A Traditional Catholic Studies the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses:

In Catholicism, it kind of felt, after I was confirmed, I was in an open sea. Lost and shipwrecked. There was little instruction. Little formation. Mind you, I went to Madonna House and was blessed to find Catholic friends. I needed to search for these. I wonder about the Catholic youth who are likewise lost, perhaps questioning their faith because of the evils of this world. In my writings, I am quite hard on Catholicism. You need know how much I love and adore my faith. I never will willingly abandon it.

In this article, I would like to share with you quite proudly and adoringly, what I have learned as a Traditional Catholic in studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and attending meetings for over two years. Let me say at the outset how much of a literal joy it has been to have become part of this beautiful family of true Christians. I sense you asking, how can you say this? I sense you asking, how can you, as a traditional catholic, practice worship outside of your chosen faith. Are you not sitting on the fence? To answer these questions, I simply say that it is not the religion truly that matters to God. What matters is the faith. Religion is intended to build our faith. I believe there is no one religion that is completely in the truth these days. Though some come closer than others, I believe a time and a leader will come who will set everything right. Who will make clear the Scriptures and the faith. There will be no question then and all Christians will need unite. I am a Traditional Catholic. God has instructed me to remain as such. As it was God who commanded me to study with the Witnesses of Jehovah and to continue attending meetings.

Well, the very first thing which I have gleaned from these beautiful, endearing and special people is that perhaps they have a point about Jehovah as being the only God. So, I speak from personal experience, having either met or having been offered a vision of the uniqueness of Jehovah as Father. About the trinity, I do not know. I believe fully that the Father would not and has not deprived of His Messiah any glory. While the trinity is a progress of prayer and of influence of holy spirit, we know that Jehovah has been unique prior to the incarnation. I will share an experience I had here after one of my studies. After a study on the uniqueness of Jehovah, I prayed asking God to show me whether He was God. I asked Him to make it clear and undeniable as coming from Him. That night, while sleeping, the cross on the rope around my neck fell off the rope. I inspected it and scrutinized it. The rope was completely intact. It was impossible by physic’s standards for this to have occurred. I have not worn a cross since. For my Catholic friends, this does not diminish the importance of Jesus. I say with boldness. Jesus is Lord. Because of who God created him to be. Jehovah is God.

Here is another area: The Witnesses are completely right about God. The trinity, to obscure His name, these things do one thing: they obfuscate the personality and character of God. Here: Jehovah is very real. He is a real person. He is a spirit. Do you forget the way He walked with Adam in the garden of Eden? Studying with the Witnesses of Jehovah has helped me to realize how very real Jehovah is. He has feelings. Just like your very best friend. We can be His very best friend. When you see Him not as some distant dictator and instead as a friend with the personality of a puppy dog, the docility of a chipmunk and the power of a lion, we gain access to Him. Here: I am not denying the trinity. There is value in this. What matters is faith in God. But here: as Catholics, we can become trapped in our rosaries and sacraments. So much so that we forget the humanity of God. From the Witnesses of Jehovah, I also learned an intimate form of prayer and love that I did not possess prior. Merited, this intimacy exists also in Catholicism. But it is hidden. It is not easily accessible. Mental prayer is for the elite of Catholicism. Something which the normal Catholic has forgotten all about. There is more value in this intimate outpouring of one’s soul to God than in a hundred rosaries not prayed well.

Studying with the Witnesses of Jehovah has really filled me with a love and devotion for the Scriptures. See, I was raised in evangelical circles. I used to love the Bible. Then, when I became Catholic, my view on the Bible was changed. I forgot about it. Amidst the rosaries and Masses and confession and penances, I actually allowed myself to stop reading the Bible almost entirely for years on end. Studying the Bible with the Jehovah’s Witnesses has filled my heart with a love and joy for reading the Bible. It is simply a part of my daily routine at this point. In a time where many of Catholic seminarians studying to become priest are not even encouraged to read the Word of God, let us as Catholics remember the importance of Scripture. Here: The Bible is essentially the anchor. Without it, the heart of any faith or person who seeks to know God will falter. I venture to say that this deviation is the source of all the ills in our once glorious Church. The Bible, too, contains practical guidance for the way we should live our lives. This is not only God’s Word. It is also a manual for conduct and morality for how to live our lives. Scripture matters because it is God’s very Word offered to humanity. God does not speak to people any longer. Of this we try to convince ourselves at least. The Word of God, then, is the safest and most reliable conduit of discerning the will of God.

