Feeling Connected To The Church

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pushandslice4

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Hey everyone. The past couple of weeks I have been feeling a connection to the Catholic Church. I have only been to one mass and that was two years ago. I loved the service and I plan on going to another mass this Saturday. I am in my early twenties and married. My wife doesn’t like liturgical churches, she likes non-denominational contemporary ones so it is just me going alone. She doesnt have a problem with me going, she just wants me to attend church. I have prayed many times and it seems like the Catholic Church is for me. I have inquired at several parishes about mass times and RCIA but I want to study everything I can about Catholicism before I commit to something. Many parishes are having RCIA after Labor Day. Should I go ahead and jump in and start or should I wait and start next year? If I wait I wont be able to be Catholic for 2 years. I have heard they interview you in RCIA. What does that consist of? I am kind of shy so hopefully they won’t single me out. I have requested many books from the library on conversion stories and basic beliefs. I come from a Protestant background but love the liturgy and how Catholics have a great personal relationship wiuh God. Any help and guidance through my journey would be appreciated.
 
Although I was raised Catholic, and have always held my beliefs, this thread caught my eye. My father was raised Catholic, but very loosely, and when my Protestant grandfather stopped going to his service, my grandmother and the 3 children (my father included) stopped going to Mass. This was after my father’s First Communion but before his Confirmation.

He began going to Church again at college, and continued living a life rich in faith as he and my mother married (Mom came from a very large, very strict Catholic family). After some gentle prodding on his part, my Mom talked him into RCIA so he would be confirmed the same time my sister would be. He was so thankful once he began the classes, but he always said that the priest did a great job of incorporating everyone, from people who weren’t even baptized to people like my father who only needed confirmation.

It appears that you have spent a lot of time thinking and praying about this, and if you feel in your heart that the Catholic Church is where you belong, than I think there’s no point in waiting for next year. You have already begun to prepare yourself, which is like studying in August before starting your freshman year. The purpose of RCIA is to prepare you, so you’re going above and beyond right now.

My best of luck to you on this spiritual journey–I hope my prayers and the prayers of others help you along the path!
 
Dear Pushandslice,

I am part of an RCIA team in my parish. My experience is that about half of the people coming into the program are looking at coming into the church, like you, and half have been baptized Catholic, but have not received Communion and/or Confirmation. When the program starts this is all the information I know as a team member. When people call the rectory to inquire about the program they will speak with our pastor and I’m sure he asks about their marital status, but we team members are not aware of it.

The first part of the program is called the period of inquiry. This ends with the start of Advent when people decide if they want to go on. Some time afterwards they have a private 10-15 minute interview with our pastor. I have no idea what they talk about.

It’s a long program, but very often people say that they are going to miss coming to class.

Good luck on your journey.
 
Welcome! 👋

I wouldn’t hesitate to jump into RCIA. As the previous poster mentioned, RCIA begins with the period of inquiry. RCIA is (or should be) a great place for you to learn. You will need to make a stronger commitment later on if you decide it is now the time for you to become Catholic, but initially, there is no commitment – just a chance for you to learn more about the Catholic faith.

I will pray for you as you start on this journey. God bless!
 
…and remember, there typically is no obligation for you to confirm after completing RCIA, so don’t feel like you’d be getting yourself into a commitment. You can “audit” it just like any academic course, in most parishes. It couldn’t hurt to get started now, and if over time you feel it isn’t for you, no harm no foul. A person in my own RCIA class didn’t decide she was going to confirm until probably a month before Easter Vigil 😃
 
Welcome Home! If you are comfortable with it, go ahead and enroll in the the RCIA process for this year. There are no commitments, everyone is on the same journey, but at a different speed, and you decide when you are ready to enter the Church. Don’t worry about your wife; she will see the positive changes in your life, and want in on it.
 
