T
Tim19
Guest
Hi all,
This is my first post here, and I wasn’t even sure where to put this, but this seemed like the logical place. If not, I apologize.
Basically, I’m male, and will be 30 next month. I was born and raised Catholic, went to a Catholic school up until 9th grade. My parents are fairly devout (my dad more so than my mom, who was raised Baptist but converted about 10 years ago). My sister is about three years older than me and actually works as the DRE for our church.
One of my shortcomings is that I’ve always been very concerned with how people view me. I have a really hard time coping if someone is upset with me. With this in mind, I’ve been a practicing Catholic all this time, and though I strongly believe in all the teachings (those that I understand, anyway), I feel like I’ve been going to church all these years, tithing, serving at Mass, etc. because of fear of how my family would react if I didn’t. In other words, just kind of going through the motions but not really getting much out of it. I would pray at Mass, listen occasionally to the readings/Gospel/homily, but if someone asked me later what I took from Mass, I’d be completely clueless. If someone asked me why Catholics believe this or that, I couldn’t provide an answer.
Then, literally, about six months ago, I started praying to God to help me be a better person through Him, and live my life according to his teachings. To get more out of Mass, and to help me appreciate the many gifts I have and what He’s done for me. I honestly don’t know what prompted me to start praying for these things all of a sudden. But now, I truly feel like God has listened to my prayers and is nudging me in the proper direction. I now look forward to going to church instead of dreading it. Though my mind still wanders from time to time, I make a much more concerted effort to listen and get something out of Mass. I now attend Mass on all Holy Days of Obligation, which I never did in the past because I didn’t realize I was doing anything wrong. I now have a strong desire to grow in my faith, and become closer to God and Jesus.
Just yesterday, in my quest to understand my faith better, I found this forum and began browsing the “Ask an Apologist” section. It was truly inspiring to read the responses of 20+ pages worth of questions. I’ve learned that I really need to go to confession, which I haven’t done in at least 18 years and wouldn’t even have considered doing again until I found these forums. I’ll be going on Saturday. On one hand, I’m terrified to go confess some of the sins I’ve done, but on the other, I’m excited to receive absolution for them after feeling guilty all these years. I really thank God for bringing me here to this community, which has already answered so many of my questions. And thanks go out to everyone who participates here, as even though I’ve just found this place, I already feel at home.
Anyway, I guess I should get to the point of my rambling. Although I’ve technically been Catholic my whole life (though admittedly not a very good one), I feel like I’m really far behind about what I should know. It’s kind of embarrassing to say this having gone to church every week for 30 years. Can anyone perhaps recommend some books that might help me get up to speed? I certainly know the basics, but I’m looking for ways to get even more out of Mass and just have a better overall understanding of the Catholic Church and its teachings. Anything that might help me improve my life and become closer with God.
Thank you all in advance. You’ve already helped me more than you know. My God bless you and your families abundantly this Christmas season and beyond!
This is my first post here, and I wasn’t even sure where to put this, but this seemed like the logical place. If not, I apologize.
Basically, I’m male, and will be 30 next month. I was born and raised Catholic, went to a Catholic school up until 9th grade. My parents are fairly devout (my dad more so than my mom, who was raised Baptist but converted about 10 years ago). My sister is about three years older than me and actually works as the DRE for our church.
One of my shortcomings is that I’ve always been very concerned with how people view me. I have a really hard time coping if someone is upset with me. With this in mind, I’ve been a practicing Catholic all this time, and though I strongly believe in all the teachings (those that I understand, anyway), I feel like I’ve been going to church all these years, tithing, serving at Mass, etc. because of fear of how my family would react if I didn’t. In other words, just kind of going through the motions but not really getting much out of it. I would pray at Mass, listen occasionally to the readings/Gospel/homily, but if someone asked me later what I took from Mass, I’d be completely clueless. If someone asked me why Catholics believe this or that, I couldn’t provide an answer.
Then, literally, about six months ago, I started praying to God to help me be a better person through Him, and live my life according to his teachings. To get more out of Mass, and to help me appreciate the many gifts I have and what He’s done for me. I honestly don’t know what prompted me to start praying for these things all of a sudden. But now, I truly feel like God has listened to my prayers and is nudging me in the proper direction. I now look forward to going to church instead of dreading it. Though my mind still wanders from time to time, I make a much more concerted effort to listen and get something out of Mass. I now attend Mass on all Holy Days of Obligation, which I never did in the past because I didn’t realize I was doing anything wrong. I now have a strong desire to grow in my faith, and become closer to God and Jesus.
Just yesterday, in my quest to understand my faith better, I found this forum and began browsing the “Ask an Apologist” section. It was truly inspiring to read the responses of 20+ pages worth of questions. I’ve learned that I really need to go to confession, which I haven’t done in at least 18 years and wouldn’t even have considered doing again until I found these forums. I’ll be going on Saturday. On one hand, I’m terrified to go confess some of the sins I’ve done, but on the other, I’m excited to receive absolution for them after feeling guilty all these years. I really thank God for bringing me here to this community, which has already answered so many of my questions. And thanks go out to everyone who participates here, as even though I’ve just found this place, I already feel at home.
Anyway, I guess I should get to the point of my rambling. Although I’ve technically been Catholic my whole life (though admittedly not a very good one), I feel like I’m really far behind about what I should know. It’s kind of embarrassing to say this having gone to church every week for 30 years. Can anyone perhaps recommend some books that might help me get up to speed? I certainly know the basics, but I’m looking for ways to get even more out of Mass and just have a better overall understanding of the Catholic Church and its teachings. Anything that might help me improve my life and become closer with God.
Thank you all in advance. You’ve already helped me more than you know. My God bless you and your families abundantly this Christmas season and beyond!
