Guidance on how to live a daily Catholic life - volunteer wanted

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LouiseHine

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Hi everyone,

I’m not sure where to even start with this, and I’m really sorry if this is rambling and doesn’t make much sense, but I’ll just dive right on in and see what happens.

I completed my RCIA before Christmas, and was confirmed on 22nd December last year, a lovely early Christmas present from my priest. I really want to be a good catholic, but my problem is I don’t know anyone who can tell me how to live a good catholic life on a daily basis. My RCIA consisted of the Catholicism DVDs after Tuesday night Mass, and Sunday Mass each week. This was wonderful, and I have done a lot of reading, but the things I’m stuck on, if that’s even the word, is how to make sure I observe the correct traditions throughout the day. Ideally, this would be learned by growing up in the Catholic faith, but I wasn’t brought up in any faith really, I was christened as Methodist as a baby but that was it, and so I’m a bit lost. I suppose what I’m looking for is a mentor, or volunteer to help and give me some advice on what I should be doing daily and when and at what time.

If anyone feels like the challenge and is willing to pass on some knowledge, I’d be awfully grateful for the opportunity to learn.
 
To a certain extent, the easiest thing would be to have someone close by who you could meet with occasionally and talk. Do you have a sponsor from RCIA? Is that someone you could talk with?
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
To a certain extent, the easiest thing would be to have someone close by who you could meet with occasionally and talk. Do you have a sponsor from RCIA? Is that someone you could talk with?
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I did, she’s a fantastic woman, but I only saw her on a Tuesday evening, and then not all the time because of her work, and now because I’m back in school to complete my PGCE I’m not home in time to go to church on a Tuesday night. But I wasn’t that close with my sponsor, despite how fantastic she is, because I’d only seen her a handful of times before I asked her if she’d be my sponsor. 😦
 
Approach your priest and ask if he knows someone reliable, well catechized and patient that would mentor you…a prayer partner if you will.
I only said “patient”, because many new Catholics have oodles of questions…it would be nice to have a really patient friend that would not mind answering or researching answers for your questions.
It’s a big responsibility to shepherd someone, but also a great honor, not to mention gratifying to walk the path with someone who is hungry to know the faith. 😉
God bless you!
Ask your priest…and don’t ever hesitate to ask questions! That’s how everyone learns about everything! 👍
Peace,
pianist
 
As others have said, it would be best to find a friend you could have this journey with. Someone in person. But if you ever just wanted someone to talk to or just talk about your day with, I’m happy to read it. Feel free to send me a private message. I don’t get on the boards every day, and I often have to write while getting a brief moment away from the little ones. We’re all on this Catholic journey together. It’s great to give one another support and encouragement. 🙂
 
The RCIA director may know a Catholic who went through the same process years ago who has matured in his or her faith.
 
I don’t think there is one way to live a Catholic life. We have obligations to go to church on Sundays and other holy days of obligation. Then we must follow the commandments in our daily lives. We should do service to others as much as we can. Outside of that we can choose what to do on a daily basis.

My Catholic life is summed up in two things: studying the faith and living the faith.

Studying the Faith

I do a morning and evening prayer every day. This includes a list of things I desire or need as well as a list of thank yous for what God has given me the past or previous day. I have a few things that are permanently on the list as well as temporary ones. For example, I am praying for the delicate Ukraine situation to work itself out peacefully and in everyone’s best interest. Once that situation is over, I will remove it from my temporary prayers list.

I also read the Bible and Catechism daily. I keep the amount of reading low to make sure I fully understand everything that I read. If I have any questions, I research online. I read all the footnotes, etc. I say a short prayer before and after these readings, basically asking for understanding of what I read and the knowledge to put what I’ve learned to practice in my life.

Finally, I like to have a Catholic book or some other reading source to read. Our parish gave everyone a copy of “The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic”, but there are many other books. I like to read about history and the saints, but some people really get deep into theology. Everyone has their own interests. I try to save money by reading online instead of buying books usually, but here and there I might get a book. Catholic Answers has a lot of good articles they have written over the years, and there are other Catholic websites with good reads too.

