Usually, each group was formed after splitting away from another group over a particular theological, doctrinal, biblical, or moral issue that was debated and then either implemented or rejected. Lord, forgive me.įor many Protestant denominations, their specific or unique theological emphases have been formulated only over the past hundred years, some more, many less. “They hear, but they do not understand” (see Is 6:10). To my shame, I am now aware how week after week for twenty-two years, I had heard the Gospel read and preached at Mass but I never listened to it. I understand not only the need for Tradition but also how it acts as the glue in the foundation of our faith. Now, after being away for over twenty years, I understand what the Catholic Church truly teaches about works in relation to salvation.

Each of us would say, “We never heard the Gospel until we began to attend” such and such church. We had escaped, we believed, from a Church that taught works for salvation and tradition over Scripture, a Church that had never told us about having a personal relationship with our Lord. Additional words weren’t required, because each of us understood. Heads would start nodding seemingly everywhere, and the smiles would begin. Inevitably, someone would say those words. In many of the Evangelical Protestant or fundamentalist churches of today, more than twenty percent of the members or regular worshipers can say, “I was raised Catholic.” At banquets or meetings, I recall many times sitting around a table, attempting to meet and learn about the other people sitting with me.

I also wonder how many times I have been on the receiving end of those words. I wonder how many times over the course of twenty years I have said those words, usually at the beginning of a personal testimony or even during an introduction. It is strangely ironic that as I recall the events that led me back to the Catholic Church, the words “I was raised Catholic” come to mind.

Resources for Non-Catholic Clergy and Ministers.

Bible and the Catechism in a Year Reading Plan.

Supporting Members of the Coming Home Network.

Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches Yet now he holds the fate of Buzz's family in his hands. When he detects a dangerous technological storm on the horizon, he thinks he's ready for anything. Mark Johnson He's a big, brave FBI agent, the ultimate tough guy cruising through middle age while enjoying his adoring family. To outsiders, Sam and Ellie have it all, but now an unrelenting darkness threatens to tear them apart. Sam and Ellie Fisk Ten years earlier, when Buzz's best friends fell in love, they also discovered their love for the Church. Now he is married with children, out of shape, and finds himself beginning a dangerous journey against impossible odds.

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