A Catholic entrepreneur recently told me that when a company starts to lose existing customers, many try to survey these lost customers to learn why they no left; and that he believes this is the wrong strategy. He said the better strategy is to ask why your most loyal customers continue to buy your products and then build on these strengths as well as the things that differentiate you.

Then he said something profound - he believes the Catholic Church ought to apply this strategy to how we evangelize. We aren’t going to “fix” all our problems and magically make ourselves a more attractive religious option for modern people. There are too many issues and we have too little sway over the direction of a billion-person organization.

But, we can do a better job of putting our strengths out front and helping average Catholics start to talk about them.

I agree. 
So, I asked the following question on social media:
“If you are a faithful Catholic disciple, please tell me why you have stayed Catholic.”

As you would expect, there are a lot of different answers. In fact, I got hundreds of them. Some are easily grouped into categories you would expect:

• Jesus
• Eucharist
• Truth
• Church founded on Jesus and his apostles
• etc

But, even if most responses are expected, they were all personal.

The witness of all these Catholics proclaiming their personal faith is a wonderful reminder of why I myself am Catholic. They are so beautiful that while I was collating and reading them all, I was deeply moved and found the entire process edifying. The simple and yet heartfelt reasons why people are Catholic are what many of you might need to hear as well. So, while I thought I was going to just use a few examples, I decided to keep them all. I encourage you to read through them. 

One last thought...THIS IS WHERE THE RENEWAL OF OUR CHURCH STARTS! By witnessing to why we are Catholic. By building up ordinary Catholics into even stronger witnesses to Jesus and His Church. By publicly proclaiming that despite it all, there is too much to love about Catholicism to not be part of it. This is where we start with strengthening our Church for mission.

-------------------------------
Jesus in the Eucharist

The institutional Church is not our Faith. Christ in the Eucharist is the source and summit of my life. He is only found in the Catholic Church. And, to whom shall we turn?? Our Catholic faith is the only one that is not empty.

The Eucharist. My beloved Jesus.

I am Catholic because it is TRUE.

Because good always triumphs over evil. Why would you let Satan discourage you from sharing the most intimate relationship with God on earth (in the Eucharist)?
It’s not a matter of “staying”: it’s a matter of defying evil and focusing precisely on Christ.

The Eucharist,many wonderful priests, the Mass, the saints, the sacraments. So many amazing things that can't be found anywhere else. Just as Peter asked, to whom would I go?

The witness of the martyrs! And certainly in response to the Bread of Life Discourse!

Body, blood soul and divinity

Lots of reasons such as the Catholic Church being the original Christian church beginning with Jesus and the apostles, wonderful priests, youth program, and godly people, but most of all because of the Eucharist!

I stay because of the Holy Eucharist. I left in the early 2000’s because of scandal and became Orthodox for about 8 years. They were not “friendly” towards Catholics and I began to miss Mass and what I was familiar with. I am also a convert from The Episcopal church. I feel like the Catholic Church is my family…I might be really upset and angry with things I don’t agree with or understand but I am fed with The Word and Holy Communion.

The church is so dysfunctional today that the main reason I am Catholic is because of Jesus. My relationship with Him keeps me close to the Church. I have to remember that the people around me, especially leaders, are deeply broken people who often haven’t experienced the freedom and healing of knowing how Jesus wants His grace to come alive in their hearts and because of that I’ll end up being wounded over and over again by Catholics. By returning to Jesus each time I can find the healing I need and go back out and keep taking the punishment that comes from working in the vineyard.
And secondly the moments of grace and joy I experience from seeing others believe, repent, and become a disciple is so cool.

Because of the Eucharist!

Because of the Lord’s mercy and Grace and because I have a personal relationship with Jesus and can receive His most precious body & blood in the Eucharist every day. Also because of the saints.

John 6. The Eucharist. Christ's total self giving.

Simple. The Eucharist, the real presence. I have considered leaving Catholicism several times. But when push came to shove, I couldn't, wouldn't leave the Eucharist.

My faith is put on Jesus and well I need the Eucharist and the sacraments and I believe that I need these to be saved. Even if the whole world fails me… the clergy etc etc this is my mother and my faith and where the One true God and Church is found.

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. The more you know and experience, the easier it is, because there is no other viable options. There is a lot of noise, but no other person, religion, or philosophy worth laying down your life.

Jesus Christ.

