Is RCIA right for me?

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A little background:

I’m a 23 year old guy in Connecticut, USA.

I was a born and raised, baptized, altar serving, confirmed, and content Catholic until about a year ago. I started listening to some non-Catholic ministries online and on TV and I started reading the Bible on my own. I haven’t been to Mass in many, many months.

I read a lot of apologetics from both the Catholic and Protestant/Bible-based/Sola Scriptura/Sola Fide sides and I feel at this point while my desire to be close to Jesus is stronger than ever- there are two sides fighting over my religious denominations.

On one hand I see that faith should be simple, child like, and joyous. From my research into Scripture I never heard inside the Catholic church I gained an even deeper insight into the personal relationship and sacrifize our Lord made for us. I read over an over how the work of Salvation is complete- and as long as I accept and believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ I am saved, I will go to heaven, and my devotion and worship will only bring me greater rewards… there is nothing more I can do to “earn” my salvation.

But on the other hand, I was raised Catholic… I don’t recall ever feeling the joy of knowing I am saved from my years going to Mass. Perhaps my catechism and confirmation instruction were done poorly. Perhaps I had boring sermons from uninspired Priests. But I see that the Roman Catholic church has been around for 2000 years… I see our beautiful churches and I understand the succession of the apostles. I see a rich history.

But I also see dark eras of the Chruch. I see bad Popes when we claim papal infallability. I see many things that cause doubts to form.

So my question is; Would RCIA be could for me? Would it answer questions I have in ways I haven’t already heard in Catechism or Confirmation classes. I want a forum to challenge spiritual leaders from both sides with questions. I want to find answers. I want to KNOW answers. And I mean I want to know them in my heart- without hesitation, without uncertainty, without fear of being wrong.

Please- give me your advice.
 
First of all, thanks for your honesty!!

I am 24 years old and converted from the Baptist church 3 years ago. It has been an awesome journey and one I would do over again anytime.

I want to encourage you to ask questions. Go to your local Catholic bookstore and start reading! Pick a subject that interests you, such as salvation or the eucharist etc…and then start studying it. No matter what anyone tells you, here or in a Protestant circle, you have to study and make the decision yourself!

There are just a couple of things I wanted to comment on as well.

You said,
On one hand I see that faith should be simple, child like, and joyous. From my research into Scripture I never heard inside the Catholic church I gained an even deeper insight into the personal relationship and sacrifize our Lord made for us. I read over an over how the work of Salvation is complete- and as long as I accept and believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ I am saved, I will go to heaven, and my devotion and worship will only bring me greater rewards… there is nothing more I can do to “earn” my salvation.
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I noticed that you say you never heard Scripture inside the Catholic Church. If you were in Mass every Sunday, actually on any given day, there are ALWAYS Scripture readings. This is without fail. How is it possible you never heard the Scriptures?

You are right about earning our own salvation. This is impossible and anyone who tells you that you can earn your own salvation is 100% wrong!! It is as Saint Paul says, " I work out my salvation with fear and trembling, but not I but Christ works through me!" This is the key. We do work out our salvation…i.e. we live a life of holiness and strive to be like Christ…but really…the only reason this is possible is because Christ works through us. We only make the choice to allow Him to work through us.

I would suggest also picking up a Catechism. Just start at the beginning and start reading.

God bless you in your search for the Truth. I too have been down this path.
 
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st_ignatius110:
First of all, thanks for your honesty!!

I am 24 years old and converted from the Baptist church 3 years ago. It has been an awesome journey and one I would do over again anytime.

I want to encourage you to ask questions. Go to your local Catholic bookstore and start reading! Pick a subject that interests you, such as salvation or the eucharist etc…and then start studying it. No matter what anyone tells you, here or in a Protestant circle, you have to study and make the decision yourself!

There are just a couple of things I wanted to comment on as well.

