Journeys Home (2 page)

Thank you as well to the many pastors and priests, Protestant
and Catholic, who have been such faithful witnesses to Christ
and His Church, including Reverends Elmer J. Melchert, Quentin
Battiste, Tom Witzel, Gary Stratman, Tom Cebula, Michael Scanlan,
Ray Ryland, Mitch Pacwa, William Stetson, Benedict Groeschel,
Jack Maynard, Don Franks, and the fine Dominican priests at St.
Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Zanesville.

I especially want to thank the Catholic cardinals and bishops
who have supported our work, including Francis Cardinal George,
Bernard Cardinal Law, Raymond Cardinal Burke, Augustine DiNoia,
Archbishop John Myers, Bishop Frederick Campbell, Bishop Robert
Baker, Bishop Gilbert Sheldon, Bishop Paul Dudley, Bishop Donald
Wuerl, and Archbishop Charles Chaput.

A truly
awesome
thanks goes to Mother Angelica and her sisters
and brothers, whose generous heart and spirit opened the door
so I could venture into the unfamiliar world of live Catholic
television and radio.

Thanks to our many supportive friends -- Dr. Scott and Kimberly
Hahn, Steve Wood, Karl Keating, Pat Madrid, Dr. Mark Miravalle,
Nick and Jane Healy, and many more -- without whose encouragement
and assistance the
Coming Home Network
could never have survived.

Thanks to all the fine staff members who have given of themselves
for our apostolic work, especially the present wonderful, awesome,
immensely gifted, and highly motivated staff.

A special thanks also goes to our faithful
CHNetwork
members,
Helpers, and friends in Christ, praise be to Jesus!

Thanks to my children, JonMarc, Peter, and Richard, who are a
great joy and a proud "quiver" (see Ps 127:3 - 5) for an unworthy
father.

And now thanks to the one who fills my life with love and meaning,
an undeserved gift from God -- who is certainly growing in holiness
as she patiently offers up all of my foibles -- my loving wife,
Marilyn.

Marcus Grodi

former Presbyterian minister and wife

Each one of us is on pilgrimage -- a journey of faith that leads
us closer to the God we love day by day. Some of us received the
faith on our father's knee; others converted to Christianity in
the teen years or later. And many of us who began a relationship
with Christ outside the Catholic Church could not imagine the
riches within the Church that Christ wanted to give us.

We believe that we have not rejected the faith given to us in
our youth, but rather embraced the fullness that Christ died to
give us within the Catholic Church. Now we recognize the mystery
where we previously did not know a mystery existed, such as the
Eucharist and the other sacraments. Increasingly we appreciate
the unity expressed in liturgy, doctrine, and morals through the
authority of the Church, when previously we had only hoped for
basic agreement among our fellow Christians. Daily we harness
heaven through the communion of saints, when earlier we pictured
ourselves much more alone on our journey.

We know from firsthand experience that people in fulltime Christian
service who examine the claims of the Catholic Church have additional
concerns and questions beyond those of other seekers. We have
walked this rocky road, feeling alone in the midst of never-before-asked
theological questions, unthinkable professional consequences,
and emotional barriers that alternately separate us from our Protestant
past, our possibly Catholic future, and perhaps even each other
as a married couple. Consequently, we want to accompany others
along this difficult path.

You are about to read excerpts from the spiritual journeys of
people whose lives have been transformed through the grace of
God in the Catholic Church. The circumstances in which each person
discovered the Church -- and the doctrines or moral teachings
of the Church with which each person wrestled -- are as individual
as they are. Yet this they have in common: By the mercy of God,
they have followed Christ into the Catholic Church, no matter
what the cost. Their accounts are invitations to join them mid-journey.
Look over their shoulders, as it were, to take stock of their
various backgrounds and training in Christian faith, to understand
their newfound joy in the Catholic Church, and to be filled with
awe at the feet of our Lord for His marvelous work on behalf of
each one of us.

God bless you.

Scott and Kimberly Hahn
Coauthors of
Rome Sweet Home

But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.'" And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:17 - 20)

Every single person must go through this same experience of journeying home to the Father. It is slightly or drastically different for each of us, depending upon how deeply into the pigsty we have ventured before we came to our senses. Even if we have been Christians all our lives, having been baptized, catechized, and confirmed in the Church, remaining faithful even up to the present moment, yet we must remember the Apostle Paul's words to his Roman readers: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Each one of us must recognize and confess our own brokenness.
We each must willfully choose to follow Jesus Christ, and then
aided by His grace, we can begin advancing inch by inch along
our journey of faith toward holiness and union with Him. Just
as it was for the young man in the Gospel story, all our heavenly
Father needs to see is our contrite hearts, our sincere turning
homeward, and He will embrace us with His compassionate, forgiving
acceptance.

The book you hold in your hand contains the stories of men and
women who have all experienced this loving acceptance from God
the Father. These pilgrims have each at some time surrendered
their lives to Jesus Christ and, as a result, heard a call to
follow Him more completely. Many of these were pastors or missionaries,
or their spouses. Others were laymen who, though working in secular
jobs, took their calling to serve Christ in the world very seriously.

These stories are especially compelling in that each of these
faithful disciples discovered, sometimes with great consternation
or even horror, that continuing to follow Christ required a journey
home they had never anticipated nor desired.

Most of these men and women discovered Jesus Christ in some branch
of Protestantism. So they remain eternally grateful to the many
faithful Protestant teachers, friends, and family who helped them
know Christ and grow in the Christian faith. Yet in each case,
their desire to follow Christ faithfully -- to remain faithful
to the truth He taught and to the Church He established through
His apostles -- led them to consider the claims of the Catholic
Church.

