Why I Love Being Catholic: My Husband, Dustin

{UPDATED} So, I roped my husband into being July’s male voice for the “Why I Love Being Catholic” series. Part of the package deal of being the spouse of a blogger is being interviewed from time-to-time. Lol! Truly, though, I wanted to share Dustin’s thoughts on Catholicism because he is one of the smartest people I know. I realize that I’m supremely biased, but Dustin really is very intelligent. He’s an engineer and he has a very analytical mind, so if Catholicism makes sense to him, I trust his judgment. Dustin is a big reason I converted to the Catholic Faith. I didn’t convert because he pressured me, but because he always gave reasoned responses to my questions and attacks. Did I mention he’s also a patient man? Dustin and I have been married for 21, almost 22 years. I’ve followed him around the country as an Air Force military spouse for the last 21 years. He’s an Army brat, so the military life was familiar to him when he joined. It was a different story for this Kansas native. Dustin introduced me to military life which has been such an adventure. He, also, introduced me to the Catholic Faith which has been such a joy. I’m so grateful for the man that he is and how he leads our Catholic family. Ladies and gentlemen, my husband, Dustin. 

(I interviewed him in person, so his answers will reflect that he is talking to me.)

1. Are you a cradle Catholic or a convert? If a convert, where did you convert from?

I’m a cradle Catholic. My grandparents were very devoutly Catholic and I spent a lot of my growing up years with them. When I was young, my mom explored a lot of other Christian denominations but was eventually drawn back to the Catholic Church. However, when I went to college, I barely practiced my faith. I don’t really know why I didn’t. I just didn’t go to Mass or anything.

After our first daughter was born, I felt it was important to start going to church again. Since you were Protestant, we did the church hopping thing: a Catholic church to a Protestant church. There was something more, too. During that time, I was unhappy with myself, kinda unhappy, in general. I looked at the men in my life who seemed to have what I wanted. I looked at the men who seemed complete. One man was my grandfather; the other was Johnny, your pastor. So, one was Catholic and the other was Protestant. From their examples, I knew there was something to the Christian Faith. They had something that I was lacking in myself, so I was determined to find God’s Will for me and our family. Initially, what brought me back to the Catholic Church, and not one of the Protestant denominations, was simply because it felt right. I think all those years of going to daily Mass with my grandparents gave me the feeling that the Catholic Church was home. But, I’ve stayed Catholic because of all the amazing and wonderful things I’ve learned about it since.

2. Who is your favorite saint and why?

First of all, picking a favorite saint is really, really difficult, because the saints are the most amazing people that have lived or are living on this earth. Each one is so unique and their lives are incredible. It’s hard to pick a favorite. I’ve always had this problem–picking a favorite saint. When I had to pick a patron saint for Confirmation, I struggled to pick one then, too. It was my priest who gave me my Confirmation name of Gabriel. The priest said, “You know you don’t have to pick a human saint, you can pick an angel. I think the Archangel Gabriel is very fitting for you because he brought the Good News.” I don’t really know what that means for my life, but I liked it enough to pick St. Gabriel.

3. What has been your favorite Catholic place you have visited? Where do you hope to visit?

Anyone who reads your blog knows when we travel we try to visit the local Catholic places. We’ve seen many places across the US. I’ll tell you my two favorites. The first from my childhood is Mission San Juan Bautista in Hollister, California. It has beautiful farmlands around it and an old mission church that has that mysteriousness about it. I once went there for Mass as a kid and when the choir started singing, I looked around and couldn’t find them. I was looking for them because I was amazed and entranced by the beauty of their voices. It sounds kinda cliché, but they sounded like angels. I didn’t think humans could sing that beautifully. My mom noticed me looking around and she pointed to a screen and explained that behind the screen cloistered nuns were singing.

Another place more recent in my adulthood is the National Basilica in Washington DC. The art and the architecture on the main floor are so grand. It encourages you to look heavenward. Then, in the basement, are several other chapels. The ceilings are low and it carries a kind of heaviness about it. It helps you to reflect on the depth of our souls.

One other thing I would add is not necessarily a location but an event. The Catholic Meeting of Families that we went to in Philadelphia in 2015: It’s such a wonderful event and it’s a great way to meet people from all over the world. It helps you feel connected to the largest, greatest organization for good on earth–the Catholic Church.

Where do I want to go? Doesn’t everyone want to go to Rome? Rome and the Holy Land are the two main pilgrimages for Catholics, right? (Dustin has since been to the Holy Land.)

4. What is a myth or misconception you often hear about the Catholic Church? What’s the truth of it?

I hear a lot that the Church is anti-science. Being an engineer and working with other engineers and lots of scientists, we like to have empirical evidence before making decisions on important things. So often I’ve read or heard that faith and science are opposed to each other. Many times, people define faith as believing in something for which you lack evidence. It’s for this reason that I think so many people assume that faith and science can’t work together. But science itself is based on a certain kind of faith; a faith that believes that there are constant rules and laws inherent to our universe. Because of this, many of the greatest scientists throughout history have not just been Christian; not just been Catholic, but have been Catholic clergymen. I’m not going to go through the whole list of the great religious scientists, like Father Georges Lemaitre (first to propose the Big Bang Theory) and Brother Gregor Mendel (father of genetics), but if you are interested, go here to see the list. The guiding principle behind the research of these prominent scientists was that by understanding God’s creation we could better come to know the mind of God. In the minds of these scientists, there is no disconnect between faith and science. For them, faith gave them a reason for science and science gave them an additional way to understand their faith. In this way, faith and science are not in conflict with each other but actually support each other.

5. Besides the Eucharist, what is your favorite part of the Mass?

I like when we do the Kiss of Peace. I enjoy shaking hands with the people around me and seeing all the people near me in church.

6. Why do you love being Catholic?

I’m in the Air Force and I joined the United States military because I wanted to be a part of a big organization that did great things. I think the US military is the biggest man-made organization in the world dedicated to doing good. But, the Catholic Church was established by Jesus himself to bring His light and love to earth. Its goodness is evidenced by all of its saints and all of their works. It is clear to me that in order to find God’s Will for my life, I need to belong to the Church that Christ established. I love being Catholic because being a part of the Church and learning about the Faith draws me closer to who God wants me to be.