Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion

Amelia Bentrup reviews Abigail Favale’s conversion memoir, Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion.

Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion

By Abigail Favale

Publisher: Ignatius Press

We often think of conversion stories as being this one lightning-bolt moment: Saint Paul sees a blinding flash of light and is literally knocked off his horse. He hears the voice of Jesus and is instantly converted, as described in the Book of Acts. However, conversion is often not a single epiphany but rather a slow process. In Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion, Abigail Favale describes the slow, messy, winding and convoluted path of conversion that led her from an evangelical childhood to Anglican college student to staunch postmodern feminist to devout, veil-wearing Catholic.  

Abigail Favale was raised in a typical evangelical Christian family. She begins her book by describing experiences such as “being saved,” asking Jesus into her heart, youth groups, church summer camps and joining different churches and denominations as her family moved. She poignantly describes anxiety over her salvation and shares the ups and downs of her relationship with Jesus and Christianity and sin.   

Into the Deep describes Abigail's journey from an evangelical childhood to being drawn towards Anglican Christianity in college, then leaving Anglicanism behind and eventually adopting a liberal, postmodern feminist form of Christianity.  She intimately describes her intellectual struggles with certain Christian beliefs, especially those involving women and the role of women in Church and in salvation and difficulties with the perceived patriarchy she saw in so many Christian circles.  

Like so many of us, Abigail's real conversion to Catholicism began after her initial conversion to Catholicism, again, displaying that conversion is an ongoing, constant and often painful process. This part of the book delves into Abigail’s intellectual thoughts and reasoning on various aspects of Catholicism she struggled with such as the male-only priesthood, honoring Mary, prohibition of contraception and theology of the body.   

However, even when she comes to terms with those issues and begins to understand the beauty and truth of the Church’s teaching, conversion is still not a simple process. As we all do, Abigail has struggled with spiritual dryness, desires to skip Mass and sleep in and the roller coaster of a spiritual life. She beautifully describes these struggles,  often putting words to something I have experienced but have had difficulty describing and conveying.  

The role of the Eucharist in conversion 

The Eucharist plays a central role in Abigail’s conversion and as she comes to know Jesus intimately in that way, she shares her awe and wonder at the awesome and amazing way Jesus makes himself known and present to us and heals us. As a cradle Catholic who did not have a good understanding of the Eucharist while growing up, I found this part of the book to be particularly beautiful and enlightening. Her description of Eucharistic Adoration is unique and I found my mind wandering back to it as I later sat in Eucharistic Adoration myself.   

Abigail Favale is a professor and a teacher, and she can’t help but teach in her book. The book not only details her conversion thoughts and process but is interspersed with Catholic instruction and teaching. Readers who are well-versed and very knowledgeable in Catholic theology may find parts of this book to cover teachings they are already well familiar with, but other readers will greatly benefit from the instruction and teaching contained within.    

Abigail truly goes into the deep, probing her inner mind and soul as she wrestles with issues that plague both evangelicals and Christian feminists. She describes conversion as happening in both life-changing events such as the birth of her first child, and also the mundane, a simple walk or wander into an empty church. She seeks to bring all into a deeper appreciation and understanding of the mystery and beauty that is the Catholic Church. This conversion story is refreshingly honest and raw and beautifully messy.   

There were parts of this book I found riveting and other parts where the storyline moved a bit slower, but overall, this is a book I would enthusiastically recommend. It gave me hope for fallen-away family members, that conversion doesn’t have to be this lightning bolt moment, but rather a slow, messy and often one-step forward, two-steps back movement toward Christ.   

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2024 Amelia Bentrup
Images: Canva