Why I’m Grateful My Best Friend Is Catholic

My best friend is Catholic. I’m Baptist. And I am so grateful that we are friends and have differing opinions about several things!

Quick back story: Michaela and I met when we were 7. I became a Christian a few months after I met her. As we grew up, we occasionally discussed things relating to our faith. Stuff like the differences between priests and pastors, baptism, and “asking Jesus into our hearts” came up.

I didn’t really understand the differences between Protestants and Catholics. All I knew is that both Michaela and I loved Jesus.

Once we reached high school, we began to notice more differences.

I went to Mass with her family once and honestly thought it was the weirdest thing! It was so different than what I was used to. And I didn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to participate in their Communion even though I was a Christian. On another day, I witnessed her family praying a rosary and I didn’t understand what that was about. I felt so weird!

We started having debates, trying to convince the other that “our side” was the right side. Quickly flipping to Bible verses that defend our position. Striving to win the argument by standing firm on what we had been taught… without examining the other side.

I finally just accepted the fact that she and I would never be in agreement on some topics and decided to just shut the “religious conversation door” forever.

That didn’t work out.

Once we reached college-age, we started having more and more conversations about our faith. Only this time, instead of seeking to convince the other person that they were wrong and we were right, we sought to understand what the other person believed.

A few years ago, I found a series called “What Catholics Believe” on a blog and I texted it to Michaela to see if what this blogger was saying was truly what she believed. That blog series really helped me learn what my friend believes and it helped open the “religious conversation door” again.

I have learned so much about Christianity because my best friend is Catholic.

By being her friend, I have had to study and examine what I believe and why I believe it. I’ve had to decide if things like Mary’s perpetual virginity is really something I want to debate about. In fact, I’ve wondered maybe there could be some merit to “the other side” of the debate.

Over the past two years, I have gone to Mass with Michaela several more times. I no longer find it weird. It’s still different from what I’m used to, but now I find it beautiful and peaceful. (I think all Protestants should go to a Catholic Mass at least once :) Honestly, I think we’d learn a thing or two about reverence.)

I have briefly researched the lives of a couple of the Catholic Saints. (It’s a shame that we Protestants know so little about Church history. I think we would learn a lot about God by looking at the lives of these Christians who have lived before us. We can learn about God from the lives of Elizabeth Elliot and C.S. Lewis… Why not St. Faustina too?)

I have learned from Catholic YouTubers such as Emily Wilson, Ali-Marie, and Lizzy. These three women discuss Christianity and talk about topics from a different viewpoint than what I ever would have considered. I would never have checked out their channels if my best friend wasn’t a Catholic. (Also- Emily Wison has great videos about singleness/dating/marriage. I definitely recommend her channel :) )

Michaela has grown in her faith too because I’m not a Catholic.

This is a two-way street.

I’m not shy about asking “silly” questions, such as “Wait, last few times I went to Mass with you, the priest’s robe was green. Now it’s purple. Why?” Or, “What exactly is a rosary and why do y’all use them?”

She has had to learn how to simply explain things to someone who has not grown up around Catholicism (me) in a way that makes sense. She’s had to look into what she believes so she can explain it to me.

The same has happened to me. I love learning about Catholicism now so I can understand what she believes and where she is coming from. But at the same time, I’ve had to learn more about what I believe and why I believe it so I can also explain my beliefs to her.

There are still a few things that we disagree on completely, of course.

But as a whole, I’ve actually found that Protestants and Catholics have much more in common than I originally thought.

We both believe we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ and that Jesus forgives us of our sins. We both believe that God created the world and that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Christ. Etc.

I think that Protestants have a lot of misconceptions about what Catholics believe. And Catholics probably have some misconceptions about what Protestants believe too. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to learn what they really believe since my best friend is Catholic.

I’ve heard people say “Catholics aren’t Christians” a lot.

This statement makes me really sad and it ultimately reveals the ignorance of the speaker.

Are there Catholics that aren’t Christians? Yes.
Are there Baptists that aren’t Christians? Yes.

Your denomination isn’t what saves you. Jesus is what saves you. <3

In general, I think we need to stop talking and start listening.

We need to stop claiming that we know what other people believe and start asking them questions and listening to see what they really believe.

I’m not just speaking about Catholicism and Protestantism here either. I mean all people. Maybe if we took the time to really get to know people, despite our differences, maybe-just maybe- we’d have a whole lot more friends and a whole lot more understanding.

If you meet someone who has differing beliefs than you- be it religiously, politically, or something else- don’t immediately assume you can’t be friends. Just because you don’t agree on the same things doesn’t mean you can’t learn from each other.

And it doesn’t mean you can’t be friends.

If you don’t know anything about Catholicism or think you know some stuff about Catholicism but don’t know if it’s true or not, I highly encourage you to check out Equipping Godly Women’s “What Do Catholics Believe” series. :) 

Posted by Kara Beth & filed under Friendship. This post has 4 comments.