Toeing The Party Line

One of the things I have been thinking a lot about lately is my journey from a cradle Baptist to a dyed-in-the-wool Roman Catholic. As the years go on and my knowledge of history, the Church and the Bible grows, so does my support of the Party Line. Something I find very interesting is that my beliefs never changed at all, but my faith has undergone a tremendous transformation. I can still remember the night I got baptized. I remember preparing for it in the upstairs room, where I put on white robes, then walked down to the pool at the appointed time, along with the others who were to be baptized. There was (what appeared to me) an old woman receiving baptism with me. I thought it was odd that she shared that experience with me because I thought everyone experienced it at my own age (five years old). The preacher asked me if I want baptism and I did and then he baptised me in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we got home (my parents, my siblings and myself) my brother and sister went up to bed and I had a conversation with my parents about the faith I was just baptised into. That evening I had a full and complete understanding of what Jesus did on the cross. Over the next few years I continued to learn about the Old Testament, and the Gospel. As a teenager I developed a deeper understanding of the Gospels, the New Testament and applying the Christian teachings to my life. In my early twenties I learned the value of abandoning the Christian way of life for gross hedonism.

When I was twenty-four I converted to Roman Catholicism and again began a devoted practice of my religion. I worked with a devoted Catholic who sponsored me in conformation and encouraged me to learn about the faith. Encouragement coupled with my father's love for history which I gratefully inherited, I started a long research project, which I plan to continue for the remainder of my life. The point of it all is that I have had a firm understanding of the Christian faith for as long as I can remember (literally) and as my knowledge grows, my understanding of that faith does not change, but my deeper conversion to Roman Catholicism only continues and I can only echo what our beloved pope recently stated: the Roman Catholic Church possess the fullness of the faith deposited by the Apostles and passed on to us by their successors.