How to evangelise my convert friend who still thinks like a Protestant?

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I’ve become friends with a woman who converted a few years ago. She is very passionate about her faith and is very involved in several prayer groups. But it has become very clear that she doesn’t know enough about the Catholic faith and still thinks and believs like a Protestant. I think her RCIA was pretty superficial, given from what she said about it. We were talking just the other day and she said that she loves being Catholic but that it doesn’t really matter which church people attend because the Holy Spirit calls people where they need to be. I was absolutely shocked and tried to explain that’s not the case. She also didn’t have a clue that a number of sexual sins are mortal sins and she innocently received the Eucharist in the state of mortal sin many times. The list goes on and on. She is very much into the charismatic movement and I don’t know if she’s getting some of her weird ideas there, or is it just the case of her not being taught properly. Or perhaps it is both. I’ve been to her charismatic prayer group several times and they are fanatical about Medjugorje, sometimes hold their private revelations above what the church teaches and are not exactly theologically sound in some respects.

So, where do I start? Should I suggest a book that explains the basics of our faith in a clear way? How do I tackle her belief that praying to the Holy Spirit always results in the correct understanding of things? (I guess all protestant groups rely on the Holy Spirit and argue over doctrine nevertheless). I know a bit about protestantism but not enough to really understand where she is coming from.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
 
Karl Keating has written some really excellent books:

“Catholicism and Fundamentalism” was his first and would be superb for your friend.

Another excellent one for your friend would be “What Catholics Really Believe” …

shop.catholic.com/product.php?productid=30&cat=0&page=1

Both are available on the Catholic Answers bookstore.

Here is the blurb from the Catholic Answers store:

Is everything the pope says the gospel truth?

Is Jesus sacrificed at every Mass?

If I get a divorce, am I instantly excommunicated?

As long as I go to Mass and confess serious sins, will I go to heaven?

Is the rosary an obstacle to ecumenism?

Does the Immaculate Conception mean Mary didn’t need a Savior?

Are we no longer obligated to go to Mass each Sunday after Vatican II?

Do Lutherans and Anglicans believe in the Real Presence the same way Catholics do?

These and other questions arising from common misconceptions about what Catholics believe are addressed in What Catholics Really Believe. Karl Keating does an excellent job of clearly explaining Catholic practices that even devout Catholics can have a difficult time explaining to others.

The writing style is straight forward and easy to read. Answers are backed up with direct scriptural references – and helpful hints and analogies are added to make difficult concepts easier to grasp.

Keating’s common sense approach to apologetics makes this book an excellent source for anyone who is curious about “Why do Catholics…?” Both non-Catholics and ESPECIALLY practicing Catholics will find this book fascinating.
 
Was she brought into the Church through your parish’s RCIA program or are you able to contact her RCIA instructor?

They need to be informed that their RCIA instruction is harmfully inadequate.

Last week at RCIA, the group spent endless amounts of time socializing and then during the last 5 minutes of class, our priest handed out a detailed list of instructions on the Commandments. For people to take home and read. Hopefully they did 🤷

Heaven forbid that sin is called a sin and that people are asked to remove it from their lives because it disconnects us from Jesus’ grace.

Last year, in the dinner prior to Easter Vigil services, a convert catechumen who had just given birth was talking about how Social Services wasn’t going to refill her birth control pills and that she’d have to start paying for them herself.

None of the married ladies at the table said anything, so I quietly suggested that she look into NFP and she loudly told me that there was no way that she was going to practice NFP, that her mother had and she had 5 children.

I told our RCIA instructor about the conversation. Our instructor said that our parish held an NFP seminar and that no one from the parish attended. 😊
 
Decades ago, I met up with a long-lost friend while traveling for business and we had dinner after work. He brought be a bunch of books, which I read, and it changed my life. His act of giving started me on the path to becoming a knowledgeable and educated Catholic.
 
ok, first of all… a quick refresher course…
you CANNOT be in a state of mortal sin, if you are unaware of the nature of your sin. in order for a sin to be mortal you must
  1. know it is a sin
  2. have free will (no coercion)
  3. do it anyway
so if she was “innocent” of the gravity of her sin, she was NOT in a state of mortal sin.
ignorant, yes. guilty? not so much.

as to what to do? well as a RCIA graduate myself i can confirm that you are probably being generous about how much she learned in RCIA. Sadly many RCIA classes barely pass along any information other than when to stand and sit.

i would give her a rosary, involve her in a rosary apostolate, and perhaps find a really interesting book on the Rosary.👍
Learning the Mysteries, and studying the Rosary and its adherants, is a sure cure for any heresy.
 
I’ve been reading Catholicism for Dummies and would recommend it to anyone who is new to the faith. 👍
 
i second the Catholicism for Dummies book.

Truthfully, one of the best things you can do is get some of these books (and a rosary) for yourself, and be a good example! perhaps you could suggest a “continuing after RCIA” class for adults in your parish? and use a nice book like this as a “bok discussion” (add the catechism for debatable points)
 
Barbkw said:
Was she brought into the Church through your parish’s RCIA program or are you able to contact her RCIA instructor?

They need to be informed that their RCIA instruction is harmfully inadequate.
Click to expand...
That parish was a bit of a mess, with heterodox but kind priests and lay people running the show. I’m not surprised about her RCIA experience. Things have improved since and the parish has new, orthodox priests.
 
fabricdragon said:
ok, first of all… a quick refresher course…
you CANNOT be in a state of mortal sin, if you are unaware of the nature of your sin. so if she was “innocent” of the gravity of her sin, she was NOT in a state of mortal sin.
ignorant, yes. guilty? not so much.
Click to expand...
Yes of course, you’re right. Thatnks for clarification.
I got the impression that along the way she found out about what constitutes a mortal sin in the case of sexual misconduct but told me she decided it was probably an exaggeration and not worth obsessing over and that it shouldn’t keep her away from Jesus. So I told her what the situation is and invited her to go to confession with me the following day (I planned to go anyway). I really hope that this has been settled now.
 
Firstly I think we need to remember that being a christian is about a relationship with God in Jesus Christ. It is God who calls, and converts, not us. We are called to join in with what God is doing. Simply following rules can too easily lead to a superficial faith and quite frankly lead to burn out. The church gives us guidelines and yes we should grow in faith if we follow her teachings but we can’t take everything on board at once. Jesus met people where they were and so should we we can challenge but must not over burden them.
 
Be sure to pray for her often - especially the Rosary. Set a good example as well, although I’m sure you are doing this already. Scott Hahn’s books were very helpful to me as well as reading the Scriptures and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. Do you think she would read these books? Does she understand the authority of the Church?🙂
 
mdrummer5 said:
I’ve been reading Catholicism for Dummies and would recommend it to anyone who is new to the faith. 👍
Click to expand...
I teach RCIA (with real lessons on the faith and homework and everything!) and I completely agree. The book is easy to read and gives lots of good info.
👍
 
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