Because the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ and because she has handed on His truth to me. "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

I have stayed Catholic because I believe it is the true church of a Christ founded on the apostles. I was not a practicing Catholic until my wife left the church to a non denominational church and it was then that I realized it needed to know more about my church and grow stronger in my faith. That is why I have stayed and continue to promote my church.

Because Yeshua (Jesus) perfectly fulfilled the trajectory of Salvation History, and based upon the New Testament and the testimony of the Fathers, the Catholic Church, gathered around the successor of Peter, is the New Covenant Family Structure Yeshua formed and sustains.

Because leaving St. Peter is leaving Christ.

By the grace and mercy of having been baptized into Christ Jesus and by the prayers of loving and faithful disciples. Ultimately, It's nothing I have done, but Christ is my hope.

For me, as a teenager who struggled with many different things, I had a profound experience with Christ that saved my life, in literal and spiritual sense.
As time has gone on, I feel indebted to Christ for his impact on my life.
As time has gone on, I believe that we possess the fullness of the truth and our history is rich. For me, how could a life without Catholicism be? Being Catholic saves my life daily

Because I know it is the true fulfillment of God’s love and desire for us!

It’s the only vessel made by Jesus Christ to see me/us safely to the shores of paradise. Like Noah’s ark, it’s filled with a variety of animals and has lots of crap in it, but I can’t jump ship or I’ll drown.

Because I believe through various proofs/evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and He set up a Church.

Jesus. And Jesus being God. And God knowing what he was getting into when he set up a church an extended his authority to men. I have tried to leave the church, but the sacraments and teaching authority of the church were hard to get away from. So....Jesus.

The Church is the only Ark of Salvation. In love and obedience, I embrace her in hope.

No institution governed by man will be free from sin. But the Body of Christ is incorruptible. Also free to use my name.

To put it how Saint Peter did, "“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Our experiences don’t change the truth, the Catholic Church has Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, His body, blood, soul and divinity. Nowhere else has the FULLNESS of faith. Everything else is either shallow, lacking or heretical. I have been convinced there is nowhere better to go by logic, history, and Jesus Himself.

For me, it's the Papacy.
It seems evident that valid Sacraments and Apostolic faith can be passed on even in imperfect communion from the Roman See.
But my moment of intellectual conversion and conviction came from reading "Humanae Vitae." Here, I discerned, Christ was speaking through Peter.
Other reasons abound, but while they're sufficient to explain why I'm not *Protestant*, they don't as surely account for why I'm not Orthodox. The Papacy for me is the most distinctive Dogma, and one I know I need in my own Christian path. I need the Vicar, a visible source of unity and a final single recourse of appeal.

It's simple, it is because it is the church Jesus started,

Because I have come to see that what the Church teaches is true (and good, and beautiful, but first true). How can I walk away from truth? What would that say about the way I try to live?

"And I hold in veneration
For the love of [Jesus] alone
Holy Church as his creation
And her teaching as his own"
-St John Henry Newman

Because I started as not catholic, I became catholic because the structure and rules made sense to be, the consistency of it life being precious beginning to end. I have stayed catholic partly because of the things that made me become catholic and the great priests that were at St. Marys when I started there.

Because of the miraculous/supernatural things in the Church, examples include the Incorruptibles, the Eucharistic Miracles, the Miracles of the Saints (which all seem to align with the Bible. Also, along with the supernatural elements, there seems to be a consistency of doctrine over 2000 years that I don't see in any other Church on the "official" level and it logically coheres on a pretty consistent level (faith & reason together). It makes sense of the Bible, and also bring unity to the whole world on the ecclesial level. That's not to say there isn't a big need for reform, but that is true even on an individual level.

Because it's true.

Where could I go? "Who else has the words to eternal life"

I don't like being wrong, and the Catholic Church has the best arguments. By aligning myself with Christ and his, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, I won't go wrong.

Hi I’m a convert at 36 years. I love the church for many reasons including the emphasis on the Holy Eucharist,development of my spiritual life, and the rich history of the church. Another thing I love is the continuity of the liturgy. No matter where I am attending Mass, whether it’s in Granbury, Corsicana, San Diego, or San Antonio, it’s all the same, for the exception of the homily and music. And that’s cool. I spent my childhood in the Southern Baptist denomination, where they were always concerned about the numbers, and how many people became Christians. It always seemed like to me that there was not a lot of emphasis on what happened after one became a Christian. And I feel that the Catholic Church encourages one to develop a prayer/spiritual life. So here I am!

As a convert I fell in love with the Church and its Tradition. The missteps and fumbles of current clergy cannot erase that.

