Questions for Protestant converts to Catholicism

[GodBlessYou]

Howdy, y’all! I have been a Catholic all my life and always love hearing other protestant’s conversion stories to my catholic faith.

I have a few questions for all y’all converts! GOD BLESS!

1. 
   *]When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Sign of the Cross?
   *]From protesant converting to catholic, do you still remember the very first time you prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary? How long did it take you to decide to talk to her? When you actually did start talking to the Blessed Virgin, how did it feel? What else can you say about your first time speaking to your heavenly Mother?
   *]When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Pope. How did your view on him change as you begin to convert to the catholic faith?
   *]When you were protestant, did you have any devout catholic friends? If so, what was the most strikng thing about their christianity and spirituality that shocked you, making you ask, “I never knew Catholics were suppose to be that way!”
   *]As a converting protestant, what was the most prominent bible passage that convinced you to leave your protestant church and come home?
   *]As a protestant in the past, how would you have respond to some catholic who said, “The reason why catholics honor mary is becuase JESUS DID!”
   *]As a protestant in the past, what did you think was the strangest, weirdest thing about catholic pratices? how did it gradually change as you further understood the faith and became a catholic?
   *]what was the biggest difference between the catholic church and your past protestant church
   *]what did you think of marian apparitions
   *]while you were still protestant, what was the initial thing that first sparked your attraction and interest in the catholic church. what made you want to learn more about the catholic church?
   *]as a protestant in the past, what did you think of holy water?
   *]as a protestant in the past, what did you think of the catholic church nearest you?
   *]as a protestant in the past, what did you think of nuns and their life style. did you have any misconceptions about the nun’s vocations? what would have been your initial thought when you saw a nun in her habit? also, what did you think about the priesthood and celibacy. did you have any misconceptions or indiferrance with how the catholic church tells its priest to remain celibate? Did you ever think, “Lucky for my protestant pastor! If he was catholic, he wouldn’t have been able to marry his wonderful wife!”

 

[dawgfan]

1. I had no problem. I knew that it was just part of the prayer.
2. Felt awkward at first - like the first time that you meet someone in real life you had never spoken with before
   My prayers are still usually short
3. I respected the pope alot - views haven’t changed
4. Not really - all of my closest friends are still protestant
5. Not really 1 specific verse that I could think of
   6 I would have understood
6. The weirdest thing for me was all of the “memorized” rather than “spontaneous” prayers
7. Most people are awake and concentrating on the mass rather than sleeping through a sermon
8. I was skeptical.
9. The one thing that most attracted me to Catholicism was the church’s consistency
10. I understood that it was a symbol for baptism
11. I’m originally from a rural (very protestant) area of Georgia and I never knew anyone that went to the few catholic churches that were there
    13 I respected both nuns and priests lifestyles. I didn’t understand the whole issue of celibacy though. As far as my pastor’s wife, I probably thought that he would’ve been a lot better off if he wasn’t married to her.

I maybe be the exception to the rule on most of these points because I was always “Catholic” in most of my beliefs and never a hardcore fundamentalist protestant even though for most of my life, I had never stepped a foot in a Catholic church.
I might have even started going sooner to a Catholic church if I had had a Catholic to invite me to mass.

 

[ryan88cn]

Howdy, y’all! I have been a Catholic all my life and always love hearing other protestant’s conversion stories to my catholic faith.

I have a few questions for all y’all converts! GOD BLESS!

1. 
   *]When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Sign of the Cross?
   *]From protesant converting to catholic, do you still remember the very first time you prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary? How long did it take you to decide to talk to her? When you actually did start talking to the Blessed Virgin, how did it feel? What else can you say about your first time speaking to your heavenly Mother?
   *]When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Pope. How did your view on him change as you begin to convert to the catholic faith?
   *]When you were protestant, did you have any devout catholic friends? If so, what was the most strikng thing about their christianity and spirituality that shocked you, making you ask, “I never knew Catholics were suppose to be that way!”
   *]As a converting protestant, what was the most prominent bible passage that convinced you to leave your protestant church and come home?
   *]As a protestant in the past, how would you have respond to some catholic who said, “The reason why catholics honor mary is becuase JESUS DID!”
   *]As a protestant in the past, what did you think was the strangest, weirdest thing about catholic pratices? how did it gradually change as you further understood the faith and became a catholic?
   *]what was the biggest difference between the catholic church and your past protestant church
   *]what did you think of marian apparitions
   *]while you were still protestant, what was the initial thing that first sparked your attraction and interest in the catholic church. what made you want to learn more about the catholic church?
   *]as a protestant in the past, what did you think of holy water?
   *]as a protestant in the past, what did you think of the catholic church nearest you?
   *]as a protestant in the past, what did you think of nuns and their life style. did you have any misconceptions about the nun’s vocations? what would have been your initial thought when you saw a nun in her habit? also, what did you think about the priesthood and celibacy. did you have any misconceptions or indiferrance with how the catholic church tells its priest to remain celibate? Did you ever think, “Lucky for my protestant pastor! If he was catholic, he wouldn’t have been able to marry his wonderful wife!”

