Ephesians 6:10-18 New International Version (NIV)

The Armor of God

10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Dear Diane,

I too am a cradle Catholic, but I had the exact opposite experience then you. In our grade school they gave us a Bible in 3rd grade and encouraged us to read it every day. My mother who grew up in the great depression was also given a Bible in her CCD classes and also told to read it every day.

As to John 6 if Jesus is speaking figuratively why did so many of his followers walk away? Like you they could not handle this teaching and they left Jesus. I urge you to reread John 6 vs 53-58. If the Eucharist is only symbolic then why in 1 Cor 11 vs. 28-31 does Paul write about those who have received the Eucharist unworthily becoming sick? If you read writings from the early christians it is quite obvious that they believed it to be Jesus’ real body and blood. (By the way Luther and Calvin also believed in some form of the real presence).

As to your Jn. 6 vs. 61-64 it is quite obvious that Jesus is not talking about HIS flesh but about OUR flesh. Truly if his flesh is of no avail then why did he have to die on the cross?

As to your praying to the saints comment we are asking them to pray with us and carry our prayers to God as is shown in Rev.5 vs. 8.

Now answering God’s law changing. I direct you to Mt. 19 where God allowed Moses to change teaching because of the hardness of OUR hearts. Is the hardness of our hearts in this matter still going on when the KJ version of the bible says it is ok to divorce for unfaithfulness when Jesus CLEARLY says only if the marriage is invalid.

Which brings me to my final point. Reading scripture and self interpreting it is a dangerous thing to do as shown in 2 Peter 3 vs. 16. That is why we have the magisterium. I thank God every day for that.

I and the Saints pray for you.

Duane

I won’t go into the personal side here, but on the theological side, I have had many experiences similar to you. My Protestant theology was coming up short and Catholic theology or understanding of the faith/Bible was beautifully and faithfully filling in the gaps.

It is so good to read about someone else who has gone through this type of experience, because it can feel quite foreign (though at the same time completely right). It is nice to hear about other people who made it across the Tiber.

Additionally, I had an extreme almost visceral experience of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist that completely blew me away and bypassed all former indoctrination against transubstantiation (I had been severely taught against it). I did not take communion, but was sitting in the back of the church watching it go on and thinking about the Lord. As I said, in an almost visceral way, after the priest blessed the sacrament and as I sat looking at the crucifix behind the altar, I could just feel/sense Jesus there in the room with us! It is something I will never forget. After all my time spent in charismatic circles (I was a charismatic Calvinist), I thought “THIS is what charismatic Protestants have been longing for!” And they don’t know even know it! He’s HERE! The PRESENCE of the Lord! So vividly viscerally HERE! In that moment, somehow God had clearly conveyed it to me that my entire understanding of the Catholic faith had been wrong and that I was to submit to and join this church. Of course, my free will is still engaged in the process, but I understood at the time that to not listen to God about this would be an extreme, possibly soul-threatening act of disobedience. Plus, I want to join Him where He is at. Where He is at is where I want to be!

Thank you brother for sharing! It is encouragement along the way!! Blessings.

I was drawn to your conversion story because you had the privilege early in life to read and study God’s Word. You see I was not so privileged. My conversion story is just the reverse of yours. I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic traditions. One of my uncles was a Monsignor and three of my first cousins were nuns. I, myself, thought seriously about becoming a nun too.

I attended Mass and received the Eucharist almost every day through Catholic grade school and high school. And as my little first communion prayer book instructed me, I prayed to Mary and the saints and offered them my prayers to gain plenary indulgences for my sins. Fortunately while I was still an adolescent the Holy Spirit guided me to pray directly to Jesus. When I look back I believe that this is when the Lord began to draw me out of the Roman Catholic Church.

Back then if we ate meat on Fridays it was a mortal sin. Now that was every Friday. It still baffles me why it was a sin for Roman Catholics then and yet today it isn’t. To me sin is sin and doesn’t change. Of course if it is just a tradition and man made it changes with their whims. I’m sure glad that God’s Word is the same yesterday, today and forever. Aren’t you?

You see, though I believed as a Catholic that the Bible was the basis for my Catholic faith, I never read and studied God’s Word in a Bible group or much less on my own. Nor were we ever encouraged to do so. We were brought up with the notion that such things were just for the priests and hierarchy of the church.The only Bible we got were from the readings at Mass.

I doubt that you are interested in my life experience, as I was yours, so I won’t go on and on. However, I would appreciate it if you would consider my following thoughts concerning John 6 and the Eucharist.

Why does the Roman Catholic Church use these verses to back their belief on the Eucharist when the incident occurred before the Last Supper?

Also, when reading this section personally, myself, I could understand how one may take it literally if it wasn’t that in a few verses later Jesus, himself, explains the meaning of his words. In John 6:61-64 it reads: A ware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”

In these verses Jesus explains that the meaning is spiritual and that the flesh counts for nothing. Have you ever considered these verses before?

I would also like to discuss Colossians 1:24 but it will have to wait till next time. At least I hope we can talk again. Thanks for taking the time to read this and consider my thoughts.

God is always good! Diane Sperber

I forgot to mention. My brother’s name is Ramon.