I’m Becoming Catholic and Leaving Protestantism

SUMMARY

Tate Metler, a former Protestant, recounts his spiritual journey to Catholicism, debunking myths about Mary, saints, and purgatory while embracing the Eucharist and church traditions.

STATEMENTS

Tate Metler grew up believing in God but distanced himself in middle school, experiencing a two-year period of atheism before recommitting in high school.
During junior and senior years of high school, Metler engaged in sinful behaviors like smoking, drinking, and partying to fill a spiritual void, leading to persistent sadness despite material blessings.
Entering college, Metler began taking faith seriously, attending non-denominational churches sporadically while struggling with inconsistency in prayer and Bible reading.
Exposure to online denominational debates and a friend's Orthodox faith prompted Metler to explore Catholicism beyond welcoming Protestant services.
Metler's first positive Catholic mass experience at Basilica of St. Albert's in Grand Rapids evoked awe and emotion, contrasting with Protestant stage-like worship.
Research into early church traditions convinced Metler of the real presence in the Eucharist via transubstantiation, supported by Eucharistic miracles and historical beliefs.
Common Protestant stereotypes about Catholics worshiping Mary, praying to saints, and purgatory as torture were debunked, revealing honors, intercessions, and purification processes.
The unity of Catholic liturgy worldwide, with consistent readings and rituals, deepened Metler's sense of global community and divine guidance.
Metler's daily rosary prayer fosters meditation on Jesus's life, enhancing devotion, discipline, and productivity in his spiritual routine.
Starting OCIA classes marks Metler's formal entry into Catholicism, feeling like a liberating homecoming after years of restlessness.

IDEAS

Protestant stereotypes like Catholics worshiping Mary or inventing purgatory often stem from misinformation, blocking deeper exploration of ancient Christian traditions.
A "God-shaped hole" in the heart explains why worldly pursuits like partying fail to satisfy, pushing individuals toward authentic spiritual fulfillment.
Non-denominational churches excel at creating welcoming environments and emphasizing personal relationships with Christ, but may lack historical depth that leaves seekers restless.
Attending a single Catholic mass can evoke profound awe, as if entering heaven, contrasting emotional highs from Protestant worship with reverent, altar-centered adoration.
Eucharistic miracles, rigorously investigated over centuries, provide empirical evidence for transubstantiation, challenging symbolic views of communion.
Honoring Mary as the mother of God elevates her role without worship, using her intercession like asking living friends for prayers, bridging earthly and heavenly support.
The rosary's repetitive structure actually facilitates deep meditation on Jesus's mysteries, transforming routine prayer into emotional, transformative reflection.
Purgatory represents a merciful purification process after death, ensuring no unclean soul enters heaven, rather than eternal punishment.
Global Catholic unity in daily readings and rituals creates a sense of shared worldwide faith, transcending cultural boundaries.
Blending faith with self-improvement, like powerlifting, can inspire younger generations to embrace traditional religions amid rising interest in Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
Breakups and life transitions can redirect energy toward spiritual growth, turning potential despair into disciplined pursuit of God.
Early church fathers' unanimous belief in the real presence persisted for over a millennium before the Reformation, questioning modern symbolic interpretations.
Daily mass attendance, paired with personal prayers for guidance, often yields synchronistic confirmations from scripture, affirming divine direction.
Religion and personal relationship with Christ complement each other, with church accountability and sacraments essential for sustained faith.
Gen Z's shift toward traditional faiths highlights a cultural hunger for structure and depth beyond casual spirituality.

INSIGHTS

Misconceptions about Catholic practices often mask a fear of tradition, but engaging with historical evidence reveals a richer, more unified path to Christ.
Spiritual restlessness signals an unfulfilled divine calling, where worldly successes amplify the ache for sacramental depth over superficial emotional highs.
Miracles and science intersecting in Eucharistic events underscore how faith invites empirical scrutiny, bridging rational doubt with transcendent reality.
Intercessory prayer, whether to saints or friends, humanizes heaven's communion, emphasizing community across life and afterlife.
Purification, whether on earth or in purgatory, transforms suffering into beauty, preparing souls for holiness through disciplined refinement.
Global liturgical consistency fosters belonging, reminding believers that personal faith participates in a timeless, borderless worship.

QUOTES

"Every man has a God-shaped hole in his heart. Only Jesus Christ can fulfill that void in your heart."
"Your church should have an altar, not a stage with, you know, smoke machines and a rock band."
"To reject the Eucharist is to reject Jesus himself."
"Nothing unclean can enter the kingdom of heaven."
"Relationship and religion go hand in hand."

HABITS

Consistent daily prayer to build discipline and seek divine guidance before major life decisions.
Regular Bible reading integrated into a routine to foster spiritual growth and consistency.
Attending mass multiple times weekly, including weekdays, to deepen immersion in worship.
Praying the rosary every day for 15-20 minutes to meditate on Jesus's life and start the day productively.
Avoiding sinful behaviors like smoking, drinking, and partying by redirecting energy toward faith practices.
Evaluating personal life deeply during periods of sadness to identify and address spiritual voids.