Start as soon as you can. If it is not for you, you don’t have to continue going. As already mentioned, the first part is inquiry, nobody truely becomes Catholic and Christian instantly, true faith grows and develops with time (as you probably know in your prior faith journey).
If I may suggest a good book that really helped me on my journey; ‘Catholic and Christian’ by Alan Schreck. It talks about Catholicism for Protestants and for Catholics who want to know more about their faith. I’ll pray for you and your journey!
 
I’ll throw in my vote to just go and try. Like others have said, there is no pressure to join just because you are in RCIA, it is for you to learn the faith. Some will be initiated this year, for others it may take a couple of years, and for others, they will never be initiated.

As for the interview, my guess it is one of two things. Someone will probably talk to you when you sign up for RCIA just to see where you are on things. They will want to know if you have been baptized and if so, where. They will want to know if you are married and whether or not either you our your spouse have been married before. They will ask what has brought you to this point. It is just kind of to so they know what to address and what you are thinking.

Later on in the process you might talk to someone again, also just to see what you are thinking. They will probably ask about your spiritual life and how it has grown/changed because of RCIA. They’ll want to know if you have issues with anything and with what.

In both cases, the idea is just to get to know you. Usually you are in some kind of class and it can be hard to get a feel for where everyone is, especially the quieter ones. 😉 They just want to be available to help you out. 😃
 
The Catholic Faith is a journey of a thousand miles. The first step in my opinion is the RCIA.
God bless. Live Jesus in our hearts.
 
I would definitely jump into it. As for the interview I am not sure what that is about. I do know that you go through the Rite of Election and such which are more about tradition. Even in the RCIA you are not “forced” to become Catholic and the rites are more about reflection and pausing points where you can decide whether this is not for you or that you want to continue. Our RCIA program was relatively short starting in September and culminating in the Easter Vigil in April, though there was the Mystagogia period. We met once every week and alot of information was thrown at us.

You’ll do fine and I have never seen anyone singled out. Just remember that everyone is there for the same reason. Not only that but you will meet people in the RCIA that will become close friends.
 
Howdy! Forgive me for not reading all the way through this thread. I wanted to respond to you right away so here I go.

First of all, I want to give you a warm welcome and greeting. I’m glad you’re looking into the Church. I remember discovering the Church and how scary and emotional it was. And how absolutely glorious and wonderful! The best thing that has ever happened to me and I am quite serious about that. I love the Church and I love Christ and I can’t say enough about both.

Please allow me to make some recommendations. First, instead of repeating what I’ve already listed elsewhere, let me point you toward a section of resources that I think you will find very useful. There is bound to be something there that will help you, that will draw your attention, and I add to it regularly. You’ll find there Catholic Bible study helps, conversion stories (reading and listening to those was extremely helpful to me, especially ones by Scott Hahn, Steve Ray and the like).

In closing I’d like to welcome you again to the inquiry process and to make two last suggestions. Holy Hours of adoration and prayer before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and study of the Bible and the Catechism. Much prayer and much study. Read, study, pray, think and ask questions! Please ask questions! And consult the Bible, the Catechism, and your priest for answers. You can ask folks here too, but the Bible, Catechism and your priest are the main ones to turn to, ya know.

I hope I’ve been of some assistance. Please feel free to ask away about conversion, the Church, what-have-you. I may or may not know the answer but I’ll do my best to find out for you, as will many, many, many others here.

Peace be with you. 🙂
 
pushandslice4 said:
Hey everyone. The past couple of weeks I have been feeling a connection to the Catholic Church. I have only been to one mass and that was two years ago. I loved the service and I plan on going to another mass this Saturday. I am in my early twenties and married. My wife doesn’t like liturgical churches, she likes non-denominational contemporary ones so it is just me going alone. She doesnt have a problem with me going, she just wants me to attend church. I have prayed many times and it seems like the Catholic Church is for me. I have inquired at several parishes about mass times and RCIA but I want to study everything I can about Catholicism before I commit to something. Many parishes are having RCIA after Labor Day. Should I go ahead and jump in and start or should I wait and start next year? If I wait I wont be able to be Catholic for 2 years. I have heard they interview you in RCIA. What does that consist of? I am kind of shy so hopefully they won’t single me out. I have requested many books from the library on conversion stories and basic beliefs. I come from a Protestant background but love the liturgy and how Catholics have a great personal relationship wiuh God. Any help and guidance through my journey would be appreciated.
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Having taught RCIA for three years my suggestion is to get involved ASAP. Its a great way to get your questions answered.

