In this episode of Footsteps to Heaven, Terry Modica sits down with Michael Snellen, founder of the Sacred Heart Christian Apostolate. Michael opens up about the faith journey of Gen Z young men, how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their engagement with the Church, and practical ways parishes can create a more welcoming environment for them.
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From Gen Z “All In” for Catholicism:
Michael Snellen: That first day I started researching, I remember thinking, “I’m not going to consider the Baptist faith or the Catholic faith… but anything else is fair game.” There were definitely some other, let’s say, more unusual denominations that I quickly ruled out—I won’t name them—but yeah, those were off the table pretty fast.
Funny enough, it was actually a Lutheran pastor who first started convincing me of some pretty Catholic-sounding beliefs—like infant baptism, the importance of confession, and even a belief in the real presence… well, sort of.
See, the Lutherans don’t go fully in on it. They believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, but alongside the bread and wine—it’s called consubstantiation. To me, it felt like they were only going halfway in. And honestly, I was looking for something where I could be all in. That’s ultimately what kept me from becoming Lutheran.
But that same day, after learning all of that and actually being drawn closer to the Catholic faith, I started watching some lectures online. One of them was a talk by a monk. Then I started Googling, “What Catholic churches are near me?” And I came across the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived. Seeing those monks, completely committed to their faith… that really impacted me.
For more help on this topic, see our WordByte called Healing Our Image of God’s Fatherhood.
More episodes on The Masculine Revival of Faith>>
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