Greg: It was in high school that I returned to the Lord. Although I was raised in a loving Presbyterian family, by the time I reached tenth grade I had developed the ability to lie, cheat, steal, and deface property without the slightest questions of conscience. Some new friends from school introduced me to their Evangelical youth group, where I learned about having a personal relationship with Jesus. I had heard the message before, but in the youth group it registered with me as never before. I felt I had found my home.
Over the next several years I grew in my faith and was increasingly involved with campus ministries, churches, Bible studies, and mission trips. I was blessed by campus ministers, pastors, and friends who modeled how to live as committed Christian disciples. In college I met Tracie, and by graduation we were engaged. Our faith was the foundation of our relationship, and as we took our vows on August 26, 2000, the future looked glorious.
Tracie: I was raised in a conservative Lutheran church, going to church every Sunday and attending a Lutheran grade school. After participating in a Lutheran youth gathering in high school, I began to get seriously interested in my faith. In college, I became very involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and grew in my faith as I lead Bible studies and tried to share my faith with others.
Greg: Toward the end of college, I became interested in the subject of baptism. The Christian groups we were involved with comprised folks from almost every conceivable religious background. As you can imagine, in this environment there were numerous views on baptism. In fact, we knew some friends who considered getting re-baptized after having a “born again” experience in college.
Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, I dove into studying the Bible, Scripture commentaries, and the writings of Protestant Reformers. The more I studied, the more I wondered whether I would ever reach a final conclusion. All sides employed persuasive biblical passages to support their views, and, if seminary-trained pastors could not agree, what hope did I have? I felt like the Ethiopian in Acts who lamented, “How can I [understand Scripture] unless someone guides me?” (cf. 8:27–39).
Through the mysterious ways of Providence, I stumbled across the Catholic Answers web site literature on baptism. It took what was for me a refreshing approach: Instead of relying on the Bible alone, it cited excerpts from the Church Fathers. The Fathers fascinated me, and I marveled that I had not heard more than an occasional mention of them during sermons and Bible studies as a Protestant. In their writings I discovered that without exception the early Christians believed that baptism was the “washing of rebirth” described in the Bible (cf. Titus 3:5, 1 Cor. 6:11, Heb. 10:22, John 3:5). I could not dismiss the unanimous testimony of the very souls who had given their lives for their faith and converted the Roman Empire!
This revelation shook some of my basic assumptions about Christianity. This impacted the most fundamental question of all: How do we get to heaven? I knew I had some thinking to do, and began my pilgrimage into Christian no-man’s-land. I continued to attend a Protestant church and Bible study with Tracie, but increasingly felt out of place. Although I still had many problems with Catholicism, for the first time my becoming a Catholic seemed like a possibility. Things were moving awfully fast, and if it seemed quick to me, it was downright shocking to my wife.
Tracie: When only a short time into our marriage Greg told me that he was seriously considering Catholicism, I was flabbergasted. Shocked. Angry. I had married him because we had so much in common, most importantly our faith. Now he wanted to join the ranks of the “unsaved.” I lamented that I might never be able to become a mother, because, if Greg became a Catholic, I would refuse to raise my children under their father’s spiritual leadership. I never considered that I would become Catholic.
My animosity toward the Catholic faith drew from several sources. First, I was taught during my upbringing that Catholics are wrong on many points of doctrine. Second, my sister married a Catholic and has had to face many struggles in her marriage and in raising their children. I thought Greg’s actions were unfair because I had chosen to marry someone with similar beliefs, not a Catholic.
In a Bible study with other young married couples from our church, I asked for prayer concerning Greg’s inquiry into the Church. The members were as shocked as I had been to find out about Greg’s intense interest. The women in the group lamented with me and chose to fast with me for Greg to change his mind. They stood by my side and showed me Christian love through their support, but I still felt alone. Although I had shared with them, I had barely scraped the surface of my feelings. I thought that no one else had gone through what I had been experiencing, yet I could not share my experiences or my hurts.
I felt I needed to look into the Church because Greg was doing so, but I had no desire to do so myself. I met with dismay his requests for me to read Catholic materials and books. Greg tried to discuss points of Catholic doctrine with me, but our talks would end in shouts, tears, and anger. It did not matter whether Greg made a valid point—I would force the truth from my mind and find some way to question or construe error in his point.
Our discussions were not very fruitful, and I believe now that it was my own unwillingness to listen to Greg or be open to exploring the Catholic Church—my own hard heart—that caused us such frustration. I questioned why God had brought us together if our marriage was going to end up like this. I could not bring myself to share how I felt with anyone because I wanted to portray a perfect image of our marriage—like newlyweds should be, I thought.
From the beginning of his search, I prayed that Greg would find error and turn from it. I was sure that when he read the Church’s teachings—especially its teachings on Mary and purgatory—he would turn away and realize he was a Protestant after all. But, as he read, he became more convinced that the Catholic Church was right, which made me fear for our marriage.
Greg: For nearly twenty months, my journey to Rome was a lonely one. While Tracie and I still prayed together, there was no mistaking that we lived on separate planets spiritually. As I grew increasingly convinced of the claims of the Catholic Church, Tracie could only hold out for the miracle that I would change my mind. Because of Tracie’s adamant opposition, I felt torn inside. With each new discovery and insight, my excitement for Catholicism grew. On the other hand, not being able to share this joy with Tracie caused me intense sorrow. She was the one person on earth I wanted to share it with more than anyone else.