Love and prayers,
 
First of all, I would like to tell you to go ahead and start the RCIA Process. As someone who leads the RCIA process, the interview is nothing to worry about. It is a chance for you to ask questions and get answers. I usually like to know a little about your faith journey and how you came inquiring about the Catholic Church. It gives me a frame of reference in how to help you on your journey. I usually will ask about if you are married, separated divorced. Again it is a point of reference so that I can direct you to a tribunal advocate or to our pastor if necessary. I will ask questions about your prayer life and how you view god, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. I always tell a prospective candidate (one who has been Baptized) or a Catechumen ( one who has not been Baptized) that I can’t force them to become Catholic, rather i am there to help them come to a deeper realization of how much God loves them. I tell them that if along their journey they decide that they are not ready to become Catholic and/or discern that for the time being they want to stay where they are that I have done my job. We might talk about books to read, or books that a person might have read, ways to start becoming involved in the activities of the parish life, if they know anyone Catholic within the parish that might be willing to be thier sponsor. I try to listen to them and help them become comfortable with the process before starting. i try to be the first welcoming person they come in contact with within the Church.

good luck on your journey. i will definitely pray for you as you begin this wonderful journey of faith
I hope this helps you a little
 
If you feel that you are being led into the Catholic church please sign up for rcia and dont let anything hold you back be assured thaty my prayers are with you I am a convert myself and I can identify with the shyness issue if any interview is done it will probably be done in private and any answers or information that you give be be kept confidential I did not go through rcia but had private instruction from a very wonderful priest who was very orthodox in his views it helped me understand the faithso much better but I am sure that the rules of confidentialityare the same for rcia leaders
 
Welcome!

I am also a convert and I came in via the RCIA process in 1983. I had no one Catholic in my family and my husband was not Catholic either…I was simply called and decided to go by myself. The RCIA experience was wonderful and answered my doubts and fears…I am still asking questions! 😉 I am now an RCIA Team member and love seeing the new people and hearing their stories.

All the prvious posters are correct - there is no obligation at all and the initial period should be greatly helpful toward making a decision. I know of a gentleman who went through RCIA for three years before he finally was baptized!

I say go ahead and attend this year - you will find you love it and won’t want to give it up!
 
push,

I’m a convert who felt called to the church for years before I made the formal journey. I began by studying many churches on my own. I ended up buying a Catholic Catechism and looking up the church’s teachings on many subjects (there is an index) like marriage, the death penalty, etc. Eventually after I moved to Texas, I called an old friend who is a lifelong Catholic and asked her to be my sponsor for RCIA. I went to her parish (across the city) for classes and fell in love with the church and with her parish. Now it is my parish because I loved it enough to move near it.

You don’t have to join the church to study and ask questions. You don’t have to already be Catholic to participate in “parish life.” My parish has men’s softball, a “men’s club” and other things for men and women where anyone can participate. I know of many couples where one of them was Catholic and the other something else for many years and both participated in parish life.

I would suggest also that you ask your wife to come to RCIA with you. It is like Sunday School and it will enable to the two of you to discuss the teachings as you are learning them instead you going alone for nearly a year, wanting to become Catholic and then finding out that you both need to get on the same page about things. There are some things like not using artificial contraception, teachings on “life” issues like abortion, assisted suicide, appropriate use of medical technology that will impact your wife’s life as well as your own. I think it would be good for the two of you to take the journey together if you can even if she believes that she would never want to be Catholic. Even if she does not want to attend every class, it might be good to ask her attend when you have a hot topic on the schedule so that you can discuss it afterward.

May God bless you on your journey and give you strength!
 
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