Blog

I still remember feeling betrayed by the Catholic Church.I became a Catholic in 2012 because I was convinced that the Church checked out on paper. I was able to see the biblical, historical, and rational reasons for its claims. However, I soon began to notice a wide chasm between the Catholic Church as described in theory and the Church as seen in action. I came to call it a conflict between “paper Catholicism” and “experiential Catholicism.” The cognitive dissonance from this tension severely t …

Several years ago, there was a death, and a family wished to meet and talk with the priest who would be celebrating the funeral Mass. I was helping at the parish, and the pastor asked if I could take the funeral and assist with the pastoral needs of the grieving family. I was happy to assist and looked forward to seeing how I could help.When the time came, the family and I sat down and began to discuss their loved one’s life and accomplishments. I took a few notes. Then we moved into the selecti …

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming Catholic, he should seek out a nearby Catholic parish and inquire about its RCIA program. RCIA stands for “the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults” and has always been present, in some form, since the beginning of Church history. Acts 8:26-40 describes how the apostle Philip taught a servant of the Ethiopian queen about Jesus before he baptized him. In the second century, St. Justin Martyr described the process of being received into the C …