Does one have to know the entire Cathecism upon conversion?

[HeadingBackHome]

Hi, Im 100 per cent sure that the Catholic Church is the one true church established by Jesus himself and Im 100 per cent sure that its where I will worship Jesus every moment for the rest of my life.
My question is:
1: do the priest ask me a ton of questions upon my confirmation in order to decide wether Im ready or not to enter full communion?

2: do I have to learn the entire Catechism in order to bee initiated into the Church?
I mean, with time I’ll try to read through it and remember it, but Im a busy man studying
And so on. I simply don’t have the time at the moment to read the entire catechism.

3: Based on the “vital parts” of the Church teachings I’ve reached my conclusion that I want
To Be initiated into the church.

4: is it possible to be held back from confirmation/ conversation?
I mean, sorry buddy. Maybe next year?

Thanks in advance for any answers I might receive

• Peace in Christ

 

[mlz]

Of course not, but you should know as much as is possible before conversion so that you are sincere. I spent about 3 years reading and studying before my conversion. The more you know and understand the better a Catholic you will be for Christ, but the Church’s depth is so deep most of us will spend our lives continuing to learn and be grateful to our Lord! I love being Catholic!

Blessings,
mlz

 

[vincent10395]

Hi, Im 100 per cent sure that the Catholic Church is the one true church established by Jesus himself and Im 100 per cent sure that its where I will worship Jesus every moment for the rest of my life.

My question is:
1: do the priest ask me a ton of questions upon my confirmation in order to decide wether Im ready or not to enter full communion?

What you said in your opening sentence is enough to show you’re ready for the Catholic Church!

2: do I have to learn the entire Catechism in order to bee initiated into the Church?
I mean, with time I’ll try to read through it and remember it, but Im a busy man studying
And so on. I simply don’t have the time at the moment to read the entire catechism.

I’m a cradle Catholic, and I don’t even know the whole catechism. I highly doubt you have to read the whole catechism let alone memorize it.

3: Based on the “vital parts” of the Church teachings I’ve reached my conclusion that I want
To Be initiated into the church.

:thumbsup: Welcome Home!

4: is it possible to be held back from confirmation/ conversation?
I mean, sorry buddy. Maybe next year?

Nope! The Catholic Church won’t deny anyone willing to come Home!

God Bless you on your journey Home!

 

[mdgspencer]

I became a Catholic more than 50 years ago and still look up things in the Catechism I don’t know about. If you try to read and remember the Catechism you likely enough would find this discouraging. I wouldn’t want to try this myself.
It shouldn’t be hard to learn the things you would have to know to become a Catholic.

 

[phil19034]

My question is:
1: do the priest ask me a ton of questions upon my confirmation in order to decide wether Im ready or not to enter full communion?

Nope, but personally I do wish some Parishes would make sure everyone knows a few things so the newly Confirmed can avoid possible issues in the future (like when can and cannot recieve Communion)

2: do I have to learn the entire Catechism in order to bee initiated into the Church?
I mean, with time I’ll try to read through it and remember it, but Im a busy man studying
And so on. I simply don’t have the time at the moment to read the entire catechism.

Nope, but you really should. But it’s not enough to know the Catechism. You need to understand the whys behind the Catechism and how they are based on God’s will and commandments. Then, you will see the beauty and brilliance behind the Catechism.

3: Based on the “vital parts” of the Church teachings I’ve reached my conclusion that I want
To Be initiated into the church.

Excellent! Welcome home.

4: is it possible to be held back from confirmation/ conversation?
I mean, sorry buddy. Maybe next year?

Yes, it is possible. If the Priest really doesn’t think you are ready, then yes. But most likely it won’t be because of the Catechism. He would most likely “hold you back” if you lack a love for Christ or if he feels you do not believe in what you are doing (i.e. that you do not believe in the Sacraments).

God Bless and Welcome again!

 

[IrishRush]

Of course not, but you should know as much as is possible before conversion so that you are sincere. I spent about 3 years reading and studying before my conversion. The more you know and understand the better a Catholic you will be for Christ, but the Church’s depth is so deep most of us will spend our lives continuing to learn and be grateful to our Lord! I love being Catholic!

Blessings,
mlz

You’re right about this. I’ve been Catholic for all 53 of my years on this Earth and I’m STILL learning about my faith. That’s the joy of it for me though - it never gets boring!

