I'm seriously considering converting, and looking for some advice

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What everyone else said! šŸ™‚

And congratulations!!! :hug1: Keep us posted.
 
I was born a protestant, and my convertion to the Catholic Church is the greatest gift that God gave me, for I found no single error in Catholic teachings.

All the doctrines declared by the magisterium are proven as a truth per se with the conformity of the principles of the Bible and they can be trace back from the very beginning of the Christian era a fact that only the Roman Catholic Church has, the chain of teachings from the apostolic times down to this day known as Tradition.

You may read the Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a good reference, but really intended for bishops and hard to read straight through.

The Baltimore Catechism (#3 for adults) is excellent and basic.

Of course read the Gospels, which you probably are already familiar with, but read a good Catholic commentary. I love Fr. Haydock’s commentary (it’s free online).

Read the Church Fathers … a good first book might be St. Augustine’s Confessions.

iPieta is an awesome app if you have iPhone or Android.

Read the missal.

BTW definitely go to Mass as much as you can, and read the texts, learn about. You should also go to traditional Masses if they are near you and then you are in the right forum here (ā€œTraditional Catholicismā€) to ask questions and share your experience.
 
Okay, I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible - please bear with me!

In the mean time, I’m in the process of getting my hands on a copy of the Bible and the Catechism - are there any good resources you would recommend for learning more about the faith? I know I need to talk to a Priest to truly learn more, but I am facing some opposition from my parents, so I would like to learn a little more before I make the decision to jump in.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this long-winded post! I truly appreciate your time and help!
You can try the Journals here on this site…excellent material from converts…chnetwork.org/resources/coming-home-journals/
 
God is good! This is great news!

One source that has helped me grow tremendously in my faith is simply searching through different apologetic discussions. I have found that all these controversial topics among Christians are truly the foundation of our Catholic faith and dissecting every topic so thoroughly truly does bring better understanding. Especially when it comes to our most Holy Communion.

God bless you on your journey, we welcome you into our universal family<3
 
The Ignatius Bible? While I can’t speak from personal experience, I’ve heard that it’s a fairly reliable- orthodox translation. H
It is exactly this. You can also get the Study Bible w/ commentaries from Scott Hahn. It’s just the New Testament, but still very fantastic.
 
The Baltimore Catechism is probably the source for a convert. Volume #3 is for adults.

Also a priest recently told me that St. Therese’s *Story of a Soul *is a great look at what it means to be Catholic.
 
Sirius XM 129!! I love Gus Lloyd in the morning, The Catholics Next door in the afternnoon. The Busted Halo Show interests me, but I am never in may car at that time to get to listen to it!!
Check out Gus Lloyd’s online site. He also has a series of apologetics cds that I want to get my hands on someday.
EWTN is another great source. Scott Hahn. Matthew Kelly.

Check out Catholic lighthouse cd club online. There are some AMAZING cds available there!! I know there is a display of them in the back of my Catholic church.
 
Well done you!!!

I’m going to be welcomed into the Catholic Church on Saturday evening - the Easter Vigil (Deo Volente). If there is one service to come to this is the one to come to, so I am told. The full-on joyous expression of the Church.

I used to be a Baptist so my journey is slightly different to yours but perhaps there are some things in my journey that will be of use to you.

Firstly, I found that diving in to the experience that is Catholic worship was a great starting point - learning by doing. So I went to every service and meeting I could (some of them only once, some of them more regularly), so that I could understand and experience Catholicism better. Of course as a non-Catholic at the time, I just sat and watched and listened and prayed in many cases. But it helped me get a feel for the environment and the ways in which people interacted.

Secondly I read voraciously and listened to more podcasts than I could shake a stick at. The UK based publisher the Catholic Truth Society cts-online.org.uk/ produce loads of small, short, and inexpensive pocket-sized booklets on a host of subjects. I gobbled these up at an alarming rate, but they were hugely helpful in giving me an entry point to a host of issues and sacraments. I also found the Jimmy Akin podcast helpful [feeds.feedburner.com/jimmyak(name removed by moderator)odcast](http://feeds.feedburner.com/jimmyak(name removed by moderator)odcast). There are loads of books by Pope Benedict XVI which are basically lightly edited transcripts of some of his teaching addresses, so they are short and easily readable too - the ones on the early church fathers and saint Paul I can especially recommend.

Thirdly I spoke to the priest and was introduced to the local group of those exploring the faith. A nice no-pressure and no-expectation gathering where we could explore what was going on without any sense of expectation until or unless we wanted to. It was nice to find I wasnt the only one on the journey too. The Catholic Church doesnt do anything in a hurry - quick ā€˜conversions’ are not what it is about so there is loads of opportunity to explore in a safe environment.

A couple of things became a part of my journey very early on. I pray the Rosary every day, and also pray Lauds and Vespers (Morning and Evening Prayer) every day - in a variety of forms, the UK version, the US version and the Latin version. I also developed a daily prayer practice morning and evening. I pray the Guardian Angel prayer, the Angelus, the Miraculous Medal prayer of Maximilian Kolbe, and the Three Hail Marys. By doing this I just place myself and my journey before God and asked for His guidance.