FACTS

There have been 139 documented Eucharistic miracles over 2,000 years, all rigorously researched by the Catholic Church before official recognition.
The 1993 Buenos Aires Eucharistic miracle revealed cardiac muscle tissue from a host, resembling a heart post-crucifixion agony.
Early church fathers believed in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist for over 1,000 years until the Protestant Reformation.
Catholic liturgy features the same daily readings worldwide, allowing seamless participation across countries like Austria and America.
The rosary involves 53 Hail Marys across five decades, each tied to meditations on Jesus's joyful, sorrowful, glorious, or luminous mysteries.
Purgatory is a scriptural concept involving purification from sins like envy, ensuring souls enter heaven clean.

REFERENCES

Basilica of St. Albert's in Grand Rapids, described as architecturally heavenly with jaw-dropping ceilings.
Eric's Orthodox Christian mentorship and channels: /the_buff_ginger and /@erichenkel02.
Eucharistic miracles, including the 1993 Buenos Aires case involving flesh and blood analysis.
Early church fathers' writings on the true presence in the Eucharist.
The rosary as a devotional tool with mysteries meditating on Jesus's life.

HOW TO APPLY

Begin by acknowledging personal stereotypes about other denominations, then research early church history to debunk myths like Mary worship or symbolic communion.
Attend a Catholic mass with an open mind, focusing on the altar and hymns to experience reverent worship beyond stage performances.
Investigate Eucharistic miracles through documented sources, comparing them to scriptural references on eating Christ's flesh for deeper conviction.
Incorporate daily rosary prayer, selecting daily mysteries to meditate on Jesus's life, aiming for 15-20 minutes to build emotional and disciplinary ties.
Join OCIA or similar classes for structured faith formation, praying for guidance and viewing it as a homecoming to rest the soul.
Integrate faith into daily routines like self-improvement activities, sharing testimonies to inspire peers toward traditional religions.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Embracing Catholicism's traditions fulfills the soul's void, debunking myths to deepen authentic faith beyond Protestant comforts.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Explore Catholic masses early in your faith journey to avoid intimidation and discover reverent awe.
Study Eucharistic miracles and church history to challenge symbolic communion views with historical evidence.
Pray the rosary daily for meditative focus on Jesus, enhancing devotion without repetitive rote.
Seek intercession from saints like asking friends, normalizing heavenly prayer support.
Pursue denominational research during life transitions to find deeper spiritual rest.
Attend weekday masses and note scriptural alignments as signs of divine affirmation.

MEMO

Tate Metler, a young powerlifter and content creator, stood at a crossroads of faith, his once-vibrant belief in God eroded by teenage rebellion and a gnawing emptiness. Raised Methodist, he drifted into atheism during middle school, only to reclaim his conviction in high school amid a haze of parties and heartbreak. "I was doing all these things to fill this void in my heart that only God can fill," he recalls, echoing the timeless notion of a God-shaped hole. By college, material blessings—friends, family, fitness—couldn't quell his sadness, prompting a reckoning: his faith was nominal, a "cringey" afterthought. Non-denominational churches offered welcoming sermons and emotional uplift, but online debates and a friend's Orthodox journey stirred unrest, whispering that something profound was missing.

That whisper crescendoed into a revelation at the Basilica of St. Albert's in Grand Rapids. Invited by his converting friend Eric, Metler entered a space that felt like "looking straight up into heaven itself." The soaring ceilings and solemn hymns stirred tears, a stark departure from Protestant rock bands and smoke machines. Here was worship centered on an altar, not a stage—a communal fire for Jesus, untainted by self-focused highs. Yet stereotypes loomed: Catholics worship Mary? Pray to the dead? Invent purgatory's tortures? Metler dove into theology, unraveling these threads. Mary, he learned, merits honor as God's mother, her intercession no different from asking a living friend for prayers. Saints in heaven amplify this network, righteous advocates unbound by death.

The Eucharist proved transformative, its real presence—bread and wine becoming Christ's body and blood—rooted in scripture and miracles. Protestants deem it symbolic, citing metaphors like Jesus as a vine, but He doubled down: "Unless you eat of my flesh and blood, you have no life." Metler marveled at 139 investigated Eucharistic wonders over two millennia, including Buenos Aires in 1993, where a host bloomed into cardiac tissue, echoing a crucified heart. Early fathers upheld this for over a millennium; why dismiss it now? "To reject the Eucharist is to reject Jesus himself," he realized, a truth sealing his path.

Purgatory, initially terrifying as a "purifying fire," emerged as merciful grace—a soul-cleansing between death and heaven, scriptural and beautiful. No eternal doom, but refinement from earthly sins like envy, ensuring nothing unclean enters God's kingdom. The rosary, derided as vain repetition, unfolded as meditation on Christ's mysteries: joyful birth, sorrowful passion. "It makes me emotional," Metler admits, praying it daily for discipline and clarity. Catholicism's global unity—identical readings from Austria to America—fosters belonging, while sacraments deepen the personal relationship Protestants champion. As Gen Z flocks to tradition, Metler urges the leap: religion and relationship entwine, with church accountability vital.

Now embarking on OCIA classes, Metler feels liberated, his soul at rest. His channel, once fitness-focused, will weave in faith, inspiring viewers to pursue depth amid superficial spirituality. "We need our brothers and sisters in Christ," he says, a call to the restless: traditions endure for a reason, guiding home to a loving God.