1. 1. i tot maybe it was just an symbol
   2. before my convertion i had already started to pray to Mary, it was great and i started learning to pray rosary.
   3. i had no ideas for d Pope and his power
   4. when i was a protestant, i was a foreigner staying in singapore alone, at tat time i was just 15 year old, the family i stayed is a catholic and the school i attended was a catholic boy school. Besieds one of my best friend is a catholic, unlike the protestant will criticise the catholic. all the catholic i know they have never criticised protestant faith, instead they treat protestant as FAMILY.
   5. i can’t exactly quote the verse, ‘’ love your church’’, unlike protestant they will pray for their individual church only, instead of the whole christian community.
   6.precisely agree
   1. the strangest was that catholic honor Mary, but protestant doesnt. I’ve leart that it is right and nothing-wrong wif honor Mary and she is an intercessor.
   2. catholic church is more traditional
   3. NIL
   4. in my heart there were always a image of Mary, and that became the motatition for me to discover the different. so i aked my former protestant’s leader about d difference, they could not tell me any. so i felt they were SUCK!
   11.before my convertion, i’ve already heard that holy water is used to baptism and in exorcism.
   1. wish to attend the Mass
   13.tot they are great that they have offer that whole lives only for God.

 

[writergirlmel]

Okay…I’ll bite. I’m a new Candidate, so I’m not actually a convert yet, but I’ll answer anyway.

1. When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Sign of the Cross? Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. I did not, however, know it is a prayer in and of itself until my first RCIA session.

2. From protesant converting to catholic, do you still remember the very first time you prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary? How long did it take you to decide to talk to her? When you actually did start talking to the Blessed Virgin, how did it feel? What else can you say about your first time speaking to your heavenly Mother? I never understood the practice of praying to saints before I began really researching the Catholic faith, but it didn’t seem like a big leap for me. I prayed the Hail Mary for the first time about a week before my first RCIA session – just a few weeks after really coming to understand the practice. I prayed it for the first time last night with others last night as a closing prayer for a state-of-the-parish meeting. I was just proud that I remembered it!

3. When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Pope. How did your view on him change as you begin to convert to the catholic faith? Honestly, I never thought much about the Pope and am still learning about the Church heirarchy.

4. When you were protestant, did you have any devout catholic friends? If so, what was the most strikng thing about their christianity and spirituality that shocked you, making you ask, “I never knew Catholics were suppose to be that way!” Nothing has been too shocking to me. My significant other is a devout Catholic, but even before I met him, I was exposed to many different religions, both Christian and non-Christian. I learned long ago that stereotypes aren’t always accurate.

5. As a converting protestant, what was the most prominent bible passage that convinced you to leave your protestant church and come home? I can’t claim any particular verse to be especially prominent yet. Instead, I can point to a quote from a friend as the statement that prompted me to begin research and study: “I love my religion; it’s so logical!”

6. As a protestant in the past, how would you have respond to some catholic who said, “The reason why catholics honor mary is becuase JESUS DID!” Well, I don’t think I really would’ve argued with that. As a Protestant, I never found myself disagreeing with the idea of Mary deserving honor (I just didn’t place as much emphasis on it), so I probably would have simply looked at the person as if they were a lunatic preaching to the choir.

7. As a protestant in the past, what did you think was the strangest, weirdest thing about catholic pratices? how did it gradually change as you further understood the faith and became a catholic? It had to have been the practice of praying to the saints. I just didn’t get it, but now I understand it.

