A reaction to my sister's blogpost.

For me, Catholicism has evolved so strongly. Well, my opinion of it has. What I saw as a dry, boring church through which masses I had to drag myself in school, it has become a place of peace and calm, a place where I can experience my faith the way I want it to, without having to join in with the crowd. The Catholic church is the only church where I can sit and enjoy the service and agree with what is being said without having a single sceptical moment (where I think "Well, that's not true" or "Well, isn't that a bit exaggerated" or "Well, that's all nice for you, but it's not my thing"). I don't join in with the Mary-devotion, the Saint-thing is still a bit hard to fathom and during the communion I simply bow my head and remain seated. But the difference is that in the Catholic church, this is okay. At no point do I have the feeling I have to "evolve". There is no pressure on me to pray the Mary-prayer, or to kneel down, or to take the communion. It is simply taking part in faith. In Evangelical and Pentecostal movement, I never felt "finished". I'm not saying I'm finished at all, but in other churches I always felt like I was on this path towards becoming the "right" Christian and I had more to learn and more to learn and more to learn and there was always a part of me that wasn't ready, because I didn't agree with everything or something. I never felt quite at home, fully comfortable. In the Catholic church, I feel comfortable. There is no pressure. I am still challenged and I know my faith still has a lot of growing to do, but I don't think "Oh, in time I will feel okay with speaking in tongues" or "Maybe if I pray more I won't think healing can't be done on a weekly basis like a regular clinic". I don't feel like I am missing in my faith. I can simply sit and bathe in God's presence, in a space especially built for His worship, in a place of serenity, with people who are devotional without making a show out of it. I love it.

And my favourite part? The fact that not everything is about converting your neighbour. I'm gonna come out with it: I háte converting people. I am not the missionary type. I live my life and talk about God and hope people see faith through that, but I have never ever felt good about trying to convert people. Maybe that is why I lacked in the Evangelical church of the Pentecostal church: For me, faith and God's love is not about trying to convince people that this is the best way. It's a way to live, the way to live, but the most important part to me is "Love thy neighbour", not "Make disciples". I know they are both Jesus's words, but one flows from the other, in my heart, and the Catholic church does exactly that.

I don't know if I'll become a "real" Catholic. At this point, I am just extremely happy in the Catholic church, because there is a peace you cannot find in Evangelical churches, and a quiet which would be shunned in the Pentecostal churches. Because there is a devotion which cannot be found in either. What I love, is the awe shown to God. I have never found awe in an Evangelical church. Jesus is your buddy. Maybe, but God is your God, and you should treat Him accordingly. And that's what the Catholic church does. Good ol' respect. I love it!