“I had a very dear friend who was also raised Catholic. She was gone for a while to visit her sister in Colorado and when she came back, she was talking about the Lord and she seemed really different. What I noticed in her was a peace, and her relationship with the Lord grew very intimate. One day, I was driving my car and I remember telling the Lord that I wanted what my friend had. Soon after her return home, my friend joined a Pentecostal church.
“About that time, I started my first year at Wayne State University. One of my first days on campus, I was walking into a building and there was an evangelical group surveying students. I discovered that I knew a member of the group from my junior high school days. I talked with her and I filled out a survey indicating that I wished to join a Bible study. One thing led to another. With two Protestant influences speaking to me, I eventually made the switch.”
In subsequent years, Celeste met her husband – the son of an Assembly of God pastor. Together they had four children and they resided in California and North Carolina before moving back to Michigan in 1990. As a family, they moved away from the strict Pentecostal tradition and sought out a more charismatic church to worship in. Those churches were often small independent community groups. Nevertheless, the family worshipped regularly and they were actively involved in the group’s hierarchical organization. At one time, Celeste and her husband were key members dedicated to planting a new church in the community. Ultimately that effort failed, but the experience uncovered a growing restlessness in Celeste’s faith life.
“By moving into the Protestant tradition as a young adult and living there for 25 years, I became schooled in the Protestant notions about Catholicism. As I started experiencing some of the weaknesses of the Protestant tradition, I began to look with new eyes at the Catholic faith. What I found was great wisdom and theological stability, and ultimately I found the Lord himself in the Eucharist.
“The first thing drawing me back to my Catholic roots was the liturgical calendar year. I was especially drawn to the stations of the cross during Lent, and I gradually started bringing members of my family along with me. I wanted to impress upon my children the ebbs and tides of the liturgical seasons. During the Advent season, I found myself going to church with my family on Sunday morning, and then I would later attend a Sunday evening Mass by myself.
“After attending Mass one evening, I learned about an upcoming event called Welcome Home Sunday. The seminarian was planning to talk about his return to the Catholic Church and his eventual call to the priesthood. I thought it sounded interesting and I told my husband that I thought we should go. A seminarian talked about some of the reasons why he came back to the church. He spoke about the benefit of having the authority of the church for interpretation of scriptural text. People have varying opinions and the church offers clear and trustworthy definitions about what Jesus wants us to believe. Without this, we are left with uncertainty. That struck a chord with me because in our Protestant traditions, we found that disagreements among members at various levels seemed to result in people parting ways. I began to look at the authority structure in the Catholic Church and the unity that was there and I saw the wisdom of it.”
As Celeste was re-evaluating elements of the Catholic faith, her parents continued praying fervently for her return. Her decision to leave the church was difficult for them and it created a lot of tension – especially when she married outside of the church. Over the years, Celeste’s parents sent her a steady stream of articles and stories about others who left the church and came back. Celeste believes that through her parents and other sources, the Lord was gradually feeding her information that would ultimately guide her return to the Catholic Church. A four-part series on the Eucharist had the most profound impact on Celeste’s change of heart.
“I learned that the communion meal was not just a memorial or a remembrance as I had celebrated it as a Protestant. Instead, it is a supernatural encounter with the Lord, experiencing him in all of his divinity and humanity. I came to understand that the Eucharist is the most intimate touch we can have from the Lord this side of heaven. I began to meditate on this and it made me more and more hungry for the Eucharist. When I left the church as a teenager, I didn’t know what I was walking away from. To be able to receive the Lord in the Eucharist and to know that it is him was the ultimate reason for coming back.”
Celeste came back to the church in August 2005. For a time, she continued attending church services with her family on Sunday morning, and then later she would attend the evening Mass. She gradually found herself going to daily Mass whenever possible to satisfy her hunger for the Eucharist. Gradually, other family members began accompanying Celeste to Mass. Over the next few years, Celeste’s husband and three of their children were initiated into the Catholic church.
“When I walked away from the church as a young woman, it was almost like the church was getting in the way of my relationship with the Lord. I wanted to go right to Jesus. I thought I had to jump through many hoops and as an adult, I felt many of those things were unnecessary. Now, I have come to understand that the church is not intrusive or oppressive, but rather Christ’s gift to us in order that we can experience the true freedom that comes from knowing Christ. I realize that the Lord established the sacraments for me and I can receive a touch of his grace through those sacraments whenever I make myself available to him.
“I’m grateful for the people that I met and for the ministry I received in the Protestant churches. I learned a love for the scriptures, and I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, I wish I understood when I was younger that all of that is available within the Catholic Church and even more because of the Eucharist and the sacraments. It was there all along, but I didn’t see it. While the baptism in the Holy Spirit was a very powerful experience, receiving the Lord in the Eucharist after so many years was very emotional. I wept, but it produced in me a sense of peace at a deep level. I felt like I was home. I later told my husband, referring to the Catholic faith, that this is where I will live and die.”
People leave the church for a variety of reasons. According to www.oncecatholic.org, a Web site for returning Catholics, here are some of them – do you recognize your situation?
• Marriage issues. Sometimes, when a marriage fails, people feel unsupported and alone. Later, they may enter into an invalid marriage and feel that there is no way they can come back. The church’s rules on this issue may seem confusing and overwhelming.
• Drifted away. Marriages, careers and the busyness of life can seem to get in the way.
• Had a quarrel with staff. Sometimes, people have been hurt by an incident with a church staff member. The pain is fresh and it’s hard to move on.
• Had an abortion. Women who have had an abortion, or the men who helped them get one, may feel as if there is no hope for forgiveness.
There are other reasons, and everyone’s story is unique, but the common thread is that you are missing your family, your church, and want to come home. And home is here for you – if you are interested, call your local parish and ask about programs for returning Catholics, or visit the Diocese of Lansing Web site at www.dioceseoflansing.org, or contact Pete Ries at pries@dioceseoflansing.org.
We welcome you back!
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