Life is strange, and we often fail to see what is beautiful. We fall into the trap of the regular becoming life’s background noise. We are oblivious to the fact that what we have accepted as backdrop is a work of art wrought by our Creator. If you told me a few years ago I would become Catholic, I would have politely thought you had lost your mind.
Well, now I am Catholic. God has a splendid sense of humor.
I am a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at the University of Minnesota. I was raised in a Christian home, and I shall be forever grateful for loving parents who introduced me to Jesus. They paved the way for me to become Catholic, although none of us knew it. In the fall of 2021, by a turn of events, I watched a lecture by Peter Kreeft titled “7 Reasons Everyone Should be Catholic.” In his talk, Kreeft commented that the Catholic Church’s view of the Eucharist as the real presence of Christ was, essentially, the consensus view of all Christians for about 1,000 years.
This, for some reason, hit me hard. One thousand years? I came to realize I needed to contend with the accounts of Church history, and the opinions of bright minds from the past. I did not know that Church fathers existed, and I did not know about Church history. A Pandora’s box was now open, and a mathematician was placing the reasonableness of Catholicism on trial.
This was not a short process. One must ponder the intercession of the saints, Mariology, the papacy, the Eucharist, etc. Eventually, I came to a place where becoming Catholic was an option. I realized the teachings of the Church did not contradict the Scriptures. But what made me stick it out was the Eucharist. I grew up in a church that believed the Lord’s Supper, holy Communion, was the most important part of the service. This belief opened my heart to care and be captivated by the real presence of Christ in the sacrament.
I was confirmed into the Church and received first Communion on April 8, 2023, at St. Mary in Lowertown, St. Paul. Words have not been spoken on this side of heaven that articulate the beauty and joy of that night. I shall not attempt to invent them.
I am Catholic and at peace with being Catholic. For my brother and sisters raised in the Church, I close with a snapshot of my mind from January 2021 until Easter 2023. I began by thinking, “I would never become Catholic.” It morphed into, “Could the Catholics be right?” I was shocked to find, “Ahh, they might be right. I don’t want to be Catholic!” Then, “Shucks, I think they are right.” Finally, “Man, I want to be Catholic.” Then came Easter followed by peace. This is why I am Catholic.
Garner, 27, is a member of St. Mary in Lowertown, St. Paul, where he is involved with an aspiring Oratory of St. Philip Neri. He is active at Anselm House, an ecumenical Christian study center that serves the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campuses. He enjoys running, hiking, camping, a pleasant novel with a cup of tea and long conversations with friends.
