Guest Post: 7 Things I learned as a Neophyte

A friend of my posted the following text on her Facebook wall today. I thought it was so good I asked her if I could publish it here on the blog. One year since what she calls “the best day of my life”, here is her reflection on the seven things she learned as a Neophyte…

To put it in simple terms, a Neophyte is a new convert to a religion. New Advent describes Neophyte as originating from the word neophytoi meaning the newly planted and incorporated with the mystic Body of Christ. I converted to the Catholic Church from Protestantism last Easter, and have decided to do a bit of reflection on my last year. It has been filled with revelation after revelation but here are the top seven that have had the most impact on me.

1. Hungering for the Eucharist

To put it simply, hungering for the Eucharist is a real thing. To some that may sound crazy or impossible and to others, you may know exactly what I mean. For those reading this who aren’t Catholic, the Eucharist is what we call the transformation of the communion bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Early Church Father, St. Justin Martyr, writes in A.D. 151:

“For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and has both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food that has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.” [First Apology 66]

For further reference, read John 6 and watch “The Hour That Will Change Your Life.”

After partaking in my First Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil and the weeks following, I was somewhat stunned to find that I hungered for more of the Eucharist. I yearned for His Body and Blood, the peace that it brought, my human weaknesses obliterated by His strength, His divine life inside of me. This surreal and transcendent feeling is one I could never fully describe but pray all will come to experience.

2. Greater love, greater work

As I drew closer to Jesus in the Church He established, I felt cherished, loved, wanted and known by my Creator more and more every day. He has breathed life into each of us and willed our very existence. He delighted in the very idea of us and fully enjoys our unique quirks and character traits. Because of this intense love he has for each of us, He holds nothing back from us but handed his beloved Son over to death, so that we may enjoy fullness of life (see Romans 8:31-34).

However, because of this fact, I have had a greater realization of my sins; how they reject His love and have turned me away from it. My selfishness, jealousy, and pride have put a greater distance between me and God. I have come to realize that the act of repentance and the gift of salvation is a life-long endeavor; it is a consistent examination of conscience. I must review the thoughts, words and actions of my day and come to terms with where I have fallen short and ask forgiveness. In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul explains it this way “So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

3. Confession becomes more meaningful

The first time I went to confession, I had to confess 20 years’ worth of sins. It was a daunting task to say the least. I wrote it all down (it was not a short list) and walked in to confess my sins face-to-face to the priest.  Many told me that I would cry during my confession and that I would feel a sense of peace after. Neither of these two things happened. I did not shed a tear and I did not feel any different after. I nervously read the entire list, received the words of absolution and walked out. Intellectually, I understood the point of confession and the necessity of doing so but interiorly I felt nothing. I wondered why for a long time; finally I came to a realization. The existence of grace is not determined by how we “feel” after receiving a Sacrament. Whether we feel greater peace or not, that does not diminish the grace that God has dispensed to us. And that is the exact point of faith.

I have gone to confession many times since then and have cried and felt lifted and more at peace, but not every time. I go to confession because that is what Jesus told us to do and because I know that I am given grace to avoid sin whether I feel the presence of it or not. And although this is somewhat embarrassing to admit, it also holds me accountable. I have, at times, thought about having to go to confession before I commit a sin, and yes, it actually deters me from doing it!

The most beautiful experience I had in confession was when I went early in the morning one day. The priest heard my sins, and placing his hand on my forehead, said the words of absolution over me and at the end looked me in the eye and said, “God loves you more than you know.” I left that confessional crying because as the leper in Mark’s Gospel is healed by Christ’s touch, I also felt healed by that touch.  

4. The universality of the Church

This last year, I have had the opportunity to travel both nationally and internationally with many of those trips falling on a Sunday. I knew the Mass was the same everywhere, but wow, it is REALLY the same everywhere! I am truly at home whether I am in Austin, Texas or Split, Croatia. Every time we enter Mass, we are participating not only with the universal Church on earth but also in heaven. We all read the same passages from Sacred Scripture and partake in Body and Blood of the same Lord Jesus Christ. And as we sing Holy, Holy, Holy, the communion of Saints join us in heavenly singing from above. As Ephesians explains, we are “one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

5. The Scriptures scream Catholicism

In the Sunday Mass, we read a passage from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament and the Gospel. Usually there is a common theme running through all the readings. I have come to see that the Bible is so unbelievably Catholic. And that makes sense, given the fact that the cannon was compiled by Catholics in the fourth century. God’s inspired Word supports the Church’s teachings because the Church’s teachings were born from the Bible! This may sound like a very simple statement but it is a profound realization to a convert. Every passage I read supports a doctrine of the Church – baptism, confession, the Eucharist, contraception, marriage, our Blessed Mother, the Saints, and many more…it’s all there. Don’t even get me started on the Church Fathers 😉

6. Noticing the poor

The Catholic Church places such an emphasis on the poor, both in body and spirit, and therefore, the dignity of all human life. The fact is our Lord talks about this all throughout the Gospels. He talks about ministering to the least of our brethren, because in ministering to them we encounter Christ. He talks about the poor of spirit inheriting the Kingdom of God. And the Lord Himself mingles with the outcasts of his time: the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the sinners, the lepers.  He sets the example for us. And the Church, being founded by Christ, carries on that example through its ministries. The word “charity” is not just a nice term or concept, it is an actionable word that is lived out by those truly following Christ and His Church. With such an emphasis placed on charity, it is hard not to notice the poor more and more in my daily life. It has harder to pass a homeless person on the street and do nothing. It is harder to walk by someone and not smile. It is harder to turn a blind eye to the injustices in our society. It becomes so much harder, yet so much easier at the same time.

7. You wonder how you ever weren’t Catholic

Having been Catholic for almost a year, it baffles me how I wasn’t always Catholic. I think back to before I came into the Church and wonder: What did I do to prepare for Easter or anticipate the coming of Christ during Christmas? How was my faith manifested in my actions?  How did I worship with my whole being on Sundays? How did I live without the nourishment of Christ’s Body and Blood?

I have never felt more myself, more individually unique yet wonderfully united to the whole of humanity. I have never felt fuller peace or greater joy. The Catholic Church is my home both here on earth and one day in heaven (God-willing ☺), and I will continue on in both wonder and awe of my Church and her Founder.