You said,

I noticed that you say you never heard Scripture inside the Catholic Church. If you were in Mass every Sunday, actually on any given day, there are ALWAYS Scripture readings. This is without fail. How is it possible you never heard the Scriptures?
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Just wanted to clarify my point there. Of COURSE I know that I heard the Scriptures through the first and second readings, as well as the Gospel reading. I’m saying that when I picked up the Bible for myself and read it, I read things I never remembered hearing in Church- significant things- and it meant a lot more to me to read it for myself than to listen to someone else reading it. I never once heard a Catholic priest tell the congretation to go home and read a a passage from the Bible themselves… from Protestant ministers, you get that all the time.

It’s like in the RC Church you go to have the priest read to you, tell you what to pray, when to respond, when to stand, when to come forward for the Eucharist. In other churches, they have you actively participate, the GUIDE you, they don’t TELL you, ya know?
You are right about earning our own salvation. This is impossible and anyone who tells you that you can earn your own salvation is 100% wrong!! It is as Saint Paul says, " I work out my salvation with fear and trembling, but not I but Christ works through me!" This is the key. We do work out our salvation…i.e. we live a life of holiness and strive to be like Christ…but really…the only reason this is possible is because Christ works through us. We only make the choice to allow Him to work through us.
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The thing that I have the most trouble with the RC church position on salvation is The concept of Justification through faith alone. I’ve come across a lot that says that as soon as you accept Jesus as your savior, you cross a threashold and are justified and saved. Of course there are works that are necessary and come from true faith, but i don’t think anyone can work to EARN their justification.
I would suggest also picking up a Catechism. Just start at the beginning and start reading.

God bless you in your search for the Truth. I too have been down this path.
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Godsoldier:

First, your humility in asking is grace.

The advice of starting from the beginning with the Catechism of the CC is great. We did this as a group. We read one paragraph at a time, argue about it only to be answered by the next paragraph. After 6 months of this we stopped arguing and kept reading and surely, no questions at the end.

Salvation and Redemption are two different things inside the word SAVED. Yes, indeed Christ redeemed all men. This is the free gift from Christ. But salvation is the process of our cooperation with the redemption that Christ affords us. We can lose our salvation, even though all men are redeemed. I think a lot of the confusion arise when these two elements are not understood.

Find time to read conversion stories at chnetwork.org or at Stephen Ray’s site. Those stories are packed with reasons of toughing it out with the Catholics. I guess we could ask the question: which faith system resembles the cross more?

Lastly, be not anxious about this fork. Be at peace that God has you and wants to draw you closer.

in XT.
 
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AquinasXVI:
Godsoldier:

First, your humility in asking is grace.

The advice of starting from the beginning with the Catechism of the CC is great. We did this as a group. We read one paragraph at a time, argue about it only to be answered by the next paragraph. After 6 months of this we stopped arguing and kept reading and surely, no questions at the end.

Salvation and Redemption are two different things inside the word SAVED. Yes, indeed Christ redeemed all men. This is the free gift from Christ. But salvation is the process of our cooperation with the redemption that Christ affords us. We can lose our salvation, even though all men are redeemed. I think a lot of the confusion arise when these two elements are not understood.

Find time to read conversion stories at chnetwork.org or at Stephen Ray’s site. Those stories are packed with reasons of toughing it out with the Catholics. I guess we could ask the question: which faith system resembles the cross more?

Lastly, be not anxious about this fork. Be at peace that God has you and wants to draw you closer.

in XT.
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Your last line gives me much peace. I never thought of my current situation in that way. Maybe God does want me to struggle for a while with my faith so that when do finally come to a revelation- my faith will be stronger than ever. Previously, I have thought that this confusion, uncertainty, and doubt came from someone much darker.
 
I was raised Catholic and fell away.

I attended some independant churches, and a Non-denominational Church.

I came back to the Catholic Church this year. It took a lot of study, I had a little baggage to get over and some things to understand.

I mis-understood Catholicism, from Protestant books to mean Catholics want to earn their way to heaven, good works, Mass, prayers etc…
And faith alone was what the Bible taught.
Grace Alone, Faith Alone
An example Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast."