I love my faith and i need God in my life

For many reasons all amounting to doing His will which is my bread.

Because I love God and I suppose I'm too involved to think I'd get away with straying

Because of a magnificent movement of the Holy Spirit that so touched my heart and mind, I could never leave.
The Eucharist!!
The more I learn, the more I grow and I thirst for more!

It has honestly never crossed my mind to leave my Catholic Faith and I know this undoubting is only by God’s Grace. I am very thankful for my Catholic parents who passed down the faith they received from their parents and were the best examples of being faithful Catholic disciples. Also, I’m grateful for the blessing of 9 years of Catholic School Education, where I learned SO much about our Church, and which I’m sure contributed to my desire to stay. How could I ever entertain leaving the Church established by Christ himself after all I’ve learned about our Catholic Faith over the years.

Catholicism is the Truth.

In my 5-year journey of reversion, I ran through what felt like the 12 labors/challenges of Hercules/Odysseus to test my understanding of what the Church teaches, vis-a-vis the claims of Protestantism of itself and of the Catholic Church, and I have found the Catholic Church to truly be the ultimate custodian of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness in this world. I’ve had that understanding and appreciation tried and tested significantly at least 3 deeply seriously times in the past 11 years since my reversion / confirmation, not the least of which being the “Summer of Shame” in 2018, and I still believe the Catholic Church teaches most fully who Jesus says He is, and, though buffeted and bedraggled, is still best able to feed us Jesus. It’s summed up in St Peter’s words in John 6: “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

History, Truth, Faith

I’ve been saddened and disheartened by so much in the church at every level, but what keeps me coming back is The true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist “Lord where else would I go, you have the words of everlasting life.” John 6:68. I’ve also been blessed and encouraged by people - clergy and laity just trying to love Jesus and share Gods love in their families and communities.

Matt 16:18-19 

The Sacraments and The Holy Eucharist 
Also, Having encountered Jesus in my
24 minute NDE!
He is a God of love for:
"All of His people"
(His Church) Is Eternal And Without End

John 6:67-69 'Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.' And as Catholics we have 2,000 yrs of truth we can draw from.

I stay because this is where Jesus wants me

I became a Catholic in my 20s and stayed a Catholic because I was so frustrated that each Christian denomination had different answers, interpretations, and versions of what was right and wrong and what was true. I wanted biblical based truth that didn’t change based off location, leadership, or social pressure. To me Catholicism is a place of truth and stability in a world that seems to lose more of that each day.

Because it’s True

I'm catholic because I believe Christ's teaching is the truth in Eucharist. Receive Him with all your heart, body, soul and divinity.

Bc it’s the truth and Church Jesus founded. Only in Her am I fed by His body and blood

Every time I have questioned a teaching and then looked up why the church taught it, the wisdom and consistency and pedigree turned out to be unassailable. It also helps that our church’s practices date back to the time of Christ.

I am Catholic because of the Truth.

Jesus

The Eucharist... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink" (Jn 6:51-55). The whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine!

Because of Holy Eucharist. But I’m hanging on by a fingernail to the Roman Rite.

It’s not original, but it’s truth…
Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered him:
Lord, to whom shall we go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and have known, that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.
Truly, where would I go?

Because it’s my home and it’s true

Where else could I go to receive the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ every day?

The Eucharist

The Catholic Church feels like home. I’ve stayed Catholic because I believe in the power of the 7 sacraments as outward signs of an inward grace given to us by Christ. I believe that Jesus is our Lord & Savior and gave us the great commission to go forth and make disciples. I believe in the holy presence in the Eucharist. The mass is the secret sauce where heaven comes down to earth regardless of if it’s in the novus ordo or Tridentine rite. We Catholics aren’t perfect, but no church is perfect. I believe that we have the fullness of truth despite other more popular non denominational places of worship.

The official theology is sound & true. Most importantly, it is the only place to receive the true Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist.

I left the Catholic Church in 1981 with my parents and five sisters and returned in 1985 because Jesus called me back to my catholic tribe that I might win my brothers and sisters to Jesus!
“I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:22-23‬
If Jesus is building the Catholic church then we would be more impressed with how we Gentiles are wild branches grafted in to the olive tree of Israel. We have lost our capacity most of the last 2000 years for divine protocol which our Hebrew Apostle Saint Paul warned us that we would become arrogant and disobedient like our Jewish elder brothers and sisters.
“For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭11:32‬ 
But I’m seeing some glimmer of hope with our new hunger for our Jewish roots in the providential teaching of Saint John Paul II in Theology of the Body that parallels the marriage of Jew and Gentile as “the one new man”
Eph 2:15

I left and came back. Only the Catholic Church really grasps the reality and profundity of the Incarnation. And the Eucharist. After my reconciling Confession, I practically lunged at the Eucharist.

