Cold feet setting in re: converting

[Trishie]

Hi, I’ve posted on here only a few times. I’ve been thinking of becoming a Catholic and basically this summer, I made it my job to study and read as much as I could about Catholic teachings. I’ve been attending Catholic churches since the spring and have been trying to get to daily mass once or twice a week.

The biggest attraction for me is the conservative moral stance of the Church and the Real Presence. I am drawn to my local Catholic church building all the time. Often, I will spend an hour or more on a Sunday afternoon, at the church just praying and adoring. Sometimes I’m the only one in there and it’s so peaceful.

… RCIA is starting up in a couple of weeks (I haven’t called the director for that yet either because I’m not even sure how that works since some people get received into the church and I’ve been a baptized practicing Christian since childhood).

I guess my problem is that I’m worrying about taking the plunge because I know I haven’t figured out all of my reservations yet (communion of saints, devotion to Mary, etc). And I’m second-guessing all of my feelings because I don’t feel at peace and I’m not sure if that means I shouldn’t become Catholic. Sorry for rambling, but I’m so confused right now!

I guess my question, if I have one, is does that lack of inner peace mean I’m on the wrong path?

Thanks for any advice, prayers, etc that you can offer me.

You have the Eucharist and the divine sacramental presence as central and we all agree you have that right. The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit’ of Catholic Christian life ans the Chuch teaches.
If you’re baptised you don’t have to be re-baptised. You skip that part of the ceremony.

As for Mary and the communion of saints, those aren’t insurmountable issues, though with your background you may well feel uncomfortable about them.

There is biblical basis for love of Mary and the community of heaven, and for asking them to pray for us.

The first and most important indication, is Jesus’ response to mayr’s intercession in scripture

Jesus loves and values Mary.
Perhaps this love that Jesus has for Mary may help you to feel more comfortable about her place in the Church.

At the Wedding feast of Cana, Mary pointed out to Jesus that the hosts of the wedding feast were running out of wine. It wasn’t a matter of life or death, but certainly one of losing face, embaressment fot the family. Jesus at first protested at the notion of helping in this. He reminded His mother that it was not yet time for Him to begin His public mission.'My time has not yet come." Mary, woman of faith, simply told the servant to do whatever Jesus told them to…and he worked the miracle of changing water into wine anyway, ahead of planned time for public miracles, just because his mother asked Him to. ( John 1:1-12)

We need not feel awkward about loving Mary. Jesus did and does.
One of the last things Jesus did as He hung in agony on the cross, was to provide a carer and a home for His mother. “When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home” ( John 19:26-27)

As for the communion of saints…they’re family too, and as I would ask you for prayer, and you ask it of me, so can we ask it of these who have proved their love and loyalty to God, and who are witnesses to us of faith and virtue.

I hope that helps. I can understand cold feet, very human…but may the Lord guide you and give you continuing insight and courage. .

God bless you…Trishie

 

[Trishie]

Mary, woman of faith and witness

When humankind first sinned against our Creator, God immediately condemned the tempter, saying, “ I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head.” [Genesis 3:15] Mary, whom Jesus made mother of all persons from the cross, [John 19:26-27] please, with the Angels, fight the ancient enemy in our lives, for sake of the redemption that your Son won for us.

You were obedient: **“I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said is done to me.” **[Luke 1:38]

You were unselfish and kind. Although yourself pregnant, you hurried to assist your older cousin in her pregnancy as soon as Gabriel informed you of it. God rewarded your faith and love by allowing the Spirit to speak to through Elizabeth:
“Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured by a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment that your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” [Luke 1:39-45]

In you, the Spirit responded,
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because He has looked upon His lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is His name,
and His mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of His arm, He has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry He has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of His mercy
—according to the promises He made to our ancestors—
of His mercy to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” [Luke 1:46-79]

Mary, you rejoiced for the blessing given to you, and for those given to all persons through the Child whom you carried in your womb—for we also are descendants of Abraham, by faith. [Romans 4:12] You, in this loving concern for others, interceded for their needs even while on earth, exhorting them to obedient faith like your own, “do whatever He tells you”. He initially reproved you—“My hour is not yet come.” [John 2:4, 5] However, He granted your humble request.