8. what was the biggest difference between the catholic church and your past protestant church lol…I grew up Pentecost. What wasn’t different? I mean, when I was growing up, it wasn’t abnormal in the slightest to witness the speaking and interpretation of tongues, lots of old-school southern gospel, a very loud preacher, and a very vocal congregation.

9. what did you think of marian apparitions Never gave them much thought.

10. while you were still protestant, what was the initial thing that first sparked your attraction and interest in the catholic church. what made you want to learn more about the catholic church? My friend’s discussions about Church teachings.

11. as a protestant in the past, what did you think of holy water? Never even crossed my mind.

12. as a protestant in the past, what did you think of the catholic church nearest you? Umm…it was a church. That was about it.

*13. as a protestant in the past, what did you think of nuns and their life style. did you have any misconceptions about the nun’s vocations? what would have been your initial thought when you saw a nun in her habit? also, what did you think about the priesthood and celibacy. did you have any misconceptions or indiferrance with how the catholic church tells its priest to remain celibate? Did you ever think, “Lucky for my protestant pastor! If he was catholic, he wouldn’t have been able to marry his wonderful wife!” * I thought exactly what I think about nuns and their lifestyle now: that it’s an admirable vocation that I’ve never been called toward. It’s not as if all Protestants don’t know about nuns and priests; we’re not taught they’re all quiet, mouse-ish people who haunt Catholic school classrooms and confessionals. I’m sure there are misconceptions, but it’s not the big mystery some people make it out to be.

 

[jmm08]

Get ready to laugh a bit.

1. Not a big deal. Just a religious gesture.
2. I was visiting a Priest in his office. He opened us up in prayer with the “Hail Mary”. I prayed along but internally I was offended and resented it at the time. In retrospect, I suppose just one “Hail Mary” is a very powerful prayer – more than we know.
3. As a conservative fundamentalist, I remember hoping y’all would get a good Pope when John Paul I (and then John Paul II) were elected. When I heard that Pope John Paul II’s favorite prayer was the Rosary (and that he really loved Mary), I honestly thought y’all had lost out again. I initially thought Pope John Paul II was another misguided Pope. Boy was I really wrong. Now I don’t pray to Pope John Paul II very much – he had become closer than that even before he died. Instead a better description is that I permit him to pray for me – sometimes all night long (and I pray along for a small part of it). Especially when I’m having a hard time. And it has very consistently been so helpful – and I’ve had at least two physical healings this way. He is so strong and so loving.
4. When I was in College, I decided to sing in the Catholic Choir (an easy way to get some "A"s in humanities and I liked the music). I remember making a friend who liked ham radios and muscle cars. And I also vividly recall talking with another student who was planning to become a Priest. He told me "I believe in a hard sell (meaning that it was a good idea to warn people that they were going to hell if they didn’t have Jesus) and he believed in a soft sell. Amazingly, our paths seperated and I do think God was involved. For awhile after I turned 30, I was a “street preacher” and often went to very poor (predominantly Black) neighborhoods such as public housing projects. Mainly because the poor responded so well to the Gospel (just as the book of James says). I actually have had a lot of friends who quit being Catholic and who talked about how dead the church was.
5. The clearest way to tell was that we know Christians by their fruits. If the consecrated host was just a wafer and nothing more, then Fulton Sheen was an idol worshiper because he spent an hour each day worshipping God. And yet Fulton Sheen’s writings spoke so clearly to me and some of them answered hard questions that bothered me for years. So Fulton Sheen had to be a strong Christian – yet he got his strength from worshipping a cookie. How? I had to be wrong about the cookie.
6. Frankly, I had to find out from within. Although I was not strongly anti-catholic, I had a close friend who was close to Jack Chick. Jack Chick’s organization did graphics for some of our tracts. I still have a receipt for one of my orders of 1,000 tracts from Jack Chick. For those who believe, no additional argument is needed. For those who do disbelieve, no argument is sufficient.
7. How they seemed to parade up and down the center isle as part of the worship service. At the start, procession with a big flagpole that didn’t have a flag; bringing up the host, ringing bells during communion, and carrying the big stick back at the end.
8. Not having a part of the service near the end where you close your eyes and hold up your hand, or come up front to accept Jesus or decide to become a Church member.
9. I know better now. I know what I saw briefly on August 26, 2004 when I had made an unplanned trip to the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. In fact, the stories about three little children and “Our Lady of Fatima” were why I initially decided not to seriously think about becoming Catholic (back in my college days). Because to me it seemed like a funny story like the glasses and Joseph Smith (mormon) or other cult-like craziness. But now thanks to how Fulton Sheen explained it and how his explanation tied in directly to my personal experiences, I do believe. And I pray the Rosary every day now almost a year.
10. While I was in High School, my High school choir sang Beethovan’s Mass in C Major and we also did it in our local Catholic Church. Which was how I knew I liked Catholic music and joined the chapel choir in college. I am once again in a Catholic Choir (2nd year).
11. It was a scam to get money (the Lourdes water). Regular Holy water wasn’t anything but salty water. But of course, now I use it as much as anybody – and often at Church I cross myself with Holy Water many times on coming or leaving (not just once, but once for each family member, etc.). In case somebody doesn’t know, Holy Water is free in every Catholic Church. It isn’t a scam.
12. They had some nice summer bazaars and parties.
13. I hadn’t given nuns too much thought. I was surprised to find out about 12 years ago that some Benedictine nuns actually seemed to be Christians. They actually prayed with Jesus in a very intimate way that I could admire greatly. However, at that time I did not consider myself a Catholic and wasn’t thinking about it.

