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Special Edition CHNewsletter
Featured Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............ 2
“A Culture Divided, a Church United?”
By Dr. Kenneth J. Howell. . . . . . . . ........... 5
“Barriers to Conversion”
By Marcus Grodi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........... A
Prayer List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........... D
What is the CHNetwork?.. . . . . . . . . ........... 11
The
Coming Home
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Our Journey Home
By Marcus Grodi
Becoming Catholic was never my dream or intent. It is still an all too vivid
memory to me, sitting alone at age forty in a half-lit basement, having resigned from the pastorate. I ached for having abandoned the weekly privilege of a pulpit from which to proclaim God’s truth. Would I ever have this
privilege again? Will I ever again have a pulpit? Now they estimate that each
week from the “pulpit” of The Journey Home television program I speak to a
potential audience of over a billion viewers and listeners. In one night I speak
to more people than I ever could have in my entire career as a Protestant minister. This is the humor of our merciful God. Before I converted I had no idea
whatsoever how I would support my family let alone how I would continue
in ministry. But this is getting way ahead of myself.
After sharing my conversion story over and boringly over again dozens of times in the past twenty
years, I’ve come to realize shamefully how mechanical it has become in the telling. I’ve got it all
worked out, down to every event, person, place,
and thing, with each struggle and motive charted
and evaluated, leading with creatively inserted
humor to build from despairing confusion to joyful completion upon reception into the Catholic
Church. This, though, is only part of the story, for
as is the case with the hundreds of converts and
reverts I have interviewed on The Journey Home,
the real journey is usually far more complicated,
even embarrassing, to put in a box.
To some extent, I could say that my “journey
home” was as equally attributable to personality
tendencies as to theological and scriptural apolo-
getics. This is not surprising, since God created
each of us uniquely, with our own set of personality “quirks,” all designed as means by which He can
draw us closer to Him and by which He can use us
uniquely for His purposes.
These personality quirks admittedly had a great
part to play in both of my conversions, as an adult
to Jesus Christ and then later to His Church. Every
person is a complicated mixture of our genetics,
our environment, our divinely implanted soul or
self, and our will. These four, plus possibly other
factors, come together to make each of us truly
unique — particularly in the eyes of our Creator.
One might place the definitive cause behind the
quirks of my character on having been an only
child, the only one of eight siblings who survived
childbirth, but the inability Continued on page 2
...Journeys Home Continued...
of modern psychologists as well as theologians to unite on any
one theory of the human person bespeaks to the futility of seeking simply one cause behind our individual uniqueness.
Stranger in the Crowd
One of these quirks is that I have always been incurably insecure. Though over the years I have learned to hide this behind an otherwise confident exterior, inside I always feel like a
stranger in every crowd. Some write this off to my being an only
child; I see this as the unique thorn or cross to bear that God
has given me. This quirk always moves me toward isolation —
even when all the doors God continually opens for me require
an increased involvement with the public. I speak each week to
millions of people when, inwardly, I would prefer to be at home
sharing a coffee with my wife, Marilyn, or brush-hogging our
twenty-five acre farm, or fishing with my sons.
This introverted insecurity also, however, leans me a bit
towards the neurotic, always assuming, at least initially, that
whenever anything goes wrong, it must be my fault. I’ve jokingly said that this is why I have a particular affinity for Saint
Joseph. The story goes that one evening the Holy Family was
sitting around the dinner table, and for a brief second there was
a bit of a row. Joseph looked at Jesus and Mary, and said, with
one of his few words, “Sorry, it must be me.”
It was another personality quirk, however, that had a more
prominent influence on my journey home: an insatiable, often
irritable, desire to know “why.” If you want me to do something,
I want to know why, or I won’t want to do it. I certainly must
have been a pain in the neck to my parents, because they’d say
“do it,” and I’d ask, “Why?” or “Why do it this way; why not
Something Greater Is Here
— By Dr. Kenneth Howell
As a Presbyterian minister and seminary professor,
certain nagging questions wouldn’t let Dr. Kenneth
Howell alone. Was what he believed really true?
Did he really understand what it means to be a Christian? Could
there be a deeper spirituality out there that he had not yet
encountered? This inspiring book details Dr. Howell’s pursuit of
truth, goodness, and love that gradually led him on a surprising
journey and towards an unexpected destination.
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another way?” If you didn’t give me a good reason, I’d either do
it my own way or just give in, but I first had to ask the question.
The reason for sharing these quirks is because describing one’s
conversion to the faith is not all cut and dried. Each person is
unique, and admittedly our motives are never pure or pristine.
I only pray that in, through, and regardless of the cacophony of
voices that fill our lives, we can truly and clearly hear the voice
of Jesus calling and beckoning us each home.
Looking for Answers
As I mentioned earlier, my entire spiritual pilgrimage can be
explained as a result of trying to answer the question, “Why?”
For example, when I arrived in college, I encountered a culture
and lifestyle radically different than that in which I grew up. It
wasn’t that my Lutheran upbringing hadn’t prepared me to say
no to this lifestyle; it’s just that I hadn’t been listening. And so,
when faced with the challenges, I asked “Why?” or maybe, more
accurately, “Why not?”
Almost immediately, I found myself with both feet into the
fraternity drinking and dating scene, to the point where my life
became a walking ad for Bud Light, “Why ask why?” Eventually
I became the beer-chugging champion of my university. I was
so caught up in it all that I could no longer see anything wrong
with it.
This lifestyle continued until the summer between my junior
and senior year. An avalanche of events got my attention and
within only a few weeks I was a “born-again Christian” driven
to save the world. It began in a genetics class, studying the evolutionary development of our senses of sight and hearing. I was
being taught that these amazing senses had happened by chance
Journeys Home 2 — Edited by Marcus Grodi
Journeys Home 2 gathers together more conversion stories
of men and women, clergy and laity, who found themselves
drawn to the Catholic Church. They learned to listen to the
voice of truth speaking through history, theology, philosophy,
Sacred Tradition, Holy Scripture, and personal testimony. In time, their desire
to follow Christ faithfully — to remain faithful tot he truth He taught and
to the Church He established through His Apostles — led them to consider
the claims of the Catholic Church. In the end, they were all convinced that,
whatever the cost, they must become Catholic.
Receive Journeys Home 2 for
a $50 donation.
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Obtain premiums by returning the form on page 11, calling 740-450-1175, or by going online to chnetwork.org/featured.
2
...Journeys Home Continued...
over millions of years through mutations and natural selection.
The Holy Spirit used this to spark a few “why” questions: “Wait
a second, how could this be true? Does anyone really believe
this? The majority of all higher level living things have two eyes
at the same location in the front of their heads: is this merely by
chance? Did this arrangement happen over time as a result of
natural selection? Is there any evidence of fossils showing humanoids or other animals with eyes at less advantageous locations on their bodies?” I realized that for most of the biologists I
was studying under, their God was Time; in other words, given
enough time and probability, everything could be explained. All
order was a chance result of millions of years of natural selection. Facing the absurdity of this is what drew me back to God.
liturgical, creedal church to a non-liturgical, autonomous, democratic church with “No Creed but Christ” and every individual
church being free to decide through congregational vote whatever it wants to believe or how it wants to worship.
