest was very much acting in persona Christi. He was so gentle and merciful. Confession is now my most favorite thing about Catholicism. Remember this, Jesus did not come to kick you and tell you you’re no good. He came to be the fountain of God’s infinite mercy.
 
That made me cry. I’m not sure why, but it did. Thank you for that.
 
Intellectually, once I came to the realization that the Catholic church was the one church founded by Jesus everything else fell into place.
Practically speaking I found veneration of the saints and Mary difficult. It helped to read and watch movies about their lives and be inspired by their love for God. I also got to know them better and realized they were awesome friends whom I would love to have pray for me 🙂 They are in heaven and I know I can count on them to pray hard and not forget to pray for me!
Confession- scripture is pretty clear that Jesus instituted this sacrament. But it is also just so helpful to be able to say my sins out loud to someone and hear Jesus’ words through the priest that I am forgiven. It is very healing and I think Jesus knew that confession would have this effect. It makes his forgiveness very tangible to us. In addition, when we sin we do not just hurt our relationship with God but with the Church, so confession restores our relationship with both.
Indulgences- Sin has temporal consequences. I have heard the analogy of it being like a drug… It is addicting and we experience withdrawal. Indulgences and purgatory are all part of rehab 🙂
mrsdizzyd said:
I’m having a hard time getting past these things, and I know they are common struggles for converts. What helped you make it over these stumbling blocks?

I’m struggling with why I need a priest in order for my sins to be forgiven. Can’t I just pray to God and ask? Do my prayers have so little weight?

I don’t understand how indulgences work, why we need them, or how the church decides their “worth”. The process seems arbitrary.

I can understand revering Saints or other admirable Christians, but I don’t understand why I need to pray to them to ask them to intercede. Can’t I just pray to God directly?
Click to expand...
 
Something that really helped me was the realization that God gave us these things to help us! They aren’t things that are made up by the church to make it more difficult, they are gifts that God gave us to help us become closer to Him.

I didn’t come to believe everything at once. It happened slowly. I did a lot of research because I was interested, but a lot of times the reading did not convince me. It would happen later when I wasn’t expecting it. Then one belief would lead to another belief, until one day I realized that I believed the Catholic Church had the fullness of truth, and I couldn’t deny it any longer. Also, as someone mentioned earlier, once you believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist everything else falls into place.

Just keep reading, learning, praying, and being open to the will of God.
 
And here are some thoughts on some of your questions, hope it helps!

The saints are wonderful examples and powerful intercessors. I love learning about them and asking for their prayers. And Catholics do pray directly to God all the time! It’s just nice to be able to ask someone to pray for you, just like you would a friend, except this person is already in heaven.

As a Protestant it sounded like confession was just to make people jump through hoops, or to give priests more power. But once I became Catholic I realized how much of a gift confession was. Having to go confess your sins makes you more aware of them, and hearing the words of absolution from a priest in Persona Christi really does make a difference. Also, I realized how biblical it is. The Bible says Jesus gave the disciples the power to forgive sins. (Sometimes I wonder how I missed that before…)

And the real presence. Think about the incarnation… God became man! For me, a true appreciation of the Incarnation makes it clear how important the Sacraments are. They are physical, not just spiritual. For us, the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. All of Christianity for over 1500 years believed this, even Christians after the reformation believed this.

The Fourth Cup by Scott Hahn is a great talk on the Eucharist! I recommend listening to it on YouTube, it’s about an hour long.
 
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