Looking for Guidance and reading materials

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Greetings all –

I’m looking for guidance and reading materials to better educate myself on the catholic faith. I was raised Presbyterian, and my family experience has been nothing but loving and positive in my faith journey. I’ve never known any discord between my friends, or fellow religions - Until now, and I’m seeking guidance. My boyfriend and I are thinking very seriously about marriage, but while our personal discussions are very harmonious with regards to values, his family is devoutly RC and is far less than thrilled about this. He is not practicing, and wasn’t before he met me, but his family holds the catholic faith far closer. I wish to respect that and understand that, because while he may not hold tightly to his faith now, I would hope he returns to his roots. With his family, I’ve never known such passionate feelings against me for my faith, and I don’t want to be viewed as less than or beneath them. His mother didn’t even ask my name; only if I was catholic. When the answer was no, the door closed to welcoming me in. I’m devastated, because I love him, and hope that we’ll all be able to share in life and love together. He just says they’ll get over it and learn to love me as he does - but I don’t think it that simple. I’m not looking for an answer as to what religion is right, or to be given opinions on this discussion, as to find some guidance and love from fellow Christians, as I believe all of us to be, and some reference materials to better educate myself with on the Catholic principals. My journey may lead me to explore this, but I don’t feel compelled to leap from my faith, just to do so. It needs to be grounded with solid teachings and study, to decide what the right path may be. Any guidance or personal references would be greatly appreciated. Thank you:)
 
gobucksgo,

I can understand your frustration and wonder about the understanding your future in-laws have of the word “love.” Be that as it may my personal recommendation, for BOTH you **and your boyfriend, **is to read the following six books to obtain the help BOTH of you need to grow in your faith. They are:
*The Lambs Supper, *about the mass, Lord Have Mercy,about reconciliation, Hail Holy Queen, about Mary, Scripture Matters, about scripture, and Swear to God, about the sacraments. All of these books are by Scott Hahn. These are all excellent books that are easy reading with scriptural backing where necessary. Another excellent book, especially if you are coming from an evangelical background, is Karl Keating’s, Catholicism and Fundamentalism. Outstanding. These are only a good starting point. There are many excellent books Catholic Answers will happily direct you to. Just ask. Hope this helps.
BakerBob
 
First off, let me say how sorry I am to hear that your in-laws-to-be are acting so harshly. You mentioned that your boyfriend no longer practices his faith: I would guess that therein lies the real problem, whether they have acknowledged that to themselves or not. That he is now considering marrying a non-Catholic may be the last straw for them, and it’s easier for them to express their disappointment by placing the blame, so to speak, on you than it is to place it on their own son. You may be a kind of scapegoat, in other words. Of course, this is all armchair psychology on my part, so feel free to take it with loads of salt…

Let me suggest that one way to break the ice would be for YOU to be the one encouraging your boyfriend to take his Catholicism seriously, to return to his Faith. If you both were to go through some materials together, you may both benefit from the process and his parents may come to realize what a blessing you are. As for materials, there are shorter tracts available at Catholic.com that might address specific questions about Catholicism. That would be helpful if your boyfriend has specific objections (“all churches are alike, it doesn’t matter where I go”, etc). It sounds, though, that you are looking for something more general in nature: I would recommend the Catechism of the Catholic Church for a reference that can be used as needed. On top of that, the titles that BakerBob listed are good…“The Lamb’s Supper” by Scott Hahn is valuable. Also, he might benefit from Thomas Howard’s “If Your Mind Wanders at Mass”. I would especially recommend Jeff Cavins’ “My Life on the Rock”. If you need the sources for these titles, let me know and I’ll dig them up for you.

God bless!
 
gobucksgo

Sherlock’s advice is good. Get your boyfriend in on this discovery journey the payoff will be worth it and pray. Prayer is always the first and last thing. Two other books that will give you quick reliable information are: Why Do Catholics Do That? by Kevin Orlin Johnson, Ph.D. and Why Do Catholics Genuflect? Sorry, I do not remember the author. Our prayers are with you.

BakerBob
 
Yes to all of the above, especially prayer.

Two books I’ve recommended several times on different threads are
*Theology for Beginners *and Theology and Sanity
Both are by Frank Sheed.
IMHO, Sheed is the most immanently readable and understandable Christian author, Catholic or otherwise, (he was Catholic) in print today.
Good luck, we’ll keep you in our prayers.
God bless
 
Please try to understand where your boyfriend’s mother is coming from. She loves her son and wants what is good for him and for any future children he may have. As far as she is concerned, apart from the Catholic Church her loved ones will be in spiritual poverty: spiritually malnourished (no valid Eucharist), ill-clothed (no valid Confirmation), without healthcare (no valid Confession or Anointing of the Sick) and uneducated (no valid teachers, i.e., no validly ordained bishops).
 
I think that the book that BakerBob recommended, “Why Do Catholics Genuflect?” was written by Al Kresta. Does that sound right, BakerBob?
 
I would suggest reading about Dorothy Day and her travails.

Hers was a life a life of contradictions and challenges that was distilled into a love of Jesus and His least.

Its not the easiest road to take, but her story about what she became and what she overcame to get her there is amazing.

Peace
 
There are two books I can recommend, both by Peter Kreeft.

“Fundamentals of the Faith” is a series of essays on topics pertinent to the Catholic faith.

“Catholic Christianity” is written as a companion to, and commentary on, but in the author’s owm words, not a replacement for, the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Kreeft is a gifted writer, with a deft touch and an enjoyable wit. Also, he himself converted to the Catholic faith from a reformed background (his undergrad degree is from Calvin College), and so has an insight into the differences and difficulties non-Catholics encounter in examining the Catholic faith.

Concerning the situation you are in vis-a-vis your boyfriend and his family: My wife and I were married in the Catholic Church. I was the Catholic. We’ve been married 36 years, and I really wonder about whether I’d be in the Church today but for her encouragement (bordering on insistance) that I take my Christian faith seriously. She was received into the Church just this past Easter Vigil, 35 years of encouragement later, so the way God works in these things, and his timing, usually defies our comprehension.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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Sherlock:
I think that the book that BakerBob recommended, “Why Do Catholics Genuflect?” was written by Al Kresta. Does that sound right, BakerBob?
Click to expand...
Yes, Al Kresta is the author. Very good book by the way. 👍
 
All the above recommendations are very good. I would suggest a couple more:

For a very quick understanding of why Catholics believe what they believe, there is a well done, easy to read Apologetics Series called “Beginning Apologetics” by Chacon/Burnham. It’s a series of a few books. Quite honestly, I’d start there, because it’s not quite as heady. You would have to realize that it is written from an apologetics, defense of the faith, standpoint.

I would also get a copy of the Catechism. You may not wish to read it all, but if you get a good one with a good index, and its companion, then you can look up certain topics that you are most concerned with and get the explanation right from the source. For example, justification is often a big issue. Not only will the Catechism explain the Church’s teachings, but it cites all the Bible passages and other writings from which it draws her teachings in case you want to delve into any topics further. The companion actually reproduces the particular section of the cited sources for deeper context.
 
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