Help on my journey into Catholicism

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Marcus

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I converted to Catholicism at the age of 16, I was originally a member of the Church of England but never believed and grew up a bad lad. When I decided the catholic faith was the true faith for me I started to study the catechism, using prayer cards and praying the rosary. I even have tried mass but it was full of old people and nobody my age (21) so never returned could I please have some advice on how to grow as a catholic and ways I could implement Catholicism into my life more. Thank you
 
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First thing, get back to Mass 🙂
Make a good confession.

Nurture a prayer life.

Study Scripture and the Doctrine of the Church

Begin to live a Catholic life, attend Catholic events, read Catholic books, websites,
 
Learn the sacraments and live them. Walk like the man Christ intended all us men to be. There is a great role model in Christ and his personality that one can discover if they spend some quiet time thinking about how Christ went about his dealings with those he met.
And the suggestion to read is a good one. Too often Catholics fall into the idea that the religion can be found in its practice, its devotions, rituals and rote. There are many, many good books by Catholics throughout the ages that are a great source of light. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Fulton Sheen, Scott Hahn (and his wife Kimberly) are just a few. Hahn is quite contemporary and Sheen and Chesterton are timeless.
Good luck.
 
Hi Marcus,

I think that you have received some great advice here already.

I am also going to suggest that you go back to attending Mass.

If you haven’t been to Mass for awhile, I would recommend getting back into going on the weekends for the weekly Mass obligation, and then once you are doing that, I would then try and see if you can also fit in a week day Mass.

I always found fitting in an extra Mass during the week to be beneficial to my spiritual life, aside from doing the other things that the others here have already suggested, in your thread.🙂

I have also found Catholic spiritual reading to be of a great benefit, too, and I enjoy reading about the lives of the saints.

I wish you all of the very best on your journey of faith!

God bless you! 🙂
 
Marcus said:
I converted to Catholicism at the age of 16, I was originally a member of the Church of England but never believed and grew up a bad lad. When I decided the catholic faith was the true faith for me I started to study the catechism, using prayer cards and praying the rosary. I even have tried mass but it was full of old people and nobody my age (21) so never returned could I please have some advice on how to grow as a catholic and ways I could implement Catholicism into my life more. Thank you
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It sounds like you stopped going to Mass because of your own personal preferences. I pray you return to Mass for the proper reason - to worship fully the one true God the way He prescribes. There are plenty of other hours in the week for our own preferences.

Peace!!!
 
Ask people, priest or deacon in your parish when the younger usually come to Mass or if there is a young adult group, student meetings etc somewhere in the diocese. Where I live, the different parishes take turn in organising youth meetings (Mass, adoration, snack and chat) as a way of getting the younger to get to know each other and also meet after diocesan days or World Youth Day.

In my parish we have a lot of people of all ages but there are very few older teenagers and young adults (-25 years). Usually a baby pram race in the hallways on Sunday Masses.

The neighbouring chapel is connected to an old people’s assisted living house so when I went to a noon weekday Mass there, I lowered the average age by several years 🤣.
 
That is the trend now, unfortunately - people do not go to church anymore. What would happen when these old folks have died and gone?

You will become an important light of our Lord Jesus Christ by continue going to the church when so few young people are going. Your presence in the mass will revolutionise this trend, and maybe, just maybe, it will encourage people of your age to come as well. The problem is people do not like to break a trend. If young people do not go to mass, why should they?

I hope that’s enough motivation for you to go to mass and be a witness to your Lord, Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer. There are so many people out there that need to be saved and redeemed.

You are called to the Catholic Church for a reason.

God bless you.
 
“Old people” are filled with wisdom that you need to form your life. Hanging around those your own age will mostly get you more of what you are, or even worse, were.
 
Marcus said:
I even have tried mass but it was full of old people and nobody my age (21) so never returned could I please have some advice on how to grow as a catholic and ways I could implement Catholicism into my life more.
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You simply can’t be a Catholic without regular Mass attendance. Whether it’s full of old people, full of young people, or nobody there but you, the priest and Jesus, it’s the major prayer and activity of the Church.

Many of us don’t regard Mass as a social gathering but rather a place to join with Jesus and participate in His sacrifice and, if we are in the state of grace to receive Him in Communion, become one with him.

I’m sorry you live in an area where there are no people your age at Mass. Here in USA, I live in an area where there are people of all ages at Mass on a regular basis. However, like I said even if there was nobody at Mass but you and the priest, you still need to go, at a minimum every Sunday and some of us go much more often than that because we want to be with Jesus. Note, i said “want to be with Jesus”, not “have the social hour with the other people at Mass”. I am friendly to them, but they are not the reason I am there. I have frequently been to Masses where most of the people attending might not even speak English. Doesn’t matter, I’m not there to have a chat with them.

If you “converted” to Catholicism you should have been through some sort of formal Catholic teaching that would explain all this to you and also explain your Mass obligations so you wouldn’t be saying “oh I tried Mass” like it’s just some optional thing. If you have not been through this formal training, please ask a priest about it as it is necessary for a full conversion. You don’t just decide “hey I’m a Catholic” and start showing up. You need to be formally trained and admitted to the sacraments.

God bless and good luck.
 
Thank you for the honest criticism I have been looking at some churches and I am going to go tomorrow to speak with the priest and deacons.
You are right too mass is about talking with Jesus and should not be a social gathering thank you again for being straight forward
 
You can also ask the priest about any young people’s groups. Although I feel strongly that Mass is about Jesus, I understand wanting to meet some Catholics your own age so you don’t feel alone or weird. Sometimes these young people’s groups are more active at certain parishes or at the diocesan level. Sometimes there are special Masses for young people too. If the first priest you ask isn’t helpful, ask some more or try to find a Newman Center near a college- there are usually lots of young people at those.
 
TheLittleLady said:
Psst… C. S. Lewis was Anglican, not Catholic.
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True, but his observations as to the nature of the relationship between God and man are universal.
When one decides to make a journey to faith or belief, one must start with the absolute foundational questions, starting with “Is there a God?” And then, what is God’s relation to man and man’s to God. Laying down a solid foundation for belief is important, and that is where C.S. Lewis is of value.
 
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Some members of my family had the same issue as you, @marcus. My advice is to stick with it. try some of the other Catholic churches, see if they have any people of a similar age. If not it might be worth checking if the archdiocese has a young person’s group. We found a prayer group through them. Bit too far for us but you may have better luck.

I wish you well on your journey. Dont give up. keep searching. God bless.
 
I don’t go to mass because the people are the same age as I am. I go to mass to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.

Having said that, have you tried finding a parish that has a younger congregation? If you live in a city this may be possible as opposed to smaller town which may only have one parish.

Get involved in a parish that has a vibrant young adult population.

Make an appointment with a priest for confession.
 
Sit in the silence of adoration. Peace be with you and welcome
 
I live in a very rural area if you picture dads army that’s the type of area I live in.
But I have a positive from today even though I was dreading the mass that dread has been lifted I messaged the vicar general and he was really nice but he won’t be to help me until he gets back from his trip.
I am excited again and can’t wait until I am fully accepted as a catholic
 
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