Question for former Protestants -- What was the major obstacle you had to overcome to become Catholic?

[Barzillai]

Hi Tommy,

I was raised as an atheist, was a Evangelical for 20 years, and became a Catholic in 2010 at the age of 61.

Your Questions:

1) What were your main hurdles to becoming Catholic?
It was a mental fog. That’s the best way to describe it. But that fog was kept thick because I had no contact with Catholics or the Catholic Church.

2) How did you overcome Question 1?
As that fog of misunderstanding left my mind in 2008, the first question that came to me was, “This is the Church founded by Jesus Christ. This is the most ancient Christian Church. Can there be any reason for me not to be a member of his body?” My heart answered that there can be no human reason, no “I have a difficulty with …” If there is to be a change between what I believe and that of Jesus’ Church, I must change. It was just that simple and the time it took my mind to process all that took about the time it took for me to type it.

3) Outside of the Eucharist, which I know is a major difference, how was your spiritual journey enhanced through Catholicism?
My dear wife and I became contemplative Benedictine oblates of a Benedictine monastery.

4) Name a couple of positive traits of your previous Protestant faith tradition that you miss or look back on fondly.
A. The love of Scripture and the intellectual power brought to Scriptural studies.
B. The meticulous rigor by which some Protestants defend literal interpretations and histories in Scripture.
C. The work and effort Protestants expend to learn and understand their theology.

 

[mlz]

I was in my mid/late 50’s when I started my journey into the Catholic Church. I came from being raised Methodist, then in college became involved with evangelical/charismatic groups of faith, then Lutheran (ELCA)…

Family was one of my blocks as no one in my family was Catholic but it ended up not being a big problem. I spent 3 years studing the Catholic faith so I guess I slowly overcame all the “hurdles” most protestants have one by one. Communion of Saints was my first and easiest hurdle to go over…I kept crossing hurdles and whatever was left didn’t seem to matter because I came to the conclusion I KNEW it was the Church Jesus founded and that He wanted me there so I trusted Him for the rest. Now I am SO very happy I am Catholic! I love the sacraments and I see myself changing for the better more so than before becoming Catholic.(although this is a day by day growth in holiness…sometimes very hard…just more of a desire to become all He wants me to be) I love the Lord even more as well as our whole family of faith!

Don’t really miss anything as I feel so fullfilled in the Catholic faith…if I miss anything it would only be purely self satisfying type things…it isn’t about me and what I want but Christ. I love the Mass and going to Adoration!

Blessings on your journey of faith,
mlz

Blessings on your journey,
mlz

 

[Barzillai]

I kept crossing hurdles and whatever was left didn’t seem to matter because I came to the conclusion I KNEW it was the Church Jesus founded and that He wanted me there so I trusted Him for the rest.
mlz

YES, YES, well said. The way you described it gives a good sense of the calling by God and the openness of a loving heart. Thank you. The next time I describe the process by which I decided to become a Catholic, I am going to use your words!!

It is a glorious Church.

 

[boomerang]

Fair enough, 1newcatholic. I respect and appreciate your insights and you taking the time to help me better understand things. I had never looked at it from that perspective before.

Hi Tommy, along with the quote from 1NewCatholic, there are other things to consider about oral confession. One of these things is the value of effort. Many graces from God come to us because of our effort:

1. The woman with the hemorrhage - she was cured by her faith, plus her effort. She didn’t just silently pray as Jesus passed by. She reached out and touched Our Lord’s clothing. She made an effort, and was cured. Her effort spoke volumes about her faith.
2. People took rags and touched Paul with them, then took the rags home and touched their sick loved-ones, and they were cured. Now, those same people could have just stayed home and prayed to God for healing, and I’m sure they did, but they weren’t healed until they made the effort to go to Paul and touch him, then go home and touch the sick person. Again, there’s an effort involved. It shows you’re serious.
3. The Canaanite woman who begged Jesus for the favor of curing her possessed daughter asked Him for His help several times before He helped her. She didn’t just sit on her front porch and throw out a quickie prayer and then say “Oh well, I guess He didn’t hear me”. She persisted, and her effort payed off.

4.In the Old Testament, people made animal sacrifices to atone for sin. Why not just ask God for forgiveness? Because that’s not enough. God wanted the effort of sacrifices.

This kind of effort is at work in pilgrimages. It takes effort to go to a holy place to lay your petition before the Lord. I could just pray in my living room sitting in my LazyBoy in my underwear, but what does that say about my respect and commitment to my faith in God? Not a whole lot.

