L
LoisR
Guest
Hi, I’m an 18-year-old boy from Spain. I joined this site today because I’m really struggling to take the right steps towards becoming Catholic.
I grew up in an atheist family and in a very secular environment. I’ve never had Catholic friends, and I never cared about religion. I was baptised because of familiar tradition, but I never got involved in religion. The secular progressive culture that exists in Spain shaped me during my childhood and adolescence to be very left-wing and anti-religion.
Two years ago I started to worry that atheism was wrong. I tried to maintain my atheism, but deep down I knew that I held on to it because I was terrified of the idea of the existence of God. I won’t get into details about my journey, but basically I progressively challenged everything I believed, and became a conservative teen who came to understand how deep and rich the Christian religion was. Jordan Peterson has been a life-changing figure for me. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have arrived at Catholicism. Earlier this year I came to know Bishop Barron and that led me to Church Militant. I really tried to hold on to my old beliefs about homosexuality, women, etc., but I’ve since changed my mind and I’ve really got into Traditional Catholicism. I now appreciate much more the great Catholic tradition of my country. I find the fundamental doctrines of the Church to be the most reasonable. But I’ve arrived at Catholicism through an intellectual journey. I really struggle to have sincere faith. I really don’t know how to start believing. I also feel that my conviction that Catholicism is true is very shaky and could change because there’s a ton of things I don’t know and I’m still very young.
I really want to become a Catholic, but I haven’t had any spiritual experiences that can guide me. I worry that I may turn to other religions and damn myself. I’ve only read Genesis and half of the Cathecism. Catholicism is so rich and complex that I really don’t know where to start or what to do. In Spain we’ve been in quarantine since mid-March and so I can’t visit a church for guidance. On top of that, I’m in terrible mortal sin and I just keep sinning. I keep acting out the contrary of what I preach. I’ve been living a sinful life for all my life and there’s just too many things I have to change. All the information I’m ignorant of+ not being able to go out+ living in an environment where religion is not taken seriously + fear that I fall away from my Catholic convictions…it’s all too overwhelming for me.
My question, I guess, would be: Where should I start to fully understand the Catholic faith? How should I act if I’m so ignorant about the Catholic faith? Should the rest of the converting process be an intellectual thing, an emotional thing? I really feel like I could end up in another religion and I’m really scared. I feel like whatever I do now can determine my salvation.
I know it’s all too confusing, but I’m just really desperate for help. Besides, I really struggle to express myself. Sorry if I’ve made any grammatical errors, English isn’t my mother tongue. I’d be immensely grateful to receive advice. Thank you all. God bless you.
I grew up in an atheist family and in a very secular environment. I’ve never had Catholic friends, and I never cared about religion. I was baptised because of familiar tradition, but I never got involved in religion. The secular progressive culture that exists in Spain shaped me during my childhood and adolescence to be very left-wing and anti-religion.
Two years ago I started to worry that atheism was wrong. I tried to maintain my atheism, but deep down I knew that I held on to it because I was terrified of the idea of the existence of God. I won’t get into details about my journey, but basically I progressively challenged everything I believed, and became a conservative teen who came to understand how deep and rich the Christian religion was. Jordan Peterson has been a life-changing figure for me. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have arrived at Catholicism. Earlier this year I came to know Bishop Barron and that led me to Church Militant. I really tried to hold on to my old beliefs about homosexuality, women, etc., but I’ve since changed my mind and I’ve really got into Traditional Catholicism. I now appreciate much more the great Catholic tradition of my country. I find the fundamental doctrines of the Church to be the most reasonable. But I’ve arrived at Catholicism through an intellectual journey. I really struggle to have sincere faith. I really don’t know how to start believing. I also feel that my conviction that Catholicism is true is very shaky and could change because there’s a ton of things I don’t know and I’m still very young.
I really want to become a Catholic, but I haven’t had any spiritual experiences that can guide me. I worry that I may turn to other religions and damn myself. I’ve only read Genesis and half of the Cathecism. Catholicism is so rich and complex that I really don’t know where to start or what to do. In Spain we’ve been in quarantine since mid-March and so I can’t visit a church for guidance. On top of that, I’m in terrible mortal sin and I just keep sinning. I keep acting out the contrary of what I preach. I’ve been living a sinful life for all my life and there’s just too many things I have to change. All the information I’m ignorant of+ not being able to go out+ living in an environment where religion is not taken seriously + fear that I fall away from my Catholic convictions…it’s all too overwhelming for me.
My question, I guess, would be: Where should I start to fully understand the Catholic faith? How should I act if I’m so ignorant about the Catholic faith? Should the rest of the converting process be an intellectual thing, an emotional thing? I really feel like I could end up in another religion and I’m really scared. I feel like whatever I do now can determine my salvation.
I know it’s all too confusing, but I’m just really desperate for help. Besides, I really struggle to express myself. Sorry if I’ve made any grammatical errors, English isn’t my mother tongue. I’d be immensely grateful to receive advice. Thank you all. God bless you.