As anyone who’s entered the Catholic Church as an adult can attest, there’s a level of culture shock that comes along with conversion that’s hard to explain to a “cradle Catholic.” And while converts may, over time, learn all the devotions, vocabulary, and quirky customs that can go along with Catholic culture, some of us will always speak with a slight Protestant accent.
With that in mind, here are ten signs that you might be a convert to the Catholic Faith:
1. If you’re used to having your robust voice drowned out during hymns, but find it now sticks out like a sore thumb at Mass, you might be a convert.
2. If you’ve ever pronounced a saint’s name or theological concept wrong because you’ve only ever read it in a book and never heard it pronounced out loud, you might be a convert.
3. If you only recently realized that headlines like “Trinity Crushes Aquinas” or “St. Ignatius Comes Back To Stun Cardinal Gibbons” are actually referring to sports scores, you might be a convert.If you only recently realized that headlines like 'Trinity Crushes Aquinas' or 'St. Ignatius Comes Back To Stun Cardinal Gibbons' are actually referring to sports scores, #YouMightBeAConvert. Share on X
4. If the hardest part about planning a weekend trip to visit family is figuring out how and when you’re going to escape and go to Mass, you might be a convert.
5. If you’re used to sermons that last an hour, and a 10-minute homily makes you wonder if you missed something, you might be a convert.
6. Even though it’s a parish festival or fish fry, if you’re still unnerved by the fact that they’re selling beer on church property, you might be a convert.
7. If you’ve ever contested the lightness of a penance with your confessor, you might be a convert.
8. Even though you know the Mass is deeply Scriptural, if it still bothers you that nobody brings their Bible to church, you might be a convert.
9. If whenever you see a priest or nun in the grocery store, you get a little starstruck and are tempted to ask for their autograph, you might be a convert.
10. If people think you’re super holy, when really you just happen to have read a lot of books, you might be a convert.
Thank you to the CHNetwork family, and especially “cradle Catholics,” for helping us converts come home and be at home in the Catholic Church!
