C
celledoor
Guest
I’m trying to remember the correct story and who to credit for in an upcoming blog post… I may have heard it in a homily, but I think I may have heard it from Catholic radio or podcast… basically it goes like this… please excuse me if I get it entirely wrong, but I am trying to find the correct source and story:
A long time ago during a troubling period of the Church, shortly before the Reformation, a wealthy Jewish man meets a religious brother and they get to talking about religion and the Jewish man receives an epiphany that he feels called to become Catholic. The brother overjoyed, immediately offers to gladly instruct the man in the Faith. But the Jewish man say that he has business to attend to in the near future, and by chance his business is taking him to Rome. He explains, as a business man, it seems prudent that he he should go to the Vatican to examine how the hierarchy works firsthand before converting. The brother feels that if the Jewish man goes to the Vatican he would certainly be scandalized and refuse to convert and so tries to talk him out of it. The Jewish man guided by his business sensibilities is insistent that he needs to go to the Vatican first. The brother relents and gives a big sigh, telling the Jewish man, “Well when you come back in 3 months, and if you still want to convert to the Catholic Faith, I’ll be here to instruct you.” And they go their separate ways. … Exactly three months pass by and the Jewish man seeks out the brother and exclaims, “I’ve converted!” The brother astonished, wonders, “What?! Well did you go to the Vatican?” The Jewish man replies, “Why of course! I saw the Vatican firsthand and I was immediately convinced! I insisted on converting right then and there!” The brother exclaims, “It’s a miracle! I thought you would be scandalized and run the other direction!” The Jewish man answers, “Brother, I am a seasoned business man, and I’ve seen many things in my dealings. And if you saw how poorly the way that they run things in the Vatican, why the Church hasn’t collapsed long long ago could only be due to the providence of God.”
A long time ago during a troubling period of the Church, shortly before the Reformation, a wealthy Jewish man meets a religious brother and they get to talking about religion and the Jewish man receives an epiphany that he feels called to become Catholic. The brother overjoyed, immediately offers to gladly instruct the man in the Faith. But the Jewish man say that he has business to attend to in the near future, and by chance his business is taking him to Rome. He explains, as a business man, it seems prudent that he he should go to the Vatican to examine how the hierarchy works firsthand before converting. The brother feels that if the Jewish man goes to the Vatican he would certainly be scandalized and refuse to convert and so tries to talk him out of it. The Jewish man guided by his business sensibilities is insistent that he needs to go to the Vatican first. The brother relents and gives a big sigh, telling the Jewish man, “Well when you come back in 3 months, and if you still want to convert to the Catholic Faith, I’ll be here to instruct you.” And they go their separate ways. … Exactly three months pass by and the Jewish man seeks out the brother and exclaims, “I’ve converted!” The brother astonished, wonders, “What?! Well did you go to the Vatican?” The Jewish man replies, “Why of course! I saw the Vatican firsthand and I was immediately convinced! I insisted on converting right then and there!” The brother exclaims, “It’s a miracle! I thought you would be scandalized and run the other direction!” The Jewish man answers, “Brother, I am a seasoned business man, and I’ve seen many things in my dealings. And if you saw how poorly the way that they run things in the Vatican, why the Church hasn’t collapsed long long ago could only be due to the providence of God.”