Because every King leaves a steward and Jesus left Peter and a line of Popes after him to guide his Kingdom until he returns!

Grace of the sacrament of Confirmation before entering my teenage years combined with the witness of young adult Catholics living out their faith and mentoring me while I was in high school.

The church is in crisis I my heart hurts but I feel like Simon Peter “Lord to whom shall we go?”
I could not leave the Eucharist or the church jesus established I guess that is at the core of why I will always stay.. jesus

Mt . 16 and Jn. 6

The Holy Spirit draws me into the mystery, into the great love of God through His Son Jesus. I hunger and thirst for Jesus' saving grace which flows over me and in me through the sacraments, praise God. How could I survive without Christ's grace? Jesus is present in the flesh, Alleluia.

We've been at a new church for 13 weeks. Nobody (except for the priests & 1 staff member) have spoken to us. It's painful!!! It doesn't feel like home (yet), but I'm staying for those reasons people listed above.

Where else shall I go? Here is the Whole Christ in beautiful and terrible transforming fullness. The Eucharist barred me; then drew me; now holds me. I am no better than any other sinner in need of mercy. If I want to love like Jesus does, I must learn to love what Jesus loves, and Christ loves the Church and gave himself up for her.

John 6:68. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and the Catholic Church is the church he built. Where else would I go? I converted to Catholicism in 1981 and I have never even considered leaving. Once I knew the truth, there was no other choice to be made.

I have been absolutely annihilated by my diocese. I stay because of the mass.

Truth

The Eucharist (proven to the outside world by Eucharistic miracles) and Our Lady (proven by fruits of her intercession over the years for our family). Other Christians (except for Orthodox) do not have this. This, despite my having lost almost total faith in the episcopacy, worldwide, whether it be in all of Rome and the Vatican, or almost the entire United States.

One could call it the "cosmic zot." Or, I suppose, divine grace and the Holy Spirit. I had a moment of enlightenment in which I just "knew," for lack of a better term, that it was true. It was like a switch had been turned on in my head. So now, despite the foibles of the men who manage her, I know that the church is real, that it is one, that it is holy and apostolic, and I cannot explain it any other way.

It was only learning the Catholic faith that made me understand that suffering has purpose, meaning, and a suffer for the love of another is worth living for, and dying for. Agape

It is the only way also, that I could be united with Jesus and body and blood through the Holy Eucharist.

I honestly don't know how to put it in words other than saying The Eucharist in all of it's fullness. Though I am a cradle Catholic, I've been to a few other services here and there only because I was with a friend that particular weekend. The other services didn't leave me fulfilled like the Mass did. Every time I left, I felt like something was lacking. Only when I got older did I understand that it was the fullness of the Eucharist that was lacking. Jesus is truly present Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity and every time we consume him, we grow closer to him (as long as we are not in a state of mortal sin, of course).

We have faith with all caps. We have 2000 years of faith witness that Christ is bigger than all our stupidities, failures, foibles, faults and follies. We believe in the papacy not because of the personal holiness, erudition, wisdom, charisms of the Pope, we believe that Christ is truly God and is bigger than any Pope’s short-comings. We are best honoring Jesus’ last and most fervent prayer to stay one on Christ. We have Jesus in the Eucharist so NO mass can be a waste of time all are an opportunity for untold buckets of grace.

When the scandals first broke in 2002 I was so angry and disheartened. My Catholic friend and I went for a walk and seriously talked about all the other options. At the end of our walk we had come to the conclusion that both the Eucharist and the papacy were critical for a true and Christ-centered faith. And they are not available anywhere else.

It my guide in life.

I converted to Catholicism in High School for a ton of reasons...but the biggest was the Eucharist/Holy Communion. When I read St.Paul (in I Corinthians 11:27-31) talking about why people were getting sick and even dying after receiving communion, saying that it judged them because they were receiving unworthily, I was so challenged...How could a piece of bread or a symbol judge me, or being judgment upon me? To judge you have to have a mind, an intellect, a Presence, a personhood and they had to be Holy to enact judgement
...And that realization led to more questions, and those questions led to me being Catholic, because they had the Faith, the Tradition, and the Sacraments. And like St. Peter, I had no choice but to say, "where else can I go, Lord, you have the words of everlasting life." And I've never once left. I found Jesus and the Pearl of Great Price and I can't turn my back on that, even when I may disagree, argue, sin, or find faults to be disgusted with...because I know He's there.

