Video – FiNews #12: Neil Babcox – Protestant Pastor becomes Catholic
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Ave Maria!
After being a Protestant Pastor for over 30 years, first in a nondenominational church and then in three Presbyterian churches, Neil Babcox makes the journey home to the Catholic Faith on the Solemnity of All Saints, November 1, 2006. While most Protestant converts find Catholic devotion to Our Lady an extremely difficult obstacle to becoming Catholic, for Neil it was just the opposite: Her irresistible tenderness drew him into the fullness of Christ's Church. Neil spent his first Easter with the Franciscans of the Immaculate and shared his story with AirMaria.com in two episodes. Watch Neil in this first episode as he shares how the Immaculate brought him home; and be sure to tune in to EWTN, Marcus Grodi's The Journey Home on May 21st at 8pm where Neil will share more of his story.
Links:
EWTN, Marcus Grodi, The Journey Home--upcoming guest Neil Babcox:
Conversion story of Neil Babcox
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria!
Welcome home Neil. Thank you for the powerful testimony.
In The Sacred Hearts,
Scott
Indiana
Dear Neil,
Thank you so much for this testimony. Your love for Our Lady is so beautiful. I am in tears here as your testimony reminded me so much of my own jouney to the Catholic Church. I often describe it in short hand as follows: Holy Virigin > Holy Eucharist or Blessed Mother > Blessed Sacrament. Like you, Mary has brought me so much closer to Jesus.
Many Blessings,
Brian
Dear Brian,
Thank you so much for your note — it touched my heart.
I like your spiritual short hand too!
I would enjoy hearing your story.
Totus tuus sum, Maria.
Neil
Neil,
I, too, am a convert. I converted in 1972, and it was a small
Christmas picture of Mary with Jesus that brought me into the Church.
However, for twenty five years, devotion to Mary was watered down,
downplayed, etc., and I fell into profound discouragement, suffering a nervous breakdown in 1985. While I was in the hospital, a technitian came to take my blood sample, and she asked me what I was hiding under my pillow. I showed her a rosary, thinking she would take it away from me. She looked at me and told me “You keep praying the Rosary. She will help you”. I gave myself over to God five months later, but I believed the heresy that I had to be psychologically “together” before I was able to embrace a spiritual life. So, for the following 13 years, I was in counseling. Finally, in 1997, I became determined to find the Lord no matter what, and I attended a retreat at Trinity Retreat House in Larchmont, New York.
There I learned that The Holy Eucharist is the Living, Breathing, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I didn’t know how I would be faithful to my new faith, however, even though I had begun to attend daily Mass and go to confession every week (I still do).
Five months later, in February of 1998, I returned for a Lenten retreat, and there I was prayed over, “Mary”, the prayer went, “take Joan and teach her who she is”. “Mary”!!!!! At that moment I knew her to be the only created creature who was perfectly faithful and said her perfectly constant “yes” to God. I asked her to take me and bury me in her yes. Six months later I made my St. Maximilian Kolbe Consecration, and four years later, on August 15, 2002, I made my
St. Louis de Montfort consecration to Mary. I continue to grow in truth and love because she continues to lead me. I love her beyond discription. Neil, I was and am deeply, deeply moved at your beautiful testamony to Our Lady. You seemed to have received a grace that is similar to St. Alanus de Rupe. I am so grateful to God and to Our Lady for your conversion. All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.
All my love in the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Joanie Haselman
http://www.familyland.org
Dear Joan,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I was deeply touched. I am now asking Our Lady to “bury me in her yes”. Also, thank you for introducing me to St. Alanus de Rupe. I’m looking forward to getting to know him.
I hope you see this! I took me so long to respond.
Yours in Christ and Mary,
Neil
Dear Neil,
I watched your testimony on the Journey Home and was so moved by your story that I came to my computer and googled your name. That’s how I came upon this testimony! Awesome!
I too was wooed by Mary. In my wildest dreams, I would never have anticipated such an encounter! I was baptized in the Lutheran Church but began attending a non-denominational church as an adult. About a year before I began investigating the Catholic Church I began attending a Reformed Church, thinking that maybe the Calvinists had it right! But still, I had so many questions that needed to be answered.
The first part of my journey in earnest, into the Catholic Church entailed reading tons of books on Catholicism and being convinced through scripture and history that the Catholic Church “is” the church Jesus instituted. I began going to Mass and one day I was drawn to a statue of Mary surrounded by flowers. I went over to it and suddenly I knew who she really is! She was not just an incubator for our Lord! She is His mother! She is the mother of the Church! She is our mother! I asked for her intercession (something, by the way, that was totally foreign to my protestant faith) in the conversion of my heart and she has been ever faithful. I began to say the Rosary and soon I was spending time in the Adoration chapel. My love for the Lord has grown by leaps and bounds! I treasure the time I spend in His presence!
I began RCIA (a very long program at this parish) last August but because of some scheduling issues with this particular program I was unable to continue, so at the end of March I stopped going to this RCIA class and began attending the RCIA at another parish. Of course this was at the very end of this particular RCIA so I was not able to be received this Easter Vigil. This particular RCIA starts again in September (this class goes from Sept-Easter Vigil) so I will have to wait until then before I am able to begin anew. I long for the day that I will be able to receive our Lord in the Eucharist!
I just want to thank you for sharing your journey with us. My journey seems to closely parallel yours, although I am not clergy. Keep sharing and thanks again!
In Christ and Mary,
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
Thankyou so much for sharing your story. It’s wonderful to hear how Mary wooed you. She is not an incubator — Amen. I went to Mass for about 2 1/2 years befor I was able to commute. I got so much out of Mass without communing that I could only imagine what it would be like to receive — and I wasn’t disappointed.
God bless you,
Neil