Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Posted on 07/12/2006 12:34:27 PM PDT by NYer
I am here because I am a convert to Catholicism from the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA). My going from the ECUSA to the Catholic Church was a long journey, filled with every emotion known to man. It was a journey measured in decades, not in weeks or months or years. Along the way, I had some help; the woman I would eventually marry, a priest to whom I would eventually make my first and darkest confession, a priest that eventually confirmed me, a sponsor who later became a deacon. A great many Episcopalians have recently started a similar journey themselves. Among other things, this blog hopes to help them along that path.
I was raised in the Episcopal Church. I was even an altar boy for a while when I was nine or ten years old. This was back in the late 60s and early 70s, and as you know, it was a very different church in those days.
By the time I was 17, I was involved in a youth group that met at the local Episcopal cathedral. During the time I spent going to the cathedral, my views of the church changed dramatically. I noticed quite a few things that were not right – this was during the last half of the 1970s. They began to teach and accept things that, even at my tender age and without much religious education, seemed to go against the Bible and what my grandmother had taught me about God. Eventually, I left the cathedral, the church, and religion in general. The details of the departure are unimportant. The point is that I left.
By the time I met my wife, I was a hodge-podge of religious ideas, with no real conviction beyond the Trinity and the Lord’s Prayer. I was not much of an Episcopalian in those days, but I wasn’t much of anything, really. I was, deep down inside, miserable on a whole host of different levels.
A great many people use a swimming analogy to describe their conversion. Some people might say that I “swam the Tiber” when I converted to Catholicism. Others might say the same with Anglicanism by “swimming the Thames”. To keep that metaphor going, when I left the Episcopal Church I leapt into the Thames expecting to swim somewhere – but I had no idea where to go. As a result, I sent more than 20 years spiritually treading water.
The actions of the Episcopal Church over the past three years have left a great many people thinking about swimming somewhere as well. The problem is - many don’t know where they’re going any more than I did back in 1979. Not knowing is hard; I know, I’ve been there. I do not want others to suffer in the same fate that I did. Trust me: You don’t want to spend 20 years trying to decide if you’re swimming the Tiber or drowning in the Thames.
Please understand, I am not asking or telling anyone to convert. Yes, I feel that the depth of the Catholic Church is staggering once you come to appreciate it. Yes, I think Catholicism is a great gift, and that any orthodox Anglican can find a home here if they open their heart to the whispers of the Spirit. But no, I would not presume to tell anyone to convert.
I chose to call this Rafting the Tiber for a reason, but not the one that might be obvious. This raft will not take you to Rome. It’s more like a life raft anchored in the middle of the river – it is intended to help keep you afloat, give you a place to catch your breath, but not intended to get you there. Eventually, if you feel the pull, you will have to leap in and swim the last leg yourself. That leap is a leap of faith, and that’s not something that I – or any other blogger – can provide for you.
I do ask that you keep your minds open. Many of the comments I’ve seen Anglican blogs have been incorrect. What you think you know about Catholicism may not be the reality of Catholicism. And, hopefully, therein lies the fun of this blog…
I do hope that there will be a bit of fun along the way as well! I’ll keep the blog going as long as I can and as long as it remains useful. I’m sure we’ll discuss other topics as well. Blogs tend to have a life of their own, so who knows…this one may become something else over time. We shall see.
I’ve also got a little help. Kevin Miller, professor of theology and blogger at HMS, is going to stop by from time to time and help out with some of the more technical issues that might crop up from time to time.
So, let the adventure begin!
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Ping!
Are there any statistics for exactly how many of our Episcopal Brethren have come over to this side of the river since the implosion of 2003?
I've searched that website and found nothing.
Take a poll at FR and see how many of us have swum the Tiber since Vickie Gene.
Well, hubby and I did last year ...
Four of us here . . . in 2004.
And there are many others in the forum who have swum the Tiber but prefer to remain anonymous.
Perhaps the more interesting question would be "what resulted in these converts' decision to don the swimcap and jump into the Tiber".
Those who watched The Journey Home this week, witnessed an extraordinary conversion from baptized Lutheran (non practicing) to atheist to catholic priest. In his parting statement to "those listening tonight", this priest told them to "be not afraid". He cited examples of why certain individuals who feel called to the Catholic Church prefer to cling to their protestant faith because of family, etc., and even, music! In that regard, he suggested they bring their hymnals along and sing at home; what mattered most was joining the church that had the fullness of the faith.
On a personal note, I can't help but notice after follwing these protestant churches for so many years, there is a common thread running through each and every one of them and it has nothing to do with the liturgy. It seems, and correct me if I am wrong, that the strongest movement towards the Catholic Church began with the ordination of women. The Catholic Church has had a fair share of women who also seek "equal rights" but the Magisterium holds fast to the truths handed down by our Lord through the Apostles. It's not that they don't want to ordain women as priests; rather, in following the mission set forth by our Lord, they can't. And that has been infallibly decreed.
These young men are the future of the Catholic Church! They are members of the JPII generation who watched or attended the Holy Father's Youth Day events. They are on fire with love for our Lord and His Church, as are the sisters who have joined Mother Angelica's order or the Dominicans.
This phenomenon is playing itself out in other Catholic Churches as well. 40 years ago, the first Maronite Eparchy in the US was created. Since then, a monastic order has sprung up.
As the Maronite Catholic Church continued to flourish and blossom in the US, a 2nd Eparchy was created only several years ago. This year, one of the bishops established an order of contemplative nuns to pray for and minister to the needs of the Eparchy. Across the US, the Eastern Catholic Churches are sprouting and growing in numbers as both catholics and protestants discover the beauty of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
For those in ECUSA contemplating the swim, the above blog offers an excellent opportunity to test the waters and come up for air. They need only remember the words of Pope John Paul II - "Be not afraid!"
What a thoughtful blog!
I agree. Polite and charitable.
Will do.
I've tried twice to post a welcome on his blog and it didn't work. Anyone else had this problem?
There are a few comments posted by a "Father Elijah" I wonder if that is the same Father Elijah who used to comment on FR.
Whaddya mean, EVEN music, Father? Sheesh!
For musicians, the sad state of Catholic music generally is a problem. Coming from ECUSA it's a REAL problem. They may be a bunch of heretics, but their music is brilliant.
Since everything else was pulling us towards Rome, we decided to "offer it up" and endure the happy-clappy, Glory-and-Praise, saccharine junk. But oh my it was a serious sacrifice.
God and St. Cecilia rewarded us however, because a few months after we joined our parish the old music minister left for another job, and we hired our new man who is a genius and LOVES the old music. Lots of chant, medieval and Renaissance polyphony, GOOD modern music - no junk! (except for a few "Eagle's Wings" type hymns that we have to sing because some folks in the congregation just adore them. . . which is a small sacrifice to make I guess, so long as we are singing Byrd and Palestrina and (last Sunday) Farrant and Zingarelli.)
Thank you. I have one regret and that is not crossing sooner. I was too caught up in the politics and liturgy. Finally, liturgy became like a white-washed sepulchre, beautiful on the outside, but rotting on the inside. And devotion to politics was a poor, poor substitute for devotion to Christ.
Pretty vestments and incense and beautiful music -- and inside all hollow, like a rotten tree. I think of the Norwegian female trolls or huldra - beautiful from the front but hollow and rotten behind.
**I wonder if that is the same Father Elijah who used to comment on FR.**
Did it say anything about Somalia? I think that is where he was sent?
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