Experiences with Positively Choosing Catholicism

[carefullytread]

I was raised Catholic and then lost the faith at an early age. Recently, I have begun seeking God again and have taken serious interest in coming back to the Church.

One step I’ve taken is to thoroughly study the Catechism as my knowledge of what Catholicism is had been based on the understanding I had as a boy and the understanding that I have gained through culture and literature as absorbed as an atheistic adult. Much to my dismay, the more I have studying the Catechism, the more my drive to rejoin the Church has faltered.

I still feel the drive for God, but whether the Church is the correct vehicle for that is unclear.

All Catholics I know were raised in the Church. Their reasons for being Catholic are mostly that it was what their parents told them. Reading online other people’s explanations of converting or not switching away from the Church tend to be in two categories, “It is the Truth” or “The Eucharist is too special to lose by becoming Protestant”.

I was wondering if anyone here is willing to just relate how their own personal experience with positively choosing the Church and maybe answer some questions about it?

I am not asking for intellectual arguments and I don’t want the thread to be about how exactly I struggle with the Catechism. I was just hoping to hear about the human aspects of the decision by people who decided to stay or decided to switch into the Church. Or, I suppose if such people are reading, people who decided to leave for other churches. (I’m not interested in hearing about people losing their Faith altogether in this thread.)

Prayers are always appreciated.

 

[Della]

I was raised Catholic and then lost the faith at an early age. Recently, I have begun seeking God again and have taken serious interest in coming back to the Church.

A good first step, if I may say so.

One step I’ve taken is to thoroughly study the Catechism as my knowledge of what Catholicism is had been based on the understanding I had as a boy and the understanding that I have gained through culture and literature as absorbed as an atheistic adult. Much to my dismay, the more I have studying the Catechism, the more my drive to rejoin the Church has faltered.

You may need a guide to studying the CCC: google.com/search?q=guide+to+studying+catechism+catholic+church&gws_rd=ssl. It’s much like tackling the Bible–it’s not best to read it “cold” or from a secular perspective.

I still feel the drive for God, but whether the Church is the correct vehicle for that is unclear.

This is part of the reversion process for many.

All Catholics I know were raised in the Church. Their reasons for being Catholic are mostly that it was what their parents told them.

Forgive me, but you seem to imply that being raised in one’s faith is something of a strike against it. Shouldn’t parents raise their children in their beliefs?

Reading online other people’s explanations of converting or not switching away from the Church tend to be in two categories, “It is the Truth” or “The Eucharist is too special to lose by becoming Protestant”.

I’m not sure of your point here.

I was wondering if anyone here is willing to just relate how their own personal experience with positively choosing the Church and maybe answer some questions about it?

Sure thing. Shoot.

I am not asking for intellectual arguments and I don’t want the thread to be about how exactly I struggle with the Catechism. I was just hoping to hear about the human aspects of the decision by people who decided to stay or decided to switch into the Church. Or, I suppose if such people are reading, people who decided to leave for other churches. (I’m not interested in hearing about people losing their Faith altogether in this thread.)

Okay. My story is long and involved, though. Suffice to say that I only found my deepest longings for God in the Catholic Church. Not emotions, mind. Nor simply intellectual satisfaction (although that was part of it), but rather I truly found “he whom my heart desires” Song of Songs. 3: 1b. I won’t go into it further in this post–it would take too many words for just one.

Prayers are always appreciated.

Amen to that. Please say one for me, too.

 

[carefullytread]

Hi Della,

Forgive me, but you seem to imply that being raised in one’s faith is something of a strike against it. Shouldn’t parents raise their children in their beliefs?

No, not at all. I don’t mean to imply anything about being raised Catholic, I just mean that I don’t personally know of other Catholics who actively made the decision “Should I be Catholic or should I be an Orthodox? Maybe a Lutheran?” Maybe some did, but I don’t know of any. Except my brother, but he became a Presbyterian because of his wife, not based on convictions.

I know of plenty others who equivocated between atheism and Catholicism, but I was really hoping to just listen to people’s experiences with the question “Why Catholicism?” from people who actively made the chosen for Catholicism over other types of Christianity.

I truly found “he whom my heart desires” Song of Songs. 3: 1b. I won’t go into it further in this post–it would take too many words for just one.

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear about. What made you think that this was about Catholicism and not a general rediscovery of God?

Did you go to other churches or read the thoughts of non-Catholic theologians? If not, did you consider doing it?

Nor simply intellectual satisfaction (although that was part of it)

Would things have been different if you didn’t? If you found the Church’s teaching to be intellectually unsatisfying but you felt “he whom my heart desires”, do you think you’d still have ended up Catholic?

