CONVERTS RULE & here is one reason why....

Okay, don't worry about me coming up with several verbose reasons that Catholic Converts rule (even though we do... in fact we ROCK), but I was so inspired in a conversation with a fellow Oblate Sister of Mary Magdalene. In fact it was Sr. Magdalen who inspired me to explain in detail my reasons for making that broad brush stroke statement. You see, a convert to Catholicism is much like a person who used to be fat or an ex-smoker, almost obsessive in their zeal to reveal "the truth".

Now naturally, the Sacrament that is most dear to our hearts as it is to all Catholics, is the Eucharist. It is receiving the True Presence of Christ, available to us almost every day, that we can boast being THE one component of our faith where we know what non Catholics are missing. I heard one of my favorite priests say in a homily that he read somewhere that a non Catholic person advised his Catholic friend, that if the Eucharist is truly what we believe, he would crawl for miles to receive Him. And, since we are speaking the Truth, that goes without saying. Who among us wouldn’t do that?

What is special about converts, is that our next favorite Sacrament surprises most other people. The Sacrament of Reconciliation would almost always be cited as the second most precious gift, left by Jesus through the Sacraments. Yes, of course we have heard all of the baby boomers horror stories about making Confessions and the “dreadful” priests that heard them and administered painful penance for the least infraction. That made young girls fear boys with warts on their hands and young men cringe at the thought of relieving frustration. Those terrible priests! But again, those of us who converted from any non Catholic faith (ironically, of the nine people I took classes when I did, oh, some years back during the Cretaceous Period, we were all Methodists backgrounds!) knew exactly what we had been missing.

The Confessional pre dates Sigmund Freud. Over the years, priests were called upon to fill the shoes of Jesus and serve as the therapists for thousands upon thousands of penitents. When you had no where to turn and you had to face your fears, you could escape to the anonymous sanctuary, the confessional. You didn’t even have to face your confessor. All you had to do was pray as Jesus washed your sins away.

Allow me to go back to the 80’s, when my birth daughter, Rachel, was still just a girl, I had occasion to meet with our parish priest, Fr. Dimond, for what escapes me now. What happened in that room was far beyond me and an amazing experience. It overshadowed and made insignificant anything I had expected.

All I remember was sitting down with a stack of books and pamphlets. All of a sudden, I started to speak, it was an involuntary and spontaneous surge of words that sprang from my mouth, “Forgive me father, for I have sinned….” I proceeded to tell the priest of something I had done. Something I had pushed in the back of my mind so that I might believe I had never done such a thing. Something I had sworn I would forget and never deal with again. Tears poured out of my eyes and Father was rushing to prepare his vestments. I still cannot believe that I spoke it. Left to my own frail devices, I would have gone the rest of my life with that burden, consumed in the flame of guilt and no repentance, just stupid denial.

Then, I heard the soft voice of the priest, “Oh, how desperate you must have been.” He began to say words of encouragement and forgiveness. A love that I never really knew existed appeared before me at that moment and when he laid his hand on my head to absolve me of my sins, I felt what I can only describe as a hot flash, a bolt of energy from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. And, it was released. I felt as if I had lost some 25 pounds of hideous weight. I never knew I could feel so good. Then, Father held me for what seemed to be an eternity. I will confess, I have tried to be stoic all of my life. Not successfully, but my upper lip was as stiff as I could make it. I cannot describe the relief, the love, the repentance I experienced. There really are no words, but when I was advised to go in peace and sin no more, well, I DID go in peace J

Ever since that day, I have not feared nor swept under the rug that Sacrament. When I read something about Our Lady’s alleged apparitions in Medjugore that reminded her people to visit the Sacraments as often as possible, I am sure she meant Confession too. I am positive. And, I do. Visit the Sacraments often, that is.

I am telling you, CONVERTS RULE!

Softly & Tenderly

The rural Ohio area where I grew up is Non Catholic heaven. My small hometown, with a population of 600 people at that time (it is experiencing a boom at the moment with a Honda plant nearby) and now has grown to 900. But our little village has 4 non Catholic churches. When we were very young, our Mother would take us to the Quaker church just up the street. The only African American church in the county was Baptist, and even though my father was raised Baptist, he was non practicing. Mom held a deep prejudice for Baptists, the only discriminatory bone in her body. Finally, when I was about 8 years old, there opened a small African Methodist Episcopal church, Grace A.M.E., in the county seat of Bellefontaine (pronounced "bell fountain). So we started going there, but by that time I became vocal about my desire to go to a Catholic church. But I had also developed a deep affection for protestant hymns and gospel music, both country and black. My favorite was "Softly and Tenderly"'

The lyrics make my love for that hymn obvious:

"Softly & tenderly, Jesus is calling.
Calling for you and for me.
Though we have sinned,
He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Come Home, Come Home,
Ye who are weary come Home.
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling all sinners come Home. "

Now, for the Evangelical, Pentecostal and non denominational faiths, this is a funeral song. Same for Baptists & the Church of Christ parishioners. But, as a Catholic, I take from it so much more. I converted to Catholicism, and each time over the years when I have faltered, the confessor in the Sacrament of Reconciliation would remind me that I am always welcome. That is one of the beauties of Mother Church. You don't need an epiphany or sudden surge of the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is come home. Yes, you do need to make a confession, but as I have said before, that is my favorite Sacrament after the Eucharist. Moreover, each time I receive the Body & Blood of our dear Lord Jesus, I know I am home. That is one of my acts of answering his, "....calling all sinners, come Home". Indeed, it reaffirms for me why I am a Roman Catholic.

