Becoming Catholic
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THIS IS OUR CHURCHWe Follow Jesus Christ. Come, Follow Him With Us! -
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The Church is communio; she is God's communing with men in Christ and hence the communing of men with one another.
~ Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ~
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To help you wrestle with this question, I wish to share with you the following brief testimonial from a recent Catholic convert which is the best I've ever read. It was written by Joshua Charles. He is a bestselling author, historian, researcher, and international speaker. He is a passionate defender of America’s Founding Principles, Judeo-Christian civilization, and the Catholic faith, to which he converted in 2018. He loves telling, and helping others tell, great stories that communicate great truths. Here is his testimony, enjoy and God bless you!
~Fr. Leier
In 2017, I was shocked to finally realize how deeply and ubiquitously Catholic the ancient Christians were. At that point, I finally became willing to hear out the Catholic Church I had despised my entire life, and take the deep dive.
What I found is that the Church had consistently read the Bible more deeply, more comprehensively, and more consistently than anything I had ever encountered in Protestantism. I also saw that Her teachings had been consistently misrepresented and slandered by most Protestants I had ever known, heard of, or read my entire life.
When I finally began to be willing to SIMPLY LISTEN to the Catholic Church, and give it the benefit of the doubt, questions I had my whole life were finally answered. Inconsistencies in Scripture I could never explain—no matter how much Luther, Calvin, or other Protestant theologians I read—suddenly made glorious sense.
I began to experience this profound biblical wisdom as a merely curious Protestant, not a convictional Catholic. But it was overwhelming.
This was hard. It was extremely time-consuming. It cost me literally tens of thousands of dollars in books—many of which I’ve read, and some of which I continue to work on. It’s really quite true to compare Catholic and Protestant theology with two incompatible sets of software. I simply never realized how much my Protestant software had blinded me to seeing so many things. That software had to be unwound, and rewired in many ways. I had to be willing to have a lifetime of assumptions and opinions blown to smithereens. But once I was, it was beautifully reconstructed by the teaching of the Church and Her saints.
What the Church taught not only made far more sense, but it was far more beautiful than anything I’d ever encountered in Protestantism. The Gospel was so much richer. It made so much more theological, moral, and historical sense. And in many ways, it was actually far simpler, and less convoluted.
On top of that, it was incredibly consistent in its essence from century to century. In 2017, when I began reading the Early Church Fathers, I was SHOCKED at how different their faith was from mine, beginning with the disciples of the Apostles themselves.
Now in 2023, with years of reading their writings under my belt, I’m shocked—and even more, profoundly GRATEFUL—that their faith is now my own. I can read virtually everything they wrote with little or no qualification. It is the same faith—the Catholic Faith. It was an incredible relief to find this safe and pleasant harbor after so many years in Protestantism, where debates about the meaning of Scripture could be resolved by no one, and we only had two options: water down the faith to accommodate the conflicting opinions; or form yet another schism.
The Catholic Church presented me a radical solution: Herself. As some utopia? No, far from it. I’ve often heard Protestants act as if the Catholic claim is that everyone is always nice, obedient, and orderly in the Church. That’s absurd, and that is never what I thought. There have been many chaotic periods in Church history. We’re in one. There have been very wicked bishops, and even Popes.
But when the dust settled, in every century, the promises of Christ to remain with, protect, and guide His Church into all truth—IN SPITE of human sin—were consistently vindicated. There’s nothing like it in history. The Catholic Church remained fundamentally the same: the flock under the successors of the Apostles in communion with the successor of Peter. Simple, public, and known to the whole world, both friend and foe, century after century, and now millennia after millennia.
I’ve loved the Bible since I was a little boy. But since becoming Catholic, I have never loved it more. Its riches are never-ending. The Bible has never come alive, nor been so thrilling to study, as since I humbled myself before the apostolic authority of Christ’s Catholic Church. (Joshua Charles)
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Becoming Catholic is one of life’s most profound and joyous experiences. Some are blessed enough to receive this great gift while they are infants, and, over time, they recognize the enormous grace that has been bestowed on them. Others enter the Catholic fold when they are older children or adults. This tract which is called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), examines the joyful process by which one becomes a Catholic.
A person is brought into full communion with the Catholic Church through reception of the three sacraments of Christian initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist—but the process by which one becomes a Catholic can take different forms.
A person who is baptized in the Catholic Church becomes a Catholic at that moment. One’s initiation is deepened by Confirmation and the Eucharist, but one becomes a Catholic at baptism. This is true for children who are baptized Catholic (and receive the other two sacraments later) and for adults who are baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist at the same time.
Those who have been validly baptized outside the Church become Catholics by making a profession of the Catholic faith and being formally received into the Church. This is normally followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist.
Before a person is ready to be received into the Church, whether by Baptism or by profession of faith, preparation is necessary. The amount and form of this preparation depends on the individual’s circumstance. The most basic division in the kind of preparation needed is between those who are unbaptized and those who have already become Christian through baptism in another church.
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Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process of prayer, reflection, and learning that allows for the continual discernment of God’s will in our lives. No matter where you are on your faith journey, there is a place for you at Sacred Heart Catholic Church!
Many people inquire about becoming Catholic for many different reasons. Phase one of the journey starts in the heart of the seeker and continues in a small inquiry group where questions are raised and discussed freely. We call it a process because, like any faith journey, each one’s pace is unique. The general process that the Catholic Church uses to initiate adults is based on the same process that the early Christians used during the early centuries of Christianity. Full initiation takes place with the reception of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion.
Even if you’re not ready to become Catholic, but want answers, RCIA is a great place to get them.
- Are you an adult who is un-baptized or belongs to another Christian Church and is thinking about becoming Catholic or have questions about the Catholic Church?
- Are you an adult Catholic who has only been baptized and would like to become a full member of the Catholic Church?
- Are you a Catholic who has never been Confirmed?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, or have more questions and want to sign up, email Fr. Leier ([email protected]) or call him at the parish office (701) 652-2519 for more information. Sessions typically begin in Fall and conclude at the Easter Vigil.
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From time to time it’s important to remind ourselves of the basic questions at the heart of our faith. Whether you’re a longtime Catholic or someone looking to learn more about the Catholic faith, perhaps you will find these quick videos below informative and inspiring. Thank you and God bless!
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Who is Jesus?
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What is the Catholic Church?
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