When we go to confession, it takes effort. I’m making a special trip to church, at a time when I usually don’t go. I prepare myself mentally in advance. I go in, kneel down and bare my soul. I could just lay in bed and think, “Hey Lord, I"m really sorry, OK?” But where is the effort in that? It’s like you’ve been given a nice gift, so you rattle off a quickie email saying “nice gift, thanks!” or you could hand write a thank-you note on stationery and snail-mail it. Everyone knows the hand written card gets way more respect than an email because it took a lot more effort. Just like oral confession.

The other aspect of oral confession is that it is humbling. And the Lord loves a humble sinner who repents. Humble is the opposite of proud. The Lord hates pride. Something to consider. Good luck in your discernment.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Tommy999, with respect to how my spiritual journey was enhanced through Catholicism, my answers to your questions would be much the same as those of InNomineDomini. Receiving the Sacraments has profoundly changed me.

I was very nervous about making my first confession but did not expect anything afterwards except maybe relief. To my complete surprise, it was as if burdens fell away, burdens I hadn’t realized I was carrying. When I walked out of the confessional, it didn’t take me long to realize that I had left years of resentment and unforgiveness behind.

I still feel free to approach God directly and ask for forgiveness. However, going to confession (as we’re instructed to do) and receiving absolution is also about receiving Grace to change and grow.

I’ve been Catholic for nearly two years. I still have problems with some of the doctrine, especially some of the beliefs about Mary. It helps me to realize that the beliefs I had about Mary as a Protestant would have been difficult for a non-Christian to accept–that she was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. If I can believe that about Mary, is it really so hard to accept a few additional beliefs?

Sometimes it is a matter of accepting beliefs and allowing oneself to fully grow into them. One thing I love about Catholic teaching is that conversion is a lifelong process.

 

[Isca]

Hello, Isca. I am also 56. . I heard that the Catholic Mass is basically the same in all countries, whether it be England or Italy. Has heat been your experience, also?

Hi there - yes, the Mass is the same, but the culture of the country changes the way things feel. For instance, in my Italian church there seems to be no convention about when you stand, when you kneel etc. The church is almost empty until the very last minute before the Mass begins. The Cup is not offered to the congregation, but is reserved for the priest and the deacon. There are no altar servers.

It’s quite common to go to Mass on a Sunday and find you are attending someone’s wedding, or even a funeral. People seem to have a more informal approach to worship, chatting and wandering around sometimes.

 

[Cat]

Hello all,
This thread is directed to Catholics who used to be Protestants who are happy you converted to Catholicism. I wanted to see if you could briefly share the following for my benefit.

Background:
I’m an evangelical Christian who has felt an intermittent tug in my spirit toward Catholicism since May of this year after I started listening to Catholic Answers. At this point I am still an inquirer and cannot promise I will ever make it to RCIA because I still struggle with certain Catholic beliefs, but I haven’t ruled it out because I have deep and abiding respect for the Catholic Church.

I love the Lord with all my heart and want to serve and live for Him daily. I am happy in my current faith tradition but feel something is missing but I can’t put my finger on it.

Questions:

1. What were your main hurdles to becoming Catholic?

Alcohol (liquor) use by Catholics. I still find this repugnant. Intellectually I accept that there is no sin in moderate use of alcohol, but emotionally, I am appalled by Christians using any amount of alcohol for any reason other than cooking or in cold/flu meds.

1. How did you overcome Question 1?

The Holy Spirit convicted me of the Biblical authority of the Catholic Church. I found plenty of support in Scripture, especially the Old Testament, but also the New Testament, that the Catholic Church is The Church that Jesus Christ Himself established.

1. Outside of the Eucharist, which I know is a major difference, how was your spiritual journey enhanced through Catholicism?

I’m home. And I walk more by faith than sight now. Much of my Evangelical lifestyle was just that–a lifestyle. Yes, I knew the Scriptures, and yes, yes, YES, I loved Jesus and was committed to serving Him. But so much of my “personal relationship with Jesus” was all in my own mind, not real at all. Now it’s real.

1. Name a couple of positive traits of your previous Protestant faith tradition that you miss or look back on fondly.

The MUSIC! I have a hard time with the limp music done in so many Catholic parishes. I miss the spirited and full-voiced congregational singing of good melodious hymns and contemporary songs that was done in Evangelical Protestant churches, with organ and piano accompaniment, or with a band or even an orchestra.