Happy to hear thoughts on any of these questions.

 

[Micosil]

You do well by studying the Catechism. If you’re OK with it, I also recommend the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Much more contained and succinct than the full Catechism, you’ll find it quicker to absorb the main teachings and beliefs of the Church.

As far as my own personal faith journey, from agnosticism to being a catechumen in the Latin Rite in a nutshell, I started speaking to a friend who was a devout Catholic, and we discussed many topics … what the Church teaches, its history, the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, and to cut a long story short, in the end I felt something within me that was for some reason beckoning me to join the Church.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask away.

I will be sure to keep you in my prayers.

 

[Usige]

Sure, I’d be willing to answer questions.

Short conversion story:

Raised Presbyterian; stopped going to church at 18 ; met my wife (a non-Catholic); got married; slowly became atheistic leaning agnostic; 8 years after getting married wife and two children baptized into Catholic Church; next 3 years studied Catholicism to harass my wife’s choice; had a “road to Damascus” moment and received into the Church 4 months later; been faithfully living the faith for the last 9 years.

Okay, that basically told you nothing of the why, but sets the stage for any questions you might have.

 

[Fauken]

I would also be happy to answer questions! I was raised in a Non-Denominational/Baptist home that only went to church (if that) on Easter and Christmas. I jumped around a few churches (Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran) before I became Catholic, and my experience and joy in those churches don’t hold a candle to the joy of being Catholic. I’ll also be baptized this Easter Vigil!

 

[adamhovey1988]

I was raised Catholic and then lost the faith at an early age. Recently, I have begun seeking God again and have taken serious interest in coming back to the Church.

One step I’ve taken is to thoroughly study the Catechism as my knowledge of what Catholicism is had been based on the understanding I had as a boy and the understanding that I have gained through culture and literature as absorbed as an atheistic adult. Much to my dismay, the more I have studying the Catechism, the more my drive to rejoin the Church has faltered.

I still feel the drive for God, but whether the Church is the correct vehicle for that is unclear.

All Catholics I know were raised in the Church. Their reasons for being Catholic are mostly that it was what their parents told them. Reading online other people’s explanations of converting or not switching away from the Church tend to be in two categories, “It is the Truth” or “The Eucharist is too special to lose by becoming Protestant”.

I was wondering if anyone here is willing to just relate how their own personal experience with positively choosing the Church and maybe answer some questions about it?

I am not asking for intellectual arguments and I don’t want the thread to be about how exactly I struggle with the Catechism. I was just hoping to hear about the human aspects of the decision by people who decided to stay or decided to switch into the Church. Or, I suppose if such people are reading, people who decided to leave for other churches. (I’m not interested in hearing about people losing their Faith altogether in this thread.)

Prayers are always appreciated.

I’m Catholic because Catholicism is true. Most of my family is Lutheran, Southern Baptist, or Jewish.Well, to be fair, many of the Lutherans became Catholic. I HAVE to give you an intellectual argument, because this is the only way I can talk to you. If I appeal to emotion, so what? The LDS does that, and I am sure you do not agree with their theology.

 

[Della]

Hi Della, No, not at all. I don’t mean to imply anything about being raised Catholic, I just mean that I don’t personally know of other Catholics who actively made the decision “Should I be Catholic or should I be an Orthodox? Maybe a Lutheran?” Maybe some did, but I don’t know of any. Except my brother, but he became a Presbyterian because of his wife, not based on convictions.

I know of plenty others who equivocated between atheism and Catholicism, but I was really hoping to just listen to people’s experiences with the question “Why Catholicism?” from people who actively made the chosen for Catholicism over other types of Christianity.

Thanks for clarifying. :tiphat:

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear about. What made you think that this was about Catholicism and not a general rediscovery of God?

I’ll address your second question first since it will help answer your first one. There really is no such thing as a “general rediscovery of God” that isn’t stuck in indifferentism. I have always and will always shun that notion since it negates the Incarnation, which is central to the Christian faith.

Catholicism is rich and deep and answers all our spiritual needs, not just some of them. And it answers all the big questions with reason, depth, and faith.

Did you go to other churches or read the thoughts of non-Catholic theologians? If not, did you consider doing it?

I did more than read, although I did that too. Indeed, I have a B. A. in Bible from an Assemblies of God college (now university). I attended and ministered with various Christian ecclesial communities. It was reading that first drew my attention towards Catholicism, although through a kind of back door–through the writings of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien most especially.

Would things have been different if you didn’t? If you found the Church’s teaching to be intellectually unsatisfying but you felt “he whom my heart desires”, do you think you’d still have ended up Catholic?