Living the Faith

As I am single, I have to go out of the house to do my service. Married people can do most of their service to their spouse and kids. I serve at specific events in my church every year. Since I still live at home, I also try to serve my parents whenever they need help with something. Any strangers I meet during the day, I try to see if they need help. I consider posting on Catholic Answers to be part of that. I always try to help someone with my posts. My goal one day is to do 5 hours of service per week, maybe more if I have time. The job market hasn’t been kind to me, so I don’t have transportation. I can borrow a parent’s car if I coordinate with them, but it greatly limits the times and the duration that I can serve.

In total I probably spend 2-3 hours praying and reading. My service work is probably less than an hour per day. Some day I hope to have the ability to balance this out. I’d really like to serve more, but I am not at that place in my life yet. I always hope in my prayers God will give me this ability one day, but I accept His will. It could be my vocation to take care of my parents.

Maybe some other people can post what they do. There are countless ways to be Catholic. Some people might do lots of service work and little prayer. Others do lots of prayer like myself. Still others try to balance them out. Some people have a specific issue, such as pro-life, that they devote all their energy towards. Others try to spread out their service to cover several different needs in the community.
 
I think it is difficult to present living the Catholic faith as a series of things. of course, many people are called to different services, such as evangelising, faith formation, helping the needy, etc. Others live their faith within the family setting by raising kids. Some are dedicated to the life of prayer. Some do it all.

Sunday mass, the sacraments and prayer are central to our life, and all these other things we do must be rooted in prayer (Mass is the greatest prayer there is). When we put God at the centre of our life then all other things revolve around Him. All the things, even the most mundane ones, become sanctified as a result, and everything we do can so become a prayer.

This probably sounds a bot ethereal and you are in need of more concrete advice on what to do. But it takes time to become Catholic, it is a learning process, like embracing a new culture. You are doing well and just keep going. Pray, read, get involved in your parish if possible. CAF is such a helpful place and you will always get answers to questions. I have learned so much since I joined this place 👍
 
Ophelia23 said:
As others have said, it would be best to find a friend you could have this journey with. Someone in person. But if you ever just wanted someone to talk to or just talk about your day with, I’m happy to read it. Feel free to send me a private message. I don’t get on the boards every day, and I often have to write while getting a brief moment away from the little ones. We’re all on this Catholic journey together. It’s great to give one another support and encouragement. 🙂
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Thank you, I just might take you up on that.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
I think it is difficult to present living the Catholic faith as a series of things. of course, many people are called to different services, such as evangelising, faith formation, helping the needy, etc. Others live their faith within the family setting by raising kids. Some are dedicated to the life of prayer. Some do it all.

Sunday mass, the sacraments and prayer are central to our life, and all these other things we do must be rooted in prayer (Mass is the greatest prayer there is). When we put God at the centre of our life then all other things revolve around Him. All the things, even the most mundane ones, become sanctified as a result, and everything we do can so become a prayer.

This probably sounds a bot ethereal and you are in need of more concrete advice on what to do. But it takes time to become Catholic, it is a learning process, like embracing a new culture. You are doing well and just keep going. Pray, read, get involved in your parish if possible. CAF is such a helpful place and you will always get answers to questions. I have learned so much since I joined this place 👍
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I am learning a lot being here, these posts for example have been really helpful. But I’m alone in life, in human terms, and know no-one who is a practising catholic. Thanks for the help, I’m going to try and read more, and to pray more, but I’ll still need help. For example, when to pray, what to pray for, is there anything we’re supposed to pray for on a daily basis? These are things that weren’t covered in my RCIA; I think I mostly pray the prayers of petition, and I want to learn when/how to pray the other four types too.

Thanks so much everyone, for being so patient with me.
 
