I am scared to become a Catholic

[Nabooru]

I feel that the modern church is getting too lax regarding other religions and that’s what makes me reticent to join. The ACNA right off the bat created a program to engage Muslims for evangelization, not a “let’s compare and contrast” club. I don’t think Christ would found a church and remain the head of it if He intended it to be so liberal regarding this issue. Jesus healed and saved those who believed in Him, not those who kinda sorta had an idea about some sort of God. That’s one thing that keeps me from talk g the plunge. I don’t want to be a part of something with so many rules and rites if other people who don’t perform or follow them end up in the same place I do.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

So, ar e you saying that you will stay an anglican? sounds like you are just scared of making a mistake. Study until you are sure. Jesus only founded one church, two thousand years ago. No matter what, realize your goal is to be in full communion with Him. What other members do or not do, should not be of concern to you. Just knowing that you are following Jesus is all the assurance any of us needs to have. May the Lord be with you on your journey.

 

[andyklein]

Thanks for all your helpful posts. I talked to the RCIA people at the nearest church, and I just began the program last week. I even gained the courage to go into a Catholic church and watch Mass, even though I did not really participate. I hope to be able to over time. I also went into a church early yesterday morning and took some holy water. While there I also just sat in the pews, all alone, and just stared at the altar and the crucifix and the gorgeous scenery. I think I heard someone talking to me and felt someone else there with me. I will try to come back to this forum to ask questions or get some guidance when I need some.

Thank you.

 

[PJM]

=Nabooru;9749048]I feel that the modern church is getting too lax regarding other religions and that’s what makes me reticent to join. The ACNA right off the bat created a program to engage Muslims for evangelization, not a “let’s compare and contrast” club. I don’t think Christ would found a church and remain the head of it if He intended it to be so liberal regarding this issue. Jesus healed and saved those who believed in Him, not those who kinda sorta had an idea about some sort of God. That’s one thing that keeps me from talk g the plunge. I don’t want to be a part of something with so many rules and rites if other people who don’t perform or follow them end up in the same place I do.

MY FRIEND

Here’s a novel cocept:

The practice of ones religion is not “about we want”; NOPE It’s about what Christ Wills, Demands, Commands and insist is necessary for one’s personal salvation.

LET US PRAY,

Pat /PJM

 

[daisybee]

Thanks for all your helpful posts. I talked to the RCIA people at the nearest church, and I just began the program last week. I even gained the courage to go into a Catholic church and watch Mass, even though I did not really participate. I hope to be able to over time. I also went into a church early yesterday morning and took some holy water. While there I also just sat in the pews, all alone, and just stared at the altar and the crucifix and the gorgeous scenery. I think I heard someone talking to me and felt someone else there with me. I will try to come back to this forum to ask questions or get some guidance when I need some.

Thank you.

Happy news! We’re proud of your courage. Praying for you…

 

[RebeccaJ]

Thanks for all your helpful posts. I talked to the RCIA people at the nearest church, and I just began the program last week. I even gained the courage to go into a Catholic church and watch Mass, even though I did not really participate. I hope to be able to over time. I also went into a church early yesterday morning and took some holy water. While there I also just sat in the pews, all alone, and just stared at the altar and the crucifix and the gorgeous scenery. I think I heard someone talking to me and felt someone else there with me. I will try to come back to this forum to ask questions or get some guidance when I need some.

Thank you.

It is more than ok for you to be at mass. You belong there. How much you participate is up to you, but I hope you are joining in the prayers.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

Wonderful news, AndyKlein. We will be praying for you on your journey of discovery and look forward to hearing more from you. May the Lord be with you and may the Holy Spirit guide you in the mercy of Jesus Christ.

 

[jc4751]

Thanks for all your helpful posts. I talked to the RCIA people at the nearest church, and I just began the program last week. I even gained the courage to go into a Catholic church and watch Mass, even though I did not really participate. I hope to be able to over time. I also went into a church early yesterday morning and took some holy water. While there I also just sat in the pews, all alone, and just stared at the altar and the crucifix and the gorgeous scenery. I think I heard someone talking to me and felt someone else there with me. I will try to come back to this forum to ask questions or get some guidance when I need some.