I read Catholic books (catechism etc) and I find the Catholic Church best represents the Bible as a whole in Salvation
Salvation by Gods Grace alone, by faith working through love
Example Ephesians 2:8-10
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

In reading the Bible in context without making certain verses trump others, I find it all balances out, to a better understanding.
It is not Romans or James, but Romans and James.

I might recommend RCIA for you but be sure to find a good RCIA program, just as you might not have had the best CCD education (I didn’t ) you might not find the best RCIA program.

Feel free to ask many questions on these boards there are a lot of discussions between Protestants and Catholics and look how everything is presented, it is eye opening.

I might be able to relate well so if you have any specific things that bother you feel free to PM me.

God Bless
Scylla

PS.
There have been many bad popes, heck one even rejected Jesus 3 times, but Jesus forgave him. The Catholic Church will always have problems and dirty laundry, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true, it just means that we are human. Infallibility does not mean that Popes are sinless, feel free to start a thread on this if this still bothers you.
 
Hello Godsoldier…

One thing I learned in my return to the Church is that there is a hierarchy of ‘Truths’ which are supplemented by reason and logic. The philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas is a good place to start. Along with praying, reading Scripture and the Catechism, try reading the Summa Theologica. You can take a year and read one or two articles per day.

Another thing is reading history. Most of these Anti-Catholic ministries forget that the New Testament is a product of the Church, not the reverse. Anti-Catholics usually have a hard time reconciling that fact.

God Bless in your journey,
OptimusPrimefan
 
originally posted by GodSoldier
So my question is; Would RCIA be could for me? Would it answer questions I have in ways I haven’t already heard in Catechism or Confirmation classes. I want a forum to challenge spiritual leaders from both sides with questions. I want to find answers. I want to KNOW answers. And I mean I want to know them in my heart- without hesitation, without uncertainty, without fear of being wrong.
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YES! In my R.C.I.A., there were a few “cradle Catholics” who came because they knew next to nothing about the faith into which they were Baptised. They wanted to know and understand.
Find a good R.C.I.A. program and you will leap with joy and knowledge.
 
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GodSoldier:
I’m saying that when I picked up the Bible for myself and read it, I read things I never remembered hearing in Church- significant things- and it meant a lot more to me to read it for myself than to listen to someone else reading it. .
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Take heart! Of COURSE the intimacy one has in reading the Bible for oneself is a different thing from the public proclamation. And there is not one reason in the world why you could not have picked up that Bible and read it for yourself while still remaining a communicant in good standing in the Catholic Church. There is even an indulgence attached to reading the Scriptures for half an hour!

As for your understanding of justification – to to the home page of Catholic Answers and read the Catholic position. The links at the left have brief tract-length discussions of the major issues.

Welcome to the world of adult Christianity. You’ve embarked on an outstanding adventure. As for RCIA – you should speak with your RCIA director. Depending on how it is run at your parish it could be either a good fit or a bad one. In any event, y’all come back here!

Cyber-hug comin’ atcha!
 
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GodSoldier:
Your last line gives me much peace. I never thought of my current situation in that way. Maybe God does want me to struggle for a while with my faith so that when do finally come to a revelation- my faith will be stronger than ever. Previously, I have thought that this confusion, uncertainty, and doubt came from someone much darker.
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I know what you mean. As a revert/convert, someone who never understood Jesus until I left the Church, the protestant view of this kind of confusion and uncertainty is considered demonic.

In the Catholic Church, there is even a term for when those “dry, question filled” times come. (Unfortunately, I can’t remember the term.) But according to the definition, God allows us to go through these times not to punish, not because we are doing anything wrong, but because he wants us to draw closer to Him.

While we should have a childlike faith, that does not mean we should not learn and grow. We should trust that God will always care for us, but just like any good parent, to teach us to walk, He takes a step away and waits with outstretched arms for us to take the next step towards Him.