Not long after this, I graduated college and found myself a
plastics engineer for a large chemical company, and another
“why” question arose: “Why work?” It wasn’t so much that I was
lazy, but my main project as a plastics engineer was to develop
a better butter tub. “Why?” I pictured myself sitting on the edge
of heaven, with Jesus asking me, “Well, son, what did you do in
life?” And my response might be, “Well, I developed a better
butter tub!” I asked myself, “Is this what I want to do with the
rest of my life?”
Following Jesus, but what Church?
Moving Towards Ministry
Not long after this, at age twenty-one, I experienced a true
At the same time, I was working in my off hours with young
conversion of faith to Jesus Christ, through the witness of people in a ministry called Young Life, a powerful ministry in
friends, the reading of Scripture, and the preaching and teach- which more than a hundred teens would gather each week in
ing of an evangelical pastor of a
someone’s basement to hear the
local Congregational church. For
Gospel. I was a musician who was
the first time in my life, I was actucutting my teeth on preaching the
ally listening to the Gospel message
Gospel message. Over time, I deI realized that for most of the
and it began changing my life. At
cided that if I were given the choice,
this point, my pastor taught me a
I’d rather be in ministry than makbiologists I was studying under,
Proverb that has become my “life
ing better butter tubs, so with the
their God was Time; in other
verse”: “Trust in the Lord with all
confirmation of my pastor and
your heart, And lean not on your
some of my friends and family (not
words, given enough time
own understanding; In all your
all!), I sold everything I owned,
ways acknowledge Him, And He
except my guitar and golf clubs,
and probability, everything
shall direct your paths” (Proverbs
resigned my engineering job, and
could be explained...Facing the
3:5-6). Again, though, I began askwent to seminary.
ing “Why?” Why this local CongreIt’s important to understand how
absurdity of this is what drew
gational church, or should I return
different this was than a young
to my Lutheran upbringing? Why
Catholic man being sent by his diome back to God.
belong to a church at all?
cese to discern priesthood at a CathSo, I visited my childhood Luolic seminary. No church sent me
theran church, and found two
to seminary; rather, I just decided
things. The first was positive. As
that God was calling me to go. So, I
I sat through the familiar Lutheran service, remembering ev- went to a nondenominational, Evangelical Protestant, indepenery word of the liturgy, I heard for the first time the Gospel dent seminary in New England, where the students represented
preached there, and I knew that it hadn’t been the church’s fault more than forty-six different denominations.
that I hadn’t grown in my faith; the fault must have been mine.
When I got to seminary, all of a sudden I was inundated with
I must not have been listening.
more “why” questions. As a Congregationalist, for whom everyBut then I came to another conclusion as I looked down the thing was basically up for grabs — except having anyone tell us
pew and saw a couple of high school students sitting there, just what we had to believe — I was confronted by every imaginable
like I had done, messing around, shooting spit wads, yet at the theological opinion. After dinner nearly everyday, we would sit
same time perfectly reciting the liturgy. It struck me that liturgy around, coffee cups in hand, battling over all the big theological
without an internal change of heart was dead liturgy. Quickly, issues: Why do we believe in the divinity of Christ or the TrinI turned the blame away from me to the dead, monotonous lit- ity? Or what about predestination: what about the people who
urgy of the church, and left the Lutheran Church to become a lived and died without hearing about the Lord Jesus? If they
Congregationalist. I went from one extreme to the other: from a have never heard, then why are they guilty? Are we indeed in
3
...Journeys Home Continued...
the last days, facing the Second Coming of Christ, or maybe a
“rapture,” as some of my classmates insisted?
All of us believed in Jesus Christ and the infallibility of Scripture, yet we would argue and argue and argue, and never come
to an agreement. It never crossed my mind that there could be
anything wrong with Scripture or even Protestantism per se; I
assumed, given my neurotic personality quirk, that the problem, of course, must be me. I hadn’t prayed enough, or studied
enough, or listened enough.
I wanted respect while visiting the hospital or when I wanted
reduced rates at the local golf course. Or I asked, “Why do we
worship this way? Why this music? Why this order of the worship? Why do we do the Lord’s Supper this way?” In time I tried
everything and changed everything, all with the hope of bringing renewal to everything.
What is Truth?
With all these changes, and as a Congregationalist with everything up for grabs, I began to question, “Why do we believe what
we do?” In essence, could I be certain that what I was teaching
Crisis of Faith
Eventually I faced a crisis of faith. I read my first “Catholic” was true? This led me to a long study of the Creeds and the hisbook in seminary, by a well-known “Catholic” author (who, un- tory of the Church, and, as a result, I became a Presbyterian. I
known to me, was a renegade Catholic theologian) Hans Kung. could no longer remain a pastor in a denomination in which
His book was called On Being a Christian and one of the reasons every individual church, every individual Christian, could dehe is deemed so dangerous is that he is a superb and convincing cide for himself what was true; to me this was institutionalized
Narcissism. So I left this to become
writer. As I progressed through the
a Presbyterian because the Presbook, I found that he was successbyterian Church had two things
fully undercutting the very founAll of us believed in Jesus
Congregationalists did not: a Book
dation for my faith, which was the
of Confessions, which contained all
Bible alone. As a result of reading
Christ and the infallibility of
the major confessions of the history
this book, I found that I, as a Bible
Scripture, yet we would argue
of the Presbyterian Church, and a
Christian who believed only what
Book of Order, which is similar to
was found in Scripture, no longer
and argue and argue, and never
the Catholic Code of Canon Law.
had a solid basis upon which to beI considered this a good trustlieve in the Trinity or the divinity of
come to an agreement.
worthy foundation for my pastoral
Christ.
It never crossed my mind
ministry, so in time I became an
For three days I argued with my
assistant pastor in a medium sized
professors and fellow students, as
that there could be anything
urban church, then the solo pastor
they tried unsuccessfully to bring
of a small rural church, and finally
me back. I dropped everything and
wrong with Scripture or even
the senior pastor of a large urban
spent literally an entire night combProtestantism per se.
church, with a full-time staff of nine,
ing the New Testament to find proof
a burgeoning membership, and an
for the Trinity, but couldn’t because,
ample budget. As I took on these
for one thing, the word “Trinity” is
responsibilities, however, another “why” question arose: “Why
not there.
