Overwhelmed and not sure what to do

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TwinMommy said:
I can’t even fathom how didn’t it is going to be when I can partake in Eucharist. I am meditating on this as much as I can to be prepared, open and ready in my heart for this. I was thinking how much I will miss communion every week like I have at my current church and I realized I won’t. Now I just have to wait a long long time for the real communion but it will be worth.
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The Eucharist is on my mind every single day. I can hardly wait :highprayer:
 
Kal2012 said:
Yes! I understand completely. It’s so hard to wait. Especially when you already know the Lord and are committed to the cause already.

I haven’t taken communion in about 3-4 years, so I’m getting more impatient by the week.

However, I’m glad that there is a long entry period before you formally enter the church. It makes you learn more about the church and realize the seriousness of your conversion. Catholics have obligations that other denominations don’t put upon their members.

I look back at the membership classes that I’ve taken at a few protestant churches and think “what a joke that was”. It was fine for what it was, but Catholicism has many more demands than Protestantism does.

You’ll also be frustrated that you, as a convert, will know more about the faith than some of the people who were born into it. A lot of ‘cradle Catholics’ love their faith and live the faith, but a lot of them don’t. It’s a problem that the church is trying to remedy, but it’s a slow process.
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I can see why you are impatient.

I am glad too that it taken very serious. Conversion shouldn’t be taken lightly. It amazes me how differently this is. It is so refreshing to see that none of this is taking lightly. It is all too important to rush everything,

In what ways is the Church trying to remedy it?
 
pablope said:
Usually, if you get a hold of a Catholic calendar, it would have feastdays for each day. The names are mentioned at the daily masses.

Have you thought of a favorite saint yet?
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I have found calendars online. At this point there is so much to learn that I really haven’t dug into it all.

Right now I have been focusing mostly on learning about Mother Mary that besides reading about the daily Saint I haven’t giving in it too much time. I have less time right now since my mom is here.

I am trying to figure out and am totally confused so of what I am reading about Mary. When it comes to apparitions, is that Mary? I was looking up info on Fatima prayers last night and am trying to figure out if Fatima is Mary.

Last night when I was praying the Rosary I was able to pray all the prayers without having to look at them and it made my prayers a lot more personal, I felt more of a connection.
 
TwinMommy said:
I am trying to figure out and am totally confused so of what I am reading about Mary. When it comes to apparitions, is that Mary? I was looking up info on Fatima prayers last night and am trying to figure out if Fatima is Mary.

Last night when I was praying the Rosary I was able to pray all the prayers without having to look at them and it made my prayers a lot more personal, I felt more of a connection.
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There have been many good threads on CAF regarding Mary. Here are a few:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=697663

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=544742

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=743704

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=10275218#post10275218

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=755148

Articles:

catholic.com/magazine/articles/mary-the-ark-of-the-new-covenant

Websites:

totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/
 
Twinmommy,

For keeping the saints’ feastdays straight…yes as Pablobe first brought up and Peace2u2’s links, the liturgical year is really how we keep things straight.

Another way…colors…to help identify the liturgical year.

Green means ordinary time…ordinary life…working, praying, celebrating, sleeping…in the Liturgy of the Hours…Prayer of the Church…for those who want to pray it with priests and religious…at night the prayer goes, ‘Christ, watch over me as I sleep…’
Green means the cycle of life, seeding, planting, reaping.

Ordinary Sunday is our greatest feastday of the year: Resurrection Sunday is another name for it. Ordinary Sunday provides us the fullness of Risen, Glorified Christ just as He was 2000 years ago. It is all a matter of us being catechized and taught to fully apply ourselves more deeply. Ordinary Sunday is green.

Liturgical year begins the First Sunday. Color is deep purple; there may be some parishes where they are still using a deep dark blue, but it is no longer norm. Third Sunday of Advent is pink. Darkness before the Light of Christ.

The two great feasts after Ordinary Resurrection Sunday are the feasts of the banquet, White: Christmas…where Christ came to us placed in an animal feeder, the manger, and Easter Sunday, the breaking of sin and death and new life in Him through the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. The Octave of Christmas and Easter go for 8 days.

The Christmas season ends a day or so after the Feast of the Epiphany. Local culture also calls this feast time, that of The Child.

The season of Lent is violet, penance, going for 6 weeks depending on the lunar calendar. This year Easter comes early. We abstain from meat on Friday’s, beginning with Ash Wednesday and fast.