 

[ClearWater]

Hi, Im 100 per cent sure that the Catholic Church is the one true church established by Jesus himself and Im 100 per cent sure that its where I will worship Jesus every moment for the rest of my life.
My question is:
1: do the priest ask me a ton of questions upon my confirmation in order to decide wether Im ready or not to enter full communion?

I see another post said “no”. In my time, they actually asked you, individually, to be able to recite the Nicean Creed and some other questions to test your knowledge. My sister’s interview was done in front of us all by a priest. With mine, the priest asked me to go for a walk during which he questioned me. Apparently, they don’t do this any more?

2: do I have to learn the entire Catechism in order to bee initiated into the Church?
I mean, with time I’ll try to read through it and remember it, but Im a busy man studying
And so on. I simply don’t have the time at the moment to read the entire catechism.

No. We use the Catechism as a reference book, which every Catholic home should have a copy of, in my opinion. That way, in matters of faith, you can take it with you and express your concerns with fellow Catholics.

3: Based on the “vital parts” of the Church teachings I’ve reached my conclusion that I want
To Be initiated into the church.

Do you have any doubts about what you would call “non-vital” parts? I accept EVERYTHING! I accept the pope, everything, no exceptions.

4: is it possible to be held back from confirmation/ conversation?
I mean, sorry buddy. Maybe next year?

I’m not sure. I guess if one didn’t have an understanding of the catechism or didn’t fully believe, that could happen. Confirmation is a complete commitment. One must fully understand the implications of what the decision means. If one can’t say, “This is what I believe”, has ANY doubts, they should NOT go through with it. It’s sort of like marriage in that way.

Welcome and congratulations! :bounce::yup::clapping:

 

[oldgraymare2]

Hi HeadingBackHome,

I am so excited for you as you get ready to be Confirmed.

I cannot imagine anyone having to know the whole Catechism.

I was born and raised Catholic, and I don’t know everything that is in it. I have a copy of it and I have to refer to it when I am not sure of something.

Yes, you can be held back, like the others have said, if the priest does not feel like you are ready to be Confirmed.

Back in the day when I was going to be Confirmed, I was in my last year of Catechism classes. I was young at the time, as that is how it was done back then through our Archdiocese. I was 13 years old, going on 14 in a few months. I had to meet individually with a priest, to see if I was ready to be Confirmed. After talking to me, he felt that I was ready.

 

[MattofTexas]

Hi!
I joined the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) myself this year. Based on my experience thus far it seems the answer is NO, you by no means have to have the entire 1000+ page CCC memorized (if you did the Catholic Church would likely have a much smaller growth rate from adult converts ), but you should learn as much as you can about what the Church teaches. Think of it this way, preparing for Confirmation (or Baptism if you haven’t already been validly baptized) is learning the foundation of your faith, spirituality, and religion that you will have for the rest of your life (and by the grace of our Lord hopefully for all eternity after!). If we take so much care learning things in school as children to prepare us to live and work in this temporal world as adults, how much more important is our education concerning the Church Jesus Christ founded for the communion and salvation of all mankind? With that said, I don’t know how things work in your country, but in the US the normal procedure is to meet with the pastor and/or religious education director at the parish you’re desiring to join the Church in, and they will evaluate your knowledge of the Catholic Faith and where you are on your spiritual journey. This is nothing to be nervous about, they are just trying to discern how they can best help you in your journey toward God and His Church! Typically converts from Protestantism or other faiths (or no faith) join RCIA and go through a series of classes and rites preparing for initiation (including receiving Holy Communion), usually at the Easter Vigil. There are exceptions to this protocol, and things may work completely differently in your country for all I know anyhow, it just depends on how your bishops do it and your priests implement it. Don’t worry about being tested or getting held back, this is a journey, a journey with God, in God, leading to God. The important thing is that you’re on the journey and earnestly seeking the Truth. Trust your pastor and RE Director to determine the best course of action for your catechesis and initiation into the Church, and as my RE Director told me today, always follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit! God bless you on your journey!

 

[Origen52]

I hope you don’t need to know the entire catechism to get into heaven,or I’ll definitely be the last one out of purgatory.

 

[m134e5]

1: do the priest ask me a ton of questions upon my confirmation in order to decide wether Im ready or not to enter full communion?

They won’t quiz you in front of the congregation or anything, but they should make sure that you learned the basics in RCIA. Don’t let what they might ask you discourage you though- just pay attention during the RCIA sessions, and learn all you can on your own as well.

2: do I have to learn the entire Catechism in order to bee initiated into the Church? I mean, with time I’ll try to read through it and remember it, but Im a busy man studying And so on. I simply don’t have the time at the moment to read the entire catechism.

