He Unknowingly Encouraged Me

My Pastor in the Baptist church is a wonderful, Godly man.  He is on fire for the Lord and totally in His service.  I mean him absolutely no disrespect in this post or ever on my blog.  I hold him in highest regard.

But, he has perhaps unknowingly encouraged me to seek Catholicism.

In one sermon he mentioned that we Protestants often shun the crucifix because Christ overcame that and is off the cross.  But, he added, that we ought to take a page out of Catholicism and remember His suffering on the cross and why He suffered.

That was a catalyst in my no longer fearing the crucifix.  It was originally presented to me in the Protestant church as something wrong and disrespectful to our Savior.  I have always wanted to hang a crucifix in my home as part of my remembrance and adoration of Christ and His sacrifice, but I felt it was wrong to do so.

In another sermon, he mentioned that he believes the Catholics may have it right, in a way, with confession.  It does a body good to confess and have that accountability.  Us Protestants like to preserve our pride and dignity by just keeping it between us and God.

That was a catalyst in my thinking that perhaps Catholic practices and beliefs aren't too wonky or anti-Biblical.  If he could speak of them positively, perhaps I could research them without fear of offending God.

Just about every communion service, Pastor reminds the congregation that the gluten-free crackers and juice are just symbols and not the Eucharist.  The last communion I attended, he said this and I felt a little put off by it until I realized that yes, the Protestant crackers and juice are indeed symbols.  They cannot be the Eucharist.

That was a catalyst in my researching to understand why the Catholics believe it is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.  And whether or not it is Biblical or made up.