Becoming Catholic

[Religious_Girl]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

 

[twopekinguys]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

It is good that you are exploring the Catholic Church.

Is there anyone at this particular church that you already know, and could sit with? They could help you with what is going on.

If there are things that you don’t agree with, I would suggest talking to the priest now. Just explain to him that you are investigating, or considering the Catholic faith, but you have some stumbling blocks. He should be more than willing to explain the church’s position on the issues that concern you.

Of course, people here at CAF could probably help you out too, but sometimes going directly to a priest is better than an internet forum.

Best of luck, and you are in our prayers.

 

[FidesSpesCarita]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

Tell us what the things you disagree with are and we will address them for you. I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism by David Armstrong, and that when you attend the Mass that you PRAY and LIVE the mass.

I can help a little with the things you disagree on, but there are MANY people here far more well versed than I so if you just ask, answers will be provided. But dont stop searching. As father Corapi says “A thousand troubles dont equal one doubt”. Just have faith in the Church founded by Christ.

FSC

 

[MarkThompson]

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

That’s a very difficult thing for some people to handle, I don’t blame you. In the end, there are two ways of looking at it:

1. “I’ll figure out on my own all the things I believe, and then look for a church that happens to precisely match my personal views. That must be the right church.”
2. “I’ll look for the right church, the one instituted by God to continue the work of Jesus on this earth. Then I’ll conform my views to its teachings.”
   No doubt about it, it’s extremely unhip to say that you believe in something because that is what the Church teaches. Nowadays it’s all about being independent-minded, being “true to yourself”, etc. One of the absolute hardest things to do is to make that act of submission, because it is not a submission of the body (Eating fish on Fridays, dragging yourself to Mass on Sundays), but of the will – to say, If left to my own devices, I would have come up with a different answer and different moral teachings, but God has not left me to my own devices and God prescribes moral teachings for all, not each individual for herself.

In a way, Protestantism allows us each to become a God: we develop our own moral (and even historical) teachings based on whatever criteria we find important, and then choose to inhabit a little world where people agree and affirm us. If eventually we change our views (“Hey, I think non-celibate gays should be ordained into ministry”) then by sheer force of will we change the little world around us – by changing denominations – to conform to our new truths.

Sounds really nice. In the end, though, I think we have to admit that that’s not how God works. The whole Bible is full of commandments that God prescribed for people who, if left to their own devices, would have followed some other moral code, or none at all. “Always be true to yourselves, no matter what” is not a Biblical teaching; in fact, it’s pretty much the dead opposite of everything the Bible stands for.

There’s such a tendency to say, “These are matters of opinion; my opinion is no less valid than the opinion of anyone else” – to set oneself, a layperson with no particular theological training, up as somehow equal against millennia of prophets, popes, and sainted theologians. Hopefully these thoughts can help you. Like I say, it is really difficult to admit, “If I were in charge, that’s not the decision I would have made, but I guess I’m not in charge,” to let go of the reins and let God and the Church he established, lead the way.

 

[JRKH]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

Others have offered to help address point with which you don’t agree (yet) but I would strongly encourage you to go ahead and look into the faith further. The Catholic Faith is a huge treasure trove, some things easily understood and embraced while other things not so much. But the more familiar you are with the Church, it’s teachings, and how everything fits together the less problem you will have accepting some of the more difficult teachings.
God want’s you home in His Catholic Church. He’ll give you the understanding you need.

Peace
James

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

One of the reasons for RCIA is to give people a chance to explore what the Church teaches and why. Often what people disagree with is what they think the Church says rather than what the Church really says.

Starting RCIA is not making a commitment to become Catholic. It’s making a commitment to study and pray. Why not give it a try?

 

[Religious_Girl]

Thank you everyone

I will keep looking into the Catholic faith, I won’t give up on it just yet! I will contact the priest and try and run a few things by him and see what he suggests the best step is to take right now.

