Marcus Grodi and the CHNetwork staff are delighted to introduce a brand-new book, Journeys Home 2, just published by CHResources. If you have already read Journeys Home you will want to be sure to obtain a copy of this new resource that tells even more journeys of men and women who followed God’s call to become Catholic. We hope Journeys Home 2 will be an encouragement to Catholics to gain a greater appreciation for the great gift of our Catholic Church and a help to those who are on their own journey and considering the claims of the Catholic Faith.
From the Introduction by Marcus Grodi
“This second volume of Journeys Home gathers together more conversion stories that have appeared in the monthly CHNewsletter. Most of these men and women discovered Jesus Christ in some non-Catholic tradition of Christianity, and remain eternally grateful to the many faithful Protestant teachers, friends, and family who helped them know Christ and grow in the Christian faith. Yet in each case and in unique ways, the Holy Spirit opened their hearts to realize that much of what they had been taught about the Catholic Church was never true. They learned to listen to the voice of truth speaking through history, theology, philosophy, Sacred Tradition, Holy Scripture, and personal testimony. In time, their desire to follow Christ faithfully — to remain faithful to the truth He taught and to the Church He established through His Apostles — led them to consider the claims of the Catholic Church.
Having made this journey myself, I realize that many non-Catholic Christian readers may feel skeptical or leery of reading on, convinced that anyone open to the Catholic Church must have been deceived by the prince of lies himself! However, resisting the temptation to jump into long pages of apologetic arguments, let me at least assure you that this is not the case. These stories are told by humble souls who love Jesus Christ, who desire to obey Him fully, and who have denounced the devil and his horde. They have sought to follow the teachings of Scripture, as well as the teachings of the early Church Fathers and the ecumenical councils.
In doing so, they were startled to discover the truth of the Catholic Church and its teachings. In the process, they also discovered that throughout its history, the Church has included not only thousands of saints but also thousands of sinners, lay and clergy. Too often these real but less-than-perfect followers of Jesus dirtied the fair name of the Catholic Church and provided fodder for the many misunderstandings and exaggerations that have led to so many schisms.
Since 1993, the Coming Home Network International (CHNetwork) has been helping non-Catholic Christians, clergy and laity, discover the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith. Particularly for clergy, this discernment process can require great sacrifice, including sometimes the loss of family, friends, and vocation. We’re not here to “push, pull, or prod” anyone toward or into the Church; rather to stand beside them as fellow Christians to share what we have discovered by the grace of God. The CHNetwork provides inquirers and their families with resources, fellowship, and encouragement on the journey and helps them become acclimated to what can often seem the strange, new world of the Catholic Church.
I encourage you to read the following stories with a prayerful and charitable heart. The decision of a Protestant minister to resign from his pastorate and enter the Catholic Church affects more than himself. It affects his family and particularly his spouse and their marriage. In many cases, spouses do not share the same convictions, and marriages are greatly tested. Though the journeys of laity may not result in the loss of vocation or employment, the emotional, intellectual, and relational impacts can be equally as challenging.
Now as you begin, please listen with both your mind and heart, for I believe that you will hear the whisper, and see the work, of the Spirit.”
You may purchase Journeys Home 2 by calling the Coming Home Network International at 740-450-1175 or ordering online by visiting CHResources.com.