Thank you.

I read your first post, then this post and am very happy for you that you have decided to participate.

Mother Angelica once wrote about hearing God in a whisper, in the times of quiet contemplation. This is why the world wants to shout in your ear, to drown God out, but God is always there, and the world comes and goes.

I don’t think you are scared to become a Catholic, but that you have discerned the greatness, completeness, and truth of the Church and it is awe-inspiring once you do. I have the greatest respect for our priest, and when I talk to him, I remember that he is part of an unbroken line going all the way back to Peter who was ordained by Christ Himself. If I want to know something about the faith, I don’t have to figure it out, but just look for the Church’s position on it. It doesn’t mean that I am a brainwashed drone, but that minds better and wiser than mine have wrestled with these great issues for thousands of years.

And then there are the dozens of forms of spiritual practices and callings in the Church. I have friends who are charismatics and worship with great praise and joy. I tend to be on the more contemplative/mystic side of things. Other people worship more traditionally. People can live out their faith in the community, can take a more active role in the operation of the parish and activities (what I do), or minister to the sick and hungry. And it is all in the framework of a worldwide, universal, and complete Church.

BTW, I am a convert myself. I was not raised in a religious household and wasn’t exposed to organized religion until my late teens. When I first started looking at the Church, I was awestruck by the majesty of it and could not get it out of my mind. I have never regretted joining and even in the “dark night of the soul” which lasted for close to two decades, I have always felt it was home more than anything else.

 

[lizaanne]

Don’t assume that everyone has been going to Mass their entire lives - there are a LOT of converts in the pews, you won’t be the only one!!!

Something that might make you feel more comfortable going to Mass — find videos of Mass on the internet (use a reliable source like EWTN), and participate as if you where there, reciting the responses, and kneeling/sitting/standing with everyone else. You will learn the flow of the Mass and the proper responses that way - and then when you go for real, it will not feel so entirely new, and you won’t feel so out of place.

I was not baptized/confirmed until I was 35. You are a lot younger than I – just think of all that extra grace you will have in your life for doing this now!!!

God bless you in your conversion - and WELCOME HOME!!!

~Liza

 

[Nabooru]

MY FRIEND

Here’s a novel cocept:

The practice of ones religion is not “about we want”; NOPE It’s about what Christ Wills, Demands, Commands and insist is necessary for one’s personal salvation.

LET US PRAY,

Pat /PJM

I understand that, but why bother with rules and regulations regarding perfect-as-possible belief and practice, if some other Muslim or Buddhist who does not care to know of Christ or His Church is in just as good standing as myself? They are not taking the sacraments, confessing, fasting, praying, etc., which, if the RCC is right, are all deeply involved in the act of salvation, yet we can squeeze them into the Plan, too. Why not just be a Hindu or a Jew? Heck, if I become a leader in a non-Christian religion, I can even meet with the Pope in a flashy public relations meeting and give him a Mani stone, or whatever, and stand there grinning and talking about how we both have the same goals and more or less believe the same thing. And then the Pope would go back to his own flock and tell them not to use birth control even though vast numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and others do so and still stand a good chance at heaven. You see what I’m getting at?

The ACNA admits, for example, that Muslim outreach is a delicate issue due to the explosive nature of the religion, but it doesn’t back down on the fact that it needs to be done. We have a duty to spread the Gospel and affirm Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, through which no one gets to the Father but through Him, even if it makes us or society uncomfortable. Jesus knew His position and that of the Pharisees, and He did not make an effort to establish a rapport and “dialogue” with them in the name of political correctness. It would have made His mission easier, and it would make it look more cosmopolitan and open-minded to contemporary society and even placated the Romans a bit, perhaps, but He did not do it. It was not His mission to simply put up a front of diversity and pluralism. It was His mission to express Himself as the Son of God.

