This year the first day of spring falls on March 19, 2020. St. Joseph’s Day! Spring brings a certain stillness to the earth. A waiting. A time of hushed expectancy. Seeds are planted and their growth is a quiet one – a hidden growth deep in the soil followed by the tender shoots stretching through the earth and reaching for the sun. […]
Conversion Stories
Before the Miracle, I Believed—But Now I Know.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me." (detail) by Carl Bloch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The following story is true. It happened to me. I will never, ever forget it. I had been a Carmelite Sister for many years when this story occurred. It changed my life forever, and I came away from the experience with an explosion of faith bursting within my soul. To cut to the quick and bring forth the significance of […]
Before the Miracle, I Believed—Now I Know.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me." (detail) by Carl Bloch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The following story is true. It happened to me. I will never, ever forget it. I had been a Carmelite Sister for many years when this story occurred. It changed my life forever, and I came away from the experience with an explosion of faith bursting within my soul. To cut to the quick and bring forth the significance of […]
My Conversion to Divine Mercy
When I first entered Mount St. Mary’s seminary in Maryland, I met some fellow seminarians with a devotion to the Divine Mercy. They would often get together and recite the chaplet together. I was invited on several occasions to join them, but I always politely declined. I thought I didn’t need another devotion and preferred to use my Rosary beads […]
Inspiring Conversion Stories in the Bible
“Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness; in your compassion blot out my offense. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2) Nearly everyone loves conversion stories. Over the last couple of decades, the conversion stories of people who have entered the Catholic Church have exploded onto the scene in the […]
From Scotland to Rome – A Story of Conversion
It was 11:45 in the evening and I couldn’t sleep. I was anxious about a phone conversation I overheard my wife having with her mother about Catholicism and my patience for this divisive topic had run out. My mother-in-law was asking my wife how she would feel about not receiving the Eucharist at her sister’s upcoming Catholic wedding now that […]
When are We Who We Are Meant to Be
When I was seventeen-years-old, I wanted to be the next Jim Morrison. I was actively seeking to feed only my sensual delights through a hedonistic framework built in order to cope with insecurity and make my social experiences more comfortable for myself. To make matters worse, I was increasingly affirmed in my impression that I was truly myself (and at […]
How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church
Sometimes a parent just has to drag a kid where he doesn’t want to go: the grocery store, swimming lessons, the doctor’s office, even church. The parent does this because he’s not short sighted like a child might be. The parent knows what the child needs long-term: food, life skills, a check-up and in the case of church, spiritual direction […]
Confessions from a Reluctant Evangelist
I flirted with fundamentalism during my college years. I’d met a group of Christians who talked about their faith with the same zeal as a weight lifter, all beefed up on steroids and vanity, might talk about his health regimen. They called this “being on fire for Christ.” I still wince every time I hear the phrase. I mistook their […]
A Faith-Filled Heart — The Story Continues
Why my heart is filled with faith; a true story of near-death experiences and the undeniable truth that there is a greater power. Feeling like you have your life all figured out is one heck of a feeling. But finding out you are nowhere near that point, after thinking you were, is devastating. By the time I was 20 I […]