I did not want to be Catholic
I didn’t want to be Catholic. After converting from atheism into Christianity, I wanted to be ABC, anything but Catholic. I didn’t have a whole lot of reasoning. I knew I did not want to be Protestant or “non-denominational,” instead seeking something more traditional and reverent. I grew up around many Protestants and I was not a fan of them. The impression I had was that they go to Church on Sundays to feel holy and then sin six days of the week. I had gone to their Churches as a child and there was no warm feeling, instead feeling very sanitized and almost office-like.
My close friend, who was previously Protestant, was strongly considering the Eastern Orthodox Church. He told me that the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church both have the same roots but Orthodoxy doesn’t follow the Pope. This appealed to me. Orthodoxy was the traditional, beautiful, and reverent Church I was looking for, it does not follow the Pope, and it is cool and edgy as a minority in the United States. At the time, we had Pope Francis, someone who many of us are not a fan of. I do not intend to be scandalous in regards to Pope Francis, however it is no secret that many Catholics and other Christians did not like Pope Francis. We as Catholics are not obliged to agree with everything the Pope says nor are prevented from disagreeing. Pope Francis did not invoke the seat of infallibility or directly contradict any teachings in faith and morals, though he did ride a very fine line.
Going back to the main point, Orthodoxy appealed to me significantly. It was not-Catholic which was a big point. Again, I did not have specific things against the Catholic Church aside from the Pope and the general culture being against Catholicism. At the time, I was not ready to go to a Church. I was still reading the Bible and my wife was still apprehensive about Jesus, instead maintaining her agnosticism, until she went on her own journey.
As covered in the post in this link, my wife went on her own spiritual journey in November of 2023. She was raised culturally Catholic but was subjected to poor catechesis causing her to fall away from the Faith by age 18 due to lack of understanding. When she started going on her own journey, she fell back into her Catholic roots by researching and praying the Rosary. She was blessed with a beautiful experience with the Blessed Virgin Mary through the Rosary filling her with the gift of Faith. Now that my wife was kindled with a love for Jesus, she wanted to go back to Church, and that Church was…the Catholic Church.
Much to my dismay, we started going to the Catholic Church. I felt I wasn’t ready but I knew this was something I had to do at some point. My friend had checked out the Catholic Church just to be sure before going to Orthodoxy, and I felt we might be doing the same. We checked out one Church that did not work for us but fell in love with the next Church we went to. Despite this, I did push my wife a bit and asked, “do you want to check out the Orthodox Church?” She declined saying she would only go to the Catholic Church.
Admittedly, this was a big moment in my choice of the Catholic Church. Call it a consequence of a disordered secular family history if you will, placing the authority in the wife. I knew that I had no authority over this matter. In hindsight, I truly did not feel a spiritual pull towards the Orthodox Church, something I cannot fully explain. I simply was not being led by the Holy Spirit in that direction. Interestingly enough, as I type this out, I realized something major, my wife’s timing in her reversion to Catholicism was no mere coincidence. I was on the cusp of going to a Church by myself, and that Church would most definitely have been the Orthodox Church. This would have created tension in our household if she found faith after the fact. Her reversion was also impeccable timing in that I did not feel I was ready to worship but her change in heart forced me to make a decision and start going to a Church.
During this time in life, I watched my wife’s faith flourish before my eyes. She was praying the Rosary regularly, reading Catholic books, specifically about Mary, and introduced family prayer morning and night. I was entirely uncomfortable. I had no prayer life and I thought the Rosary and Mary were for girls. I also somehow worried about idolatry towards Mary, a myth that is hard to avoid in this Protestantized country. It is a myth because we simply do not worship Mary. I plan to write an explanation of our love of Mary in a later post.
After resisting my wife’s suggestion that I pray the Rosary, I finally conceded and asked her to teach me. The next morning, I prayed the Rosary for the first time and was blessed with a beautiful experience with the Blessed Virgin, whom I had thought was for girls… My wife was then blessed to watch my faith and prayer life take off. I fell madly in love with Mary, ultimately becoming the Catholic that Protestants warn people about.
For some insight, the history of the Rosary goes back to the Early Church and continues through the 13th century. Early Christians would pray 150 Our Father prayers, 50 for each of the 3 years of Our Lord’s ministry. With the introduction of the Hail Mary, her prayer was also utilized. Naturally it would be challenging for a layperson to recite 150 prayers in one sitting which lead to the three sets of 50. This was further broken into 5 decades (sets of 10) with a pattern, such as seen in the Rosary with an Our Father preceding 10 Hail Mary prayers (Ames 2025).
