Advice for the new catholic?

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bubba_nor_cal

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Im a new catholic. Just entering the inquriy phase of rcia. Any general advice for a new catholic. I was protestant before if that matters. Thanks ahead of time. Sorry for the short message. Using my android phone.
 
WELCOME!!! I’m glad that you decided to join the Church!!!

My advise for you: Pray pray pray pray and pray. That will get you through a lot of troubled times and a lot of good times.

I know being a Protestant before this, this might seem a bit “strange” at first, but, coming from a cradle Catholic: I find saying prayers to Mary has helped me a lot in my life. Get a Rosary and learn how to say it. I have a CD of the Rosary and I listen to it/say it on my long commute to work. It makes for a great day.

Also, ask lots of questions. You are not going to understand everything. I have been a Catholic since birth and I don’t understand everything. The bottom line is you never will. But many times the questions you will ask somebody has already asked them and found some answers.

Being part of CAF is a good start to that, too!!

Good luck with RCIA!! 😃
 
First, WELCOME! 😃

My advise -

Participate fully in RCIA. Ask questions. Take the opportunity to really learn your new faith. Go to Mass everyday Sunday even though you don’t have an obligation to do so. Try to make daily Mass a few times. Pray, of course.

Along the lines of learning your faith, there are a couple of books I think every Catholic should own:

Catholicism for Dummies
The Catechism of the Catholic Church

This forum is a good resource, but you do have to filter out some of the people who aren’t Catholic in order to get a truly Catholic response.
 
Enjoy the Real Presence of God rather than looking and wondering about what other believers are doing, and don’t make the mistake many converts do of later substituting devotion with factionalism, puritanism and disputes.
 
Welcome!
I am a cradle catholic and a revert to the Church 5 years ago…I was gone so long that I actually took RCIA classes to catch up…this was the best thing I ever did;)
Learning more than a I ever thought possible.
My favorite books during that time were:
“Rome Sweet Home” and “The Lamb’s Supper” both by Scott Hahn and both
very good 👍 also “Catholicism for Dummies” is excellent.
good luck and God Bless
 
As a person also raised as a “Protestant”, I can tell you that there may be virtually no differences between what you were raised with, all the way to there being extremely dramatic differences. “Protestant” covers such an extremely wide range of beliefs that the word itself is virtually meaningless.

The Amish are “Protestants” So are the Unitarians. Yet those two religions have virtually nothing in common. People coming from those two churches would see the Catholic Church from VERY different perspectives.

The best advice that I can give you is to learn as MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN ABOUT THE CHURCH. Read the books recommended, and ask the pastor or other Priests to recommend other books that will help you learn about the church.

Convert zeal is VERY common, but it can also be very dangerous. The reason why this is true is that in your zeal, you may “slide over” some issues, that later will come back and raise a lot of doubts in your mind.

In the meantime, welcome, and enjoy the process. It is lengthy for a very good reason. The church wants converts to come with their eyes, and their minds, wide open. They want you to REALLY know what you are doing, and to fully and completely embrace the church and its teachings.

I “converted” at the age of 9 years and 6 month, but I was not baptized till I was 13. That was almost 55 years ago now, and I have never regretted, or doubted, my choice.
 
I just went to a funeral at the church across the street from Highlands High School and could not understand one word the priest uttered his accent is so heavy. If I were you I might try Holy Family Parish in Roseville or another parish where you will be able to follow the homilies. Good Luck and Welcome Home!👍
 
Welcome to CAF and welcome to the Catholic Church! 👋

In addition to the wonderful advice already given, I would add: Please do not let us imperfect sinners scare you away. 😛
 
kozlosap said:
I just went to a funeral at the church across the street from Highlands High School and could not understand one word the priest uttered his accent is so heavy. If I were you I might try Holy Family Parish in Roseville or another parish where you will be able to follow the homilies. Good Luck and Welcome Home!👍
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I go there. Technicly still citrus hiehgts. Names kevin. Usuay go to 9 o’clock mass on sundays at holy family. Hope to bump into you. (Oh no let out my personal name! Ahhh!)
 
When I was a new Catholic, I found it helpful to only read the “Ask An Apologist” forum. I would get confused with all the differing viewpoints on everything. Plus, quite frankly, there are quite a few mean-spirited people on some of the forums. Don’t let them discourage you. I liked the book “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” by Karl Keating. Also “Rome Sweet Home” by Scott Hahn. Praying the Rosary helped me a lot. Finally, welcome home!
 
Stylites said:
Enjoy the Real Presence of God rather than looking and wondering about what other believers are doing, and don’t make the mistake many converts do of later substituting devotion with factionalism, puritanism and disputes.
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Wow, what a nasty little comment this is.

Do a lot of welcoming to converts or would you rather we just hadn’t bothered?
 
Welcome!

If you’re able to, listen to Catholic Answers live. If you have an iPhone you can subscribe to the podcast, or you can just listen to the archives. Catholic answers has taught me a lot about the Catholic faith and has highlighted topics, I should do further study in.

Attend mass as often as you can. It will keep you spiritually grounded by keeping your mind on God and help you to experience, in addition to accumulating book knowledge.

Pray at least one of the the Liturgy of the Hours prayers every day. Just in case you don’t know what the Liturgy of the Hours is:
The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the whole People of God. In it, Christ himself “continues his priestly work through his Church.” His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office either with the priests, among themselves, or individually.
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You can find the prayers on the Divine Worship website or you can purchase one of their Apps. I know they have an App for iPhone and Droid devices. I’m not sure about Blackberries. I have the iPhone audio version which I pray with every morning on my way to work. The app costs about $15 USD.

I usually pray the morning prayer on my way to work.

Second of all, this whole website is an amazing resource for information and apologetics.

This forum is also invaluable. Ask lots of questions!

Take your time and don’t expect to learn everything at once or every code and canon. Learn what is essential. That has been my mistake.
 
bubba_nor_cal said:
I go there. Technicly still citrus hiehgts. Names kevin. Usuay go to 9 o’clock mass on sundays at holy family. Hope to bump into you. (Oh no let out my personal name! Ahhh!)
Click to expand...
My parish is St. Ignatius on Arden Way, but once in a while I do go to mass at HF. The people at HF are very welcoming. SI is Sacramento’s only Jesuit parish and is awesome!🙂
 
bubba_nor_cal said:
Im a new catholic. Just entering the inquriy phase of rcia. Any general advice for a new catholic. I was protestant before if that matters. Thanks ahead of time. Sorry for the short message. Using my android phone.
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My advice is to go to confession very often.
 
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