THE WINDING ROAD HOME TO ROME
David Fincher

I was born in the heart of the “Bible belt” with strong anti-Catholic roots. I was a “Protestant of Protestants” by heritage and instruction. My mother’s family were French Huguenots who had “ran for their lives to escape Catholic persecution”. My father’s family, Quakers, had likewise fled from England to escape religious persecution. I can find no history of a Catholic ever being in my lineage.

God was so gracious to me. I don’t ever remember a time when He wasn’t real to me. Early spiritual memories include my mother dropping me off to attend Sunday school at a local Baptist church. At 9 year of age I began to comprehend the gospel for the first time. I remember praying, alone in my room at home and asking Christ to come take control of my life and to save me. I loved to sit in the first pew so I could see and hear everything in church. I loved Christ early and followed him with child-like faith.

Our pastor, on hearing of my “personal faith in Christ”, came to visit in our home and instructed me that I needed to be baptized. I asked – “OK. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?” I was only 9 years old but had a deep desire to understand truth. Sadly, the pastor did not give me an adequate answer to my question. He stated that Christ commanded it and that’s why I should do it. I was baptized out of obedience to Christ, but deep inside I felt that there must be more to baptism than I was told. A seed was planted in my mind through that incident-
If I wanted to learn, I would have to search it out for myself.

While still quite young, I became aware of a contradiction in teaching between the Church of God on my mother’s side and the Baptist teaching I regularly heard. God had miraculously healed my grandfather. He had responded by becoming a deep man of prayer. The Baptist church I attended denied that God did miracles like that in our day. They believed that miracles ended with the apostles. I knew that this wasn’t true, but I also knew they sincerely loved Christ and sought to live devoted lives.

Another seed was planted –

Even good men who love God can be mistaken about what they believe.
My mother, who grew strong in faith, instilled a deep ecumenical spirit within me. We were involved with Christians from many faith traditions in joint ministry. She emphasized the strengths of the many faith traditions- “The Methodists emphasize God’s love, the Baptists a deep love of scripture and it’s study, the Church of God and Pentecostals emphasize experience with the Holy Spirit, prayer and holy living,” and so on. I heard – “It doesn’t matter which denomination you belong to as long as you love God”, but there was an unspoken understanding --- “as long as you’re a bible-believing Protestant.”

Sadly, I was taught in many circles that Catholicism was “apostate Christianity” that consisted in “empty rituals of lifeless formal religion.” I was thoroughly trained in all of the mistaken objections to Catholicism.

When I was 15, I felt a strong vocation to fully commit my life to serving Christ. My pastor “adopted me” as a spiritual son. He took me on pastoral, home and hospital visits. He counseled, taught and initiated me into ministry. When I was 16, I received a wonderful infilling of the Holy Spirit. For the first time, through the charismatic movement, I began to dialogue with Catholic believers. Many of my prejudices were challenged as I witnessed Catholics with strong and genuine faith.

Later I attended Bible College (Moody) in Chicago receiving a 3 year intensive diploma in evangelism through the pastoral ministries department and after several more years completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Bible and Theology through another university. I worked in evangelism and spoke with many Catholics. I even spent time seeking to “evangelize” priests. Sadly, not even the priests answered my objections to Catholic teachings. I was well catechized and had a thorough knowledge of the scripture texts that I believed supported my beliefs.

For several years I worked as a layman in church leadership capacities. I taught and delivered homilies in churches, public meetings and jails, served as Director of Christian Education, counselor, and member of the church board. In 1982-1984 I served first as a pastoral intern, and then served as senior pastor of a church in the Midwest. Later ministry included ordination and being a chaplain.

But all was not smooth sailing.

The questions of my youth persisted. I studied the scriptures diligently and prayerfully. I believed God had entrusted His sacred revelation to us and it was up to us to seek out His truth. I read widely in theology, but I still had more questions than answers. I was seeking a theology that would harmonize all the scriptures in a coherent, consistent theology. I read many opposing theological positions that each seemed to have sound scriptural support.
I had always believed that scripture alone was THE sufficient source for all we needed to believe. I was convinced that a lack of careful exegesis (deep study) was the source of all error. But I now found that even deep study in the biblical languages with diligent study of customs and biblical history was insufficient. Even with diligent study it is impossible not to be led to conclusions by our preconceptions. All of us come to the table with a set of colored spiritual lenses that only allow us to see what we’ve been conditioned to look for.