In 1214, the Albigensian heresy was on the rise, leading people away from the Catholic Church and into a belief in duality of good and evil while also denying the Incarnation of the Son of God (Belloc). Saint Dominic was taken aback by this heresy and prayed continuously for three days and three nights in a forest. After much penance and prayer, Our Lady appeared to Saint Dominic and gave him the completion of the Rosary as a means to combat the rising heresy and to bring people back to Jesus (Montfort). This rendition of the Rosary included meditations on the life of Christ and some other prayers. Saint Dominic immediately set out to spread the Rosary to others, establishing it as a strong weapon even today after 800 years.
For me, this was a major confirmation of the Catholic Church, which is the only Church that prays the Rosary. Protestants fear the Rosary as though it has the black plague and Orthodox Christians simply do not pray it. For some backstory on Orthodoxy, they left the Catholic Church in 1054 after a theological disagreement. Protestants formed their own Church after 1520 when Martin Luther wrote his theses.
My wife and I, and a short time later my mother as well, had beautiful experiences with the Rosary that brough us closer to Jesus. This was something that could not be replicated by other Churches who lacked the Rosary. I also viewed the fact that Mary gave Saint Dominic the Rosary as a signal grace from heaven towards the One True Church.
Another major aspect for me is the amount of Marian apparitions recorded in the Catholic Church. Marian apparitions are known as appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary, often paired with some type of message depending on the nature of her visit, can be one short appearance or several over the course of years (Mayer 2020). These apparitions are referred to as “Our Lady of” Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, etc. Not all of her titles under “Our Lady” are based on an apparition, some titles are for a particular devotion, such as “Our Lady Undoer of Knots.”
In my research, Marian apparitions are typically isolated to Catholicism. Protestants most definitely have not had Mary appear to them since they don’t welcome her into their lives. I researched Orthodoxy briefly and they seem to have no real records of Marian apparitions, granted they don’t catalog incidents like the Catholic Church does, but there seemed to be a lack of even rumors of apparitions.
This was significant because of, what I viewed to be, signal graces from heaven. Marian apparitions are miracle in themselves, but they are typically coupled with other miracles. In Lourdes, France, Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858. Along with her message, Mary showed Saint Bernadette a spring of water that was previously undiscovered. This spring has since lead to many miracles; over 7,000 cases of healing have been reported, 70 of which have passed the rigorous examination of the Church to be recognized as miraculous (The Miracles of Lourdes 2025).
There are many other amazing apparitions to research such as Our Lady of Zeitoun and Our Lady of Guadalupe as well as many others such as Our Lady of Medjugorje still appearing today.
At this point in time, I had experienced the blessing of the Rosary and learned about the miraculous appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary, both of which are very isolated to Catholicism. Naturally I found out Orthodoxy did not pray the Rosary but was quite perplexed learning they don’t have any recorded Marian apparitions. This made me start to feel confirmed in our decision, which was by the grace of God, to become a Catholic family.
This trend continued as I began to immerse myself in knowledge of the Catholic Faith. I began meeting with my priest just about every month to inquire about certain teachings. As the foundations of my knowledge in Catholic Theology were laid, I began to watch it answer itself. I would have questions and try to reason my way to the answer, getting it pretty darn close to correct. This showed the beauty of Catholicism because the theology developed itself in a seamless way. There weren’t any mental gymnastics or work arounds, it was all rooted in theological logic, Scripture, and Tradition.
Aside from theology, the structure of the Catholic Church began to make sense. The Papacy, something I once tried to avoid, became an aspect that I feel strongly about. Simply put, Christ instituted the Papacy and we are to follow the structure of His Church.
The Sacred Tradition within the Catholic Church holds that Saint Peter, Jesus’ Apostle, was the first Pope.
“The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. … This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.”
The Papacy has maintained apostolic succession back to Peter, the first Pope. This means the power of the Papacy, first given from Christ to Peter, has been handed from Pope to Pope for 2000 years (CCC 77).
The apostle Peter was born with the name Simon. The first time he met Jesus, “Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas. (John 1:42).” Cephas is an Aramaic word that translates to Peter (Greek) and both words mean “rock.” (John 1:42)
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18)”
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus refers to Peter as a rock, which, in addition to Peter’s name given to him by Christ, can be tied to an earlier verse, Matthew 7:24.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Through these words, Jesus gave Peter his name to signify he is Jesus’ rock and then applied the term “rock” to Peter as the foundation of His Church just as He used the term “rock” referring to the foundation a “wise man” would build his house on. Additionally, Jesus alludes to the fact we can build our own houses, that is, our faith, on THE rock, His rock, the foundation of His Church, that is, the Catholic Church. Jesus, the Son of God, is the wisest of all men and would not choose the foundation of His Church without great intention, similarly, any words He spoke were spoken with great intentionality. Furthermore, that which the Holy Spirit recorded in the Gospels through the Evangelists is of especial importance. Jesus selecting Peter of all the apostles to be the foundation of His Church expresses the significant role Peter was to fulfill within Christ’s Church as the first Pope. The passage of Matthew 16 continues into verse 19:
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19)”
Here is where the Papacy becomes even more significant; Christ gave Peter, His first Pope, the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” and the authority to bind and loosen on earth, and thus in heaven. The implications of this are no doubt significant. Jesus gave Peter the authority to determine who will be in communion with Jesus’ Church. Those who are in communion with the Church, shall be in communion with the grace of God, and those who are not in communion with the Church, will not be in communion with the grace of God. However, that is not to say everyone outside the Catholic Church will be forsaken, we will discuss more on this later. Ultimately, Scripture shows Christ, with great intentionality, established His Church through Peter and the Papacy.
