"There Was Something About Catholicism That Took Hold of Me and Wouldn’t Let Me Go"

Patheos has found a new blogger and this entry alone is enough for me to bookmark A Catholic Thinker:

Born and raised Lutheran, faith was a central part of my upbringing. Bible stories, prayers at meals, Sunday school and weekly church were all regular parts of our family rhythm. Volunteering with afflicted immigrant families, church picnics and clothing drives brought home the value of a community of faith and the responsibility of those with much to help those with little. Deep conversations regarding right and wrong, heaven and hell, mercy and justice still resonate deeply within me from my childhood. Thoughtful authors such as C.S. Lewis, Philip Yancey and Max Lucado all contributed to my firm foundation of faith.

It wasn’t until I met my wife, however, that Catholicism took on a greater role in my life. Cari, after
all, was Catholic. Up to that point in my life, it seemed my experience with Catholicism was reduced to an awareness that certain friends believed in God, but went to “C.C.D.” instead of Sunday School, to “Mass” instead of Church, and sometimes prayed to Saints while we prayed directly to Jesus. Effectively, it was “different strokes for different folks”.

Catholicism now took on a different meaning in my life. Cari’s was a solid, quiet and steady faith. While I considered myself faithful and open-minded, my latent biases on prayer to Saints, glorification of Mary, the exclusivity of Communion and the exaltation of Church hierarchy came to the forefront and created quite a bit of tension as we prepared for marriage. So a tenuous compromise was reached. We would marry Catholic and raise our kids Lutheran. We would alternate churches until we had to commit.

But, even though an agreement was reached, there was something about Catholicism that took hold of me and wouldn’t let me go. The more I attended Mass, spoke with the priest, read works of Saints or apologists, and prayed the more I realized I had seriously misunderstood this faith. It was at this point that a thousand moments along my life’s journey suddenly, and in retrospect, had greater significance...

Outstanding... read the rest... bookmark the site... something tells me I'll be reading lots of Tod Worner's stuff in the coming days.

Perhaps you'll do the same.

Carry on.