Converts and What Holds Them Back

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Sadly I’m unable to do that. She passed away. Been gone now for almost 5 years. I actually wear a cross with her name on the back
 
I don’t think I’ll ever know exactly why she left the Church, that’s something I’ll only be able to speculate on
 
I guess if it were me, I’d really dig on this one. Perhaps ask cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters. I’ve found that issues related to family are cyclical. They happen generation after generation, even when the generations don’t talk about them…I don’t know your situation though…it may just be really difficult to understand why your grandmother left the church.
 
Opinions on Mary, the Eucharist, and what kind of Bible is being used.
 
Our RCIA wasn’t like that. We didn’t “re-read the readings” and wait for a word to pop out.

Each week, we had a speaker, usually a priest, present a lecture and question-answer time on various doctrines and teachings of the Church. I especially remember the lecture on The Four Last Things, which was something new to me as a Protestant.

The person who was in charge of our RCIA also taught us about the Mass and what each part of the Mass meant and how we should respond. We learned about the Church calendar and the liturgical year and many different feast days and saints and traditions.

And finally, we had several great presentations on apologetics.

I’m sorry your RCIA is so dull.
 
The Church has been around for a long time. For newcomers there is a lot to learn and to understand. For me it has been a lifetime of learning.
I love the Church. I cannot imagine not being a Catholic.
Welcome to you! 🙏🙏🙏
 
You seem to have had an exceptionally fruitful and interesting RCIA.
 
Yes, we were very blessed. I’m not sure if it’s still this good or not, but I’ve heard no complaints.
 
There aren’t doctrines that hold me back but, looking at everything right now, going through RCIA before I can be confirmed is an issue. Going would never be the problem. If my schedule permitted, I would go in a heartbeat starting this fall. I work nights though and it seems that RCIA classes always meet up one day of the week at nights.

Hopefully, as I go to Mass this morning, I will be able to speak with a priest or somebody else and talk about it. I’m sure there are some alternative ways to learn about the faith.

All my reservations about beliefs have disappeared. I used to have many questions but those have been extinguished over time due to looking for the answers. I don’t know what pulled me away from the faith in the past but I’m not going anywhere now. I used to be a protestant of quite a few different sects throughout the years. Always looking for the complete Truth. Thank God, I found it.
 
If I were you I’d speak to your parish RCIA director. I’m sure if you explained the situation with your job they’d be willing to work with you on it. I talked to mine and told him that I couldn’t meet at regular week day times to discuss starting, and he shot me an email ASAP and we scheduled a meeting on the weekend.

Just a matter of letting them know I think
 
I guess most people already talked about how to answer the scandals. Jesus wanted the Church to be full of sinners, even the worst ones, so they may be shown redemption and the light. It might be hard to accept for many, but even these scandalous clergymen are called to be forgiven. Forgiveness is the first step of their rehabilitation. I think it’s a rather simple reason why the Church was “covering it up” because prison sentence would make it hard to rehabilitate, especially with how terrible the American prison systems are. The governments wouldn’t understand supernatural forgiveness, especially this secular government, yet these men would have to do penance in some form or another.
TNMan said:
I’ve thought of converting throughout my adulthood since attending Catholic high school. A few things I can’t get past (and I ask God to give me discernment on these things rather than me following my own logic).
  1. Papal infallibility.
  2. Mariology.
Those are really the 2 big issues that prevent me from converting. I think the RCC does a lot of good around the world for the poor. Mass is beautiful. I think Adoration of the Sacrament is great. Confession and absolution is a good thing (us Lutherans still practice it). If anyone wants to correct me on what I’ve said I’m more than open to it.
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If both issues can be reconciled through Biblical theology, would that be enough for you?

Papal Infallibility is pretty much Matthew 16:18-19, and you can read the Catechism starting at 889, although I recommend Catholic Answers’ article on it. (Papal Infallibility | Catholic Answers)

Mary is a bit more complicated when it comes to the Bible because it requires reading the entire Bible, getting all the context and typology, to figure out the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. Again, look up the articles at Catholic Answers. (https://www.catholic.com/mary)

The gist of it is simply that God proclaimed complete enmity between the serpent and the woman in Genesis 3:15. As much time that God took to slowly reveal and prepare the sacrifice Marriage of the Lamb Supper, it can be said the same about Mary. There are a number of preparatory context throughout the history of the Bible to show that such a woman, the New Eve, will be coming. Complete enmity apart from the serpent, or Satan, means without sin. God promised the New Eve will never be tainted with sin of any kind, Original or personal, thus defining the Immaculate Conception, and then since Original Sin brought about death originally, not having Original Sin means Mary isn’t going to die, thus defining the Assumption. Whether she couldn’t die spiritually or bodily is up in the air though.

I recommend Scott Hahn’s talk about Mary too, if you want to know more. He has a book called Hail Holy Queen, but if you have Formed, it has plenty of his talks on it.
 
Shasta-Rose said:
trying to ascertain if a single word in the reading jumps out and says something directly to them.
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I don’t understand this. That is not what RCIA is about. It’s a study of Catholicism that covers the basics of what we believe. It’s not required that someone goes on to be baptized/confirmed/join the church, but just gives them a basic understanding of the faith. Afterwards, one can go on to study more in depth, or not as one chooses.
 
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