Hi!!!
I am a former LCMSer who was received into full communion with the Catholic Church this past April. Your post sounds exactly like how I felt when I first starting hearing the Holy Spirit’s call to full communion with Rome. Before I even began to seriously investigate the historical credibility and theological soundness of the teachings of the Church, I was drawn to her because the beauty of her liturgies, Eastern and Western alike (Divine Services I and II contain elements of both) that other protestants (save for High church Anglicans) are not really familiar with. I knew that most of the world’s greatest performers and composers were Catholic, and I loved chant and polyphonic music from the Renaissance. So I was curious.
I was in eigth grade and was preparing for my Lutheran “confirmation” (please forgive me if that sounds a little rude, but it is our belief that the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod does not have valid apostolic succession or valid orders) when the curiosity went deeper than the externals. We were told that in 1517, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Martin Luther formulated the infamous 95 Theses and nailed them to the door of the parish church in Wittenburg and that a few years later he had singlehandedly reformed and purified the Church.
That struck me as very odd, because I remembered the words of Jesus to Peter quite well. “You are Peter, and on this rock I shall build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail…” So I tried to logically examine the claims of Luther and compare them to the claims of the Catholic church, and Luther just couldn’t win. I then went and looked for historical evidence of the claims of the Church as outlined in the new catechism and I was just blown away!
I still had problems totally disregarding everything Luther had written, though. Afterall, some of his attacks on the clergy were justifiable. Some priests were extremely ignorant of the teachings of the Church, and some were downright EVIL. The practice of simony and many bishops’ unholy alliances with the princes of the Holy Roman Empire cannot be ignored, either. BUT the faith as proclaimed by the Vicar of Christ and the bishops in communion with him remained the untainted and unchanged faith that had been handed down from the Apostles to the Fathers and so on. Check out this summary of the happenings at the Ecumenical Council of Trent, which addressed the issues needing reform.
newadvent.org/cathen/15030c.htm
I believe it is necessary for all people feeling drawn to the Church to do some serious, objective historical investigation, and I believe it is ESPECIALLY necessary for Lutherans and Anglicans. Lutherans generally receive a very thorough catechesis and are already familiar with the idea of sacraments actually having efficacy (ie the Eucharist and baptismal regeneration), and as I said above, are familiar with the concept of a structured liturgy. I whole-heartedly second the suggestion to take this up with a priest first, as many well-meaning RCIA instructors (this is perhaps a very bad stereotype) may not be terribly familiar with the history of the so-called “Reformation,” the traditions of Lutherans, and may treat you as “just another fundamentalist who knows nothing about the Church.” Lee Ann, I shall pray for you!