Louise, I’m a convert, too (Confirmed in 2006). I went through the same feeling - a “now what do I do??” feeling. Eventually, I figured out how living a Catholic life looks in my life circumstances.

You can message me if you want to talk. I also have a blog where I try and write about current things going on, Catholic or not. 🙂
 
I am a cradle Catholic.

I don’t think of such things as when and how. I think of living a Christ centered life and being lead by the Holy Spirit.

There have been times I prayed that the Holy Spirit fill me with his gifts that I could see I was lacking in, but I don’t follow any form or method to do that. I think I often feel moved to pray during quiet times of the Mass or before. Lately, after I receive Communion I ask Jesus to bless the words of my mouth that what I say might be a blessing to someone that day. I often do errands after Mass, as it is the one day I am out using the bus, so I know I will come in contact with many people during the day.

I think it may be very “Catholic” to examine one’s actions and motives in the light of what God would want or expect and to pray for his assistance and work towards the goal of pleasing him. Because it feels natural for me to do so. Yet, I really can’t say I have a time and form to do so. It feels more like a constant way of thought. I am sure you will grow into this if it is not yet natural.

I look for small ways to be of service to others. Sometimes even just saying hello and acknowleging someone others are passing by. Pray by living out your faith in small ways.
 
LouiseHine said:
I am learning a lot being here, these posts for example have been really helpful. But I’m alone in life, in human terms, and know no-one who is a practising catholic. Thanks for the help, I’m going to try and read more, and to pray more, but I’ll still need help. For example, when to pray, what to pray for, is there anything we’re supposed to pray for on a daily basis? These are things that weren’t covered in my RCIA; I think I mostly pray the prayers of petition, and I want to learn when/how to pray the other four types too.

Thanks so much everyone, for being so patient with me.
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If you would like, you can purchase a small personal missalette with prayers and instructions on when to pray them. You could choose an on line Catholic bookstore, if you cannot find a local one.
 
LouiseHine said:
I For example, when to pray, what to pray for, is there anything we’re supposed to pray for on a daily basis? These are things that weren’t covered in my RCIA; I think I mostly pray the prayers of petition, and I want to learn when/how to pray the other four types too.
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There are websites that have the mass reading of the day, as well as many prayers and devotions. Check out EWTN or just Google “Catholic devotions” or something like that. Getting a missal is a good idea, as well as praying the LOTH.

I love novenas because they keep me focused on a certain issue and a specific saint. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is wonderful, and I very much recommend it.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
There are websites that have the mass reading of the day, as well as many prayers and devotions. Check out EWTN or just Google “Catholic devotions” or something like that. Getting a missal is a good idea, as well as praying the LOTH.

I love novenas because they keep me focused on a certain issue and a specific saint. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is wonderful, and I very much recommend it.
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silly question, but it’s things like this I’m stuck on, but what is LOTH?
 
LouiseHine said:
silly question, but it’s things like this I’m stuck on, but what is LOTH?
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The Liturgy of the Hours.

If you don’t know what that is, it’s the official, liturgical form of daily prayer that corresponds more or less to the Ordinary Form of the Mass–that is, there are older forms in the Roman Rite and different forms in other rites, but you’ll probably see this one the most often.

The full version takes the form of seven “hours,” hence the name–these are seven times of prayer, not “seven hours” of time! 😛 Some people have made vows or the like to say at least certain hours, but those who haven’t may use these hours flexibly (such as by not using all seven). Each hour includes psalms, hymns, readings, and prayers, and it follows the calendar with its seasons and feasts.

A thread with more information, in case you or anyone else reading this thread is interested:

Liturgy of the Hours: useful websites
 
LouiseHine said:
silly question, but it’s things like this I’m stuck on, but what is LOTH?
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Oh, I’m sorry. That stands for Liturgy of the Hours
Here is a good explanation: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_the_Hours

This is probably not the first thing a new convert should take upon, since many find it a bit intimidating. But it is definitely something to aspire to as we grow in faith and become more immersed in it.
 
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