No (thankfully, because I still wouldn’t be Catholic now if that were the case- I joined the Church 10 years ago).

3: Based on the “vital parts” of the Church teachings I’ve reached my conclusion that I want To Be initiated into the church.

Keep learning. There is enough to learn about the Church to last several lifetimes. I suggest that the most important thing to learn is that we can trust in the Church, because we can trust in Christ.

4: is it possible to be held back from confirmation/ conversation? I mean, sorry buddy. Maybe next year?

If a priest or catechist sees that the person is not ready to make a commitment to the Faith, they should not allow them to join the Church just yet. It is very rare that this is done though.

 

[AdvanceAlways]

You do not need to know the entire catechism. You should certainly know the fundamentals of our faith, but the whole reason places like Catholic Answers Forums or hard copies of the Catechisms exist is to help us along the way. I’ve been a CAF member since 2005 because in my faith journey, I often find myself not knowing something about the Church and there’s always a friendly community willing to help me out. Certainly know the basics and then some, but no one will probably quiz on you the details of justification or predestination or other complex theological matters.

 

[esieffe]

In my Church the OCI director is asked for an opinion of your progress after he has consulted with you on the matter.

That consultation usually sounds something like this:

"Are you sure you want to be Catholic? So your willing to do this? That? and the other?
So you accept this, that, and the other?
Why do you want to be Catholic? What do you think of so and so?

Your fine. Go in peace brother… NEXT!

This is of course after you have attended class and services from early Fall to almost Easter.

 

[po18guy]

Welcome home! Three suggestions:

1. A Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is in question and answer format, similar to the Baltimore Catechism of old.
2. Catholicism for Dummies. An excellent, easily read and understood guide to the faith that may be used as a form of catechism.
3. Keep a full catechism handy for those times when a doctrinal or moral issue comes up - like daily. The Libreria Editrice Vaticana edition is my favorite version. I find the subject index easier to use than the USCCB edition.

 

[HeadingBackHome]

I see another post said “no”. In my time, they actually asked you, individually, to be able to recite the Nicean Creed and some other questions to test your knowledge. My sister’s interview was done in front of us all by a priest. With mine, the priest asked me to go for a walk during which he questioned me. Apparently, they don’t do this any more?

No. We use the Catechism as a reference book, which every Catholic home should have a copy of, in my opinion. That way, in matters of faith, you can take it with you and express your concerns with fellow Catholics.

Do you have any doubts about what you would call “non-vital” parts? I accept EVERYTHING! I accept the pope, everything, no exceptions.

4: is it possible to be held back from confirmation/ conversation?
I mean, sorry buddy. Maybe next year?

I’m not sure. I guess if one didn’t have an understanding of the catechism or didn’t fully believe, that could happen. Confirmation is a complete commitment. One must fully understand the implications of what the decision means. If one can’t say, “This is what I believe”, has ANY doubts, they should NOT go through with it. It’s sort of like marriage in that way.

Welcome and congratulations! :bounce::yup::clapping:

Thanks for your reply
I have no doubts about the Papacy, The Veneration of the Blessed Virgin, the communion of saints, the purgatory, the Eucharist, confession or any of that.
That’s what I consider to be the “must sort out” things regarding the Church in order to enter full communion.

What I have in mind is things besides what’s mentioned, “less important” stuff in which I’m not disagreeing, but often lack knowledge to have an opinion if asked.
You see we have a very intellectual group of converts in my parish and when talking to them about the faith I often find myself corrected and devalued when discussing parts of the faith.

I just thought that all of this smaller things was something I had to know upon convertion.
I’m glad to see that I can pick it up as my life as a catholic goes on after my initiation

• Pax Christi

 

[johnnyc176]

What I have in mind is things besides what’s mentioned, “less important” stuff in which I’m not disagreeing, but often lack knowledge to have an opinion if asked.
You see we have a very intellectual group of converts in my parish and when talking to them about the faith I often find myself corrected and devalued when discussing parts of the faith.

I just thought that all of this smaller things was something I had to know upon convertion.
I’m glad to see that I can pick it up as my life as a catholic goes on after my initiation

• Pax Christi

You might be interested in the Baltimore Catechism…

cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/baltimore/bindex.htm

It is in an easy Q&A format. You can then use the current Catechism to delve further into a topic or for expanded discussion.

scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc2.htm

Prayers for you on your journey to the One True Church!