Through the years I shared some of my questions with family and close friends. They couldn’t understand why I was always searching … looking for something “more”. I frequently was chided with - “Don’t you know that there’s no perfect theology and no perfect Church!” God knows I wasn’t looking for perfection. My search was also for more than theology alone. I sensed “deep calling to deep” in my spirit. Something was missing. God was calling me to something more than I had known. I just didn’t know what that was. But, by grace, I determined to seek the Lord until I found it.
About 1998, I began to feel a call to extended times of prayer and fasting. I knew that the Lord was drawn to those who humbly sought Him. I believe that through these times of monthly prayers, that the Holy Spirit “reconditioned” my mind to begin searching in new directions. I even went to monasteries to pray at times. I began to read sermons and theologies from progressively earlier periods. I noticed that the earlier church leaders demonstrated greater cohesiveness of thought. I read widely including Methodist and Episcopal divines, Puritan authors and Jonathon Edwards. I finally arrived back to the reformers – Luther and Calvin. In many ways, the reformers reflected the catechesis they had received while in the Catholic Church. The churches they founded, in many cases, retained more “Catholic truth” than latter denominations which progressively and deliberately jettisoned any hint of things “Catholic”. I didn’t know it, but I was being drawn to the beauty of the Catholic Church.

My wife and I worshipped at the Presbyterian Church. The pastor was a very devout and approachable man who emphasized the need for holy living. We enjoyed the reverence they showed for the scriptures which was demonstrated in a little ritual that they used. Following the end of the scripture reading, the reader would say: “THE WORD OF THE LORD”. The congregation responded: “THANKS BE TO GOD.” I really liked that. (No, we didn’t know that they had “borrowed” that from the Mass.)

The reformed traditions emphasized the need for infant baptism which contradicted my religious tradition. After careful study of scripture, history and church history, I concluded that I had been wrong about “believer’s only” baptism. That was a HUGE concession for me to admit. Part of my study involved consulting St. Augustine. I had always heard that the reformers had “reclaimed” St. Augustine and eliminated “later corruptions of the truth by the Catholic Church”. I believed the reformers had returned to the “pure faith” of the apostolic Church. But I was stunned as I read St. Augustine and other early Church fathers like St. Justin Martyr and St. Ignatius of Antioch (who sat under the apostle Peter before he left to go to Rome). They didn’t sound AT ALL like Calvin or Luther to me. They sounded so….. well, ….. CATHOLIC!

My Non-Catholic foundation was now shaking. I persisted in prayer and study.
Interestingly, the first question of my spiritual life was about the meaning of baptism. The truth about that question would one day turn my journey in a Catholic direction. About 2003, we were reading the Nicene Creed in the Presbyterian Church. On that day, the following words struck me like an arrow-
“We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”
UP TO THAT MOMENT, I HAD NEVER BELIEVED THAT STATEMENT. I asked the pastor, “Do you really believe that?” He responded that he had never really given it careful thought.
I became aware, with clarity at that moment, that all of the early church HAD believed that statement and that it affirmed a sacramental view of baptism. Baptism was necessary for forgiveness. I knew that the Catholic Church still believed this and now could see that we who had disagreed were wrong … about MANY things.

Most Protestants understand baptism as a mere symbol of our faith in Christ which possesses no grace or power to actually accomplish anything. To affirm the truth of the Nicene Creed, one would have to subscribe to a sacramental view of baptism. The Baptist pastor who had baptized me couldn’t explain baptism to me correctly because he didn’t understand sacramental truth.
Further studies in the early church fathers revealed a clear belief in the doctrines taught in the Catholic Church. Men who had been instructed directly by the apostles and those that followed had taught the Catholic views now held by the Roman Church. Could men who loved Christ so passionately that they would be martyrs for Him not guard the truth taught to them by the apostles? This was unthinkable! I knew that I had to be in a group that believed in the sacraments and that affirmed the Creed- a catholic church.

