Uncle Bob

Dear Uncle Bob,

It was good to talk to you. I was saddened to hear of your recent illness, but rejoice that you have recovered.

There is one part of our conversation I keep thinking about. After I told you of my recent conversion to Catholicism, you commented that you feel I’m still “on the way” - that my spiritual journey is not yet complete. I can certainly agree that I’ve much growth yet to experience. I hear Christ’s words, “I am the way, and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and I know He has work yet to do in me. I’m confident, though, that I’ll find that growth within the Catholic Faith.

Bob, I know you’re looking for truth, and that you feel you haven’t found it in any organized religion. From your words, I also know the idea of a Supreme Being is a hazy abstraction to you. But God is not merely a philosopher’s invention; He is a living Being. I am frequently drawn to the similarities that exist among the fundamental teachings of the world’s religions. It’s revealing that every major world religion is centered around the existence of a higher power or order. Where are these notions coming from, if not from that power itself? The world’s common belief couldn’t have sprung from a vacuum. This is no surprise, if one accepts that there is an ultimate Truth that transcends cultures and times. I’ve often argued that everyone can find that ultimate Truth, if they truly seek it. I, of course, take this Truth to be God.

While reason alone can grasp the existence of a Supreme Being, it can’t determine what this Being is like, and the nature of our relationship to It. To presume that we can know a Being beyond the human (higher in the order of existence) is to presume to be equal to it. If we do this, then either the Being is not supreme, or we have deceived ourselves. For that reason, the Supreme Being needs to reveal itself. This He did 2000 years ago, in Jesus of Nazareth. We have a record of Jesus’ life and His teachings in the Scriptures and the Traditions of His people, the Church.

In Christ, we find the God that exists in the echoes and shadows of all cultures - the Truth that all peoples have, throughout history, yearned for. This God is Triune - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, within the One God, there are three distinct identities. This is beyond our full understanding, but doesn’t contradict reason. Just because I can’t fully understand something doesn’t mean it’s not true. I merely trust that the God Who reveals Himself to us reveals Himself as He truly is.

The driving principle of this God is love - pure, powerful love. His love brought Him to Earth in Jesus; His love nailed Him to a cross; and His love raised Him up again, bringing us with Him. How could I reject the One who paid for me with His own Blood?

Bob, there is so much more I could say and I am omitting some critical points. Ultimately, it comes down to this: in Christ, I have found the fulfillment of every desire, the answer to every question. In the Catholic Church, I have discovered His living Body on earth. I’ll have to tell you about my journey from Seventh Day Adventism to Catholicism another day; this will surely not be our last discussion. Let me add after all this, that I don’t know if I would be Catholic today if Christ hadn’t called me in a dramatic way on Christmas Eve. So heavy were my blinders. Once the scales came away from my eyes that night, everything fell into place and the unity and harmony of God’s Truth became clear. I’ll tell you about that soon; I’m still searching for the words. Until then, I’ve never known such a state of sustained peace and joy, and I dearly wish the same for you.

I love you,

Dear Ones

Dear Ones,

This season finds me with great joy in my heart. In this Christmas letter to you, my friends and family, I’d like to share what has happened to me and what I’ve learned. During this past year, I’ve met the pre-Reformation Christ. I’ve discovered sixteen centuries of Christian literature and the earliest Christian understanding of the Last Supper. In short, I’ve become Catholic. I know this is difficult for many of you to accept, much less understand. This decision, though, was not hastily made, nor was it unconsidered. Each Christian denomination does indeed have some truth. However, I found that returning to the full teachings of Christ as presented by the apostolic Church has enriched my understanding of life and eternity, and deepened my relationship with Jesus. This has brought me great peace and happiness. Dear ones, I wish the same thing for you.

On April 11, 1993, I entered the Catholic Church. The unity of faith, peace and joy I’ve experienced confirms for me again and again that I’ve made the right choice. Indeed, Christ came to me in a profound way last Christmas Eve, and I’m still struggling to find the words to express the events of that night. But even without those emotional comforts and spiritual experiences, I would know through reason and study that the full Gospel resides only in Christ’s Catholic Church. Because the Catholic Faith values human life, with it’s unique attributes of reason and choice, free inquiry into the truth is encouraged. Catholicism firmly teaches that the deeper you dig into the facts, the more you’ll be confirmed that the teachings of the Faith are correct. How many Protestant churches encourage this kind of open investigation? Let me briefly share a few discoveries I made when I took up the Catholic challenge.

Up until 500 years ago, when Christians worshipped together, they received Christ under the appearance of the bread and wine of the Eucharist. The Apostle John teaches this in distant anticipation of the Last Supper in John 6:48-51:

‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

The Jews were alarmed by the teaching. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked (v. 52). To this, Jesus replied:

‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. . . This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.’

This language may sound offensive and many followers left Jesus’ company after this teaching. But unlike so many of His disciples who abandoned Him there in the synagogue of Capernaum, I can’t ignore Jesus’ words. By the grace of God, I’ve come to accept that Christ is actually present under the appearance of bread and wine when the Eucharist is offered within the Spirit and authority Christ gave his Church through Peter (Matt. 16:18-19; Luke 22:31-32; John 21:15-17).