No I wouldn’t have. I found a good deal of what I wanted spiritually in the AoG, but intellectually it was far too shallow. I first looked at the Episcopal Church, because I’d been raised in that communion before being taken to the AoG by my mom after my dad died. But I could see the direction they were going and couldn’t assent to it. I was driven, rather than ran happily to the Catholic Church, since I could see, from what I read of her teachings and spirituality, that within her lies all the fullness of truth necessary for salvation.

Happy to hear thoughts on any of these questions.

Again, sorry to be so brief, but the forum simply doesn’t allow us to go into more depth.

 

[carefullytread]

You do well by studying the Catechism. If you’re OK with it, I also recommend the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Much more contained and succinct than the full Catechism, you’ll find it quicker to absorb the main teachings and beliefs of the Church.

As far as my own personal faith journey, from agnosticism to being a catechumen in the Latin Rite in a nutshell, I started speaking to a friend who was a devout Catholic, and we discussed many topics … what the Church teaches, its history, the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, and to cut a long story short, in the end I felt something within me that was for some reason beckoning me to join the Church.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask away.

I will be sure to keep you in my prayers.

Hi Micosil, was there anything that was especially Catholic that your friend told you that made you chose the Church? When you felt the beckoning, did you follow your friend into Catholicism because he was a Catholic or did the call seem specific to Catholicism?

I’m really wondering how one feels that the call is to the Church and not just to Christ if that question makes sense to you.

 

[carefullytread]

Sure, I’d be willing to answer questions.

Short conversion story:

Raised Presbyterian; stopped going to church at 18 ; met my wife (a non-Catholic); got married; slowly became atheistic leaning agnostic; 8 years after getting married wife and two children baptized into Catholic Church; next 3 years studied Catholicism to harass my wife’s choice; had a “road to Damascus” moment and received into the Church 4 months later; been faithfully living the faith for the last 9 years.

Okay, that basically told you nothing of the why, but sets the stage for any questions you might have.

Wow, that’s a surprisingly journey! Do you know what brought your wife to Catholicism? Can you describe your “Road to Damascus” moment? Did it feel deeper as you studied the Church?

For me, I feel like I something like an urgent reawakening, but am surprised to learn that I as study the details of the Faith, I feel pushed away rather than called to Church. I’m curious to hear how your epiphany matured as you studied the Faith.

 

[carefullytread]

I would also be happy to answer questions! I was raised in a Non-Denominational/Baptist home that only went to church (if that) on Easter and Christmas. I jumped around a few churches (Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran) before I became Catholic, and my experience and joy in those churches don’t hold a candle to the joy of being Catholic. I’ll also be baptized this Easter Vigil!

Can you explain what the joy was? Where you felt it? Was it a joy that you feel in the Mass or a joy that you felt by talking with other Catholics, doing study? Did it come from discovering prayer to the Virgin?

I go to Mass almost every day and I feel nourished by the Mass (although I abstain from Communion). So, there is joy there. But that joy doesn’t get carried over as I studying the Faith more carefully.

 

[carefullytread]

I’m Catholic because Catholicism is true. Most of my family is Lutheran, Southern Baptist, or Jewish.Well, to be fair, many of the Lutherans became Catholic. I HAVE to give you an intellectual argument, because this is the only way I can talk to you. If I appeal to emotion, so what? The LDS does that, and I am sure you do not agree with their theology.

Hi Adam,

I don’t mean to ask for anyone to try to convert or convince me. I was just hoping to have a chance to talk to people about their experiences. I hope that is helpful for me and maybe for anyone who reads this later.

Even intellectual arguments aren’t quite mathematical proofs. They convince some people, and not others. And they can convince a person at some point in their lives, but not others.

But I would be interested in hearing about how the argument changed your mind, where it came from, where you went from there. Did it eventually turn into an emotional experience?

 

[Della]

I go to Mass almost every day and I feel nourished by the Mass (although I abstain from Communion). So, there is joy there. But that joy doesn’t get carried over as I studying the Faith more carefully.

Well, there’s the right way and the wrong way to study the CCC. Like any other subject, if you start out at the most difficult parts to understand you’ll get discouraged. Start with topics that make sense to you first. My advice is to let other issues go until later.

Going to daily Mass is a great thing to do. Even though you can’t receive the Eucharist you can make a “spiritual communion,” if you like:

My Jesus, I believe that You are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I long for You in my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though You have already come, I embrace You and unite myself entirely to You; never permit me to be separated from You.