Then a theology professor pulled me aside and said, “You was I single?” In Protestant culture, there really is no place for
have to understand: the reason we believe these things is be- the “gift of celibacy” — it was a gift that nobody wanted. Genercause they are the quasi-unanimous conclusions of the Church ally (at least when I was a pastor), if a minister wasn’t married
throughout the ages. In other words, this is what the majority or dating someone, the assumption was that there was someof Christians, everywhere and all places, since the beginning thing wrong with him. Well, it wasn’t that I had to succumb to
of Christianity have believed; so, therefore, we believe it to be the pressure; rather, I knew deep in my heart that I needed this
true.” At this point, it started to become apparent that most of special partner, not merely to share life with, but to help me see
our doctrines in the Protestant church were based on demo- the blind sides of my character. In the midst of this discerning,
the Lord brought Marilyn, the woman whom I would marry,
cratic theology: most of us believe it, so it must be true.
This assumption held me through seminary, until I graduated into my life, which immediately doubled all the “why” questions
and was ordained, and pastored my first church. Then came a — particularly because it had never been her dream to be a pashost of new “why” questions. For example, should I wear a cleri- tor’s wife.
Becoming a Presbyterian far from answered all of my theocal collar? As a Congregationalist I was free to decide for myself,
and because none of my fellow clergymen could give me a good logical and pastoral “why” questions. On Monday mornings, as
reason, I didn’t, unless it was advantageous for me, like when I had been taught in seminary, I would Continued on page 7
4
A Culture Divided, a Church United?
By Kenneth J. Howell, Ph.D.
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.
Many observant Christians today are troubled
by the fragmentation of American life and the
erosion of the moral fabric of the West. In the last
decade in the United States we have seen an intensified divisiveness in American public discourse
that rivals anytime since the Civil War. Americans seem more
divided than ever. Nor is the situation any more promising
among Christian churches. Many of those denominations once
called mainline are now receding into obscurity as their memberships dwindle and their moorings unfasten from anything
rooted in classical Christian doctrine and morals. The recent
vote in the Church of England to ordain women as bishops has
sent troubling signs to the Catholic Church and its hierarchy
that the years of discussion between the two ecclesial bodies
may now be permanently damaged.
Among the spectrum of churches
that dub themselves independent,
nondenominational, and charismatic, there is a wide range of theologies
and views that sometimes seem irreconcilable. While such churches often
affirm the uniqueness and primacy of
salvation in Christ, there seems to be
little else that unifies them. Amidst all this diversity and confusion somehow Christians have to find their moorings, to drop
their anchor and fasten onto a sure rock from which they can
search for greater peace and unity among Christians.
The time seems ripe for Christians of any creed to reconsider
the roots of unity and to ground themselves once again in the
historic witness of Scripture and Christian history. Questions
about unity stand at the center of this inquiry because the problem lies not only in the unresolved differences among Christians but even in the differing understandings of what unity
is. How exactly should Christians view the search for greater
unity? What does unity consist of? Even if we can agree on what
unity is, what practical steps can be suggested to pursue unity?
One obvious problem lies in the mandate for unity. Is there a
mandate from God to have more Christian unity? Is Christian
unity an optional nicety that Christians may have if convenient
or a command from God that must be pursued? It all depends
on how you read the New Testament. One of the deepest divides
among Christians is whether the Church in the New Testament
possessed/possesses a spiritual oneness that is enough for unity
or whether it also includes an institutional unity that manifests
the spiritual oneness in Christ. On the one side are Evangelical
Christians of independent leanings that often insist we already
have unity through our common belief in Christ. For them, that
is enough. On the other are historic Lutheran, Catholic, and
Orthodox churches which insist that unity is always expressed
through unity in a common faith and liturgy. For these churches Christian unity cannot be had without unity in faith (creeds),
liturgy, and moral teaching.
Since all historic believers take the New Testament as the
word of the living God, they must always return to its pages
with fresh eyes and an open mind to rediscover its teachings on
unity. Space does not permit me to offer an exegesis of the key
passages but every Christian must grapple with classic texts like
John 17, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, 12:1-28, and Ephesians 4:1-14.
The need for a fresh reading is twofold. These New Testament
texts will always be the foundation of Christian faith and cannot be jettisoned in favor of some supposed better understanding that ignores the meaning of these texts. In addition, we may
have read these texts wrongly and
so misunderstood them. If we remain in our ignorance, we may
never find our way out of the labyrinth of disunity. Just as the Constitution of the United States will
always function as a bellweather
for our democracy — and can
never be set aside or reinterpreted
into irrelevance — so the New Testament must always be the
anchor for Christian unity.
A second factor plays into the search for greater unity, the
role of Christian history. Ours is not the first generation to face
the problem of disunity among Christians. In fact, almost every
generation of Christ’s disciples has confronted this problem. A
sensitive reading of the Letter of 1 John reveals an underlying
problem of schism and heresy, as do several other letters in the
New Testament. But the same problem surfaced again in the
third century with the Novatian and Donatist schisms, the latter
persisting into the time of St. Augustine. Time and time again
the two-sided coin of heresy and schism menaced the Church.
Even if one believes in Scripture alone as the final authority, it
would be foolhardy to ignore these historical struggles as case
studies for understanding Christian unity. Both Scripture and
Church history have much to illumine this perennial problem.
Let me share some important lessons.
First, the temptation is always present to treat the problem of
unity on the model of political negotiation where one expects
to find give-and-take among discussants. Yet, Christian unity
is not a negotiated peace among warring Christians. Unity is a
gift from God and a metaphysical reality in God. God Himself
is the source of all unity for the Church because all the original
unity and diversity rests in God. To understand this point, go
back to the foundations of the world.
Continued on page 6
5
Imagine what existed before the universe was created. All there
was was God. All created reality, both physical and spiritual,
derives from God Himself. And while God could have created
the universe in any way He pleased, He chose to have reality
reflect and embody His triune nature. Nicene Christians believe
that this God, their God, was eternally One in Three or Three in
One. Diversity and unity are both in God already. And this God
— one nature in three Persons — is perfect in all His attributes.
The Trinitarian nature of God implies that the perfection of
love is in God, as the Apostle John says, “God is love” and all
love comes from God. He is the source and summit of love. Yet,
God is also truth. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all
agree on truth and love one another in the truth they are. For
us human beings, truth is something external to us; it does not
arise from our inner being; we must bring in truth from the outside. In God, however, truth is not something external to Him
as Plato may have thought. Rather, God is the source of all human truth; truth is internal to God and is equally shared by the
three Persons of the Trinity.
The implications of God’s Trinitarian Being are profound. The
unity of Christians then is not a human creation, much less a
negotiated peace. The unity God desires for the Church is a gift
of God Himself. The search for unity is not really a process of
compromises but a voluntary relinquishing of mistaken ideas
about unity to embrace a greater truth that can liberate Christians from our time-bound ideas. The unity we should be seeking is the presence of God Himself in the hearts of the faithful
to bind them together more fully and to enfold them more completely into the body of Christ.
A second implication involves distinguishing the inner core of
unity and truth from the outward expressions of that unity and
truth. The Church has always been diverse and contained many
expressions of liturgy, piety, and orders of service. Part of St.
