Catholic Answers

Becoming Catholic is not typically an easy or simple process for those of us that come from a different religious background.  I believe it's often not a "love at first sight" type of conversion, but rather a slow and steady conversion of mind and heart as you learn more about the Catholic Church.

The next series of posts will feature some of my favorite resources for learning more about the Catholic faith.  Whether you are a seeker, looking to examine the claims and teachings of the Catholic Church or a life long member wanting to increase your knowledge or be able to tell others about your faith, hopefully these suggestions will be a great help for learning more.

One awesome multimedia resource out there is CATHOLIC ANSWERS.  When I first started having what I would call "passing thoughts" about possibly becoming Catholic, it amazed me how many times I would turn on the radio while driving and come across a Catholic radio station...it was uncanny.  Now, I always enjoy catching their radio show...and it's on every weekday...for two hours!  Every now and then, they'll run a show where only non-Catholic callers are invited to call in with their questions.  Besides their radio show, Catholic Answers offers an online forum where people can post questions (and answers).  They also have several videos uploaded on their website or YouTube channel.  Here is one of my favorite Catholic authors, evangelist, and fellow Catholic convert, Scott Hahn, on Catholic Answers explaining what is meant by the "New Evangelization":

Joyful Searching

One year ago, I was in India.
One year ago, my grandmother was alive.
And one year ago, I was still a Protestant.

What am I getting at you may ask? Well my point might be that "alot can happen in a year," or the nifty observation that "things change."

Actually, I wanted to point out that I fully believe that God has a plan for our lives and although we may not know what it is - He does - and that's all that matters.

Sometimes life takes us beautiful (or scary) places , where we meet interesting (or disturbing) people, and somehow that changes us for the better (or worse). The bottom line is that we all have a personal journey that we make- so no matter where you are coming from - true joy will come when one listens to God in the little things and then begins searching His will out.

We don't need to know exactly what God's plan for our life is, but obedience to Christ is a good place to start.

Last summer, one year ago, I was in India studying Hindi in Jaipur. While there, I probably called my (current) parish 3 times via Skype trying to decipher which day the RCIA classes would start in the fall (I was a bit enthusiatic) - but I could not get Catholicism out of my system or the question of "Is this God's will for me to become a Catholic?" out of my mind.

Luckily, I had brought 5 books with me, and quickly went through all of them. I turned to the wonders of the internet to quench my thirst for knowledge of the Catholic Church (which I was beginning to believe held the fullness of the Christian faith), and for solace in the testimonies of former Protestants that had made the same leap I was considering...to become a Catholic.

This blog exists to highlight some of those wonderful resources (see sidebar) - but I also want to say how humbled I have been to see all types of different people and different countries (Singapore, Nigeria, Mexico, England, Malta, France, Indonesia, China, Brazil, Phillipines, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Canada, Germany and etc) whom have made contact with this website.

It has been a blessing to witness the search terms used by those that arrive here. I imagine those are some of the same Google searches that I made myself - a year ago, while I was trying to understand why there was such this intense desire to learn about Catholicism going on inside of me. It is fantastic that this website has been coming up on the first page of google for searches such as:

• becoming catholic my journey
• how does a protestant become a catholic
• protestants becoming catholic
• why do protestants become catholic
• RCIA classes

and my FAVORITE search goes to someone from Cincinnati, OHIO who searched for:

• how to explain why im becoming catholic

EXACTLY!  It's not a simple thing to explain to others, but it is important. Further, I have done very little to promote this website - but it has definitely been a blessing to me - and I hope to you. For those whom have contacted me - thank you so much. It is wonderful to be able to hear from you. If you visit the site - and have something to say - please feel free to comment 0R email me at dcmeolsen@gmail.com.

Thanks! And joyful searching to you...