Today I am starting OCIA.
That feels strange to write because I did not begin this research expecting to become Catholic. There is no single moment when everything suddenly becomes obvious. It has been much slower than that.
WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT
The authority question has changed how I understand Christianity after the apostles. The canon has made me realize how much I already rely on the early Church. The Fathers show me bishops, succession, sacraments, and a strong belief in the Eucharist.
Mary takes much longer, but I no longer think normal Catholic honor given to her is worship. Peter and the early role of Rome also make the papacy harder to dismiss than I expected.
A FEW THINGS I AM LEARNING
Starting OCIA does not mean turning off my questions. It means taking the possibility seriously enough to learn the Catholic faith from inside the Church rather than only studying it as an argument.
I also need to learn that Christianity is more than research. I can study confession without learning repentance. I can defend the Eucharist without learning reverence.
WHAT I AM STILL UNSURE ABOUT
I want to keep studying papal authority in the first millennium, the Assumption, indulgences, the Mass, and justification.
WHAT I WANT TO LOOK AT NEXT
I want to understand how Catholic life is actually lived—prayer, the liturgical year, confession, the Mass, and the sacraments.