When I attended my first Mass, I knew I was home. Granted I was young and being the only "negro" child in the congregation, I garnered quite a bit of benevolent attention..... that certainly helped convince me that my call to Rome Sweet Home, as Scott Hahn would say, was real and legitimate. When one of my older sisters became Muslim, she and both of her ex husbands were baffled at my skill in Catholic Apologetics. I mean, it was a simple matter of the fact that I cannot really understand nor empathize with a faith where there is no Jesus. Yes, they acknowledge Him as a great prophet and venerate the Holy Mother, but they give the same argument that many Jewish Apologists give, that God doesn't have a family. To which I always reply, "Then, who are we to God?" That "mystical" question, that part of Christianity that they do not understand, just got me some very blank stares that seared right through my head. I am disaffected.

Then, my younger sister was "Born Again" and is now an Evangelical Christian. She had a change of heart, to some degree, after having a job working with a Catholic Social Service agency after Hurricane Katrina and then working with poor Hispanic immigrants. She finally acknowledged that Catholics are Christians, as before, she was led to believe it to be a cult. Moreover, she also finally admitted to me that she knows now, she was preaching to the choir when she was trying to convert me. She realized that I had been "saved" way before she was. And, I remind her that, yes, I was saved, I am being saved and I will be saved in the future. That beautiful ongoing process of the road to holiness Catholics enjoy and many take for granted.

As I work with two other Oblate Sisters of Mary Magdalene, Sr. Mary Magdalene and Sr. Clare Marie, we discuss the entrance process to becoming one of our sisters. I have decided, one thing we might do that is unorthodox, is welcome fallen away Catholics and, possibly, people of another Church. But they would first become lay associates. I would grant them the opportunity to wear the dress of our habit when attending common retreats, meetings & functions, but no veil. And, they could become a postulate and/or novitiate (depending on their progress to the goal I am about to mention), but part of their formation would be to attend RCIA or form a relationship with a good spiritual director who will assist them in listening to and actually hearing Jesus' call. The call that is delivered so softly and tenderly. Our sisters need a close relationship with Jesus and His Church, because to achieve that is critical to our way of prayer life. We imitate Christ. We pray without ceasing, even through a busy or difficult work day. It sustains us until we can receive Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. Our Holy Communion is what holds us together, not just as Catholics, but as Oblate Sisters of Mary Magdalene.

Yeah..... I know what you were thinking when you first began to read this. "Where is she going with THIS? Is she having another Senior Moment?" Well, I might be having just that. But even if that is so, it's part of my closer walk with Jesus, another non Catholic hymn! ;-)

Our Lady of Vocations, pray for us.

"John 20:11-18 But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him."
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and what he told her."

When I look at my life from an "out of body" perspective, it is clear as a bell. When I was young and shook off feelings of wanting to be Catholic and live religious life, I did what was "expected". I finished school, went to college, got married. Now the latter, that is one of my favorite pieces of schtick!

I don't believe I put my all into trying to find the right mate. All I knew is I was approaching 24 years old and would be, by my hometown's standards, an old maid. So, when I found someone who didn't run, was standing up right & breathing, he qualified. What a mistake. It is true that you can be married and much lonelier than being single. Now, Rachel Lindsey is a blessing, but the ex, well, bless his heart, he is mentally ill in a society that neglects people with illnesses of the brain. They are just not as attractive as an inability to walk, see or hear. My heart beats so much compassion for him. And, he is the only father my birth duaghter will ever know. But all that time, seeking my hearts desire, way off of the mark.

Then, once I was REALLY grown up, that is, at the age of 43, I realized that all of the wheel spinning I have done was even pointed in the wrong direction. I am called to be a bride of Christ. As I may have mentioned before, when I pray the Rosary, attend a Marian devotion, think of serving Jesus as a consecrated lay person, I smell roses. I had lost that over the past few years. When I tried to become a member of a newly forming pious association, I felt I wanted that more than anything. When I was released from inquiring, I was more devastated than ever. I now knew what it felt like to loose the man of your dreams. I was seperated from the sacraments for so long. I didn't feel worthy at all. And, I couldn't believe that God really loved the likes of me.

But now, I can see it. I sat weeping at the tomb. "Please, tell me where they took my Lord." Then, as benevolent and caring as He is, He has tapped my shoulder. Why have I been seeking the Living among the dead? God's will will always come, but it comes in His time. Not mine, not yours, not the Evil One's. He has been there all along. He is calling me to serve him. I don't need to conform to the calling of others. I have to respond to HIM AND HIS CALL. I have to do it the way He wants me. No more tears. No more waiting. And, I am receiving the Sacraments as often as possible. That includes the Sacrament of Reconciliation, next to the Eucharist, a convert's favorite. I feel His presence and that peace beyond understanding. His warm embrace has made my sometimes taxing existence, LIFE.

So, just as Mary of Magdala, weeping at the tomb, that was my life. But, He renewed me. He told me why I was looking for Him where He is not. I turned around, not recognizing Him at first. But now, I see. And, an Oblate Sister of Mary Magdalene wants to tell everyone what she has seen and been told.