19/06/2026
For most of my life, I was a Jehovah’s Witness. I was born and raised in the faith, and my family was deeply involved in the activities of the Kingdom Hall. We faithfully attended our studies twice a week without fail and actively participated in preaching because we sincerely believed we belonged to God’s true organization. Our intentions were genuine. We wanted others to know God and be saved.
As I grew older, however, something began to trouble me.
I developed a deep love for reading Scripture. Whenever a Bible verse was discussed during our meetings, I would not stop reading at the quoted passage. Instead, I would continue reading the surrounding verses to understand the full context. Over time, I noticed that some explanations did not seem to match what the Bible itself was saying.
One of the first things that caused me to question our teachings was the Lord’s Prayer.
I was taught that repeating prayers such as the "Our Father" was wrong because Jesus warned against "vain repetitions" in Matthew 6:7-8. Because of this, we never prayed the Lord’s Prayer. But one day, I continued reading beyond those verses. Then I reached Matthew 6:9, where Jesus said:
"Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name..."
I was shocked.
If Jesus Himself taught His disciples to pray these words, why were we discouraged from using them? At that moment, I realized that perhaps we had misunderstood what Jesus meant by "vain repetitions." That discovery planted the first seeds of doubt in my mind.
Another experience stayed with me since childhood.
One night, I experienced what many people describe as sleep paralysis. I was conscious and desperately trying to wake up, but I could not move. As I struggled, I felt as though I was lifting my arm and raising myself up. Yet when I looked down, I could still see my physical body lying on the bed. It felt as though my spirit was separating from my body.
As a Jehovah’s Witness, I had been taught that humans do not possess an immortal soul and that after death there is no conscious existence. Yet what I experienced seemed impossible to explain according to that belief.
For years, I pushed that experience aside. Family members suggested that it was only a dream. But I could never completely forget it. I also noticed that Scripture speaks about souls and conscious existence after death, such as in the account of Lazarus and the rich man. Although I was told it was only a parable, the questions remained in my heart.
The turning point came when I decided to follow the advice often given in our meetings: read the Bible from beginning to end.
I took that advice seriously.
The more I read, the more I fell in love with Scripture. I discovered the beauty of God's plan and the lives of His faithful servants. Then one day, while reading the Gospel of John, I encountered a passage that changed everything.
John 1:1 says:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Then in John 1:14, I read:
"And the Word became flesh."
The meaning seemed clear. Jesus was not merely an angel. He was God who became man.
This was difficult for me because I had been taught that Jesus was Michael the Archangel. But the Gospel of John pointed to something much greater. Jesus was truly divine.
At first, I was confused. How could Jesus be God while the Father is also God?
My search for answers led me to learn about the Holy Trinity. For the first time, the biblical passages that once seemed contradictory began to make sense. The doctrine of the Trinity provided a coherent understanding of everything I had been reading.
As I continued researching Christian history and Catholic teaching, I made a surprising discovery: the doctrines of the Catholic Church did not contradict the Bible. In fact, they harmonized with the whole message of Scripture.
The more I studied, the more convinced I became that Catholic teaching was consistent with both the Bible and the faith of the earliest Christians.
That realization became the first major reason I decided to become Catholic.
At that time, I had not yet discovered that Jesus Christ Himself founded the Catholic Church. But I already knew that the Church's teachings were faithful to Scripture. Later, when I learned about the historical foundation of the Catholic Church, my conviction became even stronger.
I could no longer resist the call.
I eagerly desired to be baptized into the Catholic faith, and I also had my children baptized. Looking back, I can see how God patiently guided me through Scripture, questions, doubts, and discoveries until He led me home.
This is only the first part of my journey. There is much more to tell about how God continued to reveal the truth and ultimately brought me into the Catholic Church.
