Help
With Your Rule
On Becoming Catholic
Dear Holly,
I'm a nearly-30-year-old SAHM of two little blessings. I was baptised in the Catholic Church as an infant and went to a Catholic elementary school, but as a teenager and for my adult life so far I've been a practicing member of a Protestant church. My husband is also a practicing member. I've felt, slowly but surely over the last year or two, a pull back towards my roots. Something about the Catholic faith just resonates within me and feels 'right'. I'm not sure where this is all heading, but God and time will tell!
My question to you as I make this spiritual journey is whether you know of any books or articles that could help me? Ones that perhaps address moving from a non-Catholic to a Catholic faith, or ones about the basics of the Catholic faith (I was especially interested in the types of prayer you told of in an earlier post). I appreciate that you are busy and I'm not expecting a reply straight away. I am, however, eagerly awaiting your MROL book but it's taking a while to ship all the way to Australia! Sorry this has gone on so long! I just want to add special thank you for the blessing your wisdom has been in my life so far.
Labels: 1st P Prayer
posted by Holly at 10:15 PM
11 Comments:
Thank you for writing and I hope you have your MROL by now! :-)
I was struck by you saying that 'something in Catholicism resonates in you'... I imagine that is the Holy Spirit, present since your Catholic baptism! You see, you already share the fruits of union with the Church and the Holy Spirit does indeed dwell within her. I pray you will be a fully participating member very very soon! God's Will be done! :-)
Hmmm - regarding resources -
for the move from Protestant faith to Catholic faith , My favorite is"Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic" - by David Currie. He explains Catholicism from a Bible-point of view. I also can recommend Kimberly and Scott Hahn's "Rome Sweet Home" (although there used to be a tape of Scott Hahn's conversion story which I found more detailed and more exciting than even this! Unfortunately, I can't recall the title...)
But if you are attracted to books on Catholicism itself, well - I strongly suggest you browse my publisher's website ( www.sophiainstitute.com - or see the MROL ordering link ) for I love their books, and the spirituality I find in them. Other than that, see the January 19th, 2005 post on Help With Your Rule - it recommends my top picks for good books for moms to read regarding our faith.
Blessings
Holly
I joined the church at Easter 2004 after growing up mostly in Baptist circles. The book Holly recommends by David Currie was pivotal for me and my husband in our inquiry into Catholicism. I highly recommend it as well, even if you don't consider yourself a "fundamentalist" right now.
Dave Armstrong's website, and specifically this list http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2005/09/150-reasons-why-i-am-catholic-revised.html of "150 Reasons Why I Am A Catholic" was also interesting.
God bless you in your spiritual journey!
I was confirmed in the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil this year. I was a life-long Lutheran. The book that spurred me to pursue conversion seriously was actually Holly's MROL.
Thank you cjmr for sharing that. I am humbled. Praise God!
I also joined the Church in 2004. Books that were useful to me, besides those already mentioned, were Thomas Howard's On Being Catholic, and Evangelical is not Enough (which interestingly he wrote before his conversion). I found the internet to be a huge resource for me (try googling Catholic apologetics), and found myself reading lots of articles written by Jimmy Akin on the specific topics I needed to learn more about. The Catechism was another useful tool, and the new Compendium sounds even better. Oh, adn how can I forget the book that set me on my journey, Surprised by Truth. It pointed me back to the Scriptures, with undeniable evidence for the eucharist in John 6.
Make sure you make liberal use of your public library, it can be a huge relief to your wallet. Almost any book can be found via interlibrary loan, just ask your librarian.
Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful suggestions. I'm taking note of them all and am sure I'll find them a great resource as I continue this journey. How blessed I am to have such support.
One little miracle... my husband, who is born and bred Protestant, is supportive of my searching but I think was initially taken aback at the thought of conversion for the entire family. Well, he actually said to me the other day that he wouldn't be against the idea of visiting a Catholic Church - how beautiful is the Holy Spirit's movement!
Thank you all again and I look forward to exploring the books and sites suggested.
Blessings,
Jacqueline.
I am also a convert from protestantism. Scott Hahn's conversion story provoked me to ask the questions. I think it's "The Conversion Story of Scott Hahn" put out by The Mary Foundation. What got me even listening to that was finding out the Church's teaching on marriage and openness to life via Janet Smith's tape "Contraception, Why Not?"
However, I must say that the book "Catholic for a Reason-The Mystery of the Family of God" edited by Scott Hahn and Leon Supernaut that has a different author for each chapter is an excellent resource for answering systematically the common challenges to the faith that protestants have.
Sorry if it has been already mentioned, but one of my favourite books is "Catholicism and Fundamentalism" by Karl Keating.
Catholics and Christians of all sorts can get a lot from this book. It explains, and in a way that seems very gentle and charitable to me, lots of things about the Catholic Faith that many people - even Catholics - sometimes find hard to understand.
Chapter 9 alone, on the Ispiration of the Bible, is worth it. It's what I refer people to when they are looking for the reasons to accept the teaching authority of the Church. I know that's not where everyone is at, but it is a big help for people who are wanting those answers.
(I'm in Australia too. And I have Mother's Rule of Life. It's definitely baby-steps for me though!)
Louise (in Adelaide)
My husband converted and I came back to the Church 3 and a half years ago. All of the books and resources mentioned were helpful and also a book called "By What Authority", I can't remember the author. For me the key issues to realising the Truth in the Catholic faith hinged upon authority and the Eucharist. Prayers for you and your family on your journey Jacqueline.
I am still in the baby steps of converting to Catholicism and the suggestions you all have made will help me enormously. I also gained a lot from Scott Hahn's testimony, as well as the testimony of his wife, Kimberly. I'm now reading "A Philadelphia Catholic In King James Court" and finding it wonderful! Btw, I'm also in Australia. My husband was raised Catholic but we have fellowshipped in the Protestant Church for the 15 years of our marriage. I have felt God calling my heart to Catholic Church for about 2 years now, but it has only been in the last 6 months that I've really been able to tell my Protestant friends where I'm heading. Funnily enough, Holly, it was a gift of MROL from a Protestant friend (who told me just to ignore the Catholic bits) that triggered my heart to search deeper and follow where God was leading me. Thank you!
Dear Jenny -
THAT is funny - about ignoring the "Catholic bits". :-) Sooo glad you are finding answers. God Bless
Holly
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