I am Catholic because the Catholic Church is true. The Catholic Church is the One Church founded by our Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, as the vehicle by which humanity is redeemed from sin and death, and restored to friendship with God. The Church is the efficacious sign of that friendship. I am Catholic because I would be reconciled to God, and to all my fellows, and at peace with all and every one, and the Catholic Church promises this. For now, I see this through a glass, darkly, in a darkness the brightest spots of which are often but the dimmest glimmers of hope - though I am told this is a hope, which does not disappoint. Why am I Catholic? Let me answer with Peter: where else shall I go? -Christopher R. Altieri

John 6. To whom would we go? The Catholic Church is the only church to preserve the “difficult” teaching of the Eucharist.

I stayed because nothing else offered a greater truth. Catholicism is where it's at

The Eucharist

I believe it to be the fullness of truth: God exists, He is revealed in Jesus Christ and He founded the Church. The Catholic Church is His Body and where I find the life of Christ through her teachings, the sacraments, the saints and traditions. I have been able to become an intentional disciple through encountering Jesus Christ a life-changing way in prayer, His Word, through the sacraments and people who incarnate His life. The church is my mother on the journey to our heavenly homeland.

Unless you eat of my Body and drink of my blood you cannot have everlasting life... my flesh is real food...Catholic Church which Christ founded and promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her is also the largest charitable organization serving the poor of the world - no one comes close to this level of giviing - it is so much larger than any other group or religion - Christ's body the church is actually of great visible sevice in the whole world - giving the Father and the Holy Spirit Glory - also i am touched that so many holy saints bodies left on earth uncorrupted in glass tombs with no decay of their flesh as if they fell asleep yesterday - 100's of years old yet pink and beautiful - his scripture words promised that his faithful ones would not decay. God does not lie. These are signs and mirracles no one can explain. Also Jesus gave us his mother as the new Eve - no other Christian church honors Father (Joeseph foster father of Jesus) and mother (Blessd Virgin Mary) like Jesus does in his church of the ten commandments - honor your father and mother is one commandment. JESUS obeys the ten commandments pefectly and still does. Amazing. 100 other reasons i stay - the eucharist and sense of order and balance in sacraments conveying unexplaind grace to me. I could keep going....

I became Catholic because I came to believe that this is the Church founded by Christ. I've stayed Catholic because further study and reflection have only confirmed this truth, regardless of the failures of individuals within the Church.

Laziness. I live across the street from my parish church 

Because sucky people come and go (and try to ruin the good stuff), but the truth is the truth. Lord, to whom shall we go?

Never tempted to leave. Simply, I believe what the Church teaches. I thoroughly enjoy the graces she distributes to me in the sacraments. I love being close to Jesus in the Eucharist. I love Our Lady. I love the Church, my mother. I love being able to distribute sacramental graces to others through my ordained priestly ministry (especially baptism, the Eucharist, reconciliation and anointing of the sick). I love the celebration of Holy Mass.

God is all I have

Because Catholicism is TRUE...

The Home of the Eucharist and the Truth, and you live at Home.

I came back because the Holy Spirit made me curious about this new building on campus(Catholic center at Ga Tech) where I found great community and friendship...I stayed because they introduced me to Jesus, especially in the Bl. Sacrament ...He is Way, Truth and Life... Where else can I go? 

Because the Lord made two promises:
1.) The gates of hell will NOT prevail against it (the church)
2.) I will be with you always, till the end of the age.
Not a promise, but probably the biggest reason, I believe that the Eucharist truly is the Lord. You cannot find that anywhere else (besides the orthodox, but go back to the previous two promises for that).

Many reasons all amounting to this one reason: because it is true.

I’m a cradle Catholic but it wasn’t until my 40’s that I understood that God’s grace and divine love could feed my soul & heal my heart. I had to open myself to those possibilities, and through the sacraments, allow myself to participate in the relationship that God had been (& is continually) seeking to have with me.

Because it's true is a given prerequisite. But why I stay is because I'm personally aware of Christ being with me and being there for me when I have needed him most. He has never failed to answer my prayers and has gently guided my life towards what's best for me. I stay because I'm grateful, because I love Him like any child could love a good father. I treasure our relationship, how He shows me His grace in the daily moments, and how He pays attention to me even though I'm an immeasurable speck of dust in the reality of existence.

