Catholic returning to faith

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LilLostLady

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Hello all. I’ve been glancing around these forums for a couple of weeks now, & finally decided to join. I thought this might be a good place to start getting help in getting my faith back.

For a while, I doubted my faith, & questioned my overall belief in God. Often, I’d describe myself as agnostic and allow my negative experiences to cause doubts, & get in the way of seeing the truth. I have many more blessings in my life than burdens. Oddly enough, I’ve even benefited from some burdens.

A few months ago, & I can’t recall exactly why, I stopped questioning. I guess I’ve looked at all the good things God has allowed in mine & my loved ones lives. I started praying again, & just knowing God watches over me. While my faith in God is now ever growing, I worry about being a better Catholic.

My mother identifies as Catholic, & always expressed a belief in God, but I fear I don’t know as much about the church as I would like. E I’ve made my first communion, but not confirmation, & it’s been so long I hardly remember a thing besides the Ten Commandments, & a couple of prayers. This has really begun to bother me. I wish I learned more as a child. I’m not angry with my mother about it. I’m willing, as an adult, to learn. I don’t know why I feel so drawn into Catholicism lately, but I am.

I would love to go to church, & eventually make confirmation but I’m worried. I won’t know when to say what, wwwwhen to sit, stand or kneel, or what to say in confession. There’s many things I feel horribly about, such as premarital sex, but I feel I’d be too embarrassed to confess it. I still have reservations about certain church teachings, but I hope to work those out by going to church, & possibly privately asking a priest about the things that confuse or worry

I just thought perhaps someone had a similar experience, or has any advice for me.

Please excuse any typos. I’m writing this, on my phone, on a long commute.
 
most parishes have a pamphlet in the pews to tell you what to do at mass. If you don’t know…just follow everyone else. You’re not going to offend anyone.

When you’re ready to go to confession…we can tell you what to do.

NO WORRIES!

Welcome home!
 
LilLostLady said:
There’s many things I feel horribly about, such as premarital sex, but I feel I’d be too embarrassed to confess it. I still have reservations about certain church teachings, but I hope to work those out by going to church, & possibly privately asking a priest about the things that confuse or worry

I just thought perhaps someone had a similar experience, or has any advice for me.

Please excuse any typos. I’m writing this, on my phone, on a long commute.
Click to expand...
As for the embarrassment in confession, feeling clean again is well worth the price. Besides, priests hear many, many confessions, so your sins are unlikely to impress them. And, best of all, you’ll start to slowly abandon your usual sins if you confess regularly.

Talking in person to a priest would be a good idea.
 
You need to make an appointment to talk to a Catholic pastor, or more than one. They are in the business of welcoming people to the Church.

Catholics Come Home website:
catholicscomehome.org/
 
LilLostLady said:
Hello all. I’ve been glancing around these forums for a couple of weeks now, & finally decided to join. I thought this might be a good place to start getting help in getting my faith back.

For a while, I doubted my faith, & questioned my overall belief in God. Often, I’d describe myself as agnostic and allow my negative experiences to cause doubts, & get in the way of seeing the truth. I have many more blessings in my life than burdens. Oddly enough, I’ve even benefited from some burdens.

A few months ago, & I can’t recall exactly why, I stopped questioning. I guess I’ve looked at all the good things God has allowed in mine & my loved ones lives. I started praying again, & just knowing God watches over me. While my faith in God is now ever growing, I worry about being a better Catholic.

My mother identifies as Catholic, & always expressed a belief in God, but I fear I don’t know as much about the church as I would like. E I’ve made my first communion, but not confirmation, & it’s been so long I hardly remember a thing besides the Ten Commandments, & a couple of prayers. This has really begun to bother me. I wish I learned more as a child. I’m not angry with my mother about it. I’m willing, as an adult, to learn. I don’t know why I feel so drawn into Catholicism lately, but I am.

I would love to go to church, & eventually make confirmation but I’m worried. I won’t know when to say what, wwwwhen to sit, stand or kneel, or what to say in confession. There’s many things I feel horribly about, such as premarital sex, but I feel I’d be too embarrassed to confess it. I still have reservations about certain church teachings, but I hope to work those out by going to church, & possibly privately asking a priest about the things that confuse or worry

I just thought perhaps someone had a similar experience, or has any advice for me.

Please excuse any typos. I’m writing this, on my phone, on a long commute.
Click to expand...
welcome home and don’t worry about what you don’t know. Priests look for people like you to come home. I am sure that you will catch up what you don’t know and God bless you for taking the steps back to the Church.
 