I could not help but wonder if I was being led astray, as many of my Protestant friends believed. I cried out to God and had to trust him as never before to lead me to truth and protect me from deception—the last thing I wanted to do was cause so much pain for nothing. But it was my heart’s desire to know the truth and follow it, regardless of where it led me. I knew that if I stopped following where my conscience was leading I would cease being a faithful Christian.
Tracie: Greg’s interest in Catholicism continued to grow, and he told me that he was going to begin meeting weekly with a teacher at the Catholic campus center to discuss theology. I asked him to meet with our pastor or some other Protestant so that his perspective would be balanced, and he complied. I also asked Greg to balance his Catholic reading with anti-Catholic materials so that he would not be led astray by Catholic authors, and he tried to honor my request. Only now do I understand how hard it was for him to read Protestant books while he was falling in love with the Church.
Greg wanted to attend Mass weekly, but I was opposed—I had to protect him. Besides, it was too hurtful for him to go, because I would sit at home alone and cry when he did. So Greg continued to attend our Protestant church and attended Mass only periodically. He finally convinced me to attend Mass one Sunday with him. This was an extremely hard experience. As he participated, I was just trying to g.asp what was going on in the Mass—and in our marriage.
Greg: I became convinced that ancient, historical Christianity and Protestantism were irreconcilable. The Catholic teachings on the Eucharist, the papacy, justification, Mary, and purgatory were all supported by Scripture and early Christian testimony. I read Cardinal Newman’s masterful Essay on the Development of Doctrine, in which he asserted that “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.” This certainly held true for me.
Perhaps the most compelling argument of all was the authority of the Church. My struggle with baptism had sufficed to demonstrate that simply having the Bible and the Holy Spirit were no guarantee that you would discover the truth—or else how could there be so many Christian denominations teaching different truths?
Some friends suggested that Christians agreed on the “essentials,” but that God never meant for us to have complete certainty on the “non-essentials.” This line of thinking could never persuade me. For if that were the case, how could Christ have promised that the Holy Spirit would “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26, emphasis added). Or, if Christians are to be one as the Father and Son are one (cf. John 17:21), should we not expect a way for Christians to come to agreement on doctrine?
God knows that human beings are all too susceptible to being “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14), and he is “not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor.14:33). It became clear to me that Jesus gave us the Catholic Church to be our guide amid the many pitfalls and heresies that were to come over the centuries. I saw in the Bible and the Fathers that Christ shared his authority to govern the Church with the apostles (cf. Matt. 16:18–19, 18:15–20, 28:19–20; Luke 10:16; John 21:15–17; Acts 15) and that this authority was passed on to their successors, the bishops and presbyters (priests) they ordained (cf. Acts 1:15–20, 14:23, 15:2; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:5). The Bible said that the Church was the “pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), was built on the rock of Peter (cf. Matt. 16:18), and would last until the end of time (cf. Matt. 16:18, 28:19–20; Dan. 7:13–14).
I was ready to convert right away but sensed that it would be too tough on Tracie. So I decided to take it slowly. The best advice I received was simply to love Tracie and not push her. After reading True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, I began praying the rosary and asking for Mary’s intercession for the softening of my wife’s heart toward the Church. I thought it would take years for my prayers to be answered. That we would enter the Church together the next year was unthinkable.
Tracie: My turning point came early in the spring of 2002. Greg asked me to attend a Catholic apologetics conference with him where Tim Staples would be speaking about his conversion to Catholicism. Although I refused at first, Greg said it would mean a lot to him if I would go. For some reason, I decided to appease him and went. I heard arguments for the pope that I could not disagree with. I also heard about the Eucharist and Mary and thought there might be some truth in the Church’s teachings. Most importantly, I met Catholics who knew their faith, were excited about it, and wanted to learn more. These Catholics were the first who said they would pray for us. Through the intercession of many, my callused heart began to be softened.
My attitude was transformed. I began looking into the Church on my own accord, because I wanted to know what it taught. As I looked, I wanted to find Catholic doctrines in the Bible. I was shocked at what I found. Not only did I see the Church’s teachings in the Bible, but I also saw the authority of the Church in defining doctrine. I could not deny the things I read, and I wanted to know more.
After a while, Greg and I were attending Catholic churches every Sunday. Greg asked me to meet with his teacher from the Catholic Center to go through doctrine systematically. I was still a little leery of this idea, but after some prayer, I assented to his request. Our meetings were amazing. His teacher explained doctrine so richly and thoroughly, all in language given to us by the Church. There was so much history, a deep understanding of the Old Testament, and connections to Judaism—it was inspiring.
At the end of the summer, we moved and could not continue our meetings. Our teacher suggested that we come back weekly for their RCIA classes since they had a strong, orthodox program. I had some reservations at first because I was concerned about what my family would think, but after prayer I decided we had no other choice.
I am so thankful that Greg looked into the Church. I never would have on my own. I didn’t believe there was one ounce of truth in Catholicism—why would I have ever turned to the Church to find it? Now I can trust the consistent teaching of the Church, and I am blessed with the fullness of the faith. I feel a greater call to holiness and accountability for my actions, because I know that God must work out my selfishness (and everything else that does not honor him) before I can be in his presence to worship him forever. I also feel a greater call to prayer. I am being reminded of his incredible love for me through the holy sacrifice of the Mass. God is no longer far off—he is tangible and near.
Greg: Far from the spiritually dead church we once presumed the Catholic Church to be, we have found many enthusiastic, committed believers. We are so excited to receive the sacraments and begin working toward the New Evangelization. We have truly found our home.