Adult Catholic Knows Nothing!

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Yellowdaisy,

There has been a lot of great advice given by folks so far.

In my opinion, the best way to learn something is to teach it. This may sound strange but it really does work. Volunteering to assist in teaching CCD or RCIA is a great way to learn more about the faith.

When you have to teach something you really have to go to work doing the research on the subject material in order to make sure that you can present it well. The questions that folks will ask you will cause you to do even more research.

As a convert I have found this technique to be invaluable.

Feed the hunger to learn more by getting involved with education in you parish. I would recommend starting out at the first grade CCD level and work your way up the grades and eventually move over to RCIA.

God Bless!
 
You don’t have to purchase alot of books, you should see the Master Catechism with every Catechism from each Church Council at
cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/master2.htm#Extreme%20Unction%20or%20Holy%20Anointing

Also, New Advent.com , you can find the writings of the Fathers of the Church, Lots of great stuff out there.

I also agree that you should take the lead role in educating your children, Thier is alot of misguided, but well meaning little “c” catholics out there, that would lead you astray.
 
I_Believe said:
\

And it is the best one. 👍
http://www.olrl.org/mm5/mivapics/books/faith.jpg

It was written before the VII reforms, so it is not biased in any way. Just a solid foundation in which to build Faith.

11.00 shipped olrl.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?
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I have this as well but have found that as a resource the CCC is better but then again, I was a better educated Catholic so I am not starting from more basics.

You have the Catholicism for Dummies book and this entire web-site. This is a good start and then you can move on. Oh, wait, I need to pop back in with a youtube video by a Priest who does one of the children’s shows about the Mass. I know it is for children but if you want a starting place this Priest will have a very good basic explanation, then you can move on to other books or web-sits ;).

Brenda V.
 
Someone just sent me this website and it has courses for free including the catechism. I just signed up for a course yesterday amm. org/chss. htm
 
mkingdomlvr said:
I own wonderful book called This Is The Faith: A Complete Explanation of the Catholic Faith, author Canon Francis Ripley and is available from Tan Books and Publishers.

The explanations are very clear and concise, and I find it a very good resource.

Of course, the others posting have given excellent recommendations, I just didn’t see this one.
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I second this - it’s the clearest, most comprehensive, and plainest explanation of the Catholic faith that I have ever seen. There is no beating around the bush with politically correct terminology, or with trying to support the self-esteem of those who believe differently than we do. (In fact, he makes no comment whatsoever about the beliefs of other religions and other philosophical systems, other than to name the heresies and their identifying characteristics.) He just lays it on the line in plain English, like a master teacher. 🙂
 
I can’t give you many good suggestions, but I wanted you to know I’m in the same boat!
I was raised ‘catholic’, which means I was baptized and then my folks tried taking me to church for a few years, and that was about it.
My parents are both catholic, but get this - my mom says things like ‘Why should I pray to mary when I can just pray to Jesus?’
Oy vey!!
My husband is similarly uncathechized - baptized and that was the end of it.
And here, what I THOUGHT was catholicism wasn’t even close.
And, like you, I’m just not a protestant.
I’ll tell you my turning point - I found Catholic radio and there’s a show that airs here locally called Christ is the Answer hosted by father Riccarco, and he just made SO much sense!!!
Strange, catholic was on heart before it was in my head, and I didn’t even know it!!
Anyway, good luck on your journey and I hope we see you around CAF more often!
 
Yellow Bicycle, I can SO relate!

DH and I are really lacking in catechism and some other areas, but we really have the desire. We having our marriage convalidated this coming week (hopefully!) and are realy starting to take charge of this ourselves.

I kind of feel like…I dont blame my parents for failing me in my religious upbringing. It was a different time and they both had some issues. But I really REALLY dont want to fail my daughter!

Catholic for Dummies is pretty interesting so far-- so is this board 🙂
 
Brenda_V said:
Part 1 youtube.com/watch?v=oxMMjXiDNGM

Part 2 youtube.com/watch?v=d0AXEsCAMWY&feature=related

Part 3 youtube.com/watch?v=KKQk3iEwzDc&feature=related

These are by Fr. Antoine. He is very good at explaining things so you understand it. I have not viewed these youtube videos but I trust the source who sent them to me.

Brenda V.
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Thanks for posting these! I saw these on EWTN a while ago and thought he was great. Even though they are for children I wished I’d taped them for sharing with my (adult) RCIA. Now I can refer them to these on YouTube.
 
Brenda_V said:
Part 1 youtube.com/watch?v=oxMMjXiDNGM

Part 2 youtube.com/watch?v=d0AXEsCAMWY&feature=related

Part 3 youtube.com/watch?v=KKQk3iEwzDc&feature=related

These are by Fr. Antoine. He is very good at explaining things so you understand it. I have not viewed these youtube videos but I trust the source who sent them to me.

