A very solemn Good Friday to all my readers. This Easter marks fourteen years since I joined the Catholic Church. In honor of this happy anniversary, I’m featuring seven conversion stories from around the blogosphere. If you are considering joining the Church, I invite you to read these stories and investigate RCIA at your nearest parish. If you are also celebrating an anniversary like me, congratulations!
Got your own conversion (or reversion) story to share? Leave a link in the comments below, or include it in your takes and include put an astricks ( * ) at the front of the title so we know.
A little over 10 years ago my husband and I experienced a life changing event. We lost our little girl Lily at 13 weeks gestation. I had already experienced one normal, and uncomplicated pregnancy, and I thought I had safely passed through the first trimester. We traveled to Florida for a friend’s wedding and to see my husband’s Grandmother. We had a marvelous time…until the night before we were to return home. It was dreadful. Another story for another day. Today the story is all about that little baby saint and how she brought me to The Church.
After having Atlas, I had the pull that we needed to get our church situation figured out. We had kids to raise and we needed to figure this out while they were still so young. When Daniel and I were talking about what our options were, Daniel said, “Let’s just go to Mass.” It was that simple. Just go to Mass.
If you pray about it, God shows up. For me, he showed up abundantly. He showed up in the form of a dinner party with some friends who were already Catholic and had walked the road of conversion before us. He showed up in the form of several women I became friends with in MOPS- one Catholic, one married to a Catholic. He showed up in the form of my midwife for Frances’ birth, who was a convert from a PCA church to Catholicism. He showed up in my husband’s life in the form of many close friends and a small group of guys. And he showed up abundantly all throughout our RCIA class and many, many conversations with my husband and our friends.
Some longer ones:
4. Carrots for Michaelmas, first of three parts
In my favorite novel, Brideshead Revisited, the main characters read a passage from a Father Brown story by Chesterton which becomes a theme in the book:
“I caught him (the thief) with an unseen hook and an invisible line which is long enough to let him wander to the ends of the world and still to bring him back with a twitch upon the thread.”
I can’t really explain how God’s grace has drawn me to his Holy Church. But this is my attempt at telling how I have been drawn to Him with “a twitch upon the thread.”
5. Clan Donaldson, first of six parts
I think that when a person says, “I believe in God, but I don’t believe in religion”, there are only two options left for her. The first is slip off into profound lukewarmness, and to begin viewing God like a magic lamp, taken out when there is a wish to be granted. The other option is to keep looking for a deeper relationship with God, which means you have to keep coming up against the one thing you’d rather avoid.
For your listening pleasure:
6.Brianna Heldt talks about her conversion on her ‘That Catholic Girl’ podcast.
7. Tyler Blandski’s conversion was featured on the Fountains of Carrots Podcast.
BONUS! Want more conversion stories? Check out the series over at Bonnie’s blog.
A blessed Easter to y’all! Link up your post below and please remember to link back to this post so your readers can find all the Quick Takes. (If you need a template, check last week’s post.) Thank you!
These conversion stories of others, especially at this time of year, give this cradle Catholic such a shot in the arm of faith renewal, and joy in the love of God. The unique way God goes to an individual and transforms their story, gives me awesome goosebumps.
Thank you so much for hosting and for these awesome conversion stories!!
xoxoxo
Happy easter
Thanks for posting the conversion stories, I enjoy reading them and expect that I someday may write one of my own. I’ll definitely be checking them all out!
Conversion stories! I can’t wait to read through them. This year marks my fourth anniversary, I entered the Catholic Church Easter 2011. My husband and kids remain Protestant, so if you all could say a prayer for us as we continue this journey, being a blended family is not the easiest road to walk and I occasionally remind Jesus that this was “not my idea”, but His grace abounds. I blogged about my road home at http://consecratedhousewife.blogspot.com/p/my-conversion-story.html
I am in RCIA, and sometimes feel discouraged by the (very) length(y length, haha) of this journey. Someday, God willing, I will be received into the Church I love so much and will meet Jesus in the Eucharist. But in the meantime, stories like these give me hope. Especially today, when I am joyful for my friends coming into the Church, but sad that I can’t come with them.
Thank you all for sharing your beautiful conversion stories!
These stories…wow. So powerful and just perfect to read as we count the hours to Easter. Thank you all for sharing and Kelly, thank you for putting these together!
Thank you so much for featuring convert stories. Before I converted, I had a lot of questions and wondered if other folks, like me, had “swam the Tiber”. It turns out to be a very well traveled route, thanks be to God!
You might find my Convert Stories list to be of interest. It contains links to the stories of 160 converts who are also bloggers. It is a intended as a means to not only present inspiring conversion stories, but to also follow those converts as their journey continues.