For the first 16 centuries of the Christian era, followers of Christ worshipped and communed with Him in the service called the Mass. It’s true, reform eventually became necessary because of some excesses and corruptions that crept into the Church. However, this reform resulted in a split in Christianity, a tear in the Body of Christ. When that happened, necessary reform turned into unrestrained rebellion. But just as God never abandoned the Israelites in the Old Testament, I’ve come to see Christ never abandoned His original universal Church - the Catholic Church. How could He? By His own words, He promised to be with them always, until the end of the age (cf. Matt. 28:20). Indeed, the gates of Hades would never - can never - overcome His Church (cf. Matt. 16:18).

Thus, in accepting the Catholic Church, I join the holy body of believers started by Jesus Christ. I now experience union with Him, through His Eucharistic Presence and in His Church. I no longer have to deny 16 centuries of Christian history, literature and spirituality. Truly, I can tell you, I’ve come home.

May Christ bless you with the gifts of love, peace and joy during this happy, holy season.

In Christ’s Love,

Dear Jeanette

Dear Jeanette,

My dear sister, it was with sorrow that I missed George’s wedding. I do love you and your little ones, and I hope your trip was relaxing and enjoyable.

As you know, there’s been a dramatic change in my life and this letter is long overdue. Hopefully, in these few short pages, I can express to you the immense transformation I’ve undergone, and the ways the presence of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit have become intimately known to me. You already know the Scriptural and historical reasons for my conversion to Catholicism, so I won’t repeat those. But a true conversion is more than just intellectual; it must also involve the heart. For that reason, I want to tell you how Christ brought me emotionally to His Body, the Catholic Church.

As you know, over the last several years, I found myself unable to worship within the Seventh Day Adventist setting. Their anti-intellectual attitude turned me off, in addition to their pro-choice position on abortion (communicated in the church paper, Review and Harold, October 1992). While I rejected the Adventist faith, I nevertheless loved Jesus very much. My heart ached to go to a church, but I wouldn’t step into a house of worship unless I could be sure they had the full truth. When you worship in a church, you’re endorsing the beliefs of that body, and I couldn’t do that if I wasn’t sure those beliefs were right. Jeanette, I’d cry and cry and beg God to let me know the truth. I’d always pray the Lord’s prayer - sometimes that was all I could pray. In my mind, I imagined Jesus on the cross, and I called out to Him. But I couldn’t go to church, because I didn’t know how to worship this beautiful God as He deserved. (Hear the pain and tears; I’m crying.) I knew Jesus must be worshipped in truth and holiness, but I didn’t know how.

Christ showed me on Christmas Eve, 1992.

As you know, I’ve been studying philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. On the campus of the university sits the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, an enormous and beautiful Catholic church. As Christmas approached, I felt the distinct call within me to spend it at the Shrine. I arrived Christmas Eve to attend the concert and midnight service, but found the church packed with people. There was no seating, so I stood in the back. After a short time, feeling uncomfortable and wanting to get away from the crowds, I wandered around, looking for a quiet corner.

My search took me downstairs, into the empty lower level of the Basilica. There, I found the large crypt church, almost half the size of the huge upper building. I wandered through the dimly lit church, sitting down in the second to last pew. This was what I’d been looking for: a quiet, solemn place in which to pray. Peace and silence surrounded me, and I began to pray fervently for guidance in my spiritual life. I raised my eyes and saw far ahead of me, a silver crucifix, almost hidden in the flickering candlelight. As my gaze settled upon it, the crucifix began to grow. Slowly, slowly, it got larger - appearing to magnify in size and shape. Soon, it’s breadth overwhelmed me, filling my eyes. As it continued to grow, I felt as though I were at the very foot of Christ’s cross. I knelt, head down and eyes closed, but still, the image remained in my sight. I could see nothing but Christ and Him crucified. The intensity of His suffering weighed down upon me. As I was filled with love and longing for Jesus, I sensed an intense pain of separation from Him. My heart was overcome with a feeling of impurity and unworthiness. “Oh Lord, cleanse me, purify me, make me worthy!” I cried out.

And then He spoke.

“That is why I have given the Eucharist.” At these words, the silver crucifix returned to its size and place in the crypt, and my sight returned to normal. I felt both relief and confusion - both a sense of ultimate reality and, later, the unreality and irrationality of the experience. I wasn’t sure just what the Eucharist was, but I knew God was telling me about something I needed desperately to have.

After much prayer, I felt called to describe the experience to a Catholic friend of mine. He outlined the Church teaching regarding Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. His explanation helped me understand what Christ told me in the crypt. We’re purified and made worthy by the Body and Blood of the Lord. My mind flashed to John 6:53: “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.’” The Catholic teaching made perfect sense, and it grew in my heart. I wrote in my journal:

Christ’s love at the cross covers us as with a mantle. We stand accepted by the Father according to Christ’s grace and holiness. By the acceptance of Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross, we grow to stand accepted in purity before God. Forgive my presumption, Oh God! I’m humbled by this very thought and am too impure to express it. This purity isn’t my own, but Christ within working out His will in the purification of my life, that I might stand uncovered before the perfection of God. Purify my soul, my Lord and my God.

Jesus had answered my prayers, Jeanette. He showed me how I could worship Him in spirit and in truth. How could I refuse Him? On April 11, 1993, I entered the Catholic Church, becoming a part of His very Body. Since then, I’ve finally known the joy of God-given worship. My Christ has continued to guide my life, and I will always rejoice in His Presence. Where the Eucharist is, He is. And where He is, I must be.

May God bless you and bring to you love and peace,