Drawn to Catholicism

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You may also check out this web site catholicity.com/maryfoundation/

for free CD’s or tapes, my favorite is Fr. Larry Richards… Mass and Confession explained (Very Good) he also has one called The Truth but you can only get that one from his ? web site, just google his name. Good Luck and welcome Home!
 
Another question I have is whether or not Catholicism has denominations in the same way that Protestantism has them or does it all fall under Roman Catholicism?
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There was a great testimony by an adult convert, Fr. Terry Kraychuk, on The Journey Home. It can be listended to on-line at ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/resolve.asp?rafile=jh_05172004.ra , or purchased in various formats at ewtn.com/vcatalogue/pages/live_shows.asp?pgnu=2&show=JH .

At any rate, after an adult conversion and a call to the priesthood, Fr. Terry faced a decision as to whether he should become a latin-rite priest or ukranian-rite.

He provided a very clear, simple analogy - he said that each rite was like the individual facets of a diamond - each reflecting the beauty and light of truth in its own way, adding to and not diminishing the whole, which is the Catholic church.

Fr. Kraychuk has both a gentleness of spirit and a depth of conviction that are very, very compelling.

Btw, watching The Journey Home (ewtn.com/journeyhome/index.asp for more info) is very encouraging. Each week brings a new story of adult conversion, which have a terrific cumulative effect on the will! Thx to Marcus Grodi & all those good folks at EWTN who put this on for us all.

God bless.
 
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kp1:
I am sorry that I seem to have offended you in my overly simplified title of the Pope.

I realise the college of Cardinals and the Bishops advise the Pope, but they are not the figure heads! They are not held to the same level of accountablility as the Pope.

Here is a link to read more on the split catholic.com/library/eastern_orthodoxy.asp.

Try to find some humor in your day! God has a sense of humor or he would not have given us one! 😃

I hope you understand I really am not trying to argue semantics here. I just felt you really did not find my comment the way it was intended.
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No offense taken 🙂

I simply posted to clarify a few matters for the enquirer. She is not familiar with the Catholic Church and I simply felt some of your terminology could be misinterpreted.

The bishops do slightly more than 'advise ’ the pope!

1594 The bishop receives the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates him into the episcopal college and makes him the visible head of the particular Church entrusted to him. As successors of the apostles and members of the college, the bishops share in the apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church under the authority of the Pope, successor of St. Peter.
scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1594.htm

I’m pretty well up on matters eastern, here’s a good link too
byzantinecatholic.com/radio.htm

Humour in my day? Could always do with more! 🙂

Regards

St B
 
Again, thank you all for this information. I picked up a copy of Catholocism for Dummies and have already had several of my misconceptions corrected, and am discovering how much sense Catholicism actually makes sense. I am planning on attending my first Mass this weekend, and am just wondering if there are any faux pas I should avoid making. One question I have in particular is about communion. Do you have to be a part of the Catholic church to take communion, or merely be baptized?
 
Hi ll I am a new Catholic too, since Easter 05. But you have to wait until you’re received into the Church before you can take communion. It seemed like a long wait amd I was very happy when it was over.
 
You DO have to have professed the Catholic faith to take communion, traditionally this is done through RCIA, or in rare cases, a personal meeting with the priest. So, at this point, please do NOT take communion. You may go up with your arms crossed, hands on shoulders, and recieve a blessing, or remain in the pew.

You are welcome to participate in gestures during mass, crossing yourself, making the sign of the cross with the holy water, and genuflecting (bowing on one knee) to Jesus present in the tabernacle (the big gold box at the front). If you happen to know where you plan to attend, someone may be willing to meet you there and walk you through everything/explain things. 🙂

If you are uncomfortable with anything, you don’t have to participate, just sit quietly :),
 
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sententia:
You may go up with your arms crossed, hands on shoulders, and recieve a blessing.
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Make sure you do this. It’s a wonderful blessing. Afterward, sit qiuetly and talk to God. He always listens! 🙂
 
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ladylinguist:
Again, thank you all for this information. I picked up a copy of Catholocism for Dummies and have already had several of my misconceptions corrected, and am discovering how much sense Catholicism actually makes sense. I am planning on attending my first Mass this weekend, and am just wondering if there are any faux pas I should avoid making. One question I have in particular is about communion. Do you have to be a part of the Catholic church to take communion, or merely be baptized?
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Also, schedule a meeting with a Priest and inquire about the RCIA process.
 
