Catholic - And Loving It

I've been Catholic for almost two months now! A few days ago a mentor (of sorts) of mine said to me: You really ARE Catholic!!! In response to a concern I had about the Eucharist. It made me smile. I have conformed, haven't I?

I approach my faith in a way that would have seemed foreign and alarming to me in my younger days. In my youth I used to sneer at Lutheran's and Catholics because they seemed to blindly follow authority with no thought of their own.

My how things have changed.

My attitude these days is: If the Church teaches it, I will obey it. Period. I have accepted that this is THE Church Christ established. I have accepted that Christ appoints His ministers within the Church (although, even after they are appointed they can stray from His will) and I have made a conscious decision to obey my Lord on earth as well as in heaven.

How can I go wrong listening to what the Church teaches and deferring to the judgment of Church fathers? Who am I to think that I can pick up the Bible and correctly interpret it's meaning? I am like the man in the boat; "Do you know what you are reading?" Peter asked. The man answered, "How can I, if no one explains it to me."

I AM that man (well, woman!). I'm happy to be that man because in this faith, in this Church, there is someone whom I can trust to teach me. The Successor to the Apostles, the Traditions of the Church carried on for 2000 years, the Magesterium protected by God Himself. These things were put here by God so that I could have someone to teach me these things that I don't understand. And BOY am I thankful.

In my Protestant faith I had to rely on my own limited knowledge and as much as I read and studied the Bible it just never clicked. I always had doubts and questions and there was no definitive answer. I had to rely on my own understanding and that was a huge cause of concern for me.

Now, I don't have to rely on me. Now I read the bible and I pray to God and when a question arises that my own understanding cannot explain I can rely on the Church. Ah, how nice it is to have a family that I can trust, knowing that God has given them to me. :)

If you're wondering what prompted this one, I just had a dilemma in my daily life that I was having a difficult time thinking through. I sought the advice of a Catholic Apologist and when I received his answer I said: All right. If that's what the Church teaches, that is what I will do. :)

Sorry for all the rambling!!! Have a blessed day.