John Paul II’s emphasis in his Orientale Lumen (1995) was a call
for the Church “to breathe with both lungs.” The Church cannot
experience the fullness of Christ’s teaching without the profound
contributions of the East and the West. Even within the western
Patriarchate under the Pope as the Bishop of Rome, there were
small variations in liturgy and wide variations in piety well into
the early modern period. Still today, the Ambrosian liturgy is
the officially sanctioned one in the Archdiocese of Milan. The
great variety of religious orders and charisms in the West attests
to the value the Church has always placed on properly constituted diversity. The Church has never been monolithic.
Yet, the Church has always been one in her core and inner dynamism. That oneness lies in the presence of the Holy Spirit as
the active agent in creating love among the brethren and forging bonds of unity. The Spirit moves in the hearts of the faithful
who are properly ordered under their pastoral leaders to inspire
and create communities of service to reach out into the world.
That same Spirit guides the Church in her deliberations over
matters of doctrine and morals. Even the diverse expressions of
the faith in East and West must yield to a unified expression of
the faith so that there may be true oneness in doctrine. Liturgies
6
may contain differing expressions but the same faith must be
the core of those outward forms.
There is a mandate for unity, not only because it is taught in
the New Testament, but because God Himself is a unity of three
Persons in one nature. Yet, the necessity for Christian unity also
lies in the Incarnation, in the act of God becoming man. When
John proclaims that the Word (Logos) became flesh, it was a
declaration that God intended to unite all humanity in the Person of His Son, the Word of God. Over time the Church realized
the full significance of this truth by proclaiming Jesus Christ as
fully God and fully man. Had the Apostles proclaimed Jesus as
half God and half man, the gospel would not have changed the
world. It would have been just another variation on the theme in
Greek mythology in which the gods became human by becoming less divine and humans became like the gods by shedding
their mortal humanity. But when Christians proclaimed Jesus as
one-hundred percent God and one-hundred percent man, they
offered the first real hope of uniting all humanity into one. That
was the very message that the sagacious St. Athanasius saw in
the On the Incarnation of the Word as the lynchpin of our faith.
By the Logos becoming man and dying for all, the God-Man
Jesus Christ united all humanity into Himself and provided the
foundation for unity in the Church.
Since the Church is Christ’s Body in the world, the Church
is now the instrument for uniting all with one another and ultimately with God. That same Incarnate God, Jesus Christ, is
still at work today helping us to maintain the bond of peace.
He accomplishes this work of unification through the active
ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, called the soul of
the Church by many Church Fathers, animates the visible Body
of Christ to bring Christ’s disciples together and to urge them
on to greater unity.
In the light of these central truths, what is our responsibility
as members of Christ’s Body, the Church, in promoting Christian unity? It would be easy to outline platitudes for us all but
ultimately the practical work of unity must be engaged. What
is that practical work? Contrary to our activist inclinations, the
most practical thing we can do is to pray for unity. Remember
that unity is a gift but God usually gives His gifts only to those
who ask (Mt 7:7-11) and especially to those who beg unceasingly (cf. Lk 18:1-18). Divine unity will only be achieved through
the outpouring of God into the Church. That’s the most practical thing we can do.
Dr. Kenneth Howell is a former Presbyterian pastor
and scholar who became Catholic in 1996. He presently serves
as the Resident Theologian for the CHNetwork. He is the author of dozen of articles and eight books, including Ignatius
of Antioch and Polycarp of Symrna: A New Translation and
Theological Commentary, Clement of Rome and the Didache: A New Translation and Theological Commentary,
and most recently Something Greater is Here, which tells of
his journey into full-communion with the Catholic Church.
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Barriers to Conversion
Sample Newsletter
By Marcus Grodi
“And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.”
John 14:3-4
“Why don’t committed Christians like Billy Graham or James Dobson come home to
the Catholic Church?”
I can’t tell you how many times over the
past twenty-plus years I’ve heard questions
like this. Or consider this one: “My brother knows all about
the Catholic Faith — he’s a Protestant theologian and has
nothing but good things to say about the Church — but he
doesn’t seem the least bit interested in converting.”
As a result of over twenty years of helping non-Catholic
Christians at least consider the beauty and truth of the
Catholic Church, we’ve come up with a list of “Barriers
to Conversion.” We don’t claim this list to be all-inclusive
or definitive; rather, it simply summarizes the responses
we’ve heard from people on the journey. The items are not
necessarily in the order of importance, but I do believe
that the first five rank at the top:
1.
Sin
2.
The Mystery of God’s Grace
3.
Ignorance
4.
Prejudice
5.
Bad Catholics
6.
Discontent
7.
Content
8.
Indifference
9.
Anxiety
10.Attachment to a Tradition
11.Attachment to a Person
12.Attachment to Self
13.Can’t Forgive Others
14.Can’t Forgive Self
15.Just Can’t!
16.Just Won’t!!!
Now each of these items deserves explanation, but I suspect that as you consider each item, you may see how they
apply to the resistance of friends or family to the Church.
Of course, none of us knows what any other person is really thinking, so we certainly can’t judge — and it may
be, in the end, that the primary reason whether anyone
converts depends on the mystery of God’s will and timing.
Billy Graham and James Dobson, as well as Rick Warren,
Joel Osteen, and governor Mike Huckabee, may be pre-
cisely where God wants them to serve. This doesn’t mean
we quit sharing with them the truth and beauty of the
Church; rather, we at least begin by celebrating with them
their faith and surrender to Jesus Christ.
Recently, two experiences brought home to me what I
consider the two primary “Barriers to Conversion” (not
itemized in the list), and this, I believe, reiterates the significance of our mission. My family and I were driving
home from the local county fair and the radio was on.
First, I heard a non-Catholic Christian radio commentator addressing the rise of radical Islam and the increasing
rejection of Christianity in our culture, particularly with
the removal of Bibles from hotels, spurred on by radical
atheist groups. Everything he was saying was spot on, but
his generic use of the word “church” reminded me of what
I consider the primary reason so few well-informed nonCatholic Christians come home: because they don’t believe in the necessity of any church, let alone the Catholic
Church, for salvation. Following the lead of Martin Luther
and John Calvin, they believe salvation is only a matter
of an individual’s faith in Jesus, and that the “church” is
the invisible multitude of sincere believers, known only to
God. Whether a person belongs to a church let alone any
specific church is immaterial to salvation.
This is what I believed from my childhood Lutheran upbringing through my seminary training and on into my
Presbyterian pastoral years — and this is why hearing 1
Timothy 3:14-15 began my “journey home.” Saint Paul
said that the “church of the living God” is the “pillar and
bulwark of the truth.” I had always presumed that the Bible
was this “pillar and bulwark.” This verse didn’t make me
Catholic; but it shocked me, because it had never crossed
my mind that any church was necessary to know truth, let
alone as a means of salvation.
