I need your help and advice

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Dempsey1919

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Recently I came home to the Church. I attend Mass, I go to Confession, I pray the Rosary daily and I read my Bible. Is there anything else I need to do?

I was thinking of giving up meat on Friday’s. Should I do this?

Aside from Sunday’s what are the other Holy Days of Obligation?

I understand and believe in the doctrines of the faith but I don’t know how to live the faith properly. I would like to know if there are any practices that I should be doing?

Basically, are there any rules that Catholics should abide by? For example, I just learned about the abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday. Can you let me know about ANYTHING like this.

Thanks
 
It all depends on where you live as to whether you are required to abstain from meat on all Fridays. In the United States, you are required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. In addition, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are required days of fasting. This means one normal meal and 2 snacks. Children under 14 and people with medical conditions for whom fasting is not recommended are exempt.
catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1013

All Fridays are a day of Penance to be observed with either abstention from meat or a choice of various penances. These can be any of the Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy. I have not been able to pin down whether this is required or not. Some say it is and others say it isn’t. Even so, it is highly recommended.
catholic-pages.com/life/fridaymeat.asp

The practice of fasting on all Wednesdays has fallen into disuse. This could be a personal devotion if you wish but I would recommend that you discuss it with your priest or spiritual adviser before embarking on this course.

Holy Days of Obligation also vary depending on where you live. In the US, they are:

All Sundays
January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;
August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints;
December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the USA;
December 25, the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas).

Other things you could do is join one of the groups in your parish. There are a number of organisations like St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Newman Society, Legion of Mary, prayer groups, the choir. Find out from your priest what groups meet at your parish or just read the bulletin. They usually have the meeting times. Ask about what they do and choose one that interests you. Just show up and introduce yourself. These are some of the ways we use our talents to help build up the Church and to live Christian lives.

svdpusa.org/
cardinalnewmansociety.org/
legion-of-mary.ie/

If you look at the top menu across the forums site, you will see links to the home page of Catholic Answers. The Library has some good resources. You could probably find some more answers there.

Beyond what the Church requires, I would advise against trying to add too many things at once. It can get to be too much and can cause you to falter by being too hard. Go easy, work up to it. I know what it is like when you are on fire with a renewed faith. Just don’t burn out too quickly. Nurture your flame. You really should talk about this with your priest or confessor.
 
hey Dempsey, I’m so inspired by your enthusiasm.

My first recommendation is take up a spiritual reading program in addition to your Bible reading. You can search through the forums. There’s always lots of recommendations for reading. Everyone has his favorites!

And, to take up an apostolate that makes use of your talents. My talent is teaching, so I teach Sunday School. I also homeschool and teach in co-ops.

My mom’s apostolate is Shepards of Christ–a group that promotes prayers for priests. She goes to daily Mass and Adoration daily (for a hour) and attends prayer meetings in which they pray for priests.

I have a friends who work in pro-marriage ministries, ministries for the poor, pro-life ministries, funeral meals, etc. Several of my friends have really grown spiritually since incorporating into a lay program called Regnum Christi.

Most of all, pray for God to direct you to a ministry and then keep your eyes open. Though, sometimes, I think He sends us in one direction that sends us to another. It’s interesting to see how things turn out.

community is very important in sustaining spiritual growth. If you haven’t found several devout Catholic friends to hang with, it would be a very important step.

God bless.
 
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