Catholicism isn’t merely about beliefs, it’s a way of life. It’s to be practiced. Daily prayer, especially the Liturgy of the Hours, which many liturgical Christians pray, is a good way to do that: divineoffice.org/. It can also be purchased in various forms. The usual one for lay people is Shorter Christian Prayer. There are guides for SCP, as well.

 

[Micosil]

Hi Micosil, was there anything that was especially Catholic that your friend told you that made you chose the Church? When you felt the beckoning, did you follow your friend into Catholicism because he was a Catholic or did the call seem specific to Catholicism?

I’m really wondering how one feels that the call is to the Church and not just to Christ if that question makes sense to you.

Well, since you said you didn’t want intellectual arguments, I left specifically that part out. However, since you asked, and I’ll keep it brief, a brief survey of history seemed to me convincing enough to know that the Catholic Church is the Church Christ founded.

 

[carefullytread]

Hi Della,

Thank you!

No I wouldn’t have. I found a good deal of what I wanted spiritually in the AoG, but intellectually it was far too shallow. I first looked at the Episcopal Church, because I’d been raised in that communion before being taken to the AoG by my mom after my dad died. But I could see the direction they were going and couldn’t assent to it. I was driven, rather than ran happily to the Catholic Church, since I could see, from what I read of her teachings and spirituality, that within her lies all the fullness of truth necessary for salvation.

What do you mean by direction they were going? Do you mean the liberalization of the Episcopal Church?

And that could mean different thins things. It might mean gay and female priests, gay marriage, etc. It could also mean laxity in the dogmas. I was surprised myself when I learned that while the Episcopal Church teaches consubstantiation, it doesn’t require that belief of recipients. It seems a very liberal teaching of the Real Presence.

Did you ever consider the Orthodox Church when seeking a church with a more solid foundation?

When you admire the intellectual depth of the Church, do you mean you its methods or its doctrines? I find something that Catholicism seems to have more than any other Christian tradition is a very serious intellectual attitude. One could separate appreciation of the intellectual seriousness itself and accord with the results of that seriousness, namely the specifics of Canon law and the doctrine. Does that question make sense?

 

[carefullytread]

Well, since you said you didn’t want intellectual arguments, I left specifically that part out. However, since you asked, and I’ll keep it brief, a brief survey of history seemed to me convincing enough to know that the Catholic Church is the Church Christ founded.

Hi Micosil,

What happened after you accepted the historical argument? Did that strike an emotional cord in you as well? Did you just decide “This is right, let’s get going?”?

What was it like learning the specifics of what the Church teaches and requests? Did that strength your drive, challenge you, discourage you, do all that?

 

[ChurchSoldier]

Not quite Roman Catholic yet, but should be within the next couple of months.

Just got tired of theological and doctrinal flexibility. I want to be able to say “my church believes xyz”. It’s somewhat ironic that very few of the Roman Catholics I know actually believe or live what the Catechism teaches, but the foundational theology of the Catechism / Magisterium is there for any who choose to take hold of it.

Good luck on your continuing journey.

 

[Micosil]

Hi Micosil,

What happened after you accepted the historical argument? Did that strike an emotional cord in you as well? Did you just decide “This is right, let’s get going?”?

What was it like learning the specifics of what the Church teaches and requests? Did that strength your drive, challenge you, discourage you, do all that?

Obviously, there was also a supernatural element to all this – there was a week after I had examined the evidence and rationalized it when I was massively confused and I felt something going on in my head, but at the end of that week, I couldn’t honestly consider myself an atheist/agnostic anymore. I do not know if this was something purely psychological, some chemical imbalance … or maybe it was something else.

I’d have to say, most things did strengthen my conviction to convert, because behind pretty much every Church teachings I found a very solid, logical, rational explanation; there were appeals to natural laws, societal demographics, etc.

Needless to say, there still are things I struggle with, but here’s the deal – I figured, OK, so the Church seems to be right when it comes to everything else, perhaps this issue is something that I struggle with due but not emotional and logical/rational reasons. I’m getting there, I guess.

 

[Della]

Hi Della,

Thank you!

You’re welcome.

What do you mean by direction they were going? Do you mean the liberalization of the Episcopal Church?

And that could mean different thins things. It might mean gay and female priests, gay marriage, etc. It could also mean laxity in the dogmas. I was surprised myself when I learned that while the Episcopal Church teaches consubstantiation, it doesn’t require that belief of recipients. It seems a very liberal teaching of the Real Presence.

All those things, actually. When I tried returning to the Episcopal Church it wasn’t the communion I’d been brought up in anymore. This was back in the late 80’s and even then the ECUSA was accepting more and more the zeitgeist of American society rather than sticking to Sacred Tradition. One can believe whatever one wishes, be outspoken about it, and still be Episcopalian–that is if it’s to the liberal left, that is. Just recently the church declared its open support of gay marriage.

