There are many reasons why I "swam the Tiber," leaving Protestantism and enjoining myself to the Catholic Church. Soon I hope to begin a full testimony of my Christian journey to share with everyone, however I came across this video (below) that briefly but powerfully illustrates a point that ultimately convinced me that I belonged in the Catholic Church. I don't share this video to condemn anyone (the ultimate guilt of the schisms in Christianity today lies on the so-called Reformers in the 16th century), as there are some hard things to hear -- I myself was once what the Church Fathers would call a schismatic or heretic. I despised the Catholic Church and rejected it and all its practices with quite a bit of zeal.
But what I always did respect, and what I think any Christian should, was early Church history. What did the early Church look like? We can't know that from conjecture (though many pastors, authors, theologians, and even the average Joe and Jane do just that -- how many churches in your area do you know that advertise they are an authentic "New Testament church" and yet how many of them look very different from one another, including very different basic doctrines? I know of dozens!) and we can only learn very little of it from the Scriptures to be honest. What we do have, however, is a wealth of writings from those were taught personally by the Apostles, and those who were taught by them, and so on. It seems only reasonable that if the Church -- the only church one could go to for 1,500 years! -- in the first and second century was writing about, for example, how Jesus was indeed flesh and blood in the bread and the wine, and that consecration could only happen through the prayers of those in the apostolic succession (bishop, priest), that indeed that is something to take very seriously! The same thing can be said about a myriad of different teachings that are lost on almost all Protestant churches today.
I think a big question every Christian needs to come to terms with in their faith journey is whether it is acceptable in God's view to practice a faith that is not only just different from what was taught since the conception of the Church and as the sole rule of faith until very recent history, but that in many cases is in direct opposition to it.
I wrestled with that question for quite some time. Of course you all know what my ultimate answer was.
Anyway, the video:
Year of the Priest, June 2009-2010
O Jesus, our eternal High Priest, give us truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Your divine love,
seek nothing but Your greater glory and the salvation of our souls. Amen.
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