I have always felt that we should (as the Bible puts it) “walk circumspectly,” and yet, as an Evangelical Protestant, I never searched any deeper for the truth. I knew a handful of New Testament scriptures, thought that the Old Testament was a huge puzzle, and believed in the Protestant one-time experience of saving grace. This lacking was not the evangelical church’s fault. I had become discouraged with God and had given up and stopped pursuing my faith. All of my life, though, and in the midst of my confusion, I had felt drawn to the Catholic Church.
When I finally decided to investigate the Catholic Religion, it took me awhile to get through RCIA and straighten up the issues of my past, namely, divorce, and remarriage. I had to unlearn some of my Protestant programming about the Eucharist, Mary, and the saints. But the more I unjangled what I’d been taught as a Protestant and embraced the Catholic doctrines, the more my beliefs began to fit together and make sense. My time as a Protestant was the beginning that led me to the Catholic Church.
What really grabbed me was when I learned about apostolic succession going all the way back to St. Peter, the first Pope. In studying the history of the Catholic Church, I was impressed at how the Church has continually righted itself when, because of secular interference or the humanity of its leaders, it has veered from the truth. Catholic doctrine has always been re-clarified and the church has continued to thrive.
I was received into the Catholic Church on Easter Eve of 2009! My non-Catholic (and very understanding) husband and I have been working with a priest on righting our marriage in the eyes of the Church. We will be convalidating our marriage on October 29th of this year — our third anniversary.
I am learning so much from the other Catholic blogs, Bible Studies, EWTN, books, and any other Catholic resources that I manage to get my hands on.
The Truth has set me free.
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