The Church and Her Majesty, the Eucharist, Adoration, Power of the Saints, Jesus Christ and Our Lady.

What drew me to the Church and keeps me is Jesus real presence in the Eucharist and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit given to the Church of infallibility and all that comes with Apostolic Succession that allows for us to be One as Jesus and the Father are one. When I realized that the Catholic Church was the One true church Jesus founded and I could receive him body, blood, soul, and divinity..."To whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life." What would make it so much easier is if we had a strong dynamic community that supported all ages and especially families. My biggest regret as my children are growing up is they haven't had the kind of support I received as a baptist / evangelical (came into the Church my senior year of college). I am discerning how God can take this pain and turn it into something better for the future.

Jesus in the Eucharist. How could anyone walk away if you truly believed?

Encountered Jesus in the Eucharist, had a friend consistently invite me to a retreat in college, dove into the historical and intellectual traditions of the Church through a Catholicism series small group outside of normal parish catechesis

Where else would I go? This is the church Jesus founded and it has the Eucharist which sustains me. The sacrament of reconciliation is so important to me knowing there is no sin He won’t forgive and He will always welcome me back with open arms if I’m contrite. Ultimately it is the only faith that loves me enough to be truthful about what is good for me and my goal of getting to the heaven that Jesus talked about and not the one most people design in their own image.

As a confused adolescent, the Catholic faith helped me make sense of the world and the longing for answers others could not provide. Though members of the Church, like all of us, are flawed, the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith endures.

Love for Christ, the Sacraments, the Blessed Mother, the Sacred liturgy....the truths passed on by the Apostolic teachings.

The Eucharist. Secondarily, that faith and reason do not contradict.

I became Catholic because of my parents' faith. I stayed Catholic because of Christ's True Presence in the Holy Eucharist, and because of my parents' fervent faith through all of their lives' joys and struggles. 

Real Presence!

Originally because of a strong mother and Catholic family. The older I get the more research I've done, and it all leads to one conclusion...Truth! Miracles still happen through Jesus, and the intercession of Mary & Saints.

Though I was baptized Catholic as an infant, my formation was sketchy and I didn't receive any other Sacraments until 2014.  Having been a pagan, an atheist, and visited other Christian denominations...Now that I am fully Catholic, whenever I encounter the bumps in the road, and there have been many, I can honstly look back and say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."

Catholic Church has the fullness of truth.  I didn’t really believe this until I was 30. TOB was a gut punch of truth that made me look at everything I thought the Church had wrong and found the True and Good and Beautiful

The Catholic Church is the only church established by Jesus Christ entrusted to Saint Peter with Apostolic succession with authority to bind and loose; it contains the fullness of Truth; and of course the Real Presence of the Eucharist!

Because once you discover the absolute beauty of the fullness of truth, there’s no going back. It’s such an intricate and finely crafted piece of art that defies description.  I would echo the sentiment of so many other comments here - John 6:68 says it all.

I’ve stayed Catholic because I believe it’s the one true church founded by God and also had a strong role model when I was in high school who taught me a lot about the church.

Experiencing joy and sorrow in community. A community, that even in its most brokeness, can be perfectly unified as One Body in the Eucharistic Feast.

I have stayed because of the times I have strayed. Those times made me realize that true joy is found within the Church and her sacraments.

I echo Peter… John 6:68 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”
The Catholic Church is One, True, Holy & Apostolic… outside of which there is no salvation.  This is God telling us this.
Very VERY risky spiritually to be apart from the sacraments.

I truly believe in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and even though in the past two years I have been wanting has been hard to practice my faith and has been hard to love God I still do because I believe Bc I have amazing Catholic friends and husband

Catholic is my DNA. The community, the sacraments, and the witness of fellow sinners. Nowhere am I forgiven and absolved and able to start over as I am in this Church.

Because it is the fullness of truth. The one holy apostolic Catholic Church only founded by Jesus Christ himself.

suffering makes sense

Because, what is the alternative? Like Simon Peter, I reply: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. (John 6, 68)

It’s true

The Eucharist.  If not for the Real Presence, I would have left this mess a long time ago.

The Communion of Saints.

I preached this homily three years ago. -Dcn Greg Kandra
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2018/07/i-am-catholic-homily-for-july-29-2018-17th-sunday-in-ordinary-time/

The Sunday donuts after mass.