Is RCIA for you? Hard to say. If there are good teachers, YES! However, if not, it could just confuse you on your journey.

I will tell you this though. There is not one doctrine in the Catholic Church that contradicts Scripture. If you find one, either you don’t understand the doctrine, or you are misinterpreting Scripture.

Rest in Him in peace, but take the steps towards Him. You might stumble a bit. But His hand is there waiting.

God Bless,
Maria
 
There is also a good book you might want to check out called “A Faith for Grownups” which even though it is aimed at baby boomers illustrates how as adults we need to look at our faith differently.

Many adult Catholics end up looking at the faith with the perspective of a child’s education in the faith without realizing there is so much more. Since many don’t even take the time to question or look into it, like you are doing, they end up leaving the Church or just becoming lax as they see a very simple faith with not depth to their understanding.

I am 31 years old and this book made sense to me as I grew up in the 80’s, when CCD was kinda touchy feely and not too much depth to it. No real Bible studies, faith studies or history just mostly fluff and learning your prayers.

God Bless
Scylla
 
Just wanted to clarify my point there. Of COURSE I know that I heard the Scriptures through the first and second readings, as well as the Gospel reading. I’m saying that when I picked up the Bible for myself and read it, I read things I never remembered hearing in Church- significant things- and it meant a lot more to me to read it for myself than to listen to someone else reading it. I never once heard a Catholic priest tell the congretation to go home and read a a passage from the Bible themselves… from Protestant ministers, you get that all the time.
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Ok…good to know!! I will say this. Of course one must read the Scriptures on their own! My priest encourages us quite often to do this. Sad to say, not all priests are the same. Yes, Protestants do encourage you to go home and read the Scriptures yourself and this is a good thing! But here is the problem. They are each their own Pope. They all come up with different interpretations of Scripture regarding baptism, salvation etc many things pertaining to salvation they disagree on. Here is the question you need to ask. What is the Truth and how do you find it? One Protestant pastor will tell you one thing while another will tell you something else. The one thing they will agree on is that Jesus died for your sins. But guess what, it is even deeper then this. Search for the Truth and God will guide you.
It’s like in the RC Church you go to have the priest read to you, tell you what to pray, when to respond, when to stand, when to come forward for the Eucharist. In other churches, they have you actively participate, the GUIDE you, they don’t TELL you, ya know?
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But when you know WHY you are doing all these “things” “outward actions” it does not matter that they “tell” you what to do. When you realize that Heaven and earth kiss at every Mass…you would die to be there. When you realize Jesus is really and truly physically present you would fall on your knees everytime someone asked you or stand in honor of the Sacred Gospels. At the Protestant churches you are there for…the pastor…a sermon…some good fellowship…nothing wrong with all these things but they are greatly lacking.
The thing that I have the most trouble with the RC church position on salvation is The concept of Justification through faith alone. I’ve come across a lot that says that as soon as you accept Jesus as your savior, you cross a threashold and are justified and saved. Of course there are works that are necessary and come from true faith, but i don’t think anyone can work to EARN their justification.
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Justification cannot be by faith alone. Why? Not only does the Bible not say that but by your own admonition there are works that are neccessary. We must put our faith into action in order for it to be salvific.

I am praying for you and continue on in your journey! Our Lord has promised to guide us into all Truth.
 
GodSoldier,

God bless you. You are on the most wonderful journey of your life. Let me help you out. There are more resources than you can believe available to you for free online. And some that don’t cost a lot and you have this forum to ask questions on too. I am going to be giving you info for your journey but it is not going to be in any order of preference at all. Just putting it up as I think of it.

First, as someone said, Catholic Anwers website itself. Catholic.com They have tracts you can print out and read. They have a whole archive of This Rock magazine with a treasure trove of articles on things you will want to know. If you want to listen to your computer and learn you can go to the Radio Schedule section and you have a number of years of radio programming to hear. It’s wonderful. It looks like a bunch of calendar pages.