I don’t know anyone at the church, it’s just me going along. But I suppose that’s another thing I could mention to the priest.

The main things I find difficult to agree with is the attitude towards contraception, homosexuality, abortion etc. I am pretty liberal and I know that the vast majority of Catholics do not agree with these. So, it’s tricky.

 

[FromTheAshes777]

Greetings friend,

I would study up on these issues, and not just read from official sources what the Church teaches, but also read up on WHY She teaches what She does. Many people say they disagree with the Church on many different issues yet they don’t understand why these things are being taught the way they are.

The document Humanae Vitae and books that help explain it (there are lots of good ones on the CAF shop as well as on EWTN’s store) are a great place to start when it comes to Church teaching on human sexuality. Good luck and God bless!

 

[JRKH]

Thank you everyone

I will keep looking into the Catholic faith, I won’t give up on it just yet! I will contact the priest and try and run a few things by him and see what he suggests the best step is to take right now.

I don’t know anyone at the church, it’s just me going along. But I suppose that’s another thing I could mention to the priest.

The main things I find difficult to agree with is the attitude towards contraception, homosexuality, abortion etc. I am pretty liberal and I know that the vast majority of Catholics do not agree with these. So, it’s tricky.

If you had asked us to guess, I bet these would have been way up on the list…

These are teachings that are problematic, even for many poorly catachized catholics.
Please recognize that understanding and explaining the teachings on these cannot be done in a “sound bite” fashion. They are complex issues that have complex understandings to back up the teachings.
Too often people (catholic and non-catholic alike) just look at the “command” or the “restriction” without looking at the theology behind the teachings. They, “Skip to the end”, so to speak, see the conclusion (abortion is evil) and, because they don’t read the underlying reasons, they jump to wrong conclusions etc. They agree or disagree on what the catachism refers to as an “improperly formed conscience”.

Take your time. Give the Church the benefit of the doubt and recognize that these teachings were not arrived at quickly or lightly or, indeed, even recently.

Peace
James

 

[Monica4316]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

Hi Religious Girl,

I am a convert from Protestantism… I felt lead to the Church too, but in the beginning i only agreed with one thing: the Eucharist. That was it! lol! I disagreed with everything else in Church teaching. But as I kept on praying and researching, all my views changed and I began to believe everything Catholicism teaches and I saw it is true. I would suggest just trying to learn more about the Church, researching (from Catholic sources - other ones are usually filled with misconceptions/misunderstanding), praying, and yes talk to a priest! I also found it useful to ask questions here at forums. I had a lot of problems with the Catholic view of salvation, and Mary, and Purgatory, and Church authority… but I later saw that there is a lot of support for all these things, in Scripture as well as Tradition. For example, here’s a good video about Mary in Scripture: youtube.com/watch?v=kUdYeYy3NQA

God bless!

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you everyone

I will keep looking into the Catholic faith, I won’t give up on it just yet! I will contact the priest and try and run a few things by him and see what he suggests the best step is to take right now.

I don’t know anyone at the church, it’s just me going along. But I suppose that’s another thing I could mention to the priest.

The main things I find difficult to agree with is the attitude towards contraception, homosexuality, abortion etc. I am pretty liberal and I know that the vast majority of Catholics do not agree with these. So, it’s tricky.

I would suggest prayer and reading up on the Church’s arguments about these things, and also try to surrender all your beliefs/views to God and try to put His will first. It’s very difficult but I think that’s a part of every person’s conversion I certainly had to do that myself and I’m still learning to.

The main argument against homosexuality is…well we don’t considering simply having same sex attraction as a sin, because many times a person didn’t choose it and can’t control it. The sin is in acting on this attraction… whether through lustful thoughts, or actions. The argument for this is that sex has two purposes: unitive and procreative… and every single sexual sin goes against one of those things. Homosexuality goes against the procreative aspect, and contraception does as well… there are other sins (pornography, etc) that go against the unitive aspect.