I can safely say, with all of my life experience, I have never been treated with such respect and dignity as I have when among the Witnesses of Jehovah. They are a family. This is truly beautiful. Being a Christian is not being tolerant of people who are hostile to us. Common sense and reason dictates that once we recognize somebody’s or some group’s toxic behavior towards us, we flee. This seems to be a bit of sense the Catholics have missed. Mind you, Jehovah’s Witnesses also believe in open borders. I truly believe this is ignorance and/or pressure under duress. The Jehovah’s Witnesses possess within their organization the most entirely Christian and holy community I have ever seen. There literally are no other people on earth who come to the assistance of one another in need as they do. When I first began studying, I was surprised to hear about a sister who was moving away from the congregation. My Bible teacher and I drove past her home when she was moving and the entire congregation was over at her house to help her move away and to say goodbye. These people have discovered the true essence of Christianity in helping the congregation. Amidst these foreign aid policies and USAID and unicef that Catholicism has become enmeshed in, we seem to have forgotten this simple Christian fact. The world outside will come and go. Beggars will come and go. What never changes is the heart of the Church. We can reach these beggars and others by evangelizing them. This is true nourishment: sharing with them the Gospel truth. Not a candy bar. Something which is short-lived and brief. In addition to support, the encouragement that I receive every single time that I go to meetings is unparalleled. This fellowship exists in other places but not to the degree it exists here. They are very much like a monastery. An oasis within the world.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses taught me, a Traditional Catholic, how to live my life. See, as a Catholic convert, I never received much instruction in terms of conscience formation. The Bible, though, offers clear lessons and principles for how to live your life. Let me also say, the website JW.org is just a treasure-trove of beautiful and wholesome material, much of it, even safe for the most traditional of Catholic. Through my study, I learned that the closer I draw to Jehovah, the closer He will come near me. The way we live our lives matters. It truly does. This is what gave Joseph the will to resist Potiphar’s wife. He knew it was wrong to commit adultery. He knew this not because of confession or Eucharist but because his conscience had been formed well by intimacy with Jehovah. The Bible teaches us how to form good spiritual habits, how to make a decision, how to be clean – both physically and spiritually, how to choose friends and how to choose entertainment. There is a lot of resistance to the Witnesses because of disfellowship. Some see it as cold, like a cult. It is obvious that this is the way they maintain their cleanliness as an organization and as individuals. What these sources fail to mention is that the moment, the cause for the disfellowship is recognized and repented, they are welcomed back as quickly as if they had never sinned at all. If God judged us solely upon the way we live our lives – our conduct – surely Jehovah’s Witnesses would be first in line.

The Witnesses’ perspective on blood is also a game changer. I will say: I had no idea. I simply believed blood donation was a necessary part of medicine. While I wondered in my heart why I struggled so greatly the first time I donated blood. I remember that I nearly threw up. With prophetic wisdom, I say there are additional reasons to avoid offering blood. Even more than the ones they possess. The life force of the creature is in its blood. It’s not difficult for me to see how what is commanded in the Hebrew Testament has not been abandoned in the New Covenant. Yes, there is mercy. This is a principle. This is a law not simply applicable to NT or OT times but for all times.

Guys, you know me. In terms of politics and war, I am beginning to think the Witnesses are very right. Here’s the thing: we really cannot influence the course of this state of things. What happens is what Jehovah permits because of the rule of satan. For me this is difficult because I want to cling to my belief that as Christians, we can influence the outcome of things in this world. This is true. As is evident with the crusades where Christians completely altered the course of history for good. Here: I am starting to think that it is holier simply to permit things in their course. The solution to all problems is not in our possession after all. I am reminded, years ago, when I began my ministry, I was unbothered by politics. It was during these times when I created beautiful literature and answered amazing spiritual questions nobody else could answer. Whenever someone asked me about my politics, I simply smiled and nodded. It was because of your surveillance that made my silence futile. In 2016, I started watching videos about the campaign of a particularly unpopular politician who was elected despite overwhelming odds. Seemed at that time, I was forced to shift focus to a perpetual defence of my character and against how I had reacted. At that time, I simply discerned it was pointless to keep my politics to myself since no matter how hard I tried to keep silent, your surveillance would reveal something you disliked sooner or later anyways. I hope you will come to recognize just how much I have sacrificed in my life to be your prophet. I have zero privacy even in regards to my finances and health. God knows the amount of injustices I have for the sake of the holy Name. This is all in face of the fact that Jehovah intended for me to be a king by this point. All this to say, I cannot be silent. Praying that when you realize this, you will help me. Anyways, I am beginning to see just how on point the Witnesses of Jehovah are. Let’s face it: politics have made a mess of every other religion. Every single one. Even Catholicism. You would need be blind to say that the hierarchy is in a good place. Everything in our faith is influenced – for good, and much more often – for the bad – by politics. Even the election of vocations, something which every catholic believes is a direction of holy spirit, is influenced rather by politics. Yes, brothers, sisters, many popes have been elected, contrary to the holy spirit. This is part of the reason I do not hold any bitterness that I was denied vocation. I know it was not the will of the holy spirit. I know if God had his choice, I would already be a king.

As a Traditional Catholic, my eyes have been opened in studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, about the issue of false religion. As a catholic, clearly, I have some reservations about this. And, for every argument that is brought up in the Bible study there are counter arguments, which defend Catholicism. Studying the Bible helped me to be able to recognize the levels of spiritual pride present in Catholicism. There is no wonder as it traces its roots to the early Church. But perhaps the Witnesses have something to say. Perhaps we should listen to them. After all, it was the religious of the day that crucified Jesus. From their envy and pride. Look: I have seen in the Spirit the future of the popular Church. This is a Church that drifts far from Truth, which abandons the Bible and which conforms to the world. Regardless, this Church, which will take the appearance of Catholicism, will be a mockery and a fraud. Be mindful of your faith. This is why we need remember the Bible in all things. Even I, a prophet and one with new revelation (as if it were Godly to limit God because of our beliefs), submit to the Bible as this is how things need be. Until God shows you. Remember, spiritual pride does not bring you nearer to God. The truth does.

Finally, in studying the Bible with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, I learned what it means to be a true Christian. True Christianity is in evangelization. Nothing else to such a degree. We can take an incredible lesson from these beautiful, holy and precious people in evangelization. Their zeal is remarkable. It, in part, originates from their belief the end is coming soon. Do not be fooled by their false predictions. They are right. Except they are unable to see that Jehovah desires things to improve first. Personally, I find it amazing how when you experience persecution, instead of dwelling on these issues inwardly, by evangelizing precisely to the people who persecute you, we are offered an incredible solace. There is also a childlike innocence within the Witness circles that you cannot find in Catholicism. Catholicism has become an intellectual religion. It is almost as though, in its insecurity, it has developed thesis and counter arguments about every single detail of life. This is a very basic spiritual truth: Knowledge puffs up. Faith humbles. This makes the Jehovah's Witnesses very beautiful in their simple love and grounding in the Bible. There is no room for puffery and pretentious arguments and cocksure theories. The Bible keeps them grounded in a reality, which is narrow mind you, but it is a tangible reality nonetheless. Rather than a heady cloud of human knowledge and dissertations. There is nothing wrong with intellectualism. If it does not serve God, it is worthless.

God has asked me to remain in and advance within the Catholic Church. I have no intention of converting, though I have been very tempted. I will follow the will of our good God. Here: Studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses has helped me to develop a real relationship with our personal God. It has increased my faith in leaps and bounds beyond the growth it had received in my entire faith as a Catholic. Studying the Bible has made me not only a better Catholic, it has made me a better human being. I have found a beautiful family. I shall go to meetings until they tell me I will need stop. Next time, when you hear about the Witnesses, have an open heart. Bible study can change a life. I am very serious when I say that I learned more about God and the Bible in two years studying with them than I did in fourteen years as a Christian on my own. I praise God for these beautiful and truly holy people.