Woman of faith, although your life held many perplexities and seeming inconsistencies, you treasured and pondered these brief manifestations of divine action in your Son’s life without losing your humble trust. [Luke 2:19-20] For it might have seemed that God could make better arrangements for the conditions of His divine Son’s birth!

When you heard of the terrible slaughter of the innocent infants, intended to include Jesus, this massacre devastated your maternal heart on behalf of those other mothers. You might have said, “How can God allow this?” When you fled as a refugee with all the grief, displacement and destitution that refugee families may suffer you still kept faith. Again, you trusted, as He hung dying horribly wounded and humiliated upon a criminal’s cross.

Mary, we thank you for your care of that incomparable Child, whose coming was foretold centuries before. We thank you—for the Child whom you bore and nurtured is Saviour of all humankind! Thank you for your faith, for your obedience, for your faithfulness through all those years when the extraordinary promise made to you might have seemed lost in daily routine.

She’s hard *not *to love! Anyway, all the best!

 

[NHInsider]

I’m a little confused. I always thought RCIA was for anyone who had questions, baptised or not. Was I wrong?

Depends on the parish. Ideally there would be RCIA classes for unbaptised, unchurched adults, Adult Confirmation classes for adults who were baptised and practicing in other faiths, something like Remembering Church for people who fell or ran away and are coming back, and Adult Ed classes for everyone else. In most parishes with the number of volunteers available, you’re lucky if they offer RCIA and adult ed.

My teenagers were actually threatened (by a now-former, Thanks be to God, DRE) that if they chose not to be Confirmed with their classes they would have to do RCIA later. This is just not so - except that my parish has no “system” for receiving adults except the RCIA.

But, having said that - if the OP’s priest determines that she is ready, she can be received at any time of year.

 

[legaleagle]

This is just an update. I met with my priest today. He is a wonderful man. He was so kind and understanding. I was so scared before the meeting. I arrived early so I went into the church to pray, but my heart was racing. To make a long story short, the RCIA at my parish is flexible and I could be received into the Church any time in the year. I am going to go to the classes and see what happens. I feel a lot better now!

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and advice.

 

[Trishie]

God bless you for your courage! You probably wouldn’t be human if you hadn’t felt some initial trepidation. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide you on your journey!

 

[Harri_Laaksonen]

Wonderful!

Now just lay back and let the Holy Spirit lead. Ask questions, there is no such thing as “a stupid question”. Who does not ask, remains ignorant.

The Church does not demand that people are ignorant, vice-versa, we are to grow in faith through grace.

 

[Angels_Unaware]

Satan does a lot to prevent people from entering The Church.

And with someone who already enjoys spending hours in adoration…I can just imagine the reaction in hell.

Yes…

I am a Catholic convert, and RCIA was filled with stumbling blocks for almost the whole class. I have seen so much human conflict that stems from human failings, which becomes amplified by Satan, surrounding the whole RCIA process. You need to make a great effort to keep things in perspective, and when you become frustrated or unsure, remember it is a stumbling block that you need to muster the strength to overcome. You do it in sacrifice for the Lord, and being able to be in communion with Him in the Eucharist.

My primary reason for converting was also the Eucharist.

Don’t be deceived; the enemy of your soul does not want to see you receive the sacraments.

 

[Disciple96]

Goodness, no, doubts do not mean that you should not become Catholic. They mean that you are thinking! We all had to go through different things, different struggles, whether we were raised Catholic or not. Conversion is a lifelong process and no one is born Catholic. We are all converts! I happen to be a convert in the usual sense, though. I converted from Buddhism. After converting from Methodism to various things.

So don’t pressure yourself (plenty of other people will do that for you) and don’t worry. There is no pre-set plan for you to follow (well, there is, but it’s God’s plan, so it’s nothing for you to worry about), so just hang in there and keep going to Mass and keep praying and studying and asking questions.

And make Holy Hours. This is really important. Sit with our Lord and talk with Him. Let Him advise you and guide you. I think you will enjoy your journey and I look forward to saying to you soon:

***Welcome Home! ***

Oops, just noticed that maybe you’ve already mentioned further back in the thread that you enjoy adoration. Forgive me, didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t know about such things. I haven’t read all the posts yet.

