My Search for God

Caspercolfax · Aug 30, 2011

I want to preface this by stating that for as long as I can remember, I have always known that there was a “God” or a “Creator” of all that exists, and I have never really subscribed to a single religion. Since I believe in Jesus, I would say I am more of a Christian than anything else. I few months ago my wife (who is Episcopal) joined the United States Navy and they handed her a Bible and she handed it to me (she didn’t have any pockets to put it in and she needed to have her hands free). Later that night I emptied my pockets interested I opened the Bible and began reading before I realized it, a half hour had passed. Since then I find myself feeling a need for a stronger connection with God. I have been looking into religions lately and Catholicism seems to be one that I feel a strong connection both through myself and my family member, both of my grandparents on my fathers side were very strict Catholics. Basically im asking for some guidance on where to start this journey.
Also I had a few specific questions the first being my wife’s and my relationship, Will I be able to be baptized without her converting to Catholicism And will I be able to bring her to mass with me?
Also how does the Vatican view Judaism, this is more of a personal one as I have many Jewish friends that I am very close with, we are all very accepting each other views towards religion and would in no way effect my choice to search for God.
You can help me through here.
Thank you all so much

Pfaffenhoffen · Aug 30, 2011

Caspercolfax said:
I want to preface this by stating that for as long as I can remember, I have always known that there was a “God” or a “Creator” of all that exists, and I have never really subscribed to a single religion. Since I believe in Jesus, I would say I am more of a Christian than anything else. I few months ago my wife (who is Episcopal) joined the United States Navy and they handed her a Bible and she handed it to me (she didn’t have any pockets to put it in and she needed to have her hands free). Later that night I emptied my pockets interested I opened the Bible and began reading before I realized it, a half hour had passed. Since then I find myself feeling a need for a stronger connection with God. I have been looking into religions lately and Catholicism seems to be one that I feel a strong connection both through myself and my family member, both of my grandparents on my fathers side were very strict Catholics. Basically im asking for some guidance on where to start this journey.
Also I had a few specific questions the first being my wife’s and my relationship, Will I be able to be baptized without her converting to Catholicism And will I be able to bring her to mass with me?
Also how does the Vatican view Judaism, this is more of a personal one as I have many Jewish friends that I am very close with, we are all very accepting each other views towards religion and would in no way effect my choice to search for God.
You can help me through here.
Thank you all so much

I am ready to dialogue with you through here.
I would say that you should continue from where you started. God guided you (it was Him that made time fly by, as when we are in a happy situation, time flies by). So, I would say, God would be saying that He wants to be by you when you read the Bible (my opinion, I do not have a direct Internet connection with Heaven).

Yes, you may become Catholic without your wife being forced to.

As for Jews, Jesus and all the Apostles were Jew. Most of the Bible is common to us an to Jews. I have many Jew friends and no problem. If you want to talk about the wounds between Jews and Christians, it is as ongoing dialogue.

That is all that comes to my mind.

Bookcat · Aug 30, 2011

Bookcat · Aug 30, 2011

As for your questions: Yes. A person can be Baptized (I assume you were not in any Christian community?) or be received into the Church even if their spouse is not becoming Catholic.

As for Relations with the Jewish People:

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Roman Synagogue of Rome

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2010/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20100117_sinagoga_en.html

here are a few lines in the Catechism:

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."325
The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,326 "the first to hear the Word of God."327 The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ”,328 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."329

840 and when one considers the future, God’s People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

Prayer_Warrior · Aug 30, 2011

Welcome to the forums! I hope we can be of help to you in your search. My first advice to you is to pray for the Lord’s guidance. My second piece of advice is to seek the counsel of the priest at your closest parish and enroll in RCIA classes. You will get all sorts of advice from people here and a lot of it will be good advice, but remember we are all laypeople and it would be good to get the official scoop. I would recommend that you buy a Catechism and read that along with your Bible. The Catechism contains the teachings of the Church in user friendly language. It explains the sacramental life of the Church, what we believe about God, the Bible, etc. Here is an online version of the Catechism. I’m not sure how much you know about the Church thus far, but there is A LOT to know. But our worship is very Christ centered, particularly when we gather at the Mass to receive the Eucharist (aka Communion). For we believe that the Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. He is really present. Read John Chapter 6, especially verses 50-66, to get a good Biblical perspective. I’m reading an excellent book right now that really explains the Eucharist and it’s Jewish roots. It is called Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre. Another good book is The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the life and mission of the church. It is really important to study.

A couple of things to know is that you will only be baptized if you were not already baptized (validly). If you were baptized in a valid Trinitarian baptism as a child then you will not need to be baptized again. Either way, as an adult, the process to become Catholic starts with an RCIA class and if you still want to join the Church at the end of it then you would be received into the Church at Easter.

Regarding your wife, she does not have to convert for you to come to the Church. However, if either of you were married before, there will be some issues regarding your previous marriages (yours or hers) that would need to be resolved. The reason for this is that marriage is absolutely sacred. If either you or she were married before, the Church would need to investigate and make sure that those marriages were not valid. They would need to be annulled in order for you to receive the Sacraments after coming into the Church. This takes several months so if you join RCIA, which also takes several months, they would need to get started on the annulment process right away. Let me know if you were married before and I can tell you more, but do not be too concerned about this. By the way, everyone is welcome at Mass, but only Catholics are to receive Communion, although everyone is welcome to approach for a blessing.