About abortion, basically we believe that life starts at conception… the baby in the womb has human dna, and is therefore a person… and has a soul. We don’t believe anyone has the right to destroy that life, for any reason, because we don’t see it being much different as a baby who has been born. The only difference is that the baby in the womb is smaller, more dependent on the mother… but even by 2 weeks, the baby has already developed many of the organs and can feel pain pretty early on as well.

God bless!

 

[Robert_Burns]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

Well - first of all Pray to GOD for guidance. If GOD is calling you to the Faith - then he is calling you and you must obey him or you will not be doing his will for you.

Second - you have not said the things you are not certain about. Some things are irreconcilable - for example - direct opposition to a Catholic Dogma for example. But Catholics dont share the same opinions on a variety of topics as is evidenced here and yet remain Catholics united in the things that matter. So without knowing the extent of your “disagreement” we cannot say much more.

 

[Robert_Burns]

Thank you everyone

The main things I find difficult to agree with is the attitude towards contraception, homosexuality, abortion etc. I am pretty liberal and I know that the vast majority of Catholics do not agree with these. So, it’s tricky.

Well when you are considering the Catholic Faith - you have to be open to its Teachings for there is a reason why it teaches what it teaches , an underlying Moral Precept.

Many people who live in the United States have been indoctrinated in the Public Schools with a certain ammoral outlook that is collegial and not necessarily moral. Hense the reason for relaxed views of Human Sexuality and on Life itself. Keep in mind - these viewpoints are not arrived at from the same paradigm.

So , try to look beyond what you believe to be the Truth into what GOD ALMIGHTY reveals as TRUE. Only GOD can create the Moral Law.

But do try to explore the reasons behind what the Church teaches - for in that depth and reason - is the essence of the Gospel found. We cannot serve both GOD and Mammon.

The Church serves GOD.

Pax

 

[thetruth0flife]

I have been Christian for a while now, but I keep getting a feeling that I should be looking more into the Catholic Church. I’m not sure yet exactly what it is that is drawing me to it, but I love the idea of being a Catholic - I feel that it fits my soul and seems to make me feel closer to God.

I have been to Catholic services before and felt pretty comfortable there - but wasn’t sure of a lot going on.

I will keep going along and see whether it is right for me, and then I’ll get in contact with the Priest to talk about it more.

The problem is that I don’t agree with a few things in the Catholic church, and I don’t know whether I should start seriously thinking about becoming a Catholic if I don’t agree with some parts of it. It’s really conflicting with me now - I’m not sure what to do about it.

If im correct, you are experiencing the Holy Spirit that is trying to convince you to do what you feel. You’re body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore, it calls you. It cannot force you though, so it is up to you whether you want to do what you feel.

 

[CB_Catholic]

There are some things that I, even as a cradle Catholic, have struggled with. However, iI found that by praying to the Holy Spirit to enlighten me, I began to understand things better, and most things have come together. It is not necessary to fully understand everything to become Catholic. It is necessary to be open to the Truth, and to be obedient to the teachings. The enlightenment may come later. We never stop learning and being transformed.

My reasoning has been this: the Catholic Church is 2000 years old, and in those 2000 years people much more learned than me have pondered just about everything in Christianity there is to ponder, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to lead the Church into all Truth. I mean, these things have been worked out over centuries by minds far greater and holier than mine, beginning with Christ and then handed down by the Apostles and to their successors. While disciplines and practices may change, Dogmas and Doctrines have not. We may understand things better as time passes, but God does not change, and neither does the Truth. Since the Bible says that the Church is the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth, that is where I must put my trust. Christ established this Church and gave it His authority. If I cannot trust this authority, who or what can I trust? Surely not myself. I have looked around and seen the sad results of people who try to be their own authority in these matters. The result has been chaos in the Christian world. And it’s getting worse every day, with even basic Christian doctrine being discarded and God’s laws being ignored. I prefer to trust the teachings of the Catholic Church and not enter into the chaos.

Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance.