Robert Lane has an inquisitive nature, and that has led him to the Catholic Church. Lane will become a member of the church at the Easter Vigil on April 8 at St. Francis de Sales Church in Salisbury, Md.
“It’s kind of a weird journey,” Lane, 23, said recently. “I was Protestant for most of my life. It was about two years ago, I started to question it. I was like, ‘Something doesn’t make sense here.’ I just couldn’t find answers. My problem was one church says this, and another church says this. There should only be one answer to some questions, and I was getting five to 10 different answers.”
He explored Judaism, believing that since that faith predated Christianity, it would have truth. He liked the traditional nature of Judaism, but he didn’t like the thought of letting go of Jesus as the messiah. From there, he checked out Messianic Judaism, “but it just didn’t sit right.”
He began listening to Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson online and his discussion of Genesis. This led Lane to the old traditions of Christianity.
“This really interested me, the old traditions. I liked learning about the church fathers. Before I decided to become Catholic, I was going to join an Orthodox church.”
He also found Bishop Robert Barron, the prelate of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn., and the former host of “Catholicism,” a documentary television series about the faith that aired on PBS. He also has a large online presence.
“I never thought that I’d become Catholic because I’d always heard evil things about the Catholic Church. Listening to Bishop Barron, it kind of opened my eyes that this isn’t that bad,” he said.
Despite living in Salisbury his entire life, Lane had never paid much attention to St. Francis de Sales Parish until about a year ago, when he walked in to begin the process of joining the church. Since then, he’s been involved with the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, and everything “has been getting clearer and clearer. This whole journey has been very nice, and it all makes sense for once.”
His mother was a cradle Catholic, and although she no longer attends Catholic church, she has been supportive. His father had been a Protestant before Lane joined RCIA, and the two were going to go through the RCIA process together, but his father died shortly before classes began. Lane said his father has been there with him in spirit along the way.
He is excited to be baptized, receive his first Communion and get confirmed. His girlfriend, Tashyra Davis, will be there with him.
“It’s been a long time,” he said. “It’s been a year, but it’s gone by kind of quick.”
Lane, a graduate of James M. Bennett High School who manages an eyeglass store in Salisbury, said it may take him a while, but he would like to become an RCIA instructor, so he can pass along the faith to more people like himself. He said part of that is because of the people who have taught him the past year.
Nothing has tempted him to change his mind since he started his journey. Every faith, he noted, has questions.
Finally, after driving past St. Francis de Sales “a million times,” he has found the answers.
