From Nominally Episcopalian to Catholic; From Catholic to Non-Denominational; Then Finally and Forever From Non-Denominational Back Home to the Catholic Church.
I always love a good conversion story. Thank you for sharing yours. I am a convert (maybe technically a revert, since I was baptized into the Catholic Church as a baby) and I want to share my story on my Substack, but I've been mulling over it, trusting the time will come when I feel ready.
I am so pleased you put your story on here. It was a wonderful story and I truly enjoyed it. I will try and put mine on two and it’s quite long. So I will be back soon.
I was baptized in 2005 and I was about 13, old enough to know what was going on. The Church and all of her traditions, the stories of the Saints, the fact that she has all the answers - I am so glad that I was old enough to know what I was accepting.
This post was beautiful. Thank you for sharing your spiritual journey with us!
As a cradle Catholic, I am ashamed of the lack of catechesis your RCIA program offered. Deo gratias that you found your way back to the Church, but it breaks my heart to think of all the people who may never find their way back, all stemming from the lack of foundation in their catechesis. I know a wonderful priest who used a thorough RCIA curriculum and received a lot of backlash for it. Yet such curriculum is absolutely the very thing we need in order for all Catholics—not just neophytes—to live out their faith.
Ranting aside, thank you for sharing your very moving conversion story. As a cradle Catholic, I often fear I don’t fully appreciate the sacrifices that converts make in order to join the true Church. Your story has given me a deeper appreciation for the immense grace that is behind every single soul won for Christ (even those of us baptized as infants), so thank you.
100% agree about RCIA. I think some people dilute the truth because they are afraid to drive people away, but that ends up benefitting no one.
Those who wanted the Truth don’t get it, and I don’t see any evidence that those who would have been driven away by the truth end up sticking around or going deeper. Sooner or later we all have to make a decision for or against the Truth.
I am very impressed by your maturity and pursuit of the truth at such a young age. I often wonder that, if I had been a non-cradle Catholic that I would have done the work to search for the truth and become Catholic. I like to think I would have like you. A great story! Thank you!
I’m 38, born in 1986, so we’re basically the same age, Stuart!
I’m a cradle Catholic and starting in high school, I think in 9th grade, when I began two years of preparation at my parish for the Sacrament of Confirmation, I felt a tug from the Holy Spirit to go deeper in my faith and do Eucharistic Adoration. Then I went to the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN for college and encountered the amazing Catholic Studies faculty and philosophy faculty there, and had the opportunity to study abroad in Rome at the Angelicum for a semester and see Pope Benedict XVI, one of my heroes, at a few papal Masses and audiences and other events he was at. I thought for sure I would end up in the seminary or joining a religious order, but my Archdiocese and a few different religious orders actually turned me down. But I also wasn’t drawn to Holy Matrimony either, so I was confused about what vocational path I should follow. Then, at some point, I learned about private vows and prayed about that during the pandemic and, a few years ago, asked my pastor about that. It turned out that I only needed his permission under canon law to do that, so in 2023, I solemnly professed a private vow of celibacy after about 8 months of preparation and approximately 13 years of discernment.
My vocation isn’t a typical vocation, in that it’s very hidden, but I’m able to do things like help a friend or family member at the last minute who is going through a rough time, and I have a lot of time for prayer as well.
I guess the advice I have for others in their discernment journeys is listen for that still, small voice of Christ in your heart, and be obedient to the Church, and when you do receive that “yes” from the Church, and enter into your vocation, no matter what that vocation turns out to be, it’s well worth all the slings and arrows and spiritual attacks and doors slammed in your face along the way.
Also, Stuart, not only are we pretty much the same age, but God took me on the scenic route on my vocational discernment journey similarly to how He led you along the scenic route back to Holy Mother Church.
I’m glad you came home, brother, and if there are ever any intentions you’d like me to pray for, feel free to send them to me and, if you ever find yourself in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, you have a standing invitation that you can take me up on at any time to get lunch or coffee with me. I’d be delighted to meet you. 🙂
Wow, thanks so much for sharing, Michael! That's a beautiful story and an important vocation. I'll definitely take you up on that coffee next time I'm in the Twin Cities! Although with the young kids we haven't been traveling as much as we used to, so God only knows when that will be 😅.
I came back to the Catholic Church in 2017 after 40 years away. My brother came back to the Church in early 2023 after our father’s death, also about after 40 years away.
It was a complete surprise, the last thing I thought would ever happen to me. To other people yes, but not me. The memory of that moment remains fresh in my mind.
Thanks for your story. I always find these intra-Christian accounts interesting. The Catholic—> Evangelical account is usually a born-again story (and embracing the life-changing truth of Scripture for the 1st time); the Evangelical—> Catholic story is usually one of a Believer becoming dissatisfied with easy believism, or of a lack of ancient historical identification in the faith, or a too close/familiarity with church authority (lack of leadership awe and reverence).
Yours appears to share some of the middle type. I had a friend with a similar story (nominal Catholic, then Evangelical believer, then Calvinist, then believing Espicopalian, then Crossing the Tiber Catholic).
