Tag: Conversion

Guest Post: 7 Things I learned as a Neophyte

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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…

Neophite Group

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.

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Journey Home: Brantly Callaway

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Many of you will have heard of the Coming Home Network, an organization which supports converts and reverts entering the Catholic Church and shares their inspiring stories. A couple of days ago Brantly Callaway was on the show. It’s really good episode, even if Brantly’s three-year old son apparently thought it was “boring”  🙂

Brantly also has a blog. If you didn’t get a chance to read it before, I’d invite you to read the series Brantly wrote with his wife, Krista, entitled Why we’re contraception free. If you’ve ever been puzzled by the Catholic teaching concerning contraception, this is one of the clearest, methodical, yet engaging stories I’ve read.

If you’re in the mood to read even more, Brantly’s article on Total Apostasy really gets to the heart of the claims of groups such as Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons, as well as many Protestants, who claim that there was massive corruption in the Early Church.

Who’s conversion story have you found most inspiring?

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