Why Should I Become a Catholic?
Why should you become a Catholic? Here are a few reasons, off the top of my head ...
* Because you're tired of the self-centered and shallow nature of modern-day popular Protestant denominations, which more and more are starting to pander to the entertainment needs of society
* Because you realize that coming to listen to a man give you a 45-minute bible study is not a reasonable motivation for coming to a specific building on a specific day of the week - studying the bible is something you could easily do yourself, in your own home, with or without media aids; and getting together to "fellowship" with other believers is also something you could do any time, any day of the week
* Because since the beginning of Creation, sacrifice has been the central act of Worshiping God, and you're having a hard time seeing how a praise-and-worship band, followed by a lecture, really corresponds to this notion of sacrifice
* Because you instinctively know that you're really not under any religious authority but your own, and you sense somehow that this isn't quite what Christ intended
* Because you can't see how the bible alone can be a principle of unity, if every Christian has the equal authority and gift of the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scriptures in any number of ways
* Because you long for a Church whose customs, prayers, devotions, practices, and teachings are traceable back to the first, second, and third centuries after Christ's ascension
* Because as a baptized person, you have a deeply-embedded hunger for the Holy Eucharist
* Because modern Protestant meeting houses are drab, clinical, sterile, and uninspiring in their ornamentation, and you think God's House ought to be a little better decorated than a dentist's office
* Because you're weary of trying to explain away crystal-clear passages of Scripture, like John 6:50ff, John 20:21ff, 1 Pet. 3:21, 2 Thess. 2:15, and Matt. 16:18, when you know deep down that your explanations aren't satisfying or convincing to you
* Because you'd like to be a part of the Church that has produced such holy men and women as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux (whose hymns are found even in your Protestant hymnals)
* Because you'd like to embrace and own the Catholic prayers and devotions that have inspired the greatest musical compositions the world has ever known - The Magnificat, Missa Solemnis, Missa Brevis, Te Deum, Requiem Mass, Adoramus Te Christe, Stabat Mater, Ave Verum Corpus, Benedictus, Nunc Dimmitis, Ave Maria, Panis Angelicus, and many more
* Because you realize that the body of Catholic Tradition is soon going to be your last and best defense against the increasingly-popular opinions of liberal Protestant scholars, namely, that Scripture is not entirely error-free, and was more the product of editing and compiling many stories than it was the product of direct inspiration
* Because your faith and devotion needs a Mother's touch - and you've been ignoring Our Lady for years and years
* Because you want a Church that has written and will continue to write Her dogmatic teachings in cement, and insist that truth does not change with the progress of science and the modern mind
* Because you're tired of the self-centered and shallow nature of modern-day popular Protestant denominations, which more and more are starting to pander to the entertainment needs of society
* Because you realize that coming to listen to a man give you a 45-minute bible study is not a reasonable motivation for coming to a specific building on a specific day of the week - studying the bible is something you could easily do yourself, in your own home, with or without media aids; and getting together to "fellowship" with other believers is also something you could do any time, any day of the week
* Because since the beginning of Creation, sacrifice has been the central act of Worshiping God, and you're having a hard time seeing how a praise-and-worship band, followed by a lecture, really corresponds to this notion of sacrifice
* Because you instinctively know that you're really not under any religious authority but your own, and you sense somehow that this isn't quite what Christ intended
* Because you can't see how the bible alone can be a principle of unity, if every Christian has the equal authority and gift of the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scriptures in any number of ways
* Because you long for a Church whose customs, prayers, devotions, practices, and teachings are traceable back to the first, second, and third centuries after Christ's ascension
* Because as a baptized person, you have a deeply-embedded hunger for the Holy Eucharist
* Because modern Protestant meeting houses are drab, clinical, sterile, and uninspiring in their ornamentation, and you think God's House ought to be a little better decorated than a dentist's office
* Because you're weary of trying to explain away crystal-clear passages of Scripture, like John 6:50ff, John 20:21ff, 1 Pet. 3:21, 2 Thess. 2:15, and Matt. 16:18, when you know deep down that your explanations aren't satisfying or convincing to you
* Because you'd like to be a part of the Church that has produced such holy men and women as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux (whose hymns are found even in your Protestant hymnals)
* Because you'd like to embrace and own the Catholic prayers and devotions that have inspired the greatest musical compositions the world has ever known - The Magnificat, Missa Solemnis, Missa Brevis, Te Deum, Requiem Mass, Adoramus Te Christe, Stabat Mater, Ave Verum Corpus, Benedictus, Nunc Dimmitis, Ave Maria, Panis Angelicus, and many more
* Because you realize that the body of Catholic Tradition is soon going to be your last and best defense against the increasingly-popular opinions of liberal Protestant scholars, namely, that Scripture is not entirely error-free, and was more the product of editing and compiling many stories than it was the product of direct inspiration
* Because your faith and devotion needs a Mother's touch - and you've been ignoring Our Lady for years and years
* Because you want a Church that has written and will continue to write Her dogmatic teachings in cement, and insist that truth does not change with the progress of science and the modern mind
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