So well written, dude. I was born Catholic but raised heathen by my father who took us from our Catholic mother. When I was in a time of extreme desperation, the RC priest I had reached out to called the police and had me jailed. A month or so later, still desperately seeking help, I ended up at 3:00 am at the door of a small Pentecostal Church. They took me in and treated me like family. The holiest man I’ve ever met was the pastor of that small church. He had a grade eight education and spent his days pacing the sanctuary of that small church—in deep prayer with his well-used Bible in hand, pleading to God for His small congregation. I enjoyed his sermons better than almost anyone I’ve heard since. He’d met with God during the week—and it showed.
There was plenty awry in that congregation—as there is in any other. The Church calls sinners and sinners sit in the pews every Sunday. Those sinners are all at various stages of maturity and unfortunately, immaturity.
So to cast stones at Catholicism and ignore our own deviations is the very definition of hypocrisy.
When we get to Heaven, Spiritual Israel will come rejoicing from more sources than we can imagine. God is love and He is no respecter of denominations.
I'm also a Catholic, and I fully endorse this gorgeous and moving post. And that Appalachian hymn was great.
When we say He could be *anywhere*, though, do we mean even with the Calvinists? . . . Ugh, fine—it stretches my charity, but I'll concede it. If He could be even with some Muslims (I'm rather partial to the Sufis), I guess He could be with them as well.
I decided that I could use a full detox from the daily news and accompanying drummed-up panic, and also that keeping up with the forum over there was really impeding progress on my reading list. So, I hit the 3-month hiatus button on my subscription. I’ll probably be back around eventually. In the meanwhile, I don’t know what’s going on in the world, and yet it keeps on spinning: huh, how marvelous.
I sort of know how you feel . I spend entirely too much time on that. My reading has taken a hit as well. I’ve been trying to finish a book called The Hive by Camilo Jose Cela - it’s actually pretty good but I’ve let myself get to much into the present. Anyway, I may have given you a little flak on Dostoevsky but you have always been fun. Stay away if you need to. I’ve been thinking of taking a hike.
Spot on as usual Yoshi. Refreshing to read something that echoes my own heart, even across the Catholic/Protestant divide. I've had lots of great relationships and heart-connections with my Polish Catholic friends, maybe because we focus on what really matters instead of the forms we have inherited from other traditions.
I have watched my Evangelical parents take Communion month after month, year after year, desperate to be the most loving and forgiving Christians they can be. I have heard other Catholics shred this and call it invalid. They know nothing. Sanctity is in doing, the doing when no one is watching but God.
You could contrast Mark 9:38-41 with Acts 19:13-16.
"Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." [14] Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. [15] But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" [16] And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded."
I agree that all the denominational infighting is useless, because God isn't constrained by anything. God is totally free to act in any way He wants, so no "tradition" can contain Him, in the same way that God doesn't dwell in a physical temple. But the passage in Acts cautions us to not use the name of Christ if we don't actually know Him. And part of knowing who Christ is is the teaching of the church. At least those are the first baby steps along the way. I'm not advocating for any particular branch of Christianity here, but sound doctrine is still important.
For me, it happened about ten years ago. I was born Catholic and taught that the reason why Prots are Prots is because they don't see the error in their beliefs. So, to convert them, you should just know your stuff so that you can win arguments and prove to them how they're wrong. Who would want to keep believing in something that they've been shown to be wrong, right?
Well at my first ever teaching position there was another teacher who was evangelical, and we had some friendly arguments, but eventually we had a heated one over sola scriptura. It was in front of other faculty. I remember thinking that, even if I was right, it wasn't a good witness. And I thought about how embarrassed he looked and how upset he was that I was challenging him like that in front of other people (he was also about ten years older than me).
I apologized the next day and told him that my witness to Christ sucked and that he inspired me to be better. And I've never done that again. I'm still Catholic. Not sure about him, it's been a while since I checked in.
I, too, am an adult convert - who did so for similar reasons as you and at a cost, though I won’t say it was a severe one. This is a beautifully written article, thank you for the contribution. The sacraments and rituals of Holy Mother Church are not meant to be a substitute for holiness, but aides in the journey towards sanctification. It’s like going to a gym to workout versus doing push ups and sit ups only. Some folks can get into incredible shape that way, and that is impressive, for sure. But I’m one of those weak souls who needs all the extra equipment…and am grateful it has been handed down to us. I hope I’m a good steward of that which I’ve inherited, and will be happy to share stories in heaven-should Christ show me such mercy-with those who worshipped in tents in rural
Beautiful article. I usually reject the protestant label, cause I don't like being labeled by what I "oppose", but its the closest thing. That said, I've had a lot of great Catholic friends over my life. And in one college class had a wild mix of me, an Assemblies of God, a Mormon, etc. We can all be loving and accepting without having to compromise our beliefs.
So well written, dude. I was born Catholic but raised heathen by my father who took us from our Catholic mother. When I was in a time of extreme desperation, the RC priest I had reached out to called the police and had me jailed. A month or so later, still desperately seeking help, I ended up at 3:00 am at the door of a small Pentecostal Church. They took me in and treated me like family. The holiest man I’ve ever met was the pastor of that small church. He had a grade eight education and spent his days pacing the sanctuary of that small church—in deep prayer with his well-used Bible in hand, pleading to God for His small congregation. I enjoyed his sermons better than almost anyone I’ve heard since. He’d met with God during the week—and it showed.