The beautiful, fun, loving ALCOHOL-FREE fellowship and socializing! As I said, I still have an extremely difficult time watching Christians–CHRISTIANS!–who have everything through Christ!–using a drug made from fermented plants!–to enhance their pleasure in this earthly life. This makes no sense to me. We have plenty of beautiful things on this earth to enjoy without messing with our brain cells by using a drug. And please, Catholics, don’t try to tell me how Jesus endorsed drinking at the wedding of Cana. That was then, this is now. Different times, different customs.

Feel free to answer one or all of these questions. My only request is that your answers be fairly concise if at all possible because I have A D D and have trouble concentrating on super lengthy replies. Much appreciated. :tiphat:

My husband grew up in the Assemblies of God. We both feel that Christians from this church background have an easier time accepting Catholicism because they are used to seeing and experiencing actual miracles. The True Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is easy for them to accept and believe.

 

[Tommy999]

Thanks to Barzillai, mlz, Boomerang, GoldenSeal, Isca, and Cat for your replies.

**Barzillai said, “It was just that simple and the time it took my mind to process all that took about the time it took for me to type it”. **

I find that amazing and wonderful. For me, it is a longer process because after each hurdle, there seems to be another, and sometimes an even bigger one, almost akin to climbing a mountain range. Yet, I keep climbing because I want to see and possibly reach the other side some day but not until I overcome these hurdles. I don’t intend to join RCIA unless I can embrace all aspects of the Catholic faith. Sometimes I wish I had found Catholicism in my youth, when it probably would have been easier to assent to things due to having less intellectual and religious baggage.

To mlz, who said, **"I KNEW it was the Church Jesus founded and that He wanted me there so I trusted Him for the rest. Now I am SO very happy I am Catholic! ". **

That is real impressive faith that reminds me a little of the Roman centurion in Luke 7:1-10. I wish I could look at things that way. I want to be able to do that some day.

To boomerang, your analogies regarding the ingredient of ‘effort’ in confession are well received and understood. However, please understand that I don’t confess to God in my underwear in my easy chair (sorry for unpleasant visual) . It is respectfully done in private, but I understand your point and it is a good one.

Thanks again, Isca, for your explanation of how your Mass experience is similar yet different in Italy than in England. I got a chuckle (forgive me if it wasn’t intended to be humorous) when you described walking into what you thought was Mass only to find it was a wedding or funeral. That would be confusing, although somehow that tickles my funny bone, probably because I once crashed a wedding in Spain when in college and kissed the bride on a dare, although she had no idea who I was. She took it in stride and seemed to get a laugh out of it, too.

To Cat, I have followed some of your posts before and respect you a lot and always appreciate your insights. Regarding alcohol, I have an older sibling who struggled with alcoholism so I have tried to stay away from it for the most part mostly out of fear that I don’t want to encounter what he did, although sometimes I might have a glass of wine or a sangria at a restaurant. However, I personally choose to not bring alcohol to the house as a personal choice.

Thanks again to everyone who responded.

 

[InNomineDomini]

That is real impressive faith that reminds me a little of the Roman centurion in Luke 7:1-10. I wish I could look at things that way. I want to be able to do that some day.

This is exactly the sort of thing that surprised me after my baptism: I had a “the veil has now been taken away and I can see that this is all true” sort of experience.

Now, obviously, my experience is just a subjective impression, and Faith is not grounded in a “burning of the bosom” but in objective realities and grace.

Nonetheless, I spent my whole life, in a sense, wanting to know what is true, whether this faith or that faith, this religion or this non-religion. I wasn’t expecting that this desire would finally be fulfilled in any sort of “dramatic” way.

Just to offer a quick analogy, imagine being extremely anxious and nervous and stressed out about a new job. You’ve submitted your resume to a big company many states away, and you’ve had an interview or two, and now you’ve been waiting for weeks for the results. Suddenly, you find out you’ve got the job, and all of that anxiety vanishes, and is replaced by joy.

This is what I felt like, only I had no idea I was anxious in the first place, and no idea that something would cause this anxiety to go away. I didn’t know that my whole interior life would suddenly change, and that I would feel like a new person.

Having said all of this, I would of course underscore the fact that we should never go on feelings alone, but on something outside of ourselves that is more sure than the ebb and flow of emotions. But my advice to my old self would simply have been be not afraid.

 

[Son_of_Niall]

Alcohol (liquor) use by Catholics.

Seriously?

