Help with my sister

[faithfulrock3r]

my sister and i are cradle catholics. however, recently she has gotten involved with a non-denominational youth group, and also started going to a non-denom church with some of the friends she made at the youth group. while she still goes to mass, i get the sense that she gets little out of it, and feel like it is time she learns about her own faith, which is of course not happening when she is with her friends . Does anyone have any advice/ resources to give her in order to to teach her about catholicism? thanks, any help is appreciated

 

[katiebelle08]

my sister and i are cradle catholics. however, recently she has gotten involved with a non-denominational youth group, and also started going to a non-denom church with some of the friends she made at the youth group. while she still goes to mass, i get the sense that she gets little out of it, and feel like it is time she learns about her own faith, which is of course not happening when she is with her friends . Does anyone have any advice/ resources to give her in order to to teach her about catholicism? thanks, any help is appreciated

 

[katiebelle08]

That is kinda a sticky situation. I know myself being just a young adult Catholic growing up at my church we didn’t have a youth group. And some of my non-denominational friends would ask me to come to their church. And also my other grandparents not being Catholic would have me go to their churches VBS every summer. First of all you can pray for her. Then secondly, if your parish has a youth group try and get her interested in it. Or you can also just do Catholic things, such as saying the rosary together or a chaplet. Study the saints. You don’t have to do it an extremly orginized way like school but you can make it fun. Find things out about the Catholic Church and almost quiz her. See what spikes her attention back towards the Catholic Church. I know for me personally I never liked the other churches. The Catholic Church has always felt like home to me. But everyone is different.

 

[faithfulrock3r]

thanks yeah you’re exactly right its a sticky situation, we don’t have any type of catholic youth group so she went elsewhere… But yeah everything you said sounded good, thanks again!

 

[RobNY]

Assuming that you and your sister both love the Scriptures, make sure you have a very healthy Eucharistic devotion. The Eucharist is something that evangelicals don’t have.

Familiarize yourself with the Scriptures which testify to the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Make sure your sister knows them too. And spend time in Eucharistic adoration too. Mass and receiving the Eucharist… of course.

Check out things about prefiguring and foreshadowing in the Scriptures of the Eucharist:

therealpresence.org/eucharst/scrip/a6.html

This will help to keep your interest in the Eucharist, which is the heart of the Mass. It’s really fascinating to know that several threads of Jewish thought all coalesce in the Eucharist-- Melchizedek the priest who offered bread and wine, and the Passover with its pure and spotless lamb, which was eaten, and many other things. Check out the first Eucharistic prayer which is very rich in this symbolism.

And then read the testimony of the Early Church:

therealpresence.org/eucharst/father/a5.html

The Church has ALWAYS believed in the Eucharist, and there is superabundant evidence of this position.

And check out Eucharistic miracles, if you have any further doubt:

therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/a3.html

Make your spirituality Eucharistic, and you’ll never be in danger of defecting to evangelical Protestantism.