Again, I was learning by doing and immersing. And because of my personal situation at the moment I am also able to go to Mass every day, which of course most people cant do but I find really helpful.

I can thoroughly recommend joining the Tiber Swim Team. Jump in, the water is lovely, and the view on the other side is wonderful.
 
It is exactly this. You can also get the Study Bible w/ commentaries from Scott Hahn. It’s just the New Testament, but still very fantastic.
Ignatius Study Bible also has a Genesis Edition. It is as good as the NT.

As others have said, this Saturday night is something to behold. It may be my favorite Mass of the year. During the Mass, we come out of the darkness and enter the light.šŸ‘šŸ‘šŸ‘

I had hoped for a ā€œquick tripā€ to Rome. My instruction took about 8 months. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it! Take your time, pace yourself and let God lead you.
 
You may want to conssider enrolling in an RCIA class at your closest parish. But before that come to these forums often and ask as many questions as you can or want to.

Get a couple of books about Catholicism and in particular about some of the great saints of the Church… I would recommend biographies about St. Anthony of Padua, St. Catherine of Sienna and St Padre Pio.
 
Well done you!!!

I’m going to be welcomed into the Catholic Church on Saturday evening - the Easter Vigil (Deo Volente). If there is one service to come to this is the one to come to, so I am told. The full-on joyous expression of the Church.
Woohoo! :yeah_me:
 
Emily –

I was baptized 5 days ago at the Easter Vigil, and I am moved by your question.

The prior responses are all very good, and I want to add only one dimension. Ask a local Catholic parish about their RCIA (Roman Catholic Initiation for Adults) program. RCIA will help you through your discernment and faith development process.

I benefited from it tremendously because there was a mix of cleric and lay involvement. I always felt that I was receiving a broad and accurate view of the Church’s teachings on both the daily readings and the Catechism.

I am adding you to my prayers and hope that you find the right path to your relationship with God and His Church.
 
Emily –

I was baptized 5 days ago at the Easter Vigil, and I am moved by your question.

The prior responses are all very good, and I want to add only one dimension. Ask a local Catholic parish about their RCIA (Roman Catholic Initiation for Adults) program. RCIA will help you through your discernment and faith development process.

I benefited from it tremendously because there was a mix of cleric and lay involvement. I always felt that I was receiving a broad and accurate view of the Church’s teachings on both the daily readings and the Catechism.

I am adding you to my prayers and hope that you find the right path to your relationship with God and His Church.
This is good advice. Entering RCIA does not oblige you in any way to become Catholic (I mention this because I wondered about it myself). I think that you could enter RCIA even as an agnostic or atheist who was simply curious about what Catholicism teaches. You may be able to learn more, faster, through self-study, but in RCIA you would have the opportunity to ask questions and receive advice.
 
God is calling you to a deeper understanding…you are in some awesome times my friend. Wow!

I have been in about 8 Protestant Churches, I am a ā€œrevertā€ thanks to my parents leaving the faith when I was 8. One of the things that really helped me was this…sensationalism verses sanctity.

I noticed that the attention at all the Protestant Churches depended upon how dynamic the Pastor was; moreover, I noticed that when my Protestant friends from other States would come to visit us…they had nowhere to worship? Is this how Christ would set up his Church? Now that I am Catholic…it really does not matter where in the world I am…we visit Chicago all the time, I try to hit a different Church every time. In most cases you can walk to a Catholic Church no matter where you are in the world (in most cases).

Stay open…the blinders are coming off…THIS IS A PROCESS! It is starting now…the Holy Spirit is moving in your heart.

When I was in the phase that you are now…I started to get scared as the Catholic Church seemed so ā€œoppositeā€ of my paradigm. Is it possible that I was believing contrary to the Truth. You have to ALWAYS ask yourself this question.

Are you open to the Truth no matter where it leads? If I found more Truth in another faith…I would cease to be Catholic. The longer I am Catholic…the deeper my belief. There are truth’s in Protestantism…however, I believe the full Truth is in Catholcism. If you have ANY questions…I can find you an answer.

A last thought. If Christ is in any Church today he would/should be hated just as he was when he was here on earth. What Church does the world hate? Which Church claims to be infallible as Christ did?

Keep digging…I will pray for you tonight during adoration from 7-8 p.m. Eastern time.

God bless you REAL GOOD! šŸ‘

Lawrence
 
Have you read Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s book, ā€œRome Sweet Homeā€, it’s an awesome book on their journey to the Catholic faith. If not, you should get it. It tackles a lot of the topics Protestant’s usually face upon considering conversion to the RCC, such as Mary, the saints, infant baptism, etc! šŸ‘
 
When I was in the phase that you are now…I started to get scared as the Catholic Church seemed so ā€œoppositeā€ of my paradigm. Is it possible that I was believing contrary to the Truth. You have to ALWAYS ask yourself this question.
Me too. For a non-Catholic Christian first looking into it, Catholicism can appear alternately as something that either must be fully true and right and good, or else it is really, really bad for you, and probably demonic. 😃
 
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