All you need is Real Player for the old stuff and they are doing their new stuff also in MP3. FYI, they have a bunch of programs called “Questions from Non-Catholics” or something similar. That will get you started.

EWTN is another resource. I use their audio archives the most but also so to their library and to their Faith area where they have teachiings, Q & A and all kinds of other things. In the audio section, just for an interesting time, when you pull up the audio archive at the top search section pop in “history” and you should get two different program sets. Both are very interesting and you will learn a lot very fast. What I do is download them and listen to them whenever I want. And I can re-hear them later because there is a lot of info there. Anyway, there is plenty of stuff there that you can download…

EWTN TV on cable. I especially enjoy Marcus Grodi’s “Journey Home” on Monday night at 8:00PM ET and really all the other programs they have at that time each night.

And if you can, at 3:00PM ET on EWTN Radio either on the Internet from the Multimedia page or on Catholic Radio if you have one in your area. On Mondya thru Friday there is great programming for someone who wants to learn the faith. John Martignoni is on Monday and he is very good. He has a website where you can get for “free” tapes of his talks, 14 in all. They are "free but w. a small charge per tape/CD and a request for a donation if you can afford it. The donation is NOT required though but if you can, that is his living. His website is Bible Christian Society.com

Then there is the USCCB website. This is the Catholic Bishop’s site where there is a Bible and a copy of the Catechism among other things. I use it often even though I have both books already.

BTW, the best low cost Bible is the Ignatius Press RSV-CE (Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition) paperback. It is supposed to be a better translation overall than the NAB that is on the USCCB site. But the NAB is the one used for the Mass. Go figure. These have all the books that have been in the Bible since it was first promulgated in 382 AD at the Council of Rome under Pope Damasis I.

There is so much out there. Oh yeah. This website (catholic.com) also has all kinds of books that are available too. Good ones. Karl Keatings “Catholicism and Fundamentalism”. Most anything by Jimmy Akins. He has a book called “Salvation Controversy” that is excellent. Fr. John Trugillio has a book called “Catholicism for Dummies” that is suposed to be very good. Highly recommended “Faith of the Early Fathers” by Wm. Jurgens, a 3 volume set but I understand that you can get a lot out of just the 1st volume. “Four Witnesses, The Early Church in Her Own Words” by Rod Bennett, the writings of Clement, Ignatius, Justin Martyr and Iraneus of Lyons. “Salvation is from the Jews” will give you an understanding of the roots of our Catholic faith.

(cont.)
 
Have you read any books by Dr. Scott Hahn Phd? He’s a convert (1986).

Search for his books (they are easy and accurate reads) on Amazon.com – I think you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for…

Remember that no where else will you be able to receive the Body, Blood Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Much like Peter exclaimed "Lord, to whom shall I go…?

Welcome home.
Blessings,
Joanie
 
GodSoldier,

(cont.)

If you can’t listen to the EWTN Open Line Radio during the day, you can go to EWTN.com and go to the Mulitmedia section, to the Audio Archives, to the Search area I mentioned before and type in EWTN Open Line and it will bring up the programs you can either listen to right on the internet or download and listen later. There is so much out there.

Peter Kreeft writings and online audio. Back on EWTN audio archives search for Al Kresta, Tim Staplles, Fr. Mitch Pacwa.

Next to the last place online. Dave Armstrong’s site. He has a 11 books that are in Word format that you can purchase for about $25.00 total. He, like many you will be listening to is a convert and his love is for the Church and basically, I understand he, like the others is making his living helping others learn about their faith. His website is here.

Steve Ray. Another convert. Prolific writer. Lots of good papers on his site. Also, some wonderful CD/tapes of Biblical information. I wish I could afford any of them right now. Anyway his site is here.

Well, that’ll do it for now. I haven’t covered it all by any means but this should keep you busy for a while. If you don’t want to purchase the books I mentioned, try your main library or check w. the diocese. They might have some of them available for loan.