Did you ever consider the Orthodox Church when seeking a church with a more solid foundation?

No. I hardly knew a thing about it then. Now that I do know more I still wouldn’t go that way. It’s okay for those brought up in it, but it’s very culturally specific. It wasn’t my culture and it held no attraction for me.

When you admire the intellectual depth of the Church, do you mean you its methods or its doctrines? I find something that Catholicism seems to have more than any other Christian tradition is a very serious intellectual attitude. One could separate appreciation of the intellectual seriousness itself and accord with the results of that seriousness, namely the specifics of Canon law and the doctrine. Does that question make sense?

I’m not sure I know what you mean by “methods.” If by that you mean the Church’s disciplines, I’m fine with them. Of course, disciplines can change, but as long as they are in force we are bound to obey them out of ordinary obedience to our superiors–our bishops and priests. The doctrines are those of Christ himself. They may sometimes be hard but they’re still his teachings and so they are best even when we can understand why.

It’s best not to separate the intellectual appreciation from the rest of Church teachings, precepts and practices because it’s of a whole. It’s more like a tapestry than a layer cake, which one can choose which parts one would like to have. Take out one color thread from a tapestry and it’s not the same picture.

The Catholic faith is and sums up the whole of Sacred Tradition–all the teachings of the prophets, patriarchs, Apostles, in Christ. I was attracted to the Church’s authority and promises given her by Christ. I realized that in that authority lay truth, stability, and freedom. I highly recommend you read G. K. Chesterton’s “The Catholic Church and Conversion.” I think you would get a lot out of it.

 

[Usige]

Wow, that’s a surprisingly journey! Do you know what brought your wife to Catholicism? Can you describe your “Road to Damascus” moment? Did it feel deeper as you studied the Church?

For me, I feel like I something like an urgent reawakening, but am surprised to learn that I as study the details of the Faith, I feel pushed away rather than called to Church. I’m curious to hear how your epiphany matured as you studied the Faith.

A year or two before coming to the Catholic Church my wife felt this stirring toward religion. She had been nominally raised in a pseudo Christian tradition called Religious Science, but that she called the Hippie Church. She knew she wanted a more solid foundation for our children. She tried the Universal Unitarians (too much like the “hippie church” for her) and a couple nondenominational communities. When she met up with a couple Catholic homeschoolers she found the stable foundation she was looking for.

When my wife first started searching, I was pretty much of the opinion that she could do what she wanted since I wasn’t going to join her. I figured she’d eventually get disillusioned with Christianity like I had. Once she started hanging with “those Catholics” though, I saw that it wasn’t something she was going to give up. As she would bring in books I tried to set out to prove her wrong. What I found in study was that all my years in the Presbyterian church boiled down to “be good” and “love each other”. The problem is it didn’t tell me how. After 2 years of trying to poke holes in her new faith, I found that my heart was softening. I has considered returning to the community of my youth, but it seemed like nothing but a Hollywood set; facades that looked good from the street, but nothing behind it but some flimsy supports.

The road to Damascus for me was actually one of the low points in our marriage. I saw my wife growing and drifting away in my mind. One night I found myself praying to God to help my marriage while also railing against Him for taking my family from me. As I was studying later that evening, the same thought kept roiling through the back of my mind; “I’m here, why do you reject me?”

When I woke up the next morning that thought was foremost in my mind. I sat there and said why am I so angry at the Church? As I thought about it there really wasn’t anything I disagreed with. After sitting there for a while the only thing I could come up with was that I was afraid. If I accepted Church teaching then it wasn’t me that was driving the bus. Once I admitted that though it was like a huge weight was lifted from my very being. I asked my wife about RCIA that morning and the rest is history as they say.

The largest stumbling block for me was about admitting I was not the authority. As I studied before my conversion I would look at other denominations and found their theology was a bit of a patchwork. The pieces that were most consistent were actually reiterating Catholic teaching. As I tried to follow their thoughts I often came to find that they rarely added to the faith, but rather they took the Catholic faith and stripped things away. When I studied Catholic thought I was always able to find answers that were consistent for thousands of years. Presbyterianism never had that depth for me.

The final piece for me was in sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament and laying bare my soul. The Lord burned away my false pretenses and showed me how each sin was a hammer blow that nailed Him to the cross. I saw how the sacraments brought healing. I had never had that type of experience in my former life.

One of the ways I have grown is to put my trust in God and listen to the wisdom of His Church. When I don’t understand something I simply ask God to help me with my failed understanding. In the past I would say show me how you are right, now I ask to be shown where I am wrong.