The Guide
Approaching Catholicism for the first time can be overwhelming. The teaching, the texts, the practices—mastering it all is like learning a new language. This page exists to help you along that journey, offering practical tips about how to investigate, as well as entry points for aspects of Catholicism that Protestants often find most challenging. I’ll also include the nuts and bolts of how to actually become Catholic.
Wherever you are on your journey, know that you are not alone. I went through this process, as have many others. Thus while the bulk of this page is dedicated to Your Investigation, I also share the details of My Investigation, and even a little from Others’ Investigations.
As you begin to explore, keep this basic principle in mind: Catholicism includes everything. Various Protestant traditions look down on one another for being “too charismatic,” “too focused on doctrine,” “too formal,” “too passionate,” etc. The Catholic is not permitted to reject anything that God has put into the human heart. If Christians are filled with passion, well, God made the passions. If they desire to know and understand, well, God made the intellect. If they crave the gifts of the Spirit, they can cite St. Paul as their teacher. Taking Catholicism seriously means letting God enlarge your soul to make room for it all. Those who rely exclusively on their intuitions will be satisfied in the Catholic fold. They will also be taught to enjoy the meat of Truth, and the soaring vistas of beauty. Those who come with a dry interest in bare fact will meet Truth Himself, and be taught to love as well as to know. To that end, I encourage you to push yourself. God has made many good things, and He wishes you to come to love them all even as He does.
Your Investigation
Burn the Paper Tigers: On the many and varied misconceptions about Catholicism.