God bless and enjoy your journey. It’s great.

Whit, sfo
 
I recommend you listen to a good solid series of talks on Catholic teaching.

Archbishop Sheen - Life is worth Living
Scott Hahn- several series
Fr. Altier - Fundamentals of Catholicism

These and more are are available at www.catholicaudio.us

Also check out www.biblechristiansociety.com for 14 free (or low priced) CDs with solid biblical explanation of the Catholic faith.

RCIA would be good but don’t rely on it to teach you everything that you are questioning.
 
Hi! I’m so glad that you are willing to try to understand Catholicism a little bit more before you reject it.

I wanted to address the Infallibility of the Pope. First off, in defining the fact that Infallibility is not Impeccability, Infallibility doesn’t mean being perfect, it means that the Pope is protected from teaching error in regards of Faith and Morals.

In our history the most vile of Popes, the most sinful of them, just prove Infallibility so clearly. Just imagine if these bad guys hadn’t been protected from themselves. Think about it, they had their own Church and the ablility to teach doctrine and dogma. We all can see what happens to non-Catholic churches that have bad guys leading people, they make the doctrines, the teachings, etc… reflecting their own opinions and personalities and the results turn out to be disasterous.

I heartily recommend you read Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic. It really helps in this area and then By Whose Authority.
 
My Reply:

My friend, You should speak to a priest, and discuss your feelings with him. Not just that, but here is my situation. I
was a JW for a long time. I drifted away from theCatholic
church. I only started going back seriously last year. It had always
been a deep part of my spiritual being. Always in me, never
left me. The joy I feel at going to Mass is unsurpassed!
My mother had alot of influence on me in going back. She
never said a word, but it was her devout faith, and the way
she lives her life that helped me to decide for myself that it
is the Truth, and the only real one. I think God used her as
an example to call me home. My faith is stronger than ever!
My husband, without any provocation from me asked me a
few months ago, " how do I become a Catholic" ? I told him
how, and he spoke to the priest at my church and now he is
going to RCIA! Iam not sure if RCIA is for people who are already
baptized and confirmed Catholics. That would be a good discussion for you to have with a priest you know. Good luck, and keep us posted!
QUOTE=GodSoldier]A little background:

I’m a 23 year old guy in Connecticut, USA.

I was a born and raised, baptized, altar serving, confirmed, and content Catholic until about a year ago. I started listening to some non-Catholic ministries online and on TV and I started reading the Bible on my own. I haven’t been to Mass in many, many months.

I read a lot of apologetics from both the Catholic and Protestant/Bible-based/Sola Scriptura/Sola Fide sides and I feel at this point while my desire to be close to Jesus is stronger than ever- there are two sides fighting over my religious denominations.

On one hand I see that faith should be simple, child like, and joyous. From my research into Scripture I never heard inside the Catholic church I gained an even deeper insight into the personal relationship and sacrifize our Lord made for us. I read over an over how the work of Salvation is complete- and as long as I accept and believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ I am saved, I will go to heaven, and my devotion and worship will only bring me greater rewards… there is nothing more I can do to “earn” my salvation.

But on the other hand, I was raised Catholic… I don’t recall ever feeling the joy of knowing I am saved from my years going to Mass. Perhaps my catechism and confirmation instruction were done poorly. Perhaps I had boring sermons from uninspired Priests. But I see that the Roman Catholic church has been around for 2000 years… I see our beautiful churches and I understand the succession of the apostles. I see a rich history.

But I also see dark eras of the Chruch. I see bad Popes when we claim papal infallability. I see many things that cause doubts to form.

So my question is; Would RCIA be could for me? Would it answer questions I have in ways I haven’t already heard in Catechism or Confirmation classes. I want a forum to challenge spiritual leaders from both sides with questions. I want to find answers. I want to KNOW answers. And I mean I want to know them in my heart- without hesitation, without uncertainty, without fear of being wrong.

Please- give me your advice.
 
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