 

[pablope]

Hello Andy,

Thank you for posting this. I am a 43 year old husband and father of two girls who is also afraid of re-becoming a Catholic. I was baptized and made my First Holy Communion many years ago. My parents began atttending a protestant church when I was a teenager and I simply left the Church. In fact, I’ve only attended Mass 4-5 times in the last 25 years. Your post, and the responses of others, have encouraged me to speak with a priest and perhaps even attend RCIA.

We’ll see.

Mike

Hi, Mike…there is someone definitely calling you home…I would say go…the journey of a thousand steps begins with the first.

I just attended a Marriage enrichment retreat this weekend…such a wonderful time…with other couples.

One thing that really made me think…we were asked…if you have kids…what would you like them to be in the future? Would you like them to be like you? If they marry, would you like them to marry someone like you?

Your kids will emulate you…and find someone like you…and if you show your kids…your closeness to God…your faith…chances are…they seek someone like what you have made yourself…so GO! What are you waiting for?

 

[Rocky24]

Hello,

This is my first post on this website, so I hope I am posting this in the right place. I am 19 years old, never been baptized, raised without a particular religion, and somehow I find myself wanting to be Catholic. I have spent a lot of time over a few years (but not enough) learning about the Catholic Church, its teachings, and what it means to be a Catholic, and I think I am finally ready to walk into my campus’s Newman Center, talk with a priest, and explicitly tell him that I want to enroll in its RCIA program.

I had been thinking about becoming a Catholic for at least three or four years, but I have always been afraid to. I am a pretty independent, private person, so I feel a little uncomfortable spilling out my soul in conversations or standing in front of dozens, if not hundreds, of people and confessing what I believe. I am intimidated by walking into a Catholic church and I feel like I am intruding a little into practices that other people have been doing their entire lives. I love the aroma of a Catholic church. I know that I am being called back home into the Catholic Church. I believe in everything it is. Still, I have this childish fear of doing something so simple of telling somebody that I would like to join in on the Church’s sacred rituals and earn salvation.

I know other people have been and will be in similar circumstances. So how should I overcome my selfish anxieties and realize what great rewards are awaiting for my soul if I can overcome them?

Thank you

To quote Pope John Paul II: “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ!”
Don’t be afraid! Jesus is waiting for you in the Blessed Sacrament!

 

[PJM]

=Nabooru;9765067]I understand that, but why bother with rules and regulations regarding perfect-as-possible belief and practice, if some other Muslim or Buddhist who does not care to know of Christ or His Church is in just as good standing as myself? They are not taking the sacraments, confessing, fasting, praying, etc., which, if the RCC is right, are all deeply involved in the act of salvation, yet we can squeeze them into the Plan, too. Why not just be a Hindu or a Jew? Heck, if I become a leader in a non-Christian religion, I can even meet with the Pope in a flashy public relations meeting and give him a Mani stone, or whatever, and stand there grinning and talking about how we both have the same goals and more or less believe the same thing. And then the Pope would go back to his own flock and tell them not to use birth control even though vast numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and others do so and still stand a good chance at heaven. You see what I’m getting at?

My dear friend in Christ;

Can we agree that “IF” is one of the "biggest words in the american language?

ONLY informed, and fully practicing Catholics are on the DIRECT PATH to heaven.

The New Testament alone has over 100 evidences of ONLY:

Beleif on one God: Trinue

Belief in Jesus Christ as God

Only One set of Faith beliefs

and ONLY One Church: today’s Catholic church.

While other MIGHT get to heaven there path is FAR MORE Difficiult and only under very precise conditions.

169 Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: “We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation.” Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.

814 From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God’s gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church’s members, there are different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. “Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions.” The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church’s unity. Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

816 “The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. . . . This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.”

The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: "For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God."

819 “Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively,*** it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:***

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

1277 Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.

Hope this clarifies the issue for you,

God Bless,
Pat /PJM

 

[airjohn]

Hi Andy,
Becoming Catholic does take courage and a certain amount of faith and reason. Just remember God makes all things Possible!