jmm08

 

[jmm08]

…Now I don’t pray to Pope John Paul II very much – he had become closer than that even before he died. Instead a better description is that I permit him to pray for me – sometimes all night long (and I pray along for a small part of it). Especially when I’m having a hard time. And it has very consistently been so helpful – and I’ve had at least two physical healings this way. He is so strong and so loving.
,
jmm08

Just before Pope John II died, I knew in my heart he was dying. I went to First Friday and for part of the service I lost it and cried wailing out loud like I had just lost a very close relative. How else do you expect me to be when it seemed to me that he was so close. He had sometimes prayed for me all night long watching over me when I was sick.

Yet even now, he can pray just as well as ever.

Some explanation needed: I have a two-disk CD-ROM set (done for the Holy Year) which is Pope John Paul II (and others) praying the Rosary in latin (with the mysteries spoken in English). In times of trouble, I put the 2nd disk (glorious mysteries and other songs and prayers) on my CD player to repeat over-and-over all night while I sleep. I had a priest bless the CDs for me. And when I bought the CDs about two years ago (at Halloween time), they were in the dollar store. They rang up as a dollar, but the cash register receipt said it was a candy-filled mug. That made both me and the checkout gal laugh. And I figured Our Lady had given me a Halloween treat. After the first physical healing, I figured someboy on the CD must have already died and become a Holy Saint. But you know, maybe John Paul II was a living Holy Saint just like Mother Teresa, St. Anthony, St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri.

 

[Jeanette_L]

1. I thought the Sign of Cross was just a ritual that most Catholics didn’t even know why they did it, just superstitious I guess.
2. I still don’t really pray to Mary really, I do say the Rosary, which I don’t consider prayer to Mary, but prayer with her. And no special reason, I just have always prayed to God and just continue to do so.
3. I didn’t think much about the Pope, really. My opinions started to change when JPII was nearing death and I started watching stories about his life. I started reading some of his writings. When he died, I thought I had lost someone who was a part of me, that’s when I knew I was going to be a Catholic, I just had to come to terms with it.
4. I had a lot of Catholic friends, none of them were devout. Which makes my conversion even more bizarre to my Evangelical family. They think I’ve flipped my lid.
5. I can’t say there was one. But the usual come to mind, most having to do with the Eucharist. Some having to do with unity. Some having to do with what Christ expects from us as true followers…
6. I would have said that Catholics take it a step too far. I still think there are some that cross a line, but I will withhold judgement because I’m not the Judge!
7. Candles and incense and those Marian processionals! Now I understand the doctrines and the traditions and they don’t bother me, I find them quite beautiful and peaceful.
8. Longevity
9. Still don’t know what to think of them!
10. EWTN with Mother Angelica, Fr. Corapi, Fr. Groeschel and Marcus Grodei. Hearing the reasons behind the Catholic thinking and dogmas. I realized there was more intelligence behind Catholicism and more emotionalism and reactionism behind my own beliefs, where I had previously thought the opposite was true.
11. Didn’t think much about it. I had some experience with Pentecostalism, so I understood the theory behind having objects blessed by the Holy Spirit, so it wasn’t a hinderance for me.
12. Thought the people just followed rituals but had no understanding of who Christ really is and what their relationship with Him was supposed to be like.
13. I didn’t have any negative feelings about nuns or priests or their call to celibacy. I knew that St. Paul was celibate and taught that it was the highest calling in Christ.