 

[Disciple96]

This is just an update. I met with my priest today. He is a wonderful man. He was so kind and understanding. I was so scared before the meeting. I arrived early so I went into the church to pray, but my heart was racing. To make a long story short, the RCIA at my parish is flexible and I could be received into the Church any time in the year. I am going to go to the classes and see what happens. I feel a lot better now!

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and advice.

YAY! That’s wonderful to hear! I have to tell you, almost every experience I’ve had with priests from all over the place has been very positive. I adore priests. Well, not adore, oh, you know what I mean. I really do think very highly, and warmly, of them. Great to hear that you are going ahead. Hooray!

 

[YADA]

Remember that beginning the RCIA process is not the same thing as “committing to become a catholic” …

We tell our RCIA particiapnts each year tat our goal is to provide information on the Christian faith from the authentic Catholic Church position … we walk a journey of discovery and faith with them … they are at all times in charge of their faith walk and decision to come into full communion [if already baptized] or to take the ‘plunge’ if they are not …

We are successful [whether they become a catholic or not] as long as they feel at peace with their decision and we have done our best …They have to decide whether they hear God’s call …

We can’t teach a different faith, we can’t change the teachings that are hard for them …

Come the Easter Vigil [or whatever time is appropriate for your individual circumstances] you can say Yes or No … no matter how many steps you have already taken …

And not every person takes the minimum amount of time … we are not automatons … what one person could decide after beginning an RCIA this year might not be the same for another of their Cohort … for them it might take two or three years of RCIA … I had one gentlman tell me he thought he was on the “five year plan”

 

[legaleagle]

Thanks for all the additional comments. It’s so weird - - leading up to when I called the church to make my appointment with the priest, I got serious cold feet and contemplated staying with the Anglicans. It was awful, but then ever since my appointment with the priest last week, I’ve been so happy. I was able to get to an Expostion and Adoration the following day. And today, I was able to spend an hour adoring after Mass. I’ve never felt so excited and enthusiastic in a long while. Hopefully this means I’m going to really become Catholic!

 

[survive]

Thanks for all the additional comments. It’s so weird - - leading up to when I called the church to make my appointment with the priest, I got serious cold feet and contemplated staying with the Anglicans. It was awful, but then ever since my appointment with the priest last week, I’ve been so happy. I was able to get to an Expostion and Adoration the following day. And today, I was able to spend an hour adoring after Mass. I’ve never felt so excited and enthusiastic in a long while. Hopefully this means I’m going to really become Catholic!

:dancing:I hope so.

 

[D_Kelly]

With that positive attitude and your faith, you’ll be Catholic in no time. I have faith in you. I’ll pray for you.
Good luck and God Bless you on your journey.

Deb

 

[Disciple96]

Thanks for all the additional comments. It’s so weird - - leading up to when I called the church to make my appointment with the priest, I got serious cold feet and contemplated staying with the Anglicans. It was awful, but then ever since my appointment with the priest last week, I’ve been so happy. I was able to get to an Expostion and Adoration the following day. And today, I was able to spend an hour adoring after Mass. I’ve never felt so excited and enthusiastic in a long while. Hopefully this means I’m going to really become Catholic!

Yeah, I can remember how I felt when I realized I was being called to make the journey home. I was, well, shocked. Shocked, I say! And dismayed. I still had so many misconceptions to deal with. But deal with them, I did. Or rather, the Lord did. And I am more in love with Him and His Church every single day.

I take your fear as a sign that you actually realized what you were getting into. It’s so much more than merely switching denominations. So much more. And the fact that you took the time to spend the time with Him in adoration is definitely telling. And that you were given such consolation is wonderful. I love the time I get to spend in adoration. I like to go to the chapel up at EWTN and adore there, and there’s a perpetual adoration chapel that’s open 24/7/365 that I’ve been going to for many years. My favorite time to be there is quite late at night when there might be only one other person who is very likely snoozing. Quiet (except for the snoring), dark except for the candles… Simply my favorite time and place to be. At the feet of my Lord.

Welcome nearly home! Praise the Lord!

 

[legaleagle]

Welcome nearly home! Praise the Lord!

Thanks!