He used similar words like you did, “the Church has received us home” etc. In my opinion, he needed formality, he was fan of history, and I think he hated the precarious nature of the Christian life – i.e., being double-minded as Paul says of himself. So he wanted some apparent infallible authority over himself to give himself the comfort that he no longer had to struggle with his sin and his faith.
My story? I grew up nominal Episcopalian and, like you, indulged in the cares of this world by the time I hit high school and college. I had a born-again conversion experience post-college when I encountered Jesus in Matthew. I had always wanted to know the deeper things, even though I myself was quite comfortable in my sin, but after my brother converted, he challenged me to read the Scripture and I did. Jesus was overwhelming, and I accepted His gift.
I’ve been an Evangelical for over 30 years now. I’ve studied the RCC a bit. Respectfully, I still think they are the same aberrant church that developed mostly from the medieval and renaissance eras.
Now, I agree with you that the Scripture does not authenticate which books are canonical with the divine inspiration. Martin Luther certainly didn’t agree with the current evangelical canon nor, of course, the deutero-canonical books. I myself question the canon. Not that it gives me any joy nor that I think I have any authority, but I realize trusting in the canon is trusting. And so it is true with the Catholic Church and you. You are trusting that it is what it says it is and once you’ve given it that trust, to have integrity you must believe what “the Church” says. Yes, I know, knowing exactly what “the Church” says, in capital T tradition and ex cathedra, can be very challenging. But you better (according to who you believe at the time speaks infallibly for what “the Church” says), otherwise, you are heretical - based on yours and the former Pope’s definition.
Respectfully, if I were writing a letter like you wrote to my sons warning about the dangers of Catholicism, I would say to beware the idolatry of the human institution known as the Roman Catholic Church. This is the “grave” sin I see for a lot of Catholics: their worship ultimately is the Church itself. It’s all about the Church. It’s what they love and what they hope in. Yes, there’s Jesus (along with nearly necessary Mary), and although there’s a commitment to Him being deity and the apparent presence of the “transubstantiated” Eucharist and therefore the technical focus of the Church, he’s often times really the authenticating accoutrement to the central focus of the Church itself and all of its trappings. In other words, He’s kind of a sideshow (though you can point to many references within the building and the Tradition including the many crucifixes).
I understand it’s not easy being a Christian on planet Earth whether you’re a true believer in the Catholic Church or an evangelical church. And I’m glad that you’re a believer. But, trust needs to be well-placed, and, ultimately, only in Christ – not in the church nor even in the Scripture. Christ alone.
I always love a good conversion story. Thank you for sharing yours. I am a convert (maybe technically a revert, since I was baptized into the Catholic Church as a baby) and I want to share my story on my Substack, but I've been mulling over it, trusting the time will come when I feel ready.
Please let me know when you do! I would love to hear it.
I am so pleased you put your story on here. It was a wonderful story and I truly enjoyed it. I will try and put mine on two and it’s quite long. So I will be back soon.
Thanks, Janet! I look forward to reading about yours as well.
I was baptized in 2005 and I was about 13, old enough to know what was going on. The Church and all of her traditions, the stories of the Saints, the fact that she has all the answers - I am so glad that I was old enough to know what I was accepting.
This post was beautiful. Thank you for sharing your spiritual journey with us!
As a cradle Catholic, I am ashamed of the lack of catechesis your RCIA program offered. Deo gratias that you found your way back to the Church, but it breaks my heart to think of all the people who may never find their way back, all stemming from the lack of foundation in their catechesis. I know a wonderful priest who used a thorough RCIA curriculum and received a lot of backlash for it. Yet such curriculum is absolutely the very thing we need in order for all Catholics—not just neophytes—to live out their faith.
Ranting aside, thank you for sharing your very moving conversion story. As a cradle Catholic, I often fear I don’t fully appreciate the sacrifices that converts make in order to join the true Church. Your story has given me a deeper appreciation for the immense grace that is behind every single soul won for Christ (even those of us baptized as infants), so thank you.
100% agree about RCIA. I think some people dilute the truth because they are afraid to drive people away, but that ends up benefitting no one.
Those who wanted the Truth don’t get it, and I don’t see any evidence that those who would have been driven away by the truth end up sticking around or going deeper. Sooner or later we all have to make a decision for or against the Truth.
I am very impressed by your maturity and pursuit of the truth at such a young age. I often wonder that, if I had been a non-cradle Catholic that I would have done the work to search for the truth and become Catholic. I like to think I would have like you. A great story! Thank you!
I’m 38, born in 1986, so we’re basically the same age, Stuart!
I’m a cradle Catholic and starting in high school, I think in 9th grade, when I began two years of preparation at my parish for the Sacrament of Confirmation, I felt a tug from the Holy Spirit to go deeper in my faith and do Eucharistic Adoration. Then I went to the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN for college and encountered the amazing Catholic Studies faculty and philosophy faculty there, and had the opportunity to study abroad in Rome at the Angelicum for a semester and see Pope Benedict XVI, one of my heroes, at a few papal Masses and audiences and other events he was at. I thought for sure I would end up in the seminary or joining a religious order, but my Archdiocese and a few different religious orders actually turned me down. But I also wasn’t drawn to Holy Matrimony either, so I was confused about what vocational path I should follow. Then, at some point, I learned about private vows and prayed about that during the pandemic and, a few years ago, asked my pastor about that. It turned out that I only needed his permission under canon law to do that, so in 2023, I solemnly professed a private vow of celibacy after about 8 months of preparation and approximately 13 years of discernment.