There was plenty awry in that congregation—as there is in any other. The Church calls sinners and sinners sit in the pews every Sunday. Those sinners are all at various stages of maturity and unfortunately, immaturity.
So to cast stones at Catholicism and ignore our own deviations is the very definition of hypocrisy.
When we get to Heaven, Spiritual Israel will come rejoicing from more sources than we can imagine. God is love and He is no respecter of denominations.
I'm also a Catholic, and I fully endorse this gorgeous and moving post. And that Appalachian hymn was great.
When we say He could be *anywhere*, though, do we mean even with the Calvinists? . . . Ugh, fine—it stretches my charity, but I'll concede it. If He could be even with some Muslims (I'm rather partial to the Sufis), I guess He could be with them as well.
Where have you been?
I decided that I could use a full detox from the daily news and accompanying drummed-up panic, and also that keeping up with the forum over there was really impeding progress on my reading list. So, I hit the 3-month hiatus button on my subscription. I’ll probably be back around eventually. In the meanwhile, I don’t know what’s going on in the world, and yet it keeps on spinning: huh, how marvelous.
I sort of know how you feel . I spend entirely too much time on that. My reading has taken a hit as well. I’ve been trying to finish a book called The Hive by Camilo Jose Cela - it’s actually pretty good but I’ve let myself get to much into the present. Anyway, I may have given you a little flak on Dostoevsky but you have always been fun. Stay away if you need to. I’ve been thinking of taking a hike.
What you hate about Calvinism is probability predestination, which is Cathoilic doctrine
Nope—that is not remotely Catholic doctrine, or at least not any theological interpretation of it that I accept.
Is St Thomas a heretic?
I am not a Thomist, at any rate.
Spot on as usual Yoshi. Refreshing to read something that echoes my own heart, even across the Catholic/Protestant divide. I've had lots of great relationships and heart-connections with my Polish Catholic friends, maybe because we focus on what really matters instead of the forms we have inherited from other traditions.
Amen.
I have watched my Evangelical parents take Communion month after month, year after year, desperate to be the most loving and forgiving Christians they can be. I have heard other Catholics shred this and call it invalid. They know nothing. Sanctity is in doing, the doing when no one is watching but God.
Great post ❤️
As usual, I enjoyed your writing. I’m curious as to why you turned to Catholicism.
Oops, meant to post as a direct reply to the article. Moved my response.
Magnificent. I’m not wrestling this time, just cheering. Thank you.
Also, that was my first encounter with the harp singing. Quite beautiful.
After all that, Im left wondering why you became a Catholic (Im sort of one but I was born into it). Spot on, regardless.
Haha yeah I’m hoping that’s a follow up post
You could contrast Mark 9:38-41 with Acts 19:13-16.
"Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." [14] Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. [15] But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" [16] And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded."
I agree that all the denominational infighting is useless, because God isn't constrained by anything. God is totally free to act in any way He wants, so no "tradition" can contain Him, in the same way that God doesn't dwell in a physical temple. But the passage in Acts cautions us to not use the name of Christ if we don't actually know Him. And part of knowing who Christ is is the teaching of the church. At least those are the first baby steps along the way. I'm not advocating for any particular branch of Christianity here, but sound doctrine is still important.
Fellow convert here. Brother, that was beautiful.
This article hits hard, forces each one of us to do a lot of self-examination.
For me, it happened about ten years ago. I was born Catholic and taught that the reason why Prots are Prots is because they don't see the error in their beliefs. So, to convert them, you should just know your stuff so that you can win arguments and prove to them how they're wrong. Who would want to keep believing in something that they've been shown to be wrong, right?
Well at my first ever teaching position there was another teacher who was evangelical, and we had some friendly arguments, but eventually we had a heated one over sola scriptura. It was in front of other faculty. I remember thinking that, even if I was right, it wasn't a good witness. And I thought about how embarrassed he looked and how upset he was that I was challenging him like that in front of other people (he was also about ten years older than me).
I apologized the next day and told him that my witness to Christ sucked and that he inspired me to be better. And I've never done that again. I'm still Catholic. Not sure about him, it's been a while since I checked in.
I, too, am an adult convert - who did so for similar reasons as you and at a cost, though I won’t say it was a severe one. This is a beautifully written article, thank you for the contribution. The sacraments and rituals of Holy Mother Church are not meant to be a substitute for holiness, but aides in the journey towards sanctification. It’s like going to a gym to workout versus doing push ups and sit ups only. Some folks can get into incredible shape that way, and that is impressive, for sure. But I’m one of those weak souls who needs all the extra equipment…and am grateful it has been handed down to us. I hope I’m a good steward of that which I’ve inherited, and will be happy to share stories in heaven-should Christ show me such mercy-with those who worshipped in tents in rural
Alabama.
Church of Christ ✝️⛪🍎🐎🎶
Choral Singing x (no instruments!)
Bible Belt Dixie 📖
Are you a Flannery O'Connor fan? 🏹🕊️📚🇺🇲
I am a fan!
A good fan is hard to find.
Amen, my brother. Amen. By their fruits we shall know them.
Beautiful article. I usually reject the protestant label, cause I don't like being labeled by what I "oppose", but its the closest thing. That said, I've had a lot of great Catholic friends over my life. And in one college class had a wild mix of me, an Assemblies of God, a Mormon, etc. We can all be loving and accepting without having to compromise our beliefs.