Many of these men and women came from Protestant faiths that viewed
the Catholic Church as the "whore of Babylon" and the pope as
the "antichrist." From an early age they were taught all kinds
of things about Catholics and their beliefs, sometimes horrifying,
repulsive things, that made them wonder whether Catholics could
even be saved. Yet in each case and in unique ways, the Holy Spirit
opened their hearts to realize that much of what they had been
taught about the Catholic Church was never true. They learned
to listen to the voice of truth speaking through history, theology,
Sacred Tradition, Holy Scripture, and personal testimony.

Having made this journey from this same background, I realize
that any Protestant reader, at this very moment, may be feeling
cautious or skeptical, leery of going on, convinced that these
men and women have instead been deceived by the prince of lies
himself! However, resisting the temptation to jump into long pages
of apologetic arguments, let me at least assure you that this
is not the case. These stories are told by humble souls who love
Jesus Christ, who desire to obey Him fully, and who have denounced
completely the Devil and his horde. They have sought to follow
the teachings of Scripture, as well as the teachings of the early
Church Fathers and the ecumenical councils.

In doing so, they were startled to discover the truth of the Catholic
Church and its teachings. In the process, they also discovered
that throughout its history, the Church has included not only
thousands of saints but also thousands of sinners, lay and clergy.
Too often these real but less-than-perfect followers of Jesus
dirtied the fair name of the Catholic Church and provided fodder
for the many misunderstandings and exaggerations that have led
to so many schisms.

The book you hold is distinctive in another way. It is not strictly
a collection of conversion stories, nor does every story contain
lengthy, detailed arguments in defense of their conversions. There
are other, highly recommended books that accomplish this task,
some of which are listed in "Resources for the Journey Home" in
the back of this book. Rather, this book focuses on the formation
and ministry of the Coming Home Network International and the
powerful conversion experiences of some of its members.

The CHNetwork was started in 1993 to respond to the needs of the
increasing number of Protestant clergy who have been "coming home"
to the Catholic Church during the last fifty years. Unlike the
hundreds of Anglican conversions that followed the conversion
of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman in the nineteenth century,
these modern-day conversions are not occurring because of any
one notable precursor nor from any one denomination. Rather, they
are coming from every conceivable American Christian tradition
and for a great variety of reasons.

Particularly for clergy, this conversion process requires great
sacrifice, including sometimes the loss of family, friends, and
vocation. The Coming Home Network International provides needed
information, fellowship, and encouragement, as well as financial
assistance, for these converts and their families as they become
acclimated to the strange, new world of the Catholic Church.

I encourage you to read the following stories with a prayerful
and charitable heart. This third revised version of
Journeys Home
gathers a number of conversion stories that have appeared in the
CHNetwork's monthly newsletter.

In Part One you will find a collection of the short conversion
stories of non-Catholic clergy and missionaries, all of which
try to convey both the joys and the struggles of the journey home.
The decision of a Protestant pastor to resign from his pastorate
and enter the Catholic Church affects more than himself. It affects
his family and particularly his spouse and their marriage. In
many cases, the spouses have not shared the same convictions,
and marriages have been greatly tested.

In Part Two you will read the accounts of lay converts. Though
their journeys may not have resulted in the loss of vocation or
employment, the emotional, intellectual, and relational impacts
were equally as challenging.

One of the primary ways we help people in their spiritual journeys
is to recommend good books and resources that will answer questions
as well as offer profound insight into the Scriptures and the
doctrines of the Faith. In the section "Resources for the Journey
Home" in the back of this book, you will find, for your spiritual
encouragement, an extensive annotated bibliography. Most of these
resources can be purchased through our resource catalogue or from
our website at
www. chnetwork.org
.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Coming Home
Network International, or in becoming a member, you will find
membership information in the back of the book. Also check out
our website (
www. chnetwork.org
), which provides an online forum
for those who are inquiring about the Catholic faith.

Now as you turn to Part One, I ask that you listen with both your
mind and your heart, for here you will hear the whisper, and see
the work, of the Spirit.

WHAT IS TRUTH? -- MARCUS C. GRODI

I NEVER WANTED TO BE A MINISTER'S WIFE ANYWAY! -- MARILYN C. GRODI

ON WHOSE AUTHORITY? -- FATHER RAYMOND RYLAND

I NEVER DREAMED I'D BE MARRIED TO A CATHOLIC PRIEST! -- RUTH RYLAND

DELVING DEEP INTO HISTORY -- JIM ANDERSON

CATHOLIC INSIDE AND OUT -- KENNETH J. HOWELL

THE GENTLE PERSUASION OF SCRIPTURE AND MY WIFE -- FATHER PAUL KEY

A JOURNEY HOME -- SISTER ROSALIND MOSS

OUR JOURNEY HOME -- LARRY LEWIS

SEARCHING FOR AUTHORITY -- CHRISTOPHER DIXON

AFFIRMING ALL THINGS -- FATHER DWIGHT LONGENECKER

RETURNING HOME -- RICK RICCIARDI

LOGIC AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF PROTESTANT FAITH -- FATHER BRIAN W. HARRISON

IN CELEBRATION OF MY IGNORANCE -- FATHER THOMAS HICKEY

A SEARCH FOR TRUTH -- FATHER STEVEN D. ANDERSON

THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY -- DON NEWVILLE

"THE LAND WAS BROAD, QUIET, AND PEACEFUL" -- GERALD TRITLE