I am not a Protestant (anymore). Most of you reading this will already know that fact (yet, there are some who still think the Ordinariate is a schismatic group and not actually Catholic--please pray for them). There are many reasons that I converted; more than I could outline here. Theology, sacred Scripture, history, and even just basic logic drove me to see the need to be Catholic. Most of the reasons that I could give will point to the desire I had to find communion with the Church that Jesus founded -- I was running toward something more than away from something.
There is one trait, however, that stands out the most noticeably to me that I was "running away" from in protestantism, and that is what I call "reformerism". Yes, I know that is not a real word (and it is clunky word at that), but it does summarize what I am speaking about quite well. "Reformerism" is that habit whereby a person sees something wrong with others, and passionately wants others to "reform" but does not to reform himself. Viewing himself as a "reformer" his goal is to help others to reform, while he stays right where he is.
Hence, one of the reasons that I chose to leave protestantism is out of a desire to reform myself first, and to stop (as was the habit in so many protestant congregations) seeking only to reform others. I had numerous examples of this type of behavior, both from protestant ministers as well as laypeople. One particular example (whom shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty) took great pride in telling everyone else what was wrong with them, but the first time that I spoke to him about a mistake he had made, he responded like I had told him I was an alien from Mars; completely and utterly dumbfounded (I can still see him staring at me with his mouth hanging open).
The principle behind this issue is well known to all of us: "you without sin cast the first stone" or "don't try to take out your brothers splinter, when you've got a log in your eye". Yes, the principle is well known, but amazingly rarely practiced. Self-examination is like a long-lost art; many people have heard of it, but few know how to practice it. This is central in every relationship we have; Church relationships, family, marital, work, etc.
This, of course, takes us back also to the principle of regular confession. How often since you have been to the Sacrament of Confession (your eternal soul is at stake!)? Regular confession means that we have the opportunity of regularly dealing with the state of our soul, and that helps us to avoid "reformerism". I still remember the time I was told after a homily that "someone else" really needed to hear that message (i.e. "he needs to reform himself, but I don't"); this is the same spirit that says "I don't need to go to confession". Just simply ask yourself, are you always finding reasons to criticize others? Or ask, when was the last time you worked to correct your own failings without reference to anyone else?
Hence the problem, as I see it, with the protestant "reformation" is not that it went too far, but that it did not go far enough. If the early protestants (today's protestants mostly do not know what they are protesting anymore) had gone the full distance and been willing to reform themselves first, then they likely would never have left the Church and we would not have had a schism (imagine that!). When we reform ourselves first, then we can see more clearly whether our criticisms of others are correct or not.
Of course, this is not to say that this is entirely a protestant problem and that we Catholics never fall into it. Yes, many Catholics suffer from reformerism as well, but in my experience those are the ones most heavily influenced by protestant thinking to begin with. There are a number of protestant errors that have infected Catholics in various ways (most especially when Catholics read non-Catholic materials and show no discernment about it), and this is just one more way that this has happened.
So what about you, my friends? Have you slipped into a habit of "reformerism"? Maybe it is not a full habit, but it still pops up at times (?). Look inside first. This is important for our relationships with others, as well as for our personal salvation. We cannot be presumptuous and think that everyone else needs to fix their problems but that God is going to let things slide for us. This is not the Catholic religion, it is rather a prideful form of self-destruction.