 

[JustaServant]

I am a revert, but for me there were many obstacles for me. But if I were to choose one I would have to say Baptism. When I finally ‘got it’, it was as if my brain been released into the open air. I’m not kidding about that. No insult to people who believe in ‘believer’s baptism’, but for me, it was as if someone flipped the switch and turned the lights on.

 

[Cat]

Seriously?

Absolutely. You have apparently not followed my posts over the years.

I’m asking you not to start anything. The OP has asked several questions, and I think we all should honor the topic and stick with answering his questions. Thanks!

 

[Tommy999]

InNomineDomini,
I feel I relate to you and your explanations a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences with me. Your insights and analogies are awesome and have gotten me reassessing a few things.

Yes, I agree, Cat. I hope we can stay on topic, also.

 

[Della]

Hello Tommy…you’ve read some of my posts, so you have some idea of who I am. I’m not sure exactly what I’ve shared with you so far, but I’ll attempt to answer your questions.

Hello all,
This thread is directed to Catholics who used to be Protestants who are happy you converted to Catholicism. I wanted to see if you could briefly share the following for my benefit.

Background:
I’m an evangelical Christian who has felt an intermittent tug in my spirit toward Catholicism since May of this year after I started listening to Catholic Answers. At this point I am still an inquirer and cannot promise I will ever make it to RCIA because I still struggle with certain Catholic beliefs, but I haven’t ruled it out because I have deep and abiding respect for the Catholic Church.

I love the Lord with all my heart and want to serve and live for Him daily. I am happy in my current faith tradition but feel something is missing but I can’t put my finger on it.

Questions:

1. What were your main hurdles to becoming Catholic?

I thought it was Mary–the Marian doctrines. But in reality, when it came right down to it, it was the authority of the Church to speak for Christ and to declare doctrines/dogma.

1. How did you overcome Question 1?

**It dawned on me one day, after a lot of reading about the Church and some of her saints writings, that every church claims authority to speak for Christ in one way or another. Anyone who says: “Thus sayeth the Lord…” is declaring they are God’s prophet.

Does anyone who wishes have that authority? Did Jesus set up an earthly authority? If he did, where is it and who is it? I got my answer in Scripture that it was the Catholic (universal) Church Christ founded on Peter and the Apostles.**

1. Outside of the Eucharist, which I know is a major difference, how was your spiritual journey enhanced through Catholicism?

I could finally embrace reality instead of having to pretend things weren’t as they are and that Jesus didn’t mean this or that when he plainly stated otherwise. The Bible came alive to me because Catholic belief fits and explains things my Protestant churches couldn’t.

1. Name a couple of positive traits of your previous Protestant faith tradition that you miss or look back on fondly.

Well, it’s been about 25 years and I’m fully inculturated into the Church now. But, I loved the stately hymns of the Episcopal Church. I cringe at some of the banal songs that so many parishes embraced in the 60’s and 70’s that still haunt far too many Sunday Masses. Otherwise, I’m good. I like being able to fellowship if I want or not, as I choose. I always hated being pawed and “love bombed” by people I knew didn’t really care that much about me.

Feel free to answer one or all of these questions. My only request is that your answers be fairly concise if at all possible because I have A D D and have trouble concentrating on super lengthy replies. Much appreciated. :tiphat:

P.S. I am especially interested in questions #1 and #2 most of all.

I hope you can make some sense out of my replies. It’s hard to write about these things so far down the line from when they happened. I’ve been trying to write my autobiography (my husband’s request), and am finding it excruciatingly difficult.

 

[Tommy999]

Thanks, Della. Yes, I definitely remember you and have always gotten good insights from your posts. Thanks for answering my questions. You are always welcome to comment on any thread I write.

Best wishes on writing your autobiography. That sounds like a challenge to remember and record all the meaningful events from one’s life in an organized manner. May the Lord help you with that.

 

[andrewstx]

Andrew, thanks for explaining further on the Campellites. I have a brother who married a church of Christ lady and they attend there, and our family has visited that church before when on vacation in their town. The main aspect that I thought was a little odd compared to mine was no musical instruments of any kind, but I’ve only attended there a couple of times.

I feel badly that your family relations couldn’t be restored before they passed away. That must be very painful and I appreciate your candor in sharing that. I pray that the Lord would ease any lingering pain from that in your life.

The reason cofC Campbellites do not have music in their congregations is that they are the ultimate fundamentalists. Anything that is not specifically ordered to be done in the bible (they think the bible IS God) is automatically forbidden them. Not just organs but candles and flowers.

