Marcus Grodi - Journeys Home

THE JOURNEYS OF PROTESTANT CLERGY AND LAITY COMING HOME TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WITH THE HELP OF THE COMING HOME NETWORK INTERNATIONAL, A LAY APOSTOLATE COMMITTED TO HELPING THEM.

EDITED BY MARCUS GRODI

CHResources
PO Box 8290
Zanesville, Ohio 43702
740-450-1175
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http://www.chnetwork.org

CHResources is a registered trademark of the Coming Home Network International, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Journeys home : the journeys of Protestant clergy and laitycoming home to the Catholic Church, and the Coming Home Network International, a lay apostolate committed to helping them / edited by Marcus C. Grodi. -- 3rd rev. ed.

p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-9830829-1-0 (alk. paper)
1. Catholics -- Biography.
2. Coming Home Network International.
I. Grodi, Marcus.
BX4651.3.J68 2011
248.2'420922--dc23
[B]
2011023908

Copyright (C) 2005 original edition, (C) 2011 3rd revised edition by
The Coming Home Network International
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture texts quotedare from the 2nd Catholic edition of the Revised Standard Versionof the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966, 2006 by the Division of ChristianEducation of the National Council of the Churches of Christ inthe United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design and page layout of print edition by Jennifer Bitler : www.doxologydesign.com

EBook by Marpex Inc. Steubenville Ohio

Where do we begin to thank all the people God has used in ourlives -- especially those He has used to help the Coming Home NetworkInternational become what it is? How do we thank all those whohave helped this book and its revised versions come to fruition?I can only mention a few, but for all the rest who have been socaring and faithful, may God bless you for your loving friendshipand encouragement.

First, a thank you to my parents, Daniel (RIP) and Dorothy Grodi,who not only nurtured me with their love and discipline, but alsohave put up with my wandering and too-often-unsettling spiritualjourney.

Thank you as well to the many pastors and priests, Protestantand Catholic, who have been such faithful witnesses to Christand His Church, including Reverends Elmer J. Melchert, QuentinBattiste, Tom Witzel, Gary Stratman, Tom Cebula, Michael Scanlan,Ray Ryland, Mitch Pacwa, William Stetson, Benedict Groeschel,Jack Maynard, Don Franks, and the fine Dominican priests at St.Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Zanesville.

I especially want to thank the Catholic cardinals and bishopswho have supported our work, including Francis Cardinal George,Bernard Cardinal Law, Raymond Cardinal Burke, Augustine DiNoia,Archbishop John Myers, Bishop Frederick Campbell, Bishop RobertBaker, Bishop Gilbert Sheldon, Bishop Paul Dudley, Bishop DonaldWuerl, and Archbishop Charles Chaput.

A truly awesome thanks goes to Mother Angelica and her sistersand brothers, whose generous heart and spirit opened the doorso I could venture into the unfamiliar world of live Catholictelevision and radio.

Thanks to our many supportive friends -- Dr. Scott and KimberlyHahn, Steve Wood, Karl Keating, Pat Madrid, Dr. Mark Miravalle,Nick and Jane Healy, and many more -- without whose encouragementand assistance the Coming Home Network could never have survived.

Thanks to all the fine staff members who have given of themselvesfor our apostolic work, especially the present wonderful, awesome,immensely gifted, and highly motivated staff.

A special thanks also goes to our faithful CHNetwork members,Helpers, and friends in Christ, praise be to Jesus!

Thanks to my children, JonMarc, Peter, and Richard, who are agreat joy and a proud "quiver" (see Ps 127:3 - 5) for an unworthyfather.

And now thanks to the one who fills my life with love and meaning,an undeserved gift from God -- who is certainly growing in holinessas she patiently offers up all of my foibles -- my loving wife,Marilyn.

Marcus Grodi

former Presbyterian minister and wife

Each one of us is on pilgrimage -- a journey of faith that leadsus closer to the God we love day by day. Some of us received thefaith on our father's knee; others converted to Christianity inthe teen years or later. And many of us who began a relationshipwith Christ outside the Catholic Church could not imagine theriches within the Church that Christ wanted to give us.

We believe that we have not rejected the faith given to us inour youth, but rather embraced the fullness that Christ died togive us within the Catholic Church. Now we recognize the mysterywhere we previously did not know a mystery existed, such as theEucharist and the other sacraments. Increasingly we appreciatethe unity expressed in liturgy, doctrine, and morals through theauthority of the Church, when previously we had only hoped forbasic agreement among our fellow Christians. Daily we harnessheaven through the communion of saints, when earlier we picturedourselves much more alone on our journey.

We know from firsthand experience that people in fulltime Christianservice who examine the claims of the Catholic Church have additionalconcerns and questions beyond those of other seekers. We havewalked this rocky road, feeling alone in the midst of never-before-askedtheological questions, unthinkable professional consequences,and emotional barriers that alternately separate us from our Protestantpast, our possibly Catholic future, and perhaps even each otheras a married couple. Consequently, we want to accompany othersalong this difficult path.

You are about to read excerpts from the spiritual journeys ofpeople whose lives have been transformed through the grace ofGod in the Catholic Church. The circumstances in which each persondiscovered the Church -- and the doctrines or moral teachingsof the Church with which each person wrestled -- are as individualas they are. Yet this they have in common: By the mercy of God,they have followed Christ into the Catholic Church, no matterwhat the cost. Their accounts are invitations to join them mid-journey.Look over their shoulders, as it were, to take stock of theirvarious backgrounds and training in Christian faith, to understandtheir newfound joy in the Catholic Church, and to be filled withawe at the feet of our Lord for His marvelous work on behalf ofeach one of us.

God bless you.

Scott and Kimberly Hahn
Coauthors of Rome Sweet Home

But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.'" And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:17 - 20)

Every single person must go through this same experience of journeying home to the Father. It is slightly or drastically different for each of us, depending upon how deeply into the pigsty we have ventured before we came to our senses. Even if we have been Christians all our lives, having been baptized, catechized, and confirmed in the Church, remaining faithful even up to the present moment, yet we must remember the Apostle Paul's words to his Roman readers: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).