In addition to Sacred Scripture, recent archaeological discoveries also point to Peter as the first Pope. The Church of the Apostles at Khirbet el-Araj was recently discovered which dates back to the fourth-century which has an inscription with a petition to Peter as “The Chief and Commander of the Heavenly Apostles” (Steinmeyer 2023). While the inscription may not directly state “Pope,” it does show recorded history in the early Church of Peter being known as the Chief and Commander of all the Apostles. The hierarchy among the 12 Apostles is made clear through this and shows the other 11 looked to Peter as the Chief for guidance and direction within the Church, thus honoring the words they heard Jesus speak in their midst to Peter in Matthew 16:18-19.
To further support this archaeological finding indicating Peter as “Chief of the Apostles,” Acts of the Apostles shows numerous times that Peter was respected as the Chief of the Apostles. Two examples are provided below.
Peter gives his first sermon: “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.” (Acts 2:14)”
Peter and John were arrested for healing a blind man and they were brought before the council of the high priests, “then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed (Acts 4:8-10).”
Between, Scripture, Tradition, and archeology, we can see the foundations Christ laid for His Church through His rock (Peter) remains today, and we are blessed to have the opportunity to be in communion with Jesus’ Church. This point should not be taken lightly when considering entering the Catholic Church; while our brothers and sisters in Christ do good work, unfortunately there is a disconnect between them and the Church Christ instituted.
The Catholic Church is rooted in Rome where Saints Peter and Paul died. The reason the Church is in Rome, is because Peter died there and his successors maintain the chair of Peter there. It is not a literal chair, but it is where they maintain the Papacy. The Orthodox Church split off in 1054 leaving the Catholic Church and thus the Papacy, something they followed for one thousand years prior to the schism.
I had many conversations with my friend who is entering the Orthodox Church. I even listened to a four-hour debate between a Catholic and an Orthodox apologist about which Church is the One True Church. The debate placed the Orthodox as the One True Church giving the Orthodox apologist the task of defending that stance and the Catholic apologist the task of respectfully showing that Orthodoxy is not the One True Church. Personally, I believe the Orthodox apologist did not defend the stance very well. I truly believe the Catholic Church is the One True Church and we pray for a reunion with our Orthodox brothers in Christ. As my priest puts it, they are the other lung of apostolic succession.
The more I learn about others, the more I see that Catholicism is the correct route. I truly try to avoid confirmation bias. One of my closest friends is now Orthodox after having been Protestant. I try to avoid engaging in inter-Christian warfare because people I care about are all over what could become a battlefield. I could have redirected our family at any time. We began going to the Catholic Church in January of 2024 and I became Catholic myself in April of 2025. At any time, if I learned something detrimental to the Catholic Church as the One True Church, I could have changed course, however I did not. I love certain aspects of Orthodoxy, however those aspects do not make it the One True Church like Catholicism.
The beauty and depth of the Catholic Church is incomprehensible and incomparable with non-Catholic Christians. I have become very passionate about the Catholic Church, a Church I did not want to be part of. The Catholic Church is not perfect, and no Church is perfect, but she is the One True Church founded by Jesus Christ.
References
Ames, Father Mark-Mary. 2025. “How the Rosary Changes You.” YouTube. January. https://youtu.be/95A8RBnn130?si=AkdT6q85TdKTgUGv.
Belloc, Hilaire. n.d. “The Albigensian Attack.” EWTN. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/albigensian-attack-10818.
1995. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Canada: Doubleday.
n.d. “John 1:42.” Bible Gateway. Accessed April 23, 2025. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A42&version=NIV.
Mayer, Shelby. 2020. “The Ultimate Guide to Marian Apparitions.” Ascension Press. May 30. https://media.ascensionpress.com/2020/05/30/the-ultimate-guide-to-marian-apparitions/.
Montfort, Saint Louis De. n.d. “St. Dominic Receives the Rosary.” Dominican Friars Foundation. Accessed May 1, 2025. https://dominicanfriars.org/st-dominic-receiving-rosary/.
Steinmeyer, Nathan. 2023. “Digging In: El-Araj.” Biblical Archaeology. January 20. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/bas-onsite/digging-in-el-araj/.
2025. “The Miracles of Lourdes.” Lourdes Sanctuaire. https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/the-miracles-of-lourdes/.
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