I’m not asking you to convince me to be a Catholic, although I’m thoroughly interested in investigating and possibly joining the Church. I’m definitely interested in learning as much as I can, that’s for sure. Is the Church really as historically documented as some say? I mean if there are documents that go all the way back to before 100 AD then why aren’t more people apart of this Church? I don’t know… just some thoughts racing through my head right now.
As to ancient documents, yes, I understand that there are a good number of them, and that’s fine, but, it’s not even close to why I’m Catholic. I’m a convert from just shy of a 1/2 century of Buddhist/Pagan/Pantheist/Pop religion. I finally ended up here because when I started really thinking, and really praying, and really opening up my heart and soul to the Holy Spirit, I was given faith in the Church as a grace. The Church kind of made itself known to me by supernatural means as the truth. Having said that, there was much catechesis and learning to be done after my, …calling forth? I will say conversion, because that’s the word sort of understood by all. But I consder myself still in a “process” of conversion, which I don’t expect will ever end, whereas this calling forth was rather singular and distinct.
Once I felt this kind of…tug?..I picked up an audio book at a truck stop while driving from Kansas to Nevada, just because it looked kind of interesting. It was “The Lambs Supper” by Scott Hahn. I had been trying to read and make sense of Revelation, so this looked like it might have a little bit on insight about it according to the back of the box. It helped me to follow the events closer in a novel I was reading called “In His Image”. Isn’t that a kick? I was interested in reading and understanding the book of Revelation in order to undertand a novel? That cracks me up in retrospect. It’s so perfect to how I see God actually work in people, now that I’m actually watching such things. In my defense, I was a Buddhist on the cusp of a new age understanding of Jesus at the time, and considering looking back into my family’s religion of Lutheran Christianity, (though actually the last church goer in the family was my grandmother who had already been gone for a while by now). Long story short, I found a mass when I got to Kansas, and found myself, along with my “atheist” wife sitting in an RCIA session, which led to another, and another. Discernment was happening, though I didn’t know what to call it. RCIA was so awesome that after being confirmed at the Easter Vigil and watching my wife baptised, her and I both stayed in RCIA for 3 more cycles just to take care of refreshments, help with setting up the rooms and such, and learning more and more about the faith God brought us to. I’m thiking about going back now as a sponsor. I love watching others have the RCIA experience.
Anyway, good luck. I understand that the way God works with some people is intellectually first, and then the conversion. Others fall off a horse and are struck blind.
I am finding great joy on the intellectual side of things now. But I don’t know what the things I study look like without a Catholic lens, because I was already Catholic by the time I began reading all this great stuff. I don’t know what non-Catholics might get from the stuff I study, since I wasn’t exposed to it before conversion. I’m sure some may read the things I read with skepticism, which would dull the nature of the material. I believe Catholicism to be the truth as my axiom. So everything I read pretty much bears that out. The anti or even Catholic neutral material I read, just doesn’t resonate with me.
The two things I read before becoming Catholic that really did, I think, help though, were the afore mentioned Scott Hahn book, which was indispensable as both an understanding of Revelation and the Catholic Mass. It helped me see you can’t understand one without the other. The other is the Gospel according to St. John which I read over and over again, along with the lectionary readings, and the other books of the bible. Something about John really really speaks to me. It led me to an understanding and view of Jesus I had never had before. I read it prayerfully, and slowly, and let each passage sink in. It’s like some would sip brandy, or eat an exotic dark chocolate. It is a joy, and a privelege.
