Looking Into Converting

[penninah]

I hope I posted this in the right place…
I’d been curious about the Catholic church for a while and when I was staying at a local university for an art’s camp, I decided I would join the group that went to Mass together just to see what it was like. I was raised Protestant and later fell out of religion altogether, but the second week I went was simply lifechanging. I know that God is calling me to convert, but there are complications.
First of all, I’m only seventeen and my parents have serious misconceptions about Catholicism and don’t even consider it a form of Christianity. I don’t know how to tell them about my conversion, but I don’t want to wait until I’m out of the house either.
Second, I can’t drive anyway. Now that I’m not in that camp, I can’t go back to the church I loved so much. It’s not far by car but walking would take a long time and I don’t like walking alone downtown anyway. I’m currently not able to attend Mass and wouldn’t be able to go to RCIA either. I’m afraid to ask for a ride from anyone in my family because of the reasons mentioned above.
I’ve prayed a lot on this but I was wondering if anyone had any advice they’d like to offer.

 

[tafan]

Well, the ideal situation would be of course that you talked to your parents and they helped you out with the transportation and logistics to mass and RCIA. But you know that already, and since you do not believe that will work then:

You say you are 17, will you be going to college or university in a year away from home? If so, then you may have to wait until then to enter RCIA. Most colleges will have a Catholic parish near by that serves students, so you can go through RCIA while at college. And maybe could even getting away with not telling your parents until it is all a done deal. Others may say not telling them at all is a bad thing, but in your circumstances I see nothing wrong with it.

Until then, while it is great that you want to go to mass, remember you have no Sunday obligation yet. Perhaps you can find a parish close to your high school (within walking distance) with a morning weekday mass and at times you can arrive at school early and walk to the mass. Also, you can pray. And I would encourage the rosary on a regular basis. Quite easy to keep that a secret. And you can study. Might I suggest you get a copy of Fr Ronald Knox’s book : The Belief of Catholics. It is even available online here: cin.org/liter/belief0.html . It is one of my all time favorite books, and it is written exactly for those who are considering conversion. Don’t expect a catechism listing of beliefs out of it, much more an overview of the Catholic thought process. And also get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and start reading it. Not necessarily from cover to cover, but the beginning of it, and then understand the structure, and then start reading other parts of it as you find them important.

God Bless, and good luck.

 

[JohnMPhilomena]

Maybe you could start by correcting some of the misconceptions about Catholics (so that they would not have so many concerns when you finally do convert).

I would find out their main misconceptions and then do research on them before you try to answer them.

For example they may say, “They worship Mary!”.

Then you could go to the Ask an Apologist forum and search “worship Mary” and do some studying. Here’s one of the items I came up in the search:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=760825&highlight=worship+mary

Peace,
John

 

[electricman37]

Hi penninah,

I wanted to give you a few ideas to think about. First off, I would recommend you speaking with your parents. Tell them you are curious about Catholicism and want to learn more. Tell them you aren’t confident of a change but are curious. Based on your post that doesn’t seem to be far from the truth. If they do not want you to go to RCIA, etc you are no worse off than you are now, unless you fear violence, etc. You may be surprised by their response, and their are far worse things to surprise your parents with, but I digress…

If they should not want you to follow this path and you must wait until you leave home, studying in secret is an option. Clearly you have private access to the internet, since you posted on this forum. Their is a wealth of information available, just make sure you are getting it from a reputable source. Some suggestions I would offer are:

Read the Bible.

Pray. The rosary (as stated above) is a very powerful tool. Pray for a change of heart of your parents. Pray for God to help you.

YOUCAT (youcat.org/home.html ). It is the catechism of Catholic church (suggested previously) but simplified and easier to read. You can find it on amazon for kindle for ~$9. There is an email list from flocknote that give selection daily, but I can’t seem to find how to sign up at the moment.

Read the works of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI. These are modern day works that may be easier to comprehend.

Read the lives of the saints. They are good to follow. There are many resources online, a simple search for saint of the day lists several good sites.

EWTN also broadcasts mass on tv and online, so if you are able to to that in private, that is an option too.

Also, depending on the school you attend, I would think there are other catholic kids there you can become friends with. Talk with them about their faith and ask them to teach you. I’m sure they will be more than excited to help out.

I hope this helps. Good luck and stay strong, God is with you on your quest. Praying for you.

 

[penninah]

I’ve tried slowly introducing the idea to my family, but I get responses such as, “you’re just confused, you don’t really want to be a beadmumbling papist” and “it’s great God spoke to you but it doesn’t mean anything that it was in THAT church” and “I know if you’d just go to our church (OUR CHURCH being the church we havent gone to in six years) you’d feel even more strongly.” I feel like I’m on a bad after school special, “coming out” of the religious “closet”. I know that I’ve been called, and I just want my family to respect me for my faith. At the end of the day, we all love the same God, we just worship and follow in different ways. I respect them, it isn’t fair that they cant do the same for me.

 

[electricman37]

penninah,

I’m sorry to hear about your troubles. I would only add to have faith and stay strong. Follow the advice you’ve seen above as a start. I’m new to this forum as well, but it seems like a good place to ask for advice. You can also message me and I’ll help you with any advice I can. I always like to remember its too difficult to always understand the path God has for us, but he has a reason. His path is not the easy one (Matthew 7:14). Have faith and continue to love him, he will take care of you.

-Jason

 

[Bob_Crowley]

It’s pretty obvious that your parents aren’t going to change their minds in a hurry, and I think you’d only be asking for trouble if you make it too clear what you intend to do. Meanwhile I assume you are still at school, or college, or something along that line, and depend on your parents to provide for you etc.

So you’re caught between a rock and a hard place.

I think for you the first step is to just read about the Catholic church, it’s beliefs and practices, history, doctrines, saints and the rest so that you are at least informed about what you’re intending to get into. I wouldn’t make too much of a point of arguing about it with your parents, as this will merely lead to tension. But by learning about the faith, you’ll at least be in a position to defend your decision when the time comes.

I’m a Protestant convert myself, but as an adult. But even back in my Protestant days, my wise old Protestant pastor commented “Protestants tell a lot of lies about Catholics and the Catholic Church”, and “Protestants can be quite arrogant about the Catholic Church”. He also commented “When it comes to theology, Protestants couldn’t agree how far to spit.”

I well remember a Protestant doctor (medical) with whom I once shared membership in my old Presbyterian Church, and who was quite competent in his field saying to me “How you gonna feel when you have to bow down and worship a statue? Huh? Huh?” I’ve got news for him - I’ve been Catholic now for about 16 or so years, and haven’t bowed down and worshipped a statue yet. I’m afraid they talk a lot of **** about Catholics at times, and tell quite a number of outright lies.

However you don’t need to go stirring up a hornet’s nest at this stage. You’re still in a vulnerable position, and you depend on your parents as I read the record. And at least you appear to be in a Christian home, which is a huge advantage, compared to the lot of many other people.

Later, when you’re more independent (none of us are ever really independent - the richest man depends on God to provide the air he breathes and the water he drinks and the sun that shines on him, other people to grow his food, make his clothes, build his home, manufacture his car, clean his streets, keep him healthy, supply his electricity, print his dollar bills, keep his bank account safe, construct the roads on which he drives, fix his phone lines, supply him with toilet paper, toothpaste and a toothbrush etc etc) , can drive yourself, are working and supporting yourself, then go for it. In the meantime, if there are opportunities to go to a Catholic mass or church, or Catholic event, and you can get there, then by all means go.

You might want to correspond online with a Catholic as a stop gap measure, but be a bit careful who you choose.

The time will come. You just might have to be a bit patient.