Quest Meyer, 22, of Stevens Point, attended his first Catholic Mass just over two years ago on Easter at St. Peter Parish in Stevens Point. That initial experience led Quest on a journey that brought him to his conversion to the Catholic Faith, a marriage, and a future of continued learning and witnessing to Christ’s Church.
Although Quest was just recently introduced to Catholicism, he grew up with a strong Christian Faith. Quest begins, “I grew up as a Protestant and had a strong connection to the Lord when I was younger. While I was in high school I somewhat drifted from my Faith. My belief in God and Jesus never faltered, but I wasn’t attending church and didn’t have a strong prayer life. My desire to become a great Christian man was genuine, but I never felt truly fulfilled in my environment.” Quest describes his Protestant experience, “I think it was based more off my emotions, riding an emotional high, but then as I got into high school I got more skeptical.”
His skepticism grew through conflicting ideas, as many Protestant denominations have varying interpretations of the Bible. Quest states, “If Christianity is all just based on our interpretation of the Bible, there’s no point in going to a Protestant service because you can just read the Bible and come up with your own interpretations. I stopped going to service on Sundays. I concluded there was no need to go to church. What did anyone else’s interpretation of the Bible mean or matter? I could read the Bible, come up with my own conclusion, and live my life accordingly.”
Things began to change when Quest was attending college in Stevens Point. He worked at a fast food restaurant where he met his future wife and brother-in-law, Natalie and Antony. Quest and Antony initially got into discussions about Catholicism. “We started a lot of conversations at work,” says Quest. “We discussed some big points of contention that most Protestants would have with Catholicism. I was at the point in my life where I wasn’t necessarily drawn to Catholicism. I didn’t care what denomination I was, so there was really an open mind and willingness. It was through a lot of conversations and a lot of fitting pieces together before Catholicism made sense.”
These conversations eventually led to Quest’s first Mass attendance on Easter. “It was definitely odd seeing the priest and the deacon in their vestments,” says Quest. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It was a little strange. All the different points where you sit and kneel and how organized it was, I was just trying to absorb everything as I had never gone to any type of different service.”
After that Mass, Quest would continue to learn and grow closer to the Catholic Faith. “It was a slow process, but I wanted to go to Mass,” says Quest. “Partly it was because I wanted to see Natalie and I’d go to church with her and then we’d talk afterwards. I was interested and wanted to go more and digest more. Being able to talk with Natalie’s brother and her family on this stuff was helpful. Even if I didn’t agree with everything at first, I just came with an open mind, and by having an open mind I was able to listen to the logic and it all made sense.”
“The main thing that drew me to the Catholic Faith,” Quest explains, “was the authority and the Sacraments. What difference is there going to a Protestant church, listening to worship music and listening to a sermon when you can do that at home? I don’t need to go to church for fellowship. When I go to Mass, I have a purpose. The huge difference is, I go to receive the Eucharist.”
Another stark difference was the level of authority and conviction the Church offered as opposed to what Quest saw in his Protestant upbringing. “I remember talking to my brother and asking, ‘who am I to say I know anything about a topic?’” says Quest. “We shouldn’t have blind Faith, but I don’t need to make the decisions. I can just trust what Jesus founded with the Church. I really like the idea that I don’t get to pick what’s right and what’s wrong. There are things about Catholicism I struggled with, like praying to saints asking for their intercession. It’s good to challenge it but still know that I’m not the one calling the shots and I can trust it is part of what Jesus founded. And of course, bad things are going to happen in the Church, but the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.”
Quest’s wife Natalie describes some discussions the two of them had about the Catholic Faith. “Quest is a very smart, very practical person,” says Natalie. “When we talked about things, he had a very open mind. Anyone who is going to be talking about these big moral issues needs to have an open mind to have a good conversation about it. Whenever we had a conversation he would go full circle with his questions, he would ask me questions that would make me think that I don’t even know that much about my Faith. A lot of times I did feel very confident and assisted by the Holy Spirit when talking with him. With how he challenged me and how to defend my Faith and how to teach my Faith, it was just eye-opening and very much a growing experience for me as well.”
The main thing that drew me to the Catholic Faith was the authority and the Sacraments.”
“Before my conversion,” says Quest, “I, like so many others, did not have a clue about Catholicism. They do not have a clue about what I now have and are unable to enjoy the Sacraments. I’ve found that prayer is so much more meaningful inside a Catholic Church with all the statues and just the environment. What I now have is truly magical and different than any other church.”
Now being fully received into the Catholic Church, Quest is excited to continue a lifelong journey. “After becoming Catholic, I want to be sure I don’t get into that phase where I’m just going through the motions,” says Quest. “There is just something supernatural about the Faith. The first time I went into Eucharistic Adoration, there was such a mystical experience of silence and prayer. I hope never to take advantage of the Sacraments, being able to receive Jesus and going to Confession. I love going to Confession. I know especially without Confession I would never have been able to fight certain battles I was dealing with when I was Protestant. Coming into the Catholic Faith is new and refreshing and I always want it to be like this.”
Story by Ben Williams
Photography by Northbound Photography and Design