New Series: A Convert’s Guide to Catholic Doctrine
SHOW NOTES
Big Announcement: A Convert’s Guide to Catholic Doctrine
Welcome to another update from Catholic Piety on Purpose! I am your host, Rich, and today I have an exciting announcement about the future of this platform.
The Spark of Inspiration Recently, I was working on an episode but just wasn’t feeling it, so I turned to prayer to figure out the next steps for the channel. I have been praying a full Rosary—all the mysteries throughout the day—for 30 days for some special intentions. During the second day of this devotion, an idea came to me that is incredibly near and dear to my heart.
My Journey as a “Revert Convert” As I’ve shared in the past, I consider myself a “revert convert”. I was baptized Catholic as a two-day-old baby in the hospital and grew up in an Italian Catholic family, but I lacked real faith formation. Instead, I spent 16 to 20 years receiving my theological training in Calvinism, Pentecostalism, and big box evangelicalism.
Because of this Protestant background, I had a massive amount of theological baggage to unwind when I eventually returned to the Catholic Church. I had to confront numerous doctrines and unpack the falsehoods and lies I had been taught about what Catholics believe. When my mom passed away in 2015, I came back to the Church. Because I was already baptized and confirmed, I didn’t have to go through OCIA, but it still took a solid five years to transition from merely acknowledging the Church’s teachings to fully owning and believing my Catholic faith.
Introducing The CGCD Manual This journey has inspired my new project: a book I am calling A Convert’s Guide to Catholic Doctrine, or the CGCD manual. Each chapter of this guide will tackle a specific doctrine that I personally had to work through in order to make the switch and understand the Catholic position.
My ultimate goal is to compile all of this into a manual for converts who are going through OCIA and struggling with those same Protestant predispositions. My prayer is that Mary and the Holy Spirit will use this work to help answer those big questions for people entering the Church.
A Change in the Process Because of this new project, my video posting schedule might become slightly irregular. Normally, I make a video first from slides and research, and then use AI to generate a transcript and show notes for my Substack. Now, I am flipping the script: I am going to write the content first, and then produce a video based on what I have written.
I Need Your Help! I don’t want this manual to solely reflect my own conversion experience. If you are watching or reading this and you are a convert who had specific theological topics you had to work through, please put your ideas in the comments. I would love to include the doctrines you wrestled with as well.
Where to Find the New Content You can find all of this upcoming work at catholicpiety.com. That domain points directly to my Substack, making it a one-stop shop for my articles, show notes, and links to all of my YouTube videos.
I pray that this project is from the Lord and will be beneficial to all of you, just as I know the research will be beneficial to my own holiness. I hope you are doing well, that God is blessing you, and that you are being purposeful in your piety!
+JMJ+
Rich