Driving along home from the fair, I switched the channel, and heard governor Mike Huckabee waxing eloquently in praise of the Vatican’s call for active military
efforts to stop radical Islam. As you may not know, governor Huckabee was an ordained Southern Baptist minister
before he set this aside to enter into politics. He remains
an outspoken Evangelical, but also a politician, so it’s hard
to discern from his words his actual feelings about the
Pope and the Vatican.
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I would also suggest that our work will continue to help
But it reminded me that another primary barrier to conversion, maybe the biggest, is not just ignorance of the man- convert Catholics, because the New Evangelization will
date concerning membership in the Church, but the deep never start until Catholics-in-the-pews on Sunday morning
underlying suspicion that the Catholic Church and Catholics fully realize that everything essential in our Catholic Faith is
built upon faith in Jesus Christ and
are not truly Christians. In our apolHis intention to form a Church. It
ogetic defense of the Church, we can
is our concerted hope that our repoint out all the flaws of sola scriptu…the deep underlying
sources will help Catholics re-disra, sola fide, solus Christus, etc., and
cover their faith in Christ and why
clarify all the actual teachings and
suspicion that the
they need to remain active members
historical foundations of CatholiCatholic Church and
of the Church, equipping them to be
cism, and augment this with heartauthentic evangelizers. As our Lord
warming conversion stories, but if
Catholics are not truly
told His Apostles, He has gone to
our separated brethren still quesprepare a place — a home — for us,
tion in their hearts whether modern
Christians.
and coming home means at the core
Catholics are truly Christians, they
helping people reach their eternal
will rarely sense the mandate to conhome through the fullness of faith
sider converting.
As the result of over twenty years of our work, I have in Jesus Christ, non-Catholics as well as Catholics, clergy as
come to believe that addressing these two primary barri- well as laity.
ers sets the tone and trajectory of our future work together,
and maybe the uniqueness of our mission: What can we do,
through our media, studio productions, publications, and
website, to help our separated brothers and sisters come to
know that we Catholics are truly Christians? How can we fill
in the gaps of their ignorance, correct the misunderstandings of their prejudice, explain the failures of “bad Catholics” (like moi), so they can see that we, too, believe that we
are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ? In many
ways, it seems this is precisely what our present Holy Father
is doing: he’s not downplaying or negating any of the essentials of our faith, but rather focusing on that most important
truth which we share with our baptized brethren: that no
one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ, His
Son and our Lord. If we can help some to hear this, then
Deep in SCripture
maybe through our love, the Holy Spirit can help them
hear the necessity of the Church our Lord established in His
Listen to Marcus Grodi and Dr. Kenneth Howell on the Deep
hand-chosen Apostles, centered around the leadership of
in Scripture radio program. They can be heard on EWTN Radio
Peter. For those who come to desire to explore more about
Plus, ewtn.com, or deepinscripture.com. Please visit our
becoming Catholic, especially non-Catholic clergy whose
website www.deepinscripture.com for live feed, archived
conversions can mean severe disruption in their families,
programs, and further information.
marriages, and vocations, we are here to help them discern
what God is now calling them to do.
Visit www.chresources.com
or call 740-450-1175 for these and other great resources to learn more about the Catholic Faith.
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CHNETWORK
Mission Statement
The purpose of the Coming Home Network International
(CHNetwork) is to help inquiring clergy as well as laity of other
traditions to return home and then be at home in the Catholic
Church. To learn more about our work, please go to
www.chnetwork.org.
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NEWSLETTER COPIES
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newsletter and distribute to family and friends. We do ask
that copies of the newsletter not be sold. Unless otherwise
indicated, the contents of this newsletter are Copyright © 2015
by the Coming Home Network International. All rights reserved.
Share Your Story
The CHNetwork always welcomes those of our members
who are converts or reverts to share their written conversion
stories of how they were drawn (or drawn back) to the Catholic
Church. If you feel called to share your story, please feel free
to go to www.chnetwork.org/converts to review our writer’s
guidelines, see sample stories, and upload your testimony.
Forum!
Check out CHNetwork’s online forum. The forum is a
wonderful place to connect
with other CHNetwork
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and browse through
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chnetwork.org.
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Stay Connected by Email!
We have a number of email lists
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and stay connected with your favorite CHNetwork content.
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Clergy
For Eric, a former minister in Canada, that
his interest in the Catholic Faith would flower
and grow.
For Mike, a nondenominational minister,
that he may discover the fullness of the Faith
of Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church.
For a former Evangelical minister in Europe,
that Jesus would open his wife’s heart to the
beauty and truth of the Catholic Faith.
For a clergyman in Illinois, that he find
peace and clarity as to how best to pursue his
interest in the Catholic Church.
For a Methodist deacon in England, that our
Lord would guide him to the person he needs
to assist him through the annulment process,
enabling him to approach the altar of Jesus.
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For Betty, as she reads and continues to
learn more about the Catholic Faith, that she
be able to connect with a local parish.
For an Evangelical in Ohio who wishes
For a Pentecostal seminarian, that God
to
become
Catholic, that his wife come to
would use his study of Church history to bring
understand
and support his faith journey.
him into full-communion with the Catholic
For Rob, that his family will feel drawn to
Church.
join
him in the Catholic Church.
For a Lutheran minister in Indiana, that he
For Jessica, that the Holy Spirit will reopen
may soon come rejoicing into full-communion
her heart to the Catholic Church despite the
with the successor of St. Peter.
negative experiences she had in a local parish.
For a military chaplain stationed in Europe,
For Julie, who unexpectedly feels herself
that the Holy Spirit would guide him as he
drawn
to the Catholic Faith and has been
seeks how best to become a Catholic Christian.
learning
more about Catholic teachings.
For Amelia, a former Baptist lay minister,
For Ann, who has been interested in
that she would discover her vocation in her
Catholicism
for many years and is considering
new home, the Catholic Church.
moving
forward
with her journey.
For a Baptist minister in California, that
For the wife of a Protestant pastor, that her
the grace of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist would
husband
will remain open to her desire to be
bring him home to the Catholic Church of his
Catholic
and
support her in her faith journey.
youth.
For Phyllis, that she find solace in our
For a Baptist in Georgia, as she practices
For an Episcopal priest in the south, that
Blessed Mother’s care and come to better
Catholic devotions and recognizes the power of
she may find a clear path to come home to the understand Mary’s intercession.
prayer, that she be drawn closer to the Catholic
Catholic Church.
For Stan who is reflecting more on tradition Church.
For Ben, a Methodist minister, that God
and the continuity of the Church, that his
For a man on the West Coast as he wrestles
may light a path for him into the Catholic
heart be opened to the fullness of the Catholic
with the decision to pursue the Catholic
Church.
Church.
Church or Orthodoxy since he has come to
For a Baptist missionary in Arizona, that she
For Ken, that he have peace as to what
the conclusion that he can no longer remain
may be healed of the fear of Catholics that was direction to pursue with his desire to be
Protestant.
taught to her all her life.
Catholic.
