A Hole in My Heart

Shalom tidings Mar/Apr issue has published my conversion story: A Hole in My Heart. It's our tenth anniversary and I couldn't be happier to be in the bosom of Holy Mother Church. I feel as if my real life began 10 years ago, it's as if I were reawakened from a deep and deadly slumber all those many decades.

This beautiful Catholic magazine is a labor of love and they are looking for original pieces regarding all aspects of Catholicism. Take a look online to get a feel for it. I met a few of their people at the Catholic Writing Conference and it was such a joy. Until then, I'd not even known about them. This is what I love about writing conferences, the opportunity to get to know other writers and editors. I'm pitching some talks for this year so wish me luck!  

And speaking of conversions, I can't believe I've not shared Why I Am Catholic (and you should be too) by Brandon Vogt in more detail. I received an ARC a couple of years ago and this is one of the BEST books I've read because the author lays out not only the case for Christ, but also for Catholicism. He organizes his arguments around the three transcendentals: Truth, Goodness, Beauty. It's probably the one resource I recommend to most people who are looking for an explanation for my faith. I know lots and lots of Protestants in the South and they rightly wonder why we would do such a thing because from childhood they've been taught to only believe in the Bible, and here we are with our traditions. People forget that it's the Catholic Church that compiled the books of the Bible and our faith and traditions can be traced all the way back through the Church Fathers to the Apostles and Jesus Himself. But as the Venerable Ap. Fulton Sheen said, "There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”

Brandon Vogt does a good job of dispelling some of the misconceptions in a clear manner as well as elucidating some of the basic truths of Catholicism. He writes, "Most self-aware people know they fall way short of the Church's moral demands and could never close come to meeting them." He reminds us that "the Church exists for sinners...It isn't for the perfect but for the struggling...Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future." In the end, there are many reasons to love the Church, but the principal reason is that it's true. Tonight we celebrate!