I knew enough preachers kids and wives to know that it wasn’t always the best way to live life, not for the family, not for the pastor, not for the congregation. I’m sure if it wasn’t seen as such a Catholic thing, a lot more Protestants would probably try it!

 

[THutch04]

1. I did it every Sunday, so I didn’t think much of it.
2. I always had an attachment to Mary, but yes, I do remember first talking to her the night that I did a lot of searching and prayer and decided at the end of it that I needed to convert.

• I had talked to her before I decided to convert, but it was usually whenever I really had a real need that needed extra help. I was always closer with St. Therese.
• I always felt very safe talking to Mary. I never felt like I was worshipping her, or doing anything wrong, it just felt right.
• When I started talking to her more often, I noticed my relationship with my own mom deepened. I always like to think of Mary as the example for how I should be as a woman and (maybe someday) a mother.

1. I didn’t know too much about him until I came to college. I thought he had the same function as the leader of my own Church. As I began to convert, I realized that the Pope really did create a good amount of unity in the Church.
2. Yes, I have two right now who I give a lot of credit towards leading me into the Catholic Church. They were Catholics because they chose to be, not because their parents forced them into it. I was able to relate to them both because they too wanted to keep their faith in college, and in my opinion, they don’t get nearly as much credit for it as they deserve.
3. It wasn’t any particular Bible passage, but I did read the verse where Jesus says that Peter is the Rock. I had to read that multiple times along the way.
4. Probably something along the lines of “Can you help me pay for this really nice Rosary?” I honestly never had an issue with Mary.
5. I grew up with most of them, but I guess the hardest thing for me was understanding why we stood and knelt at different times. To be honest, I still don’t really understand those differences.
6. My past church was rather “clique-y.” If you weren’t from an Anglican background, nobody would tell you not to be there, but it was very obvious who those people were, and they usually didn’t stay very long.
7. I thought that maybe people needed to physically see Mary to become better Christians.
8. I go to a Catholic university, and because of the lack of Anglicans there, I connected more with the Catholics than the other Protestants. Everyone always said we were so similar, I wanted to see how true that was, and I wanted to be able to participate in the spiritual life of my school, with my classmates.
9. I didn’t think much of it.
10. Genuinely good Christians, beautiful organ.
11. I always had a great respect for anyone in a religious vocation. I’ve known many priests with families, and they always seemed very happy. I do wonder sometimes if family relations suffered because of the fact that he was married. We all highly respected the wife of a priest though.

 

[lak611]

This isn’t just a good question for Protestant converts, it is also a good question for Catholics. I was baptized as a Catholic but did not really understand until I was in my twenties what my faith meant. And this was in spite of the fact that I went to CCD classes, Catholic high school, received all the Sacraments (Baptism, Confession, Communion, Confirmation). I finally “got it” when I was in my twenties, not practicing any religion, but searching for meaning in my life. I went to a Christian music festival with a friend of mine (Catholic). At the festival, someone from a Baptist Church gave me a Bible (KJV). For some reason, I actually decided to read it. After reading it all the way through, I discovered that there was nothing that I had been taught that was contradictory between the Bible and the Catholic faith. I prayed a lot, confessed my sin first directly to God and then to my priest, and rejoined the Catholic Faith. I have since grown to love the Bible, which I read all the way through every year. I also joined a Bible study class at my Catholic parish and have become an EMHC. God definitely is good! :bible1:

 

[frnate]

1. When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Sign of the Cross?

I think sub-conciously I understood it and thus never had a problem with it.

1. From protesant converting to catholic, do you still remember the very first time you prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary? How long did it take you to decide to talk to her? When you actually did start talking to the Blessed Virgin, how did it feel? What else can you say about your first time speaking to your heavenly Mother?

The only thing I remember about my first conversation with my Mother was the feeling of peace and tranquility, and the stunning fact that I REALLY COULD talk to her with out “worshipping” her.

1. When you were still protestant, what did you think of the Pope. How did your view on him change as you begin to convert to the catholic faith?

