June 27, 2006

What follows is an index of links to blog entries I wrote as my wife and I spent a year discerning our calling to the Catholic church. I had decided early on… even before we started RCIA… that I'd like to keep a "blog diary" of my thoughts and experiences, if only for my own reflection. I called the series "Wayfaring Strangers" with deference to an old folk spiritual that has always resonated with me and moved me.

As I look back over these entries, three things stick out at me: One, most of what I've written here is disjointed and rambling. Two, I sure do have a propensity to get up on a soapbox. And, three, it seems obvious to me that even early in the process I was aware that I wanted to be Catholic. Our year of discernment was really a year of learning, a year of making friends and preparing to be confirmed. Mostly, it was a year spent watching from the pews as our Catholic brothers and sisters received the real presence, and waiting with hungry souls for the day that we'd be able to do the same.

I also realize, as I read the older posts, that some of my beliefs have changed. I'd hope to say that I've "matured," but I want to emphasize that any maturing I've done is more to the credit of those who've helped me than it is to myself! Anyway, keep in mind while reading the older posts that some of my beliefs and understanding have grown and evolved along the way.

A bit about my religious background might be useful: In a nutshell, I honestly believe that I was born with a Catholic heart in a Southern Baptist / Fundamentalist family. My church experiences prior to my conversion to Catholicism were unfulfilling and often upsetting. I still carry some bitterness toward fundamentalism with me, and it's often obvious in these blog entries. If you are a fundamentalist or an evangelical and you read something here that I've written… something that offends you… I simply and humbly ask that you pray that I'll get past my bitterness. I want to be able to eventually be able to look at all of my Christian brothers and sisters with the same love and trust.

And now, if you've read all that and you still want to read the notes I made during my conversion, just click the links below:


Wayfaring Strangers, Part 1, Our Journey Begins

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 2, What I Believe

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 3, Interacting With Catholic Haters

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 4, Questions About Mary

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 5, Off To Church

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 6, Notes Toward Answers On Mary

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 7, Any Catholics Out There?

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 8, Purgatory: No Pain, No Gain

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 9, Saints Preserve Us!

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 10, Struggling With My Nature

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 11, Thrown For A Loop By Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 12, Humility, War, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 13, Knots

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 14, The Acts of the Apostles

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 15, Romans: WOW!

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 16, Deeper Into Romans

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 17, Paul and Thomas Aquinas

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 18, Aquinas, Plato, Aristotle, and a Side Order of Nietzsche

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 19, Corinthians and Beyond

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 20, War, Darfur, Politics, and Faith

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 21, On Harry Potter and Christian Parenting

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 22, Mega-Churches, Lutheranism, and Catholicism

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 23, Life, Faith, and Death

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 24, Apologetics and "Christianity-And-Water"

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 25, Mary's Prayers

Wayfaring Strangers, Part 26, The Last Entry: Personal Advent

Post Script: Baptized, Confirmed, Contented