My vocation isn’t a typical vocation, in that it’s very hidden, but I’m able to do things like help a friend or family member at the last minute who is going through a rough time, and I have a lot of time for prayer as well.
I guess the advice I have for others in their discernment journeys is listen for that still, small voice of Christ in your heart, and be obedient to the Church, and when you do receive that “yes” from the Church, and enter into your vocation, no matter what that vocation turns out to be, it’s well worth all the slings and arrows and spiritual attacks and doors slammed in your face along the way.
Also, Stuart, not only are we pretty much the same age, but God took me on the scenic route on my vocational discernment journey similarly to how He led you along the scenic route back to Holy Mother Church.
I’m glad you came home, brother, and if there are ever any intentions you’d like me to pray for, feel free to send them to me and, if you ever find yourself in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, you have a standing invitation that you can take me up on at any time to get lunch or coffee with me. I’d be delighted to meet you. 🙂
Wow, thanks so much for sharing, Michael! That's a beautiful story and an important vocation. I'll definitely take you up on that coffee next time I'm in the Twin Cities! Although with the young kids we haven't been traveling as much as we used to, so God only knows when that will be 😅.
I came back to the Catholic Church in 2017 after 40 years away. My brother came back to the Church in early 2023 after our father’s death, also about after 40 years away.
Praise God! What were you practicing (or not practicing) before you came back to the Church?
Here’s the story - a miracle brought me back: https://lapsedcatholicreturns.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/a-miracle-brought-me-back-to-the-catholic-church/
Just finished reading it, that's so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.
It was a complete surprise, the last thing I thought would ever happen to me. To other people yes, but not me. The memory of that moment remains fresh in my mind.
Oh excellent, thanks for sharing! I'll read this today.
Thanks for your story. I always find these intra-Christian accounts interesting. The Catholic—> Evangelical account is usually a born-again story (and embracing the life-changing truth of Scripture for the 1st time); the Evangelical—> Catholic story is usually one of a Believer becoming dissatisfied with easy believism, or of a lack of ancient historical identification in the faith, or a too close/familiarity with church authority (lack of leadership awe and reverence).
Yours appears to share some of the middle type. I had a friend with a similar story (nominal Catholic, then Evangelical believer, then Calvinist, then believing Espicopalian, then Crossing the Tiber Catholic).
He used similar words like you did, “the Church has received us home” etc. In my opinion, he needed formality, he was fan of history, and I think he hated the precarious nature of the Christian life – i.e., being double-minded as Paul says of himself. So he wanted some apparent infallible authority over himself to give himself the comfort that he no longer had to struggle with his sin and his faith.
My story? I grew up nominal Episcopalian and, like you, indulged in the cares of this world by the time I hit high school and college. I had a born-again conversion experience post-college when I encountered Jesus in Matthew. I had always wanted to know the deeper things, even though I myself was quite comfortable in my sin, but after my brother converted, he challenged me to read the Scripture and I did. Jesus was overwhelming, and I accepted His gift.
I’ve been an Evangelical for over 30 years now. I’ve studied the RCC a bit. Respectfully, I still think they are the same aberrant church that developed mostly from the medieval and renaissance eras.
Now, I agree with you that the Scripture does not authenticate which books are canonical with the divine inspiration. Martin Luther certainly didn’t agree with the current evangelical canon nor, of course, the deutero-canonical books. I myself question the canon. Not that it gives me any joy nor that I think I have any authority, but I realize trusting in the canon is trusting. And so it is true with the Catholic Church and you. You are trusting that it is what it says it is and once you’ve given it that trust, to have integrity you must believe what “the Church” says. Yes, I know, knowing exactly what “the Church” says, in capital T tradition and ex cathedra, can be very challenging. But you better (according to who you believe at the time speaks infallibly for what “the Church” says), otherwise, you are heretical - based on yours and the former Pope’s definition.
Respectfully, if I were writing a letter like you wrote to my sons warning about the dangers of Catholicism, I would say to beware the idolatry of the human institution known as the Roman Catholic Church. This is the “grave” sin I see for a lot of Catholics: their worship ultimately is the Church itself. It’s all about the Church. It’s what they love and what they hope in. Yes, there’s Jesus (along with nearly necessary Mary), and although there’s a commitment to Him being deity and the apparent presence of the “transubstantiated” Eucharist and therefore the technical focus of the Church, he’s often times really the authenticating accoutrement to the central focus of the Church itself and all of its trappings. In other words, He’s kind of a sideshow (though you can point to many references within the building and the Tradition including the many crucifixes).
I understand it’s not easy being a Christian on planet Earth whether you’re a true believer in the Catholic Church or an evangelical church. And I’m glad that you’re a believer. But, trust needs to be well-placed, and, ultimately, only in Christ – not in the church nor even in the Scripture. Christ alone.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”