A Snag In The Way Of My Conversion

[Dizzy]

Hello everyone,
I do not want to offend anyone at all, but if I do, I'm sorry.

I am currently in a RCIA class, which I began about a month ago after having had a dream about the Virgin Mary. (I know, I sound crazy.) I was raised Jewish and have always been extremely connected to my being Jewish; two months ago I would have NEVER considered becoming another religion. But, I could not ignore these re-accuring dreams.
All was well; Catholicism is beginning to feel "right." But then I looked at the Catholic churches history of persecuting Jews. Massacres, forced conversion (this happened to my family) making them wear round patches, sermons about how Jews are evil, etc....
I realize that this isn't going on anymore. The Catholic church has been very understanding of my background and no one has been like, "convert or you're going to Hell, straight to Hell, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dreidels!" like many protestants have treated me. But I still feel kind of like a traitor to my people. I had ancestors DIE for being Jewish, at the hands of the church I'm contemplating becoming a part of.

I am extremely confused and upset about this whole issue; Catholicism feels like it may be right for me; I have been reading the New Testament, I have been going to Mass, etc. But I'm not sure if I can get over what the church has done in the past. I don't understand how what they did can be justified; I don't think, from reading the bible, that Jesus would condone such behavior.

Please help? Sorry if I sound rude, and sorry if this isn't posted in the right spit.

<3

[CatherineM]

When you are in RCIA, there are no bad questions. That is the time to ask any question that you have. You have the right to have it answered no matter how uncomfortable it might make someone. The answer I give, which may seem like a cop-out, is that Jesus had to leave his perfect church in the hands of imperfect humans. Look at the US. It's been around for 200+ years. We did a lot of things that looking back might give one pause. There's slavery, obviously, a bunch of empire building kind of invasions, how minorities have been treated, etc. The Church has been around for 10 times longer than the US. I find it hard to evaluate the actions of people who lived centuries ago in a time where human life was treated with much less respect than we have today, or at least tell ourselves we have. I'd like to think we have made lots of progress, and learned from our mistakes. There's no guarantee that we won't fall on our faces about day to day stuff, but when it comes to issues of faith and morals, we are taught that the Holy Spirit will keep us from messing those up. Anyone can say they are acting in Christ's name, but that doesn't mean that it's true.

I encourage you to ask these questions in Open Mic where everyone can tell you how they deal with being a Catholic.

[Brother Adam]

Dear Dizzy,

Thank you for taking the time to ask your questions and discern the journey that God has planned for your life. Catholics and the Jewish people have a very unique relationship. Every time I teach Salvation History as a Catholic, the first half of that history is Jewish. We too call Abraham "father". We too revel in the story of Moses and the revelation of God's holy name. We even share in the same brokenness. The Jewish people find themselves not far removed from their Gentile counterparts when it comes to sin. Jews and Gentiles a like are broken by sin. Moses returns to the mountain, and what does Israel do? Fashions a golden calf. The only difference between that age in our shared history and today is the grace of Jesus Christ, the Jewish carpenter and only Son of God. The covenant with Abraham could not save us from sin. Nor could the covenant with Moses. Nor that of David. All of those covenants though point directly to the covenant of God qua God. The New Covenant, where Israel was gathered together and their hearts were circumcised, where they were given clean hearts, and adopted into God's family through Jesus.

With Adam and Eve God established his covenant bond, His sacred oath, with one couple. With Noah, it was a family. With Abraham it was a tribe. With Moses it was a nation. With David, it was a kingdom. And with Jesus, God shows us that he does not intend to leave anyone out of His family. He establishes his covenant bond with the world. Jew and Gentile.

Yes, some of those who call themselves Catholic have done insane and stupid things, sometimes even in the name of Catholicism. We must differentiate between the faith itself and its followers. Where its followers have wronged the Jewish people the Church is deeply apologetic and grieves for its sins. We are all family though, through that covenant bond, and family finds ways to forgive each other. I would encourage you to look at what the Church itself has done to protect the rights of Jews as well. Especially look at the Churches involvement in the Holocaust and the extraordinary measures saints like Maximilian Kolbe and the Holy See went to save Jews and others under the threat of Nazism, even to the point of laying down their lives.

Where there is ugliness, we find beauty too: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5) I am proud of you for following the promptings of your Mother, Mary and joining RCIA. We are praying for you. And you do not sound crazy. Things like that are the norm for God's people. The Holy Spirit has His sights on you, and he intends to claim you as His own. Jesus is blessing you. Allow him to continue to do so, that your "cup may overflow" (Psalm 23). If you have not done so already, please read the Gospels of Matthew and John and the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.

Love in Christ,
Adam Janke