I’m a convert to Catholicism from evangelical Protestantism. (8 years
)
When the Holy Spirit leads someone into the True Church of Jesus Christ, He’s not going to let them get away. We’re not talking about someone deciding to re-do their living room, or buy a hybrid car, and then changing their mind. People who are sincere about Catholicism don’t allow a few months, or even a few years, to discourage them.
There is much historical precedent in the Church to waiting several years before converting to Catholicism. In the New Testament Church, the catechumens had two years of preparation before becoming Catholic. This was done to make SURE that they were sincere about their decision. They were not allowed to stay during the Liturgy of the Eucharist during the Mass, but only during the Liturgy of the Word. Nowadays, if someone was told that they were not allowed to stay during a portion of the Mass, they would be angry, because we aren’t used to being told, especially by a Church, that we CAN’T do something. We want everything right now!
Waiting for a few months or years is excellent discipline for many of us who have known very little spiritual discipline in the Protestant fellowships where we are taught to seek “instant gratification.”
Many non-Catholic Christians (not all) have been trained from their infancy to serve God on THEIR terms, not His. They expect instant gratification, or as they say, “We want to be FED.” The music has to be good, the pastor has to be a good speaker, the fellowship has to be friendly, the youth and children’s programs have to be excellent, etc. If things in the church don’t please him/her, the Christian walks, and goes off in search of another church where they can be “fed.” And then the cycle starts all over again.
We often talk about a “Name it and claim it Gospel.” Certainly there are many non-Catholic Christians who do not believe in that false Gospel, but none-the-less, many still get impatient with God and with their fellow Christians when they don’t “feel” that things are happening the way they think they should be happening.
Over my years in evangelical Protestant churches, I saw many “programs” that got started in response to the demand for action “right now,” and then fizzled out, leaving disillusioned people who often ended up drifting away from God. Oh, yes, of course there would be some prayer meetings for a few weeks or months so that we could “seek God’s perfect will,” and then we would say, “We’re ready! God is telling us to act right now,” and we would forge ahead, and within a year, the project would grind to a heartbreaking halt because it wasn’t really the right project or the right timing or God’s perfect will at all.
Now I want to add that NOT ALL Protestant denominations are so “instant.” E.g., in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, years of preparation are required before someone can become a missionary. The candidate has to complete four years of undergraduate school (college), earn a Master’s Degree (two more years), do a year of home service, and do a year of short-term missionary service on the field where they will be serving. This means that many of the candidates are almost 30 years old before they ever get to the mission field. BUT…the C and MA has a much better retention rate for overseas missionaries than other denominations or organizations that give their missionaries a shorter training period.
There is a lot to be said for taking our time and doing things in their proper timing, rather than trying to make things easier and take short-cuts.
Another major problem that many non-Catholic Christians have is a lack of ability to submit to any authority other than their own self. Yes, they say that they are submitting to God only, and hopefully that is true. But many non-Catholic Christians have no concept of submitting to a human authority established by God. This needs to change for a Christian who is joining the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. Catholic Christians submit to the Lord Jesus who has given authority here on earth to the Pope and the Bishops. It does not bode well when a seeker says, “I don’t want to submit to these men. I want to convert RIGHT NOW.” That attitude needs to go, and the prospective Catholic needs to learn humility and obedience.
Yes, we’re all incredibly busy here in the United States and yes, it would be great if we could do RCIA on our schedule rather than the Church’s schedule. But when it comes to joining the Catholic Church, we should not blame the Church for our own lack of fortitude.
Instead, we need to seek to cultivate this virtue in our lives. When told by the Catholic Church that we have to actually wait a few months or even a year, we should gird up our loins, continue attending Mass and making spiritual communions, learn as much as we can on our own (CAF is an excellent resource), make friends in the parish of our choice (if we would reach outside of our comfort zone and seek Catholic friends, we would learn that many people DO care about our conversion!), pray constantly, and grow in love for Jesus and our fellow Christians.
In these days of instant gratification, the Internet, Blackberries and such, I think people’s minds, as you yourself put it are “boggled” when they come up against* initiation into the Profound and Mysterious*.
