Brother Thomas Martin grew up Lutheran, and developed an appreciation for St. Augustine in his teenage years. One Summer while at Philmont Scout Ranch, he found himself profoundly impacted by
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Before becoming Catholic, I was an evangelical Protestant for about twenty years, an ordained Protestant minister for more than eleven. My conversion was hard. I broke a lot of glass
On May 15, 2016, two days before I turned 58, I was received into the Roman Catholic Church in the parish of the Holy Trinity in Naarden, the Netherlands. On
Though raised Catholic, David went down a path of addiction and despair after his parents divorced. Lynda married an abusive man, and when a custody dispute went south, she found
Acts 8:26-40 RSV: But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a
A Westerner imbibes the attitude that I can and should decide for myself what is right and wrong; that is why it is so difficult to embrace Catholicism for a person who has become highly secularized.
The call for Christian unity resounds more loudly than ever. In what appears to be a disintegrating culture, unity among Christians may be the one source of real hope.
Last week I posted The Separated Children, and have received many fine kind and challenging comments, all confirming my assumption that I would need to follow up with some further explanation. I do this with a bit of trepidation, because, as I press this button to post, I fully realize that I will probably draw even more heated critiques, but I do so precisely because I want your feedback.
For over fifteen years, the anticipation of an important anniversary has inspired much of our work. By God’s grace, Jim Anderson (CHNetwork’s Senior Advisor and long-time coordinator of our ministry with non-Catholic clergy), is sojourning for an extended period in Germany. This is opportune, for it provides us with “eyes on the ground” to share reflections on the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation — and its impact on us today. This month, Jim gives us an inside look at the preparation for this coming event. — Marcus Grodi
I had not considered the Catholic Church as an option. From my perspective, Catholicism was not “normal” Christianity. It seemed very strict and ritualistic, with too much pomp and ceremony. It seemed too formal, rather than “Spirit led.” … After some thought, I had to admit that my opinions were based upon mere glimpses into the Church and that I actually knew very little about Catholicism.
Oh, no, I thought to myself, here we go again. Some latecomers had forced us to move into the middle of the pew. There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of the pew in a Catholic church if you’re a Protestant “pew potato.”
You’ve heard of a couch potato? I was a pew potato. I plunked down in my pew every week but didn’t participate a whole lot, other than singing a hymn I recognized or shaking hands with my neighbors during the sign of peace.
One thing many people can’t quite get their heads around is the Catholic Church’s claim that there is one Church founded by Jesus and that one this Church, according to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), “constituted and organized as a society in this present, world, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him.” Or as Richard John Neuhaus liked to put it, “The Catholic Church is the Church of Jesus Christ most fully and rightly ordered through time.”