They follow the bible as a literal blue print or atlas to Christianity. The bible did not order that closet or garage door opener, so they are forbidden.

Perhaps things have opened up for cofC people in later years, but my travels in TX, OK, the Midwest and the west don’t seem to have any change at all.

 

[guanophore]

My main obstacle was my prejudiced Protestant southern family and the ridiculous things they thought were true about Catholicism.
At first I joined the Episcopal church to try to preserve peace in the family. But my family was church of Christ Campbellites, and of course they thought they were the only Christians. So I went “whole hog” and became Catholic.

It cost my family relationship. I was disowned and disinherited.

May God richly bless you for abandoning all to follow Him.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

1) What were your main hurdles to becoming Catholic?

No prior experience of the Catholic Faith, and the fact I’d be jettisoning a lot of my Protestant contacts, who would find my decision somewhat unexpected to say the least.

Also my wife was and is Protestant, and we were both practising Protestants when we married. At that time I had no thoughts of becoming Catholic, so there was a family issue. Her mother is also a staunch Baptist.

My side of the family wasn’t an issue, since they were not practising “Christians”, although my sister had herself baptised later.

2) How did you overcome Question 1?

I resisted converting for a while, even though I was getting this sort of spiritual push towards becoming a Catholic. Then I had an argument with a Protestant pastor, and that sort of pushed me over the edge. The argument was about a testimony I gave, during which I made the comment “We’re going to have a lot of problems with the Moslems”, sometime circa 1995 or 1996. I wonder if they remember now what I said then?

But I’m digressing. Push became shove, via the argument.

**3) Outside of the Eucharist, which I know is a major difference, how was your spiritual journey enhanced through Catholicism? **

Not a great deal different from my Protestant spiritual journey, although I find now that if attend a Protestant service, the Eucharist is missing, and the service feels a bit empty.

I have a couple of differences of opinion with Catholic dogma, but apart from that I haven’t had any real problems.

Frankly if most Protestants attended a Catholic Mass, they’d wonder what all the fuss was about when it comes to the alleged grievous differences.

4) Name a couple of positive traits of your previous Protestant faith tradition that you miss or look back on fondly.

I suppose I had an outstanding first (Presbyterian) pastor, and I was able to relate to him in a way that I haven’t been able to do with any priest. He was also an excellent speaker, and the Catholic homilies are usually a let-down in contrast.

I felt part of the local church in a way I don’t feel with the Catholic Church, where you’re more aware of being part of something much bigger.

They were also more encouraging to new members, something that the Catholic Church is not very good at frankly. Most Catholics come through the “system”, and the Protestant Churches, particularly the more evangelical ones, are much better at welcoming people and evangelising.

 

[Tommy999]

Thanks, Bob. I can relate to some of your statements and I appreciate your honesty and taking the time to share.

From my experience, I agree that in general Protestant pastors are more trained in giving sermons/homilies than Catholic priests, although it’s kind of like comparing apples to oranges in a way.

For example, in most Protestant services, the sermon is the spiritual “main course”, whereas the homily isn’t the main focus at the Catholic Mass. Therefore, it should be no surprise that many Protestant pastors are very good at giving sermons because that is the main emphasis of their service (preaching the Word).

From my visit to a local Mass a few months ago and listening and watching EWTN at times, the Eucharist is the main focus, and the homily takes secondary precedence and is generally much shorter in duration than a Protestant sermon. There is nothing wrong with that – it is just different, or at least it was in my experience.

Catholic priests seem to have varied responsibilities, including the administering of the sacraments, which I assume accounts for a lot of their time and energy, much less so than for Protestant pastors. This is just my opinion and observation – your mileage may vary

I agree that many Protestant churches show friendliness from the time you enter the church building. While I didn’t experience that in the Catholic parish I visited, I ran into a few people I knew from work and they were friendly, or should I say “pleasantly surprised” to see me when I arrived for a visit. I was glad I went, too, because like you said, I could definitely sense God’s presence there.

For anyone who would like to see my observations of my first Mass (for whatever it is worth), you can look in the following thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=889983

 

[adf417]

Greetings Tommy999,
I wanted to thank you for this thread and thank you for your openness
to hearing the Holy Spirit. I am not a convert so I do not feel I can any response on this thread. I would however like to ask if sometime before this thread ends you give us your summary of what the Holy Spirit has, if anything, revealed to you. My self and maybe others would be interested to hear.

Peace!!!