Brenda V.
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How do you find that kids respond to these? It seems to me that he has a very “heavy” accent - is it easy enough for children to understand what he is saying? I have that DVD on the Mass (I ordered it without previewing it), but I haven’t shown it to any of my groups, because I was afraid that maybe his accent would be too hard for them.

But I found it very useful for myself, and I’ve put together session plans based on the information that he presents - he is very orthodox, and I don’t have any issues with the content of the program. I just worry that his accent might be too much, for six and seven year olds.
 
Hi Yellowdaisy,

It’s great that you want to learn more about Catholicism, and raise your daughter in the faith!

My own religious education was a little patchy, to say the least. I found my Grade 3 RE book a while ago, and compared it with my mother’s…

Hers: “Why did God make you?”
“God made me to know Him, love Him and serve Him on earth, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.”

Mine: Picture of a clock-face with hearts instead of numbers. Activity: “Colour in the hearts to show that you love Jesus all the time.”

I started studying my faith a few years ago, though, and have enjoyed it ever since!

I’d like to add another recommendation to this thread: “Catholic and Loving It” by Sabitha Narendran and Andrew Salzmann. It’s a quick read, and is written for Catholics who want to re-discover the devotions of the Church. It explains novenas, important feasts, rituals and sacramentals, and how to decorate a home altar, among other things. As a guide to practical aspects of Catholicism, it might make a nice supplement to your study of the faith itself.

Also, if you have time (your daughter will be in a retirement home by this stage!), I’d suggest having a look at “Story of a Soul,” the autobiography of St Therese of Lisieux. Her ideas are deep - she’s a Doctor of the Church - but she expresses them simply and sweetly.
 
Hi Yellowdaisy,
I can relate to your situation. Keep reading your books, but when you have a really tough question ask one of the priests here at CAF. Fr. Vincent Serpa can explain to you some, if not all of the principles of the Catholic faith. Just as well you should also attend mass on a weekly basis. So you become better accustomed to the Bible verse and chapter.
Read as much as you can on Catholicism, but ask lots of questions for a priest to give you a definitive answer.

Best of luck, and God Bless
:bible1::twocents:
 
RCIA can be a great resource. I am a convert and I have often had craddle Catholics tell me I know more about some aspects of the faith than they do because of what was NOT covered in CCD. Some parish’s have adult education progams that can be excellent. My old parish in Ohio had many programs- one night programs or seminars, that were solid and very educational. If your own parish does not have this a neighborhing parish might and often these programs are open to all who are interested.

I encourage you to watch some of the shows on EWTN which can give you great insight into events in the world and the church. They also have some children’s programming that you can look at to get ideas on how to teach the faith to your daughter.
Also, Tan books and other on-line catholic books stores have some great books on the saints and on spiritual things including board books. Both of my children enjoy them.

Catholic Distance University has degree programs that you can take on-line but they also offer short seminars and short courses you can take for adult education and information that are geared towards “people in the pews”. (www.cdu.edu)

Good luck
 
you have received many excellent resources and ideas here, i’ve written them all down too. a number of people have already said, read the Bible. this can’t be stressed enough. but don’t just read it, pray with it. and as a supplement to reading the Bible, i receive the magazine, the magnificat each month. it has the daily mass readings and morning and evening prayer, reflections on the readings, and a short saint biography. the content is all tied together and allows you to get more out of the readings.
 
Hi! We had been in a similar situation and had to read quite a bit to regain a sense of the faith!

The best books we have found in 23 years are: The Catechism of the Council of Trent (very easy to read!), the Catechism Explained, and the Sinner’s Guide (TanBooks.com).

The EASIEST thing to do is to read a child’s catechism or Catholic Bible. The best one we have seen in all these years is book 2 of the Our Holy Faith series called Jesus Comes (NeumanPress.com).

See our Catechism Story on our website:

www.Roman-Catholic-Catechism.com/Audio-Catechism-Story.html

See also:

www.Roman-Catholic-Catechism.com/adult-catholic-catechism.html

Mrs. Mary Fifer
Homeschooling mother of eight with cottage industry!
www.Roman-Catholic-Catechism.com/
 
Another good catechism is called the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults , it has the catechism in it and doctrine of the church along with many prayers and its easy to understand and you can explain it to your kids . USCCB= united states conference of catholic bishops put this one out Its a GOOD BOOK!!

My opinion Halos

God Bless you and your family and Welcome Home!
 
yellowdaisy said:
– we’re definately Catholic-- we’re just trying to figure out what that entails 🙂
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I suggest that you get a New Testament and read it regularly. Concentrate on the Gospel accounts. You might also get the Psalms, and read them. There are good Catholic editions of both of these.

Get a copy of the Mass and read it, read the prayers said by the priest and the congregation, and think about them.

Then invite your parish priest for dinner, and ask him a few questions over dinner about anything that’s puzzling you.
 
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