I was 15 when JP2 was elected. I had been taught that the Antichrist would probably be the Pope. But as I watched him I knew that it wasn’t gonna be THIS one!

1. When you were protestant, did you have any devout catholic friends?

Not that I knew of.

1. As a converting protestant, what was the most prominent bible passage that convinced you to leave your protestant church and come home?

Revelation 12

1. As a protestant in the past, how would you have respond to some catholic who said, “The reason why catholics honor mary is becuase JESUS DID!”

“Yeah, but He didn’t WORSHIP her!”

1. As a protestant in the past, what did you think was the strangest, weirdest thing about catholic pratices? how did it gradually change as you further understood the faith and became a catholic?

Their “idolatry.” Then I realized it wasn’t just hair-splitting.

1. what was the biggest difference between the catholic church and your past protestant church

Clergy wearing “dresses”

1. what did you think of marian apparitions

I believed they were probably demons.

1. while you were still protestant, what was the initial thing that first sparked your attraction and interest in the catholic church. what made you want to learn more about the catholic church?

As a young child I was always fascinated by the externals of Catholicity. The smells and bells if you will. As I matured I wanted to know the reasons why these things were done this way.

1. as a protestant in the past, what did you think of holy water?

I wondered why we didn’t use it since it seemed to work so well in the movies. After all, our pastor kept a bottle of Pompei extra-virgin olive oil in the pulpit for the occasional annointing for healing at alter call…so what was the difference???

1. as a protestant in the past, what did you think of the catholic church nearest you?

“I wonder if I’ll see any of them in Heaven?”

1. as a protestant in the past, what did you think of nuns and their life style.

Better them than me.

did you have any misconceptions about the nun’s vocations?

Certainly, but I don’t remember what they might have been.

what would have been your initial thought when you saw a nun in her habit?

Man! I bet she’s HOT wearing all that junk!

also, what did you think about the priesthood and celibacy. did you have any misconceptions or indiferrance with how the catholic church tells its priest to remain celibate?

I thought it was silly.

Did you ever think, “Lucky for my protestant pastor! If he was catholic, he wouldn’t have been able to marry his wonderful wife!”

Yeah, but we also joked that the Priest was lucky not to have a mother-in-law

Peace,
+Nathan

 

[bankerdavid]

I’ve been Catholic 6 months now, started conversion process this time last year. Though I went to Catholic high school, I had a lot of bitterness. The kids in Catholic school were MEAN. My Christian Brother principal was having an affair with an art teacher, one of the teachers was rumored to be messing with teenaged girls (he was in charge of the cheerleaders). Another was a druggie. So I had a pretty poor first impression. Then, I married a Catholic woman who’d had an annullment. I didn’t understand how the Church could erase her long marriage.
Also, in school, I knew a lot more about the Bible than a lot of the other kids did.
However, I got stupid in between these two times-I fell away from religion altogether. I believed, and because I was protestant, I thought that just believing was enough.
A year and a half ago, my wife and I had a falling out, and I needed somewhere to turn, so I went to a priest, began having faith again. Wife and I are still working things out.

So I knew what the Sign of the Cross was, I knew about praying to Mary. I didn’t venerate her yet, but now I pray the Rosary, have been doing so for more than a year now. I feel comfort that she intercedes for me. I respected the Pope as the leader of the Christian Church (not just the Catholic Church). My wife was my first contact with “devout” Catholics, though for the longest time we only attended Mass by watching it on TV. She prayed, lit candles, maintained an altar, but we didn’t participate in the Sacraments because we weren’t validly married (that wasn’t the real why, but I know now that it was the most important). Most of the Catholics of my past didn’t ever preach, but we protestants knew there was voodoo going on. There was no one biblical passage that sent me to conversion, but the first scripture I turned to in my quest was the Sermon on the Mount. We believed that as protestants, but in my time of trouble this really hit home. The revelation of being more giving was very profound, but you don’t have to do that to be Catholic. The understanding of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Eucharist was what did it for me, and knowing that there was a known progression from Jesus to Pope Benedict was helpful. As for the sacramentals (holy water, etc.) I didn’t understand why they were special. I come from New Orleans, which has some really beautiful Catholic Churches, and the churches where I live are much more modern, so I don’t really care too much for modern church architecture. I still have misconceptions of priests and nuns, but Father John Corapi has a way of explaining it that makes it digestible.

I hope this helps.