For Steve, an Anglican, who is concerned
For a Greek Orthodox priest, that our
For Adam, that he will be able to effectively about the practical implications of becoming
Lord Jesus would guide him to embrace the
explain to his family and friends his conversion Catholic.
successor of St. Peter.
to the Catholic Church.
In every issue we include timely prayer concerns from the
For a nondenominational minister in
For Steven, that his family come to
membership. All members are encouraged to pray at least
Arizona, that she may be given the grace to
one hour each month before the Blessed Sacrament for the
understand his desire to be a Catholic
embrace the Catholic Church of her youth.
needs, both general and specific, of the CHNetwork and its
Christian.
members and supporters.
For an Anglican priest in Montana, that
For a man in the United Kingdom who is
Please submit all prayer requests and answers to
God would guide his path as he and his family struggling with the authority of the Church
CHNetwork Prayer List, PO Box 8290, Zanesville, OH 43702 or
journey to full-communion with the Catholic
and wonders whether it matters what
email prayer requests to [email protected].
Church.
denomination he is in.
We use only first names to preserve privacy.
Laity
Please also pray for the Coming Home Network International’s staff and Board of Directors.
President/Founder, Marcus Grodi
(former Presbyterian pastor)
Resident Theologian, Dr. Kenneth
Howell (former Presbyterian pastor)
Senior Advisor: History &
Theology, Jim Anderson
(former Lutheran)
Director of Studio/Media, Scott
Scholten (former Presbyterian)
Office Manager, Ann Moore
IT/Facilities Coordinator, Bill
Bateson (former Mormon)
Publications and Laity
Coordinator, Mary Clare Piecynski
Manager of Outreach, JonMarc
Grodi
Financial Assistant, Wendy Hart
(former United Methodist)
Board of Directors: Marcus
Grodi (President), Msgr. Frank
Lane (Chaplain), Dr. Robert Geiger
(Vice President), Dr. Charles
Feicht (Secretary), Bruce Sullivan
(Treasurer), Dr. Marian Schuda
(Director), Donald Brey (Director)
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“Journeys Home” continued from page 4
begin preparation for my upcoming Sunday sermon. I first
would make a fresh personal translation of the text from Greek
or Hebrew, and then fill pages of exegetical study and reflections. Once I had arrived at a tentative conclusion of the meaning of the passage, and a rough outline of my thoughts, only
then would I consult with the row of biblical commentaries on
my shelf, to make sure my conclusions were on track.
One day it struck me that every commentary on my shelf had
been hand-picked from scholars I liked, with whose theologies
I agreed. I, therefore, was checking my conclusions only against
people I already agreed with, so, in essence, I was only checking
myself against myself! I had protected myself from any way of
knowing whether I — or they — were wrong.
Then one Sunday morning as I was preaching, it struck me
that within a thirty-mile radius of my pulpit, there were probably thirty other pastors in thirty other churches, all who considered the Bible as the sole authority for our faith, yet we were
all teaching different if not contradictory things, possibly on the
same text. Which one of us was correct?
Once Saved, Always Saved
As an evangelically minded Presbyterian Calvinist, I believed
and preached “once saved-always saved”: that once a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, they have arrived; they are saved
by grace through faith alone, and because they have done nothing to earn salvation, there is likewise nothing they can do to
lose it. As a pastor, I knew many people who needed to break
from debilitating sin, and even more of them who needed to live
their faith more radically, but I had no theological grounds to
challenge anyone — let alone any real authority to do so.
What really hit the fan for Marilyn and me, however, were the
pro-life issues. Marilyn was the director of a crisis pregnancy
center, and more often than not she found herself working beside Catholics. Our Presbyterian denomination had democratically decided to lean more and more pro-choice. Then, I discovered that the dues my congregation were paying to the head
office of our denomination were funding abortions — for the
daughters and wives of ministers to have abortions — and there
was nothing we could do to stop this.
Where to Now?
With this, I knew I could no longer be a Presbyterian. How
could I stand before my congregation when I knew what their
donations were funding — when I knew their mixed views on
abortion — and yet, at the same time, enable their complacency
because of some decision they had made years before that guaranteed their salvation?
So I began admitting to close pastor friends that I could no
longer remain in our particular Presbyterian denomination,
and began exploring more conservative Presbyterian churches.
At the time there were nine Presbyterian denominations in the
USA, each of which believed they were the truer interpreter of
Scripture (I think there are more now). This is what Scott Hahn
calls the “split P’s.” Examining each, I determined that none of
them were exactly what I wanted, so I found a book of Christian
denominations, three hundred pages of all the different Christian traditions in America. I carefully examined each, rejecting
them one by one because something in their theology didn’t fit
with mine, until I stopped myself, wondering who I arrogantly
thought I was to stand in judgment of these churches? I was
playing God, placing myself over all of them!
I received a phone call from a Presbyterian pastor friend out
in Kansas City who, in a panic, exclaimed, “Marcus, you can’t
leave the church! You must remain loyal, even if all the leaders
have become heretics and the church is going down in flames:
we need the faithful to remain loyal!” And I answered in words
that, at the time, I did not understand — with another “why”
question: “If that is true, then why did we leave our last denomination to form this one? And the division before that, and before that, and before that? Why does loyalty to truth require that
I stand firm here in this denomination? Why not move on and
form a more true church? Because in time, we both know that
we would have to move on and form another one and another
one, and on into infinity.”
You see, our heritage as Protestants was “Reformed and always reforming.” The way we reformed was always through reforming, starting one new church after another. Even a Protestant source admits that there are over thirty thousand individual
denominations in the world today, growing at the rate of one
new denomination every five days!
Essentially, though I had no thought about becoming Roman
Catholic, I found myself back at the Reformation asking the big
“why” question, and frankly this was a bigger can of worms than
I wanted to open.
Realizing that if I could not answer the “why” questions about
even the least important issues of our faith, let alone the more
crucial ones — like what is necessary for salvation — then I had
no business standing in the pulpit before anyone. So, I resigned
from the pastorate.
I entered a graduate program in molecular biology with the
hope of combining my science and theology backgrounds into
a career in medical ethics. Soon, I found myself in a research
lab assisting in genetic research as a part of the human genome
project. This was exciting work, but after a brief time, I found
myself asking God, “Why have You brought me here?” And He
answered.
One morning after the long drive to campus, I did something
I never did: I bought a copy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. Sipping coffee, I came across a small ad on the bottom
right of the religion page: “Theologian will speak at local Catholic parish: Scott Hahn.” Scott and his wife, Kimberly, had been
my classmates at seminary. We had known each other for over
7
...Journeys Home Continued...
fifteen years, but had lost contact since graduation. I had heard
through the grapevine that they had become Catholics, but I
didn’t believe a word of it. They had been two of the most outspoken, vehement Calvinists on campus, and I had no mental
file-folder for them becoming Catholics — for any Protestant
minister becoming Catholic! I knew Protestant laity who had
become Catholics through marriage, but always presumed they
had not known their Protestant faith well enough, or they surely
would never have converted.
