Welcome

I am a convert to Catholicism although I feel like I've been catholic all of my life. I grew up in a small town evangelical church called the Church of the Nazarene, attending church regularly; earning a ten year perfect attendance pin while I was in High School. During college I went to church occasionally even though I attended religious schools for the first two years, and after college I searched for a church that was exciting, vibrant, and uplifting, but I couldn’t find what I needed. Eventually I quit altogether, and although I missed attending church and sometimes considered attending church on my own: I just never got around to it. My wife and I attended church with my Mother on visits to my home town although we never attended church otherwise, even though we seemed to share many of the same religious beliefs. I knew that my wife was Catholic, but it seemed to me that we should be attending a small local protestant church near our home, since I hadn't found anything better and it couldn't hurt. She, on the other hand, felt that the protestant church of my youth seriously lacked the level of worship that she desired, and I don't believe that being protestant was ever an option for her.

 

While preparing one of our daughters for marriage, my wife responded to a personal call and returned to her Catholic faith. She began attending Mass on Sundays, and joined the RCIA program as a team member. With her renewed interest we returned to our discussions about church and religion and I discovered that I was agreeing with her most of the time. She would come home after her RCIA meetings and we would talk about the subject for that evening, and during those conversations I began to realize that what I had believed about Catholicism was not accurate. She eventually invited me to attend the RCIA meetings with her and since she would be there it seemed like a good thing to do. I already knew that we both believed in Jesus and the Trinity, but this was the first time I understood that I could be Catholic and still be a Christian.

 

During these meetings I slowly realized that I was (in fact) a closet Catholic, since what the Church was teaching was what I believed to be true. I began attending weekly Mass with my wife, and after some hesitation I went forward during communion for a blessing. Once I did that I was hooked, amazed by an overwhelming sense of well being that lasted all week. I quickly became dependent on my weekly blessings, and that became a desire to be in full communion with the Church. I joined the next RCIA group as a participant and looked forward to my confirmation. Although I had stopped searching for a long time I never lost my faith in God. He used my wife's hope to bless me, her charity to convince me, and her love to lead me to his Church. I believe that the Catholic Church is teaching the Truth, and I want to learn all that I can so that I can help others, by being an example of his love. I am grateful for this opportunity to deepen my relationship with God, to learn more about his Church, and to contribute to His Kingdom.