Hello there Rosary lovers! In this post we will try to answer that question of questions: ‘Why should I be Catholic?’
Oh, what a question. Why should someone give up a life they have always known in order to join the Church which many would say is the most evil organisation in the world?
Well, I can only really talk about this from my own experience and as to why I became and remain Catholic. I became Catholic for some reasons, but I remain Catholic for very different reasons. Perhaps you will find what I have to say helpful.
The Resurrection of Christ Jesus
So, the first reason I became Catholic had to do with my solid belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even from a purely intellectual point-of-view, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a very sensible and rational theory when we look at all the evidence.
In fact, it is so powerful that I have even read from an atheist that yes Jesus may have risen from the dead, but this apparently doesn’t mean there is any ‘god’, and it may have been the result of some aliens in a UFO somehow bringing Jesus back to life.
Yes. Really, I read that. I know, it baffles the brain, but let people believe what they want. So long as God has nothing to do with it!
This is why numerous scholars have converted to the Christian faith after really exploring the evidence surrounding the resurrection. So I would recommend anyone intellectually wired to look here. Without the resurrection, there is no Christian faith or Catholic Church. It’s all just ‘hocus pocus’.
I, however, had a stronger belief in the resurrection than the purely intellectual. I truly BELIEVED in Jesus because he had been in my life since I converted to Christianity nearly a decade before.
I had experienced MUCH of Jesus and knew him as a very dear friend. It was real. So I knew from this that giving up Christianity was no option. I had to find somewhere in the Christian world where I could belong.
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches
This led me to research the holy Orthodox Church, and eventually the Catholic Church. I became very convinced of the way these Churches practice their Christianity, in opposition to the way Protestants practice their faith.
I was very interested in the similarities between ancient Christianity and modern-day Orthodox and Catholic Christianity. There were FAR more similarities between the beliefs and practices of these groups and the ancient and ‘original’ Church than anything I found in Protestantism. Protestantism seemed to be the new kid on the block rather than anything known in history.
This was especially true regarding the Mass, or Divine Liturgy. The central act of worship in most Protestant Christianity tends to be the preaching of the Scriptures. By major contrast, the central act of worship in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Lord Jesus Christ’s very own Flesh and Blood.
A true sacrifice takes place here, and I found that extremely compelling. It seemed to have close ties with the Old Testament and the ancient Jewish faith, where blood sacrifice is clearly spelled out as the central way to worship God. Protestantism didn’t have this, but Catholicism and Orthodoxy did.
The Pope
In the end, I decided the Catholic Church was the place for me. I found the intellectual proofs regarding the Papacy FAR too powerful to ignore.
I also began to see that without a Pope, the Eastern Orthodox don’t really have a definitive way to prove that they are the true Church over against the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
In short, no-one had 100% proof that the Papacy was false, and that for me meant that it at least had to be accepted as a credible theory.
In fact, the Papacy seemed to make a great deal of common sense as to how and where we find Christ’s Church. It seemed to be the only really objective marker for where the true Church is.
I mean, let’s be frank and plain about this: what else has God given us to show everyone where the true Church of Jesus is? Every church says they are the true church, but only one Church has the Pope of Rome.
In short, I joined the Catholic Church because of the Pope. There were other reasons, but thinking back, this was a major reason.
However, I nearly left it all in 2020. I nearly rejected all of Christianity and nearly became Agnostic. I was on the edge of losing my faith altogether. It was a very distressing time indeed.
So why did I remain Catholic? I have three reasons to offer you, and perhaps they will help you if what I’ve written so far hasn’t helped.
The Saints are Real and Miraculous
Firstly, I remained Catholic because I discovered the real miraculous power of the saints, particularly St Therese of the Child Jesus, St Joseph and Mary.
The Catholic Church is a Church of the supernatural and a Church of miracles. Many non-Catholic communities have little time for miracles, but the Catholic Church is filled with them. The supernatural is supposed to be a normal part of our lives. This is what God intended.
On the edge of losing my religion, I gave one final attempt to try to preserve what little faith I had left. I prayed a simple novena to St Therese of the Child Jesus for 5 days. It consisted of a very short prayer to her, followed by 5 Our Fathers, 5 Hail Marys and 5 Glory Bes. That was it. That was all I prayed for 5 days.
By day 3 or 4 – I forget which – my faith had returned with great zeal. I began praying consecration prayers to St Joseph and to the Divine Will. I prayed them with the fullness of my heart, sincerely wanting to obey all God wanted in my life.
The change in my life was IMMENSE. And God worked wonders. He answered prayers I thought might never be answered. All within a few days.
Within less than 2 weeks, I was on the path to sainthood. I was finally on a path that if I continued on, I might become a saint. No longer was I in sin against God. My sins fell away, and I’m pleased to say, they fell away for good.
So my first recommendation would be: if you don’t know what to believe, then begin praying to a saint. See what happens. I recommend St Therese of the Child Jesus. She saved my faith and perhaps she will give you faith in the Catholic Church.
Or just begin talking to your Guardian Angel. We’ve all got one and you have one too, whoever you are. If you don’t wish to talk to God, talk to your Angel.
Morality
Secondly, I realised the reality of the Church’s moral teachings. The Church does indeed teach much that is counter-cultural. This is especially true in the realm of sexual ethics. No group of people in the world believes everything the Catholic Church believes about sexual matters.
To some degree, it is useless to try to convince people intellectually of the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. To be convinced of the Catholic Church’s ethics, you need to begin to try to practice them.
To practice them requires the necessary divine grace of God – no doubt about that – but this is the surest way to realise just how very true and human they are.
I came to realise this, and after seeing it for myself it isn’t possible to ever go back. The Church’s moral teachings offer the world a life that is truly beyond that of mere animals. The Church offers us, through her moral teachings, a life that is divine, a supernatural life, a life of true FREEDOM.
The Reasonable Truth
The third reason I remain Catholic has to do with the fact that the Catholic Church is pure and simply true. EVERYTHING – and I mean EVERYTHING – makes sense in the Catholic Church’s teachings. Not just the moral teachings, but all the teachings. The whole package is the most consistent worldview known to humanity.
This is why the Catholic Church has had the immeasurable influence she has had in Western and world history. It’s because her teachings make so much sense to the human mind.
The human mind is hardwired to naturally be open to the teachings of the Catholic Church. I believe that the only reason people will ever find anything the Church teaches to be offensive or disagreeable is because of sin. Sin darkens the human mind and makes it harder – sometimes impossible – for people to see reason and common sense.
But anyone who genuinely, in a spirit of good will, comes to the teachings of the Catholic Church and says, ‘I will look at all of this with an open mind,’ it is nearly impossible for that person to ever hate the Catholic Church. They will either grow more and more open to the Church, whilst never making a decision to join, or they will convert and become Catholic.
So there you have it. My three reasons for why I remain Catholic. I hope they’ve been helpful to you.
The best thing you could do is to go into a quiet place and just start to ask God, now, ‘God – why should I become a Catholic?’ See what God does in your life to answer that question. I bet you’ll be amazed.
God bless you and if I can be of further help, please get in touch.
May Mary pray for your soul.
And please pray for me.