The Bear Cave

Growing up in suburban North Carolina, I passed no fewer than half a dozen Baptist churches on the way to school every morning. As a born and raised Roman Catholic, I hardly ever considered that those churches were at all different from my own. Even when I got into high school and started taking my faith more seriously, I was never exposed much to Protestant beliefs or culture. It wasn’t until after I graduated high school that I stepped into a Baptist church for the first time.

After attending a few youth group meetings and a Sunday service, I had finally come face-to-face with some of the significant differences I had only heard of between the Catholic faith and Protestant Christianity. Primarily, the service I attended looked very different from the Mass I was used to. Fold-out chairs replaced wooden pews; lyrics on a screen replaced hymnals; there was no procession or sacrifice of the Eucharist. Since arriving at Liberty, I have since learned that there are Protestant churches that more closely resemble a Catholic church, but this one wasn’t one of them.

At the Baptist church, I noticed how enthusiastic everyone seemed to be there. I had never been with a group of people who so openly expressed their love for the Lord. I thought it was one of the greatest things I’d ever seen. At my church, Mass was always quiet, and the community was, to my young and naïve self, lacking. In the month or so leading up to this, I had been questioning my Catholic faith, so this experience was equivalent to pulling the trigger.

For a few months after that experience and for my first semester here at Liberty, I didn’t consider myself Catholic or belonging to any denomination. I just wanted to seek Christ, and that was enough for me. To this day, that is still enough. I just didn’t realize that seeking Christ would lead me right back to where I started. 

After my first semester at Liberty, I turned back to the Catholic faith after much pondering and prayer. I realized that the quiet reverence at Mass brought peace, and that God isn’t physically present anywhere else like how he is at Mass. I finally grasped that my critical attitude toward the Church actually stemmed from a lack of understanding and obedience. When I realized all the questions I had about the faith could actually be answered, and when faced with the mighty history of the true Church, I had no choice but to turn back.

That January, I returned to Liberty’s campus as a Catholic. At the time, I had known only one other Catholic here. Part of me was excited to dive deeper into my faith at college. Another part of me was hesitant to say anything because I had already shared with many of my friends about my turning away from the Catholic Church. I should not have been worried though, because all of my friends received the news well. 

While I have heard strangers — and even the Convo speakers, on occasion — make snide remarks about Catholicism, I have rarely encountered someone on this campus who knew I was Catholic and wasn’t willing to have a conversation about it. From my experience, there are many Protestants who don’t know much about the Catholic Church, just like how, growing up, I didn’t know much about their sect of Christianity. 

Many of my friends and peers have asked me questions about my faith, which I greatly appreciate, regardless of whether or not I know the answer. Having these conversations is important. After all, if Protestants and Catholics believe differently on serious matters — such as church authority, sacraments and even salvation — we need to openly talk about them. I might not be able to have these conversations if I went to a secular college, or even a Catholic college where most of the students would already be familiar with the topics. 

Even if Protestants and Catholics can’t agree on everything, we can agree on the place that Christ has in our lives. We both call Christ our loving savior and king. Just from being on this campus and talking with the people around me, I have learned so much about God and living for him. I hope my peers can learn from me in the same way, and I look forward to the future conversations I will have with my Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ.

Bear is the editor-in-chief for the Liberty Champion