Our Church has had some unfortunate history with our Jewish brethren. You have to understand that historically, Christians were initially persecuted by some the Jews. Then when the Christians gained power, some of them turned around and did the same to the Jews. Neither religion was justified in their actions against each other. But that was all a long time ago. The Church recognizes the link between Jews and Catholics. From the Catechism (839):

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, “the first to hear the Word of God.” The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ”, “for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

PS. Just so you know, Catholics recognize the Apostle Peter as the first Pope. You’ll see in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus founds His Church upon Peter and gives Peter authority when He gives him the keys to the Kingdom of heaven and earth. Catholics have a record of popes going all the way back to Peter. Another historical tidbit I’d like to share is that at first the Apostles just called themselves Jews, because they saw themselves as Jews who had received the Messiah. But when rejected by the Jewish hierarchy, they became known as Christians or the Way. However, the name Catholic is recorded very early on. In 107ad St. Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, refers to the Catholic Church in one of his letters.

starsmurf · Aug 30, 2011

Hello and welcome!

I converted to Catholicism, as others have said, there is no problem with what religion your wife is and you would be able to bring her to Mass with you. The only restriction would be that she would not be able to receive communion.

Are you aware that the Catholic Bible has a few more books in the Old Testament? I didn’t realise until I’d been hanging about the Church for almost two years

just a heads up there.

There is a lot to gain from becoming Catholic, I find more and more as time goes on. I hope and pray that you will get as much from your journey of faith as I did.

As the other posters noted, the Catholic Church has a positive view of Judaism. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics not to refer to Jews as our “elder brothers” in religion as the elder brother in many of the OT books is the one who does not gain his inheritance. Jesus was not only “the light to enlighten the Gentiles” (non-Jews) but He would also “give glory to Your people Israel”. (that is in Luke chapter 2 verse 32).

I’ll be praying for you and your wife.

God bless you.

Bookcat · Aug 30, 2011

starsmurf said:
In fact, Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics not to refer to Jews as our “elder brothers” in religion as the elder brother in many of the OT books is the one who does not gain his inheritance.

Little note:

Actually I do not think he asked such per se. I recall he noted in the interview book Light of the World that it can be taken the wrong way by some on account of such so he personally has been using “Our Fathers in Faith” or something to that effect.

Caspercolfax · Aug 31, 2011

Thank all of you so much, you have helped me move this journey along a lot there are some things you just cant learn from the internet and you need the hear it from people who know what they are talking about so thank you. It is nice to know that my wife will be able to retain her faith, and will be able to join me in this experience.

As far as our marriage and past marriages we are our first partners for both of us, we didn’t even really date anyone before we found each other, so past marriages is a non-issue. I did some research into RICA and go a bit acquainted with that, so now I believe me next logical step would be to talk to a priest. I know it would be wise to choose a church that is near by, I am moving in about 6 months and I know this is a long process. I would like to get started as soon as I can, however what would you guys recommend?

Miriam1947 · Aug 31, 2011

You can start RCIA right where you are now. This will answer many questions and help you discern whether you are being led to the Catholic Church.

I am a convert and the first Catholic Bible I bought was the New Answer Bible. (Of course now I have many Bibles but that was the first one. Get it in paperback) I have it in stock in my store.

This particular Bible has inserts in it which contain the common questions asked by non-Catholics and then answers them with scripture and the catechism.

So, get that Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (the great big, thick green one) and you will learn tons.

Also think about going to Mass on a Sunday and just observing. When I was in RCIA that is what I did and it was wonderful.

Prayer_Warrior · Aug 31, 2011

Caspercolfax said:
Thank all of you so much, you have helped me move this journey along a lot there are some things you just cant learn from the internet and you need the hear it from people who know what they are talking about so thank you. It is nice to know that my wife will be able to retain her faith, and will be able to join me in this experience.

As far as our marriage and past marriages we are our first partners for both of us, we didn’t even really date anyone before we found each other, so past marriages is a non-issue. I did some research into RICA and go a bit acquainted with that, so now I believe me next logical step would be to talk to a priest. I know it would be wise to choose a church that is near by, I am moving in about 6 months and I know this is a long process. I would like to get started as soon as I can, however what would you guys recommend?

Talk to your parish priest about the moving issue. I think you should be able to start RCIA where you are at and finish it where you are going to. But that is just me. Some priests might be picky about taking the whole program in their parish; I’m just not sure about that issue. If you are just moving across town, and you know the parish you will be going to, you could talk to them and possibly just take the RCIA there from the start.

The problem is that RCIA classes are not consistent from parish to parish. It is sort of ironic, considering how organized the whole Church is about the readings of Scripture in the Mass (same readings are read on Sunday everywhere). But RCIA has been left to individual parishes to figure out. Thus, some RCIA classes are fantastic

, others are rather not fantastic

. However, the nice thing is that you can supplement your class learning with reading the Catechism and writings of the saints or popes. We are here to help too-- as long as you have internet!

My Search for God

Caspercolfax

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Pfaffenhoffen

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Bookcat

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Bookcat

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Prayer_Warrior

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starsmurf

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Bookcat

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Caspercolfax

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Miriam1947

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Prayer_Warrior

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