So when I saw this ad, it peaked my interest: “Was this my old
friend Scott Hahn? Did he really become a papist?” and, if so,
the big question, “Why?” Or, was it possible, and more probable, that he had clandestinely converted so he could rescue lost
souls from the Catholic Church?
The next Sunday afternoon, I drove alone up to Cleveland to
hear him. From my experience with visiting theologians, I envisioned a small clutch of people in a small church basement, eating coffee and donuts, listening glass-eyed to a droning professor speaking far over their heads. Instead, I found an immense
church, a full parking lot, a standing-room only sanctuary, all
focused — cameras and stage lights — on my old friend from
seminary. I felt myself a complete, maybe unwanted, stranger in
my very first visit to a Catholic church, and was astounded as
Scott gave an invigorating talk on the “Fourth Cup”, or the Last
Supper as the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover meal.
Afterwards, Scott was rushed by a crowd of enthusiastic fans
and I went over to say hello. He recognized me immediately,
with a “Hey, what are you doing here? I hope I didn’t offend
you!” We couldn’t talk then, but he encouraged me to listen to
the (now famous) tape of his conversion, and then call him.
Verses I Never Saw
So I bought the tape, mainly to discover on the long drive
home how he had gotten so messed up, plus an interesting
sounding book by Karl Keating entitled Catholicism and Fundamentalism. About a half-hour into the tape, I had to pull my car
over to the side of the road, because, in just that short period,
Scott essentially had provided the answers to the majority of my
most disturbing foundational “why” questions. The first of these
answers was the first of what I came to call “the verses I never
saw.” He told the story of being asked by a friend, “What is the
pillar and bulwark of the truth?”
Scott had answered, as I would have answered, “the Bible.” His
friend responded, “But the Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:15, that the
pillar and bulwark of the truth is the Church.” As I listened, I
couldn’t recall seeing this in my Bible, so that is why I pulled my
car over to the side of the road. I had studied and taught series
of sermons on First Timothy and didn’t remember seeing this
verse; however, when I looked it was there!
St. Paul wrote that “the household of God, which is the church
of the living God, [is] the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” Which
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church? The Presbyterian church? Which Presbyterian denomination? My individual congregation? Or Lutheran, Methodist,
Baptist, Episcopal, Pentecostal, etc., etc., denominations? Or
which branch of these? But surely not the Catholic Church!
And besides, as a Calvinist Protestant, I believed that the true
Church was invisible, consisting of true believers all over the
world, the membership of which was known only to God.
And at that moment, it struck me: how could an invisible
church, known only to God, be the pillar and bulwark of anything?
This didn’t make me Catholic; it made me more confused and
ungrounded.
As I listened, Scott clearly demonstrated how the key foundation of our Protestant faith, sola scriptura, was not biblical,
nor theologically or philosophically sound; in fact, the very
Scripture text we used to defend the foundational doctrine, in
2 Timothy 3:14-17, did not actually teach it. St Paul said that
all Scripture is profitable for equipping us for good works, but
not that it was the sole authority of our faith! In essence, I really
had never “seen” this verse either, because I had always read it
through the lenses of my hidden assumptions.
He pointed out a third verse I had never “seen,” 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle”
(NKJV). Traditions? This verse spoke of the importance of passing on faithfully the apostolic tradition, which was received primarily through the spoken word, and only secondarily through
epistles when an Apostle could not get to his people to speak to
them orally!
Even as I sat there in that car, I realized that there was no
church in the world that actually lived out sola scriptura, because every denomination interpreted Scripture through the
lenses of their own passed-on tradition, as they interpreted the
tradition of the founder of their movements. It was this nearly
limitless assortment of traditions that had spawned the cacophony of opinions coming from pulpits every Sunday, including
my own.
After listening to Scott’s tape, the Protestant foundation of
sola fide also began to topple. I never questioned, from the time
of my Lutheran catechetical formation, that we are saved by
faith alone, but Scott drew my attention to another verse I had
never “seen,” James 2:24, which states, “You see then that a man
is justified by works, and not by faith only” (NKJV). This revelation concurred with what I had always known in my conscience
to be true: we are not merely “once saved, always saved” through
some one-time surrendering statement of faith in Christ; we
must live this out by grace in love for the rest of our lives! Again,
as St. James wrote, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves” (1:22 NKJV). Scott pointed out that
Luther had added the word “alone” to Romans 3:28, and when
...Journeys Home Continued...
challenged, Luther refused to back down, claiming it was assumed in the text!
When I returned home, I didn’t reveal any of this to Marilyn.
She already was a bit concerned about my leaving the pastorate to return to school; I didn’t think she would be keen about
these new revelations. I closed myself away in my study, but instead of reading my biology assignments, I read Karl Keating’s
book from cover to cover and he provided even more answers to
my many “why” questions. He particularly pointed out that the
many “fundamentalist” assumptions, to which I had long held,
owe their formation not to clear biblical foundations but to the
“traditions” or opinions of the founders of evangelical fundamentalism.
None of this, however, was making me “Catholic” — just
more confused. So I called Scott, and met with him and others,
posing every “why” question that rose to the surface, and debating all aspects of Catholic doctrine, practice, and devotions that
ran cross-grain to my Protestant sensibilities.
Then I read a book by John Henry Cardinal Newman, entitled
Apologia Pro Vita Sua. I had never heard of this famous nineteenth-century Anglican clergy convert priest until well on into
my journey, but once I heard about this universally respected
autobiography of his conversion, I had to read it. Although his
journey was completely different than mine, it was mine. His
testimony convinced me that I could no longer be a Protestant,
because he helped me to realize that, even though the sixteenth-
century Catholic Church and culture desperately needed renewal, the schismatic reaction of the Reformation was not the
answer, for it had only led to a myriad of more splinters, leading
only to confusion.
I could no longer be Protestant, but I couldn’t be Catholic!
Even though I had to turn from (metanoia) my Protestant assumptions and background, I was not yet comfortable turning
toward the pervasive strangeness of Catholicism: not just the
unfamiliar and uncomfortable doctrines concerning purgatory and Mary; or the unappealing statues and artwork; or the
seemingly bizarre devotions to supposed apparitions; or the
“superstitious” use of sacramentals, like sticking green scapulars between mattresses to convert family members or the burying of St. Joseph Statues to sell homes. No, what concerned me
the most was trusting my faith to the Church’s Magisterium in
union with a pope in Rome. All of this ran cross-current to both
my Protestant and my “American” sensibilities!