I can relate completely. I was drawn back to my faith in 1999 and have been so grateful for God’s grace that called me back ever since. This apostolate (Catholic Answers) and EWTN were the two most influential and beneficial organizations that helped me understand the faith better. I was confirmed in my late thirties, so we share the experience of a delay in receiving the sacrament.

As for mass, don’t be concerned about having to rely on reading a card for the prayers. Last year a refined translation (my term, not the Church’s) of the prayers was issued and most churches bought cards to put in the pews to help us with the changes. A year later and I am still using it, so you won’t stick out among the “regulars” as much as you might have imagined. And lots of people do not approach the altar to receive Communion, so don’t worry about that either. There are many reasons why people don’t receive at any particular mass. That was something that I was embarrrassed about (staying behind in the pew). Now I realize that nobody was paying much attention to me and I bet none of them concluded what I was imagining!

I encourage you to go to mass. If you can go to confession first, well you won’t have to refrain from receiving the Eucharist. The priest will help you make a good confession. I have heard priests say it makes their day when someone like me comes back to the full life of the church and that he is the priest who God chose to be the instrument of His forgiveness.

Welcome back. I hope your journey is even more fulfilling than the joyful experience I have had.
 
In the mean time, you can also pick up a copy of Catholicism for Dummies, or borrow it from your local library (if they have it). It should help fill you in on some of the details. You can also feel free to ask your questions here as we have a lot of knowledgeable people here that can answer just about any question.

Also, I too fell away from the faith when I was younger. My trip back started on my high school retreat, then dragged a little through my freshman year of college. Classified myself as Christian again in my sophomore year of college thanks to a campus ministry. I still identified myself as Catholic, but more as a heritage rather than belief. I got some questions from some of the people in the group about Catholicism and realized how much I didn’t know (whether due to poor catechesis or I didn’t pay enough attention). Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I started some searching, and now I’m back home after a journey away, and more than glad about it.
 
You are not alone . I to fell away and have been back a couple of years now. I even had my 2 children baptized at the ages of 6and 7. Nobody will judge you for any lack of knowledge and if they do they are obviously missing the point. Surrender to the Lord, talk to a Priest , go to mass , read the bible, confession, and there is so many great books . Pray from your heart. The Holy Spirit will guide you. I have so much I want to learn and deepen my faith. It will not happen overnight and our goal is to continue to grow and get closer to Our Lord. It is amazing!! Peace , Steve
 
I’m so happy for you! I would buy a catholic prayer book, not a bible , but a prayer book. These usually have most normal catholic devotions and prayers, and possibly attend a mass and just sit the whole time and get a feel for it. But don’t be nervous. We don’t judge.

Good luck, and just know that I will be praying for you tonight
 
You might want to find out if there is an RCIA class in your church or a local church. I am a convert to Catholicism, and I went through RCIA in order to be received into the Roman Catholic Church. Now I am an instructor myself, and we use Catholicism for Dummies. RCIA stands for RIte of Christian Initiation of Adults. As for Mass, don’t worry, no one cares if you don’t know the prayers and have to read them, if you aren’t sure about sitting, kneeling, standing, etc… Catholics rock in Mass–everyone is just happy to see people there. They won’t care if you don’t receive, either. My first Confession was very scary for me because I was 49, and I had a long life of some serious sins to confess. The priest was very kind. Most priests I talk to say that they don’t even remember most of the confessions they hear; they heard the same sins confessed over the years and their only intent is to forgive the sinner and give them advice if needed, and then usually prayers to pray after. The feeling of being cleansed from sin is soooo worth it! It’s like a rock being lifted off of your chest. I hope this helps. WELCOME HOME! We are ecstatic for you. 👍
 
Thanks so much to all for the welcoming/encouraging replies! It eases my fear a bit to know that other Catholics are so understanding. I intend on going to confession, & letting them know it’s been so long that I don’t remember how to begin. I think I may speak, privately, with a priest from the church my mother and I will be attending. My mother is interested in going back to mass, & making confirmation as well. I’m happy to learn, & so happy to know I won’t be judged by others for being gone so long, & knowing so little.

I do have a very silly question: what do women typically wear? That may seem vain, but it’s not intended to be. I just don’t want to be inappropriate.
 
Well…it used to be formal wear…however that has somewhat changed with the times/people being so busy/people lack of remember the occasion of what Mass is all about.

Conservitive and semi-formal will do
 
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