This weekend will see over 400 men, women and children become Catholic at the Easter Vigil in parishes across the Diocese of Lansing. One of those is Mikey Demello, pictured, who will be received into the Church at St. John Student Parish in East Lansing. 23-year-old Mikey is a tax accountant and hails from the town of Charlotte.
He grew up identifying as a non-denominational Christian and credits his youthful love for Jesus Christ to his mother and maternal grandparents. Here is Mikey’s explanation as to why he is becoming a Catholic:
“For me, it began with The Bible. Most American Christians will say that there are 66 books in the Bible, when asked. However, for the vast majority of Christian history there were 73.”
“I first learned of the deuterocanonical books in my Ancient and Medieval Worlds Class at Albion College. We were assigned the Book of Maccabees to read and I was shocked to learn that Catholics had a Bible with more books in it than mine did. I had actually been gifted a Bible with those “extra books” years earlier but had never so much as removed it from the box and, sure enough, it was a New American Bible.”
“I read these books to decide for myself what I thought of them. When I read Wisdom 2:12-20, the most obvious prophecy of Jesus I had ever seen, my heart was convicted. It was one of the best proofs of the Christian faith I had seen. I could not imagine why the Protestant world did not put it to good use. In addition, no pastor I asked could give me a satisfactory justification for their removal. Most didn't even know what I was talking about. Some said they were never scripture to begin with. Some claimed that they contained “un-Christian doctrines”. I did not find these arguments convincing. If we removed scripture because it contradicted our theology, weren't we doing worse than what we had accused Catholics of?”
“When I accepted that Catholic Canon of Scripture, the writing was on the wall – but I still didn't want to be Catholic. Instead, I dove head first into Catholic theology trying to disprove it, but fairly. I didn't buy the propaganda that was often used against the Church. But I still did subscribe to a “Restorationist” theology and believed that the Protestant Reformation was a return to form in some way. I thought that by studying history I would find a point where the Church had lost its way. But the date of this apostasy kept moving further and further and further back. The Church of History looked uncomfortably Catholic to me. If I truly believed that the Reformation had been a return to form it would mean that the Gates of Hell had prevailed before, even, the last of the apostles had died – something Jesus promised would never happen.”
“Ultimately, I concluded that the Catholic Church was the legitimate continuation of the Church that Christ founded. I came to it not as someone who “knew better” but as a humble student, trying to learn. There was a lot of Catholic theology that I still struggled with but since my decision on December 31st of 2018, my many questions have mostly been answered. Now I am poised to enter into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church on April 16th and I cannot wait!”
Please pray for Mikey and all those who are becoming Catholic this Easter. Our Lady, Mother of the Church, pray for them!