Upon This Rock
I realized that everything came down to one basic doctrine;
even the validity of our belief in the Trinity and the divinity
of Christ, which cannot be proved through sola scriptura, all
came down to a belief in the trustworthy authority of Peter, the
Bishop of Rome. It became obvious to me, the more I studied
history, that it was to the authority, and often the courage, of the
Bishop of Rome as the successor of Peter that we owe all that we
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now have and believe in Christendom. Certainly behind him
was the protection, guidance, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
yet at the center of all historic Christianity was the pope. Not
the Scriptures, as I previously assumed, for if it wasn’t for the
historical union of the bishops of the Church in union with the
Bishop of Rome, there would be no Canon of Scriptures that
we now call the Bible, no doctrines of the Trinity or divinity of
Christ, and there would be no Christendom, for if it wasn’t for
the Crusades, we would all have long been Muslims.
Realizing this, I read every single book I could find on the authority of the pope, but it wasn’t until I read one other book by
John Henry Newman that I was finally convinced. He himself
had been desperately trying to find an alternative to becoming
Catholic, to prove from history that Anglicanism was the true
“middle way” between Protestantism and Catholicism, and his
book An Essay on the Development of Doctrine was the result,
the conclusion of which in the end convinced him to become
Catholic. And, likewise, it did me.
There is far too much in the book to summarize here, but basically there were twelve pages in the middle of the book, about
the development of the papacy, that brought me “home.” It is not
so amazing that the authority of the papacy didn’t become clear
until the third century, given the constant persecutions of the
first three centuries in which all the bishops of Rome were martyred. There are lots of things we will never know about the first
centuries of the Church because it was mostly underground, in
hiding. Once the persecutions ceased under Constantine, the
structure of the Church, as recorded in the writings of the early
Church Fathers, was clearly there, under the authority of the
Bishop of Rome. Most significantly, however, the authority of
the pope was clearly recognized across the Church before the
Canon of the Scriptures and the Trinity were finally defined in
the fourth century, and before the divinity of Christ was formally defined in the fifth century! The acceptance of the pope
as the authoritative predecessor of the Apostle Peter predated
our unified beliefs in the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the
Bible, and without the unifying presence of the pope overseeing
the early councils, Christendom would have had none of these
doctrines!
With this, I was ready to become Catholic and, fortunately by
that time, so was Marilyn. At first she was reticent to accept all
that I was discovering, but her heart had already been so opened
to the Catholic Church through her pro-life convictions and
work that it didn’t take long for her to become as excited as I was
about what we were discovering together. Her reading of two
particular books — Tom Howard’s Evangelical Is Not Enough
and Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain — had particularly closed the deal for her, as well as the amazingly convincing
truth of Juan Diego and our Lady of Guadalupe.
So, as a result of God’s mercy and grace, Marilyn and I entered the Catholic Church together with our two oldest sons in
December, 1992 and it was then that I fully realized the truth
of that Proverb I had memorized years before. By grace, I had
trusted Him, and also by grace, I had been open to challenging
the ways I had always “leaned on my own understanding.” In
the end God has proven that He will indeed, “direct our paths,”
for through His mercy and love, He has brought us home to the
Catholic Church.
Marcus Grodi is the founder and president of the Coming
Home Network International, a lay Catholic apostolate whose
mission is helping Protestant clergy and laity come home to the
Catholic Church. Marcus is also the host of The Journey Home
program on EWTN. Marcus is the author or editor of several
books, including Journeys Home, Journeys Home 2, What
Must I do to be Saved?, Thoughts for the Journey Home, and
the novels How Firm a Foundation and Pillar and Bulwark.
B L OG
Please visit www.chnetwork.org/blog to comment on and
discuss this story!
EWTN’s The Journey Home on television and radio, hosted by Marcus Grodi, president of CHNetwork
On The Journey Home program on EWTN,
men and women tell their stories of how they
have come home to the Catholic Church. The
program is hosted by Marcus Grodi, founder
and president of the Coming Home Network
International, and is broadcast on the Eternal
Word Television Network (EWTN).
The program airs every Monday at 8 PM ET
on EWTN TV, radio, and online. You can watch
the encore shows at 1 AM on Tuesdays and at
1 PM on Fridays. In addition, the “Best of The
Journey Home” airs Monday through Thursday
at 1 PM ET.
Go to www.ewtn.com or www.chnetwork.org for schedules, to watch archived
shows, and for more information.
10
What is the CHNetwork?
The Coming Home Network International was established in 1993 to
help inquiring clergy as well as laity of non-Catholic Christian traditions to
discern whether God is calling them to come home and then be at home to
the Catholic Church.
The purpose of the CHNetwork is to assist the Catholic Church in fulfilling its
mission of evangelization and its call for Christian unity, as proclaimed by
Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, “That They May Be One” (Ut Unum Sint).
We provide
Contacts, assistance, and fellowship for those who are exploring the
teaching and history of the Catholic Church, and are considering coming into
full-communion with the Church;
Continued fellowship and encouragement for those who have
entered the Church and want to live fully Catholic lives;
Resources that give clear expressions of the Catholic Faith.
Learn more at our website www.chnetwork.org or return the below form.
CHNetwork New Member Info
Any enclosed financial support is deeply appreciated!
Name ______________________________________
Yes! I wish to make a
Address _____________________________________
donation of $________ from my:
monthly or
one-time
City ________________________________________
Checking Account
State ___________________ Zip ________________
Bank routing number _______________________
Phone (home)________________________________
Phone (work) ________________________________
Fax ________________________________________
Email ______________________________________
Would you like to receive our free monthly e-mail
updates and our e-newsletters?
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Signature ___________________________________
Please mail this form to
The Coming Home Network International
P.O. Box 8290, Zanesville, OH 43702-8290
Yes,
please send me a copy of Something Greater is
Here (with $35 donation).
To join or donate online please visit
Yes,
please send me a copy of Journeys Home 2
(with $50 donation).
www.chnetwork.org/featured.
Thank you!
Yes,
please send me Something Greater is Here and
Journeys Home 2 (with $75 donation).
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Help your friends and family discover the
Beauty Truth
and
Marcus Grodi
Host of EWTN”s The Journey Home program and
President of the Coming Home Network International
B
A
of the Catholic Faith!
D
F
C
E
Resources available at www.CHNetwork.org
A
B
C
D
G
H
E
I
F
G
The Coming Home Network
H
International was established
I
to help inquiring clergy as
well as laity of other traditions
return home and then be at
home in the Catholic Church.
Journeys Home
Journeys Home 2
Ignatius of Antioch & Polycarp of Smyrna
Clement of Rome & The Didache
How Firm A Foundation
Pillar And Bulwark
Something Greater is Here
What Must I Do to Be Saved?
Thoughts for the Journey Home
Also available but not pictured...
Read the Bible and Catechism in a Year
My Journey to the Land of MORE
A Scriptural Devotion to the Holy Name of our
Lord Jesus Christ
Steps to Happiness
Christ in His Fullness
Tabs for the Catechism of the Catholic Church
W
We need YOUR help to share the Catholic Faith with
other Christians and stand by those making the journey.
Visit our website for more information about how you
can become a member of this important work. You can
also write to us at Coming Home Network P.O. Box 8290
Zanesville, OH 43702 or call 740-450-1175.
www.CHNetwork.org