Now I wish I had immediately come to the Roman Church, but our prejudices then were too strong. I then believed that there were 3 choices- the Anglican, Orthodox or Roman churches. Each affirmed the Nicene Creed and appeared to us be catholic.

We began worship with the Anglican churches and pursued ordination to the priesthood. The Bishop’s approval to begin seminary brought with it a surprising uneasiness in my heart. I felt an inner tug- this was NOT the direction we were to pursue. Soon after this I could clearly see that the Anglican churches were essentially Protestant and lacked true spiritual authority to protect even the most basic doctrinal tenets of the Deposit of Faith. Likewise, we discovered quickly that the Eastern Orthodox churches, without the pope, suffer deep ethnic divisions. Without unity, even amongst themselves, how could they be truly “Catholic”? I could suddenly clearly see that unity could only come through a central authority. SOMEONE had to have final authority. That someone was the pope, the Bishop of Rome, whom the early Church viewed as sitting in the See or Bishop’s Chair of the apostle Peter as chief of the apostles. Christ had prophesied to Peter that his own faith would establish the Church –

Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him, that he might sift [all of] you like grain, But I have prayed especially for you [Peter], that your [own] faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren. Luke 22:31-32 (Wuest expanded translation)

That all of the Christian groups that broke unity with the Chair of Rome have been “sifted as grain” is clearly demonstrated by history. The eastern churches have divided racially and ethnically. From 6 groups of “Protestant Reformers” in Luther’s day have come over 40,000 groups or denominations. Sifted as grain is a perfect description. Only unity with the successor of St. Peter prevents the “sifting” that is inevitable for all who reject his leadership, just as Christ said.
We discovered that there was only one group left that was consistent with the teachings of the early Church…the one we had most resisted- the Roman Catholic Church.

In 2005, I met with the pastor of our local parish and asked many questions. I immersed myself in a study of the early Church fathers. My wife and I watched EWTN television, and especially the program “The Journey Home.” We worked through our questions with the help of writers like Scott Hahn and the staff at Catholic Answers. We found a book by David Currie entitled “Born Fundamentalist, Born-again Catholic” that was of great help. The greatest strength, to me, came as I read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I was amazed to see scriptures, which presented seemingly irreconcilable viewpoints, come into perfect harmony through Church tradition. I was stunned by the clarity and consistency of thought. My theological objections melted in the presence of a Magisterium that authoritatively harmonized theology, scripture and the

Fathers, and a successor to Peter who leads and unifies the Flock of God.
My wife, meanwhile, was reading St. Therese of Avila and St. John of the Cross. We had both been people devoted to contemplative prayer. She kept reading passages from the saints and saying –“Have you ever heard such wonderful teachings?!! We (Protestants) don’t have anybody like these saints in our church heritage! ” She was right! The rich heritage…the Sacraments …the consistent theology... the Fathers… the Doctors of the Church…the Pope and Magisterium…the wonderful aroma of holiness left by the saints. I had found what I had been searching for all my life! We discovered the fullness of Christ as only found in His “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

During Lent of 2006, we began worshipping at St Therese of Lisieux in Cleveland. We were fully committed Catholics before we ever entered the door. By God’s great mercy we came home to the Catholic Church and received first Communion in 2007 after declaring with conviction-
“We believe and affirm all that the Catholic Church believes and teaches.”

We look back now and see all that was missing in our Christian lives while living as Protestants. Our church services contained only parts of the first half of the Mass- the Liturgy of the word. There was an occasional communion service that celebrated the “unity” that those involved have with one another as Christians. The bread and wine or juice was only a symbolic meal, not at all what the true Eucharist is. We can’t imagine how we ever lived all those years without the most precious Body and Blood of Christ. We didn’t know what we were missing. What a great treasure we have found!

We recently asked each other –“If somebody would have told you 10 years ago that we’d be Catholic, would you have believed them?”
We laughed. We couldn’t think of anyone less likely than us to become Catholic.
Well, I could think of one fellow minister I had met years ago who was heading off to seminary that might have been more unlikely. I hadn’t spoken to him in years.
I recently saw him on “The Journey Home” program on EWTN.
I discovered that He came into the Church several years before we did.
I couldn’t contain my laughter!
Nothing is impossible with God. His Mercy endures forever.