Thanks again! I would hate to have taken Communion and then found out afterwards that I wasn’t supposed to. I admit I’m somewhat nervous about going alone to a Mass, because I won’t have any clue what’s going on, when to do what, etc. Unfortunately, I don’t know any Catholics in the area.I 'm looking forward to it, though. I do have a question about RCIA. Do you have to attend the full course one time through to be confirmed as a Catholic, or can you join midway through and be confirmed as long as you have a full understanding of what the decision entails?By the way, I would just like to comment that I am amazed at how ignorant I was of Catholicism, before I began reading up on it. Everything I ever thought was weird or unbiblical is actually just as a result of lack of knowledge on my part. Another question, is there a specific saint that one prays to on the road to conversion or any specific prayers for converts? You know, the more I learn the more questions I have. I love the learning process! 😃 Oh, one other question (there seems to be no end to them): Is there a specific Bible translation Catholics use, or do they just pick whichever they like? And, for those of you who are converts, especially from Protestantism, how did you bring up the subject of converting to your family members? How did they react? I’d just like to try and bring it up to my parents in the best way possible.
 
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ladylinguist:
Do you have to attend the full course one time through to be confirmed as a Catholic, or can you join midway through and be confirmed as long as you have a full understanding of what the decision entails?
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Dear Lady Linguist, this depends on the parish. Many will allow you to join any time before November or December, but you will have to ask your priest or RCIA coordinator. I hope you are successful.
 
Is there a specific Bible translation Catholics use, or do they just pick whichever they like?
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I’d recommend getting the RSV:CE. Depending on how much money you want to spend, here are some options:

Ignatius Holy Bible:
catholiccompany.com/prod…tail.cfm?ID=684

RSV-CE:
ewtn.com/vcatalogue/pag…ry=BOOKS&pgnu=2

The difference between them is pretty much ascetical. The Ignatius is more utlitarian and comes in soft and hardcover. The content (translation) is the same as far as I know.

I’d also recommend the Douay-Rheims Bible although the translation of the RSV:CE is a bit more familar for our times. For example, Shakespeare wrote in English yet reading his writings today may seem unfamilar. You can preview the Douay-Rheims text at:
drbo.org/

Also if you have the money I’d suggest investing in a good Bible study book. I’m reading “Understanding The Sciptures - The Didache Series” and I would recommend it. It’s organized like a textbook and should help you better understand the Bible:
ewtn.com/vcatalogue/pag…ry=BOOKS&pgnu=2

If you don’t have a lot of money you might want to pick up the Igantius Study Bible series every so often. All the Books of the Bible haven’t been released yet though. They’re about $10 per book although I’m linking the set of them:
catholiccompany.com/prod…ail.cfm?ID=5165

Still, I’d recommend beginning with “Understanding The Sciptures - The Didache Series” and then progressing onto the Ignatius Study Bible series.
I admit I’m somewhat nervous about going alone to a Mass, because I won’t have any clue what’s going on, when to do what, etc.
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I’d recommend watching a Mass on EWTN first to get an idea of what the Mass is like:
ewtn.com/tv/oct23_oct29.asp

Also, I’d suggest showing up about 15 minutes early and getting a Missal which will hopefully help you.
Another question, is there a specific saint that one prays to on the road to conversion or any specific prayers for converts?
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This might help:
catholic-forum.com/saints/pst00167.htm
 
Another question: is the Saturday evening Mass the same service as the Sunday Mass? I think I read somewhere that it was, but I’m not certain. I’m just wondering because I, most unfortunately, work Sunday’s so I can’t attend a Sunday morning Mass.
 
Since I just went to my first Mass a few weeks ago, I can comment a little about what to expect I think. First, it’s perfectly fine to just sit through the whole thing, but I wanted to sit, and stand, and kneel with others. You don’t have to make any of the motions but might be good to watch carefully what people do.

If you can read up on the history and development of the liturgy before going, it will be especially interesting!

And you can learn even more about liturgy by visiting an eastern church. I’m within driving distance from the Byzantive Catholic church in Spokane Valley, WA. Attending that church make me think I’d been transported back 1000 years!

Jeremiah
 
The Saturday night mass (also called the vigil mass) IS the same as a Sunday mass for those people who are unable to go to mass on sunday- they work in the healthcare industry, or will beout of town, etc. So yes, same as sunday mass.

The saturday MORNING mass is the saturday mass generally. Your parish may have a website you can look up their mass times, or bulletin on to see when masses are offered.
 
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ladylinguist:
D Oh, one other question (there seems to be no end to them): Is there a specific Bible translation Catholics use, or do they just pick whichever they like? .
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A priest I know once said he used the RSV Catholic Edition for study as it is quite formal and the Jerusalem Bible for private devotional reading.
 
This is a question for converts from Protestantism. What was it exactly that made you realize Catholicism was the better choice? And do you ever feel like you had to give something up when you became a Catholic? For example, I know that Protestant services (of all flavors) are usually very casual and engage a lot of contemporary music and even rock-type music, and there aren’t really any set prayers (at least not in any of the churches I’ve been to). Does the fact that a lot of Catholic prayers and rituals are set ever leave you feeling like you lack freedom of expression in your faith? I only ask because I’m the type of person that, when making a choice of any kind, always goes through an ‘oh, my goodness, what if I’m completely wrong and regret this’ phase. I was just wondering if anybody else had those worries when converting.
 
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