Forty days after Easter, we have the feast of Pentecost which is red. So an ordinary person who is not into alot of studies can come to know what season we are in of the Liturgical Year.

Like the Jews, we as Catholics center our life on Jesus, and the seasons we live encircle Him. We come to Jesus as a gathering of people. He is the Center of our life.

So when you go into the seasons, you will see various saints’ feastdays. Some are different colors…martyrs, the priest vests in red. Marian feastdays he wears white with some blue.

Your parish calendar will be your biggest help as it shows the prominent saints on it. If you go to daily Mass, there will be saints celebrated on certain days who are not noted on the calendar.
 
 
TwinMommy said:
In what ways is the Church trying to remedy it?
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At my parish, they introduced “commentators” to talk about the context of the passage before it’s read. It usually includes things like who wrote the book, what the situation of the church/population was and why it was written.

Also, one of the things that is being encouraged for the Year of Faith is to read the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) from cover to cover.

A lot of it revolves around how we are educating the kids in religious ed classes.

I’m sure there’s more being done, but these are things of which I am aware.
 
KathleenGee said:
Twinmommy,

For keeping the saints’ feastdays straight…yes as Pablobe first brought up and Peace2u2’s links, the liturgical year is really how we keep things straight.

Another way…colors…to help identify the liturgical year.

Green means ordinary time…ordinary life…working, praying, celebrating, sleeping…in the Liturgy of the Hours…Prayer of the Church…for those who want to pray it with priests and religious…at night the prayer goes, ‘Christ, watch over me as I sleep…’
Green means the cycle of life, seeding, planting, reaping.

Ordinary Sunday is our greatest feastday of the year: Resurrection Sunday is another name for it. Ordinary Sunday provides us the fullness of Risen, Glorified Christ just as He was 2000 years ago. It is all a matter of us being catechized and taught to fully apply ourselves more deeply. Ordinary Sunday is green.

Liturgical year begins the First Sunday. Color is deep purple; there may be some parishes where they are still using a deep dark blue, but it is no longer norm. Third Sunday of Advent is pink. Darkness before the Light of Christ.

The two great feasts after Ordinary Resurrection Sunday are the feasts of the banquet, White: Christmas…where Christ came to us placed in an animal feeder, the manger, and Easter Sunday, the breaking of sin and death and new life in Him through the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. The Octave of Christmas and Easter go for 8 days.

The Christmas season ends a day or so after the Feast of the Epiphany. Local culture also calls this feast time, that of The Child.

The season of Lent is violet, penance, going for 6 weeks depending on the lunar calendar. This year Easter comes early. We abstain from meat on Friday’s, beginning with Ash Wednesday and fast.

Forty days after Easter, we have the feast of Pentecost which is red. So an ordinary person who is not into alot of studies can come to know what season we are in of the Liturgical Year.

Like the Jews, we as Catholics center our life on Jesus, and the seasons we live encircle Him. We come to Jesus as a gathering of people. He is the Center of our life.

So when you go into the seasons, you will see various saints’ feastdays. Some are different colors…martyrs, the priest vests in red. Marian feastdays he wears white with some blue.

Your parish calendar will be your biggest help as it shows the prominent saints on it. If you go to daily Mass, there will be saints celebrated on certain days who are not noted on the calendar.
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Thank you so much. The priests were in beautiful violet outfits(sorry no clue what to call it). I did wonder if that was the color always worn. I have so much to learn. It is going to help so much when I get in RICA classes and I know when I am going to Mass regularly I will learn so much more.

I was wondering what was going on with one thing this morning. After the Eucharist the priest went to the crucifix and under it was a sort of door and I think he put in the chalice and something else. It was hard to see since his back was to us. What was that?

Once we are moved I will see if the priest from the parish I go to will sit down and talk with me. I am going to try to figure out what I feel I need to learn the most first. There is so much and it is all so important. I am seeing how each thing works with the next and it is amazing.
 
Kal2012 said:
At my parish, they introduced “commentators” to talk about the context of the passage before it’s read. It usually includes things like who wrote the book, what the situation of the church/population was and why it was written.

Also, one of the things that is being encouraged for the Year of Faith is to read the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) from cover to cover.

A lot of it revolves around how we are educating the kids in religious ed classes.

I’m sure there’s more being done, but these are things of which I am aware.
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I have been reading some of the CCC, I know when my books gets here at the end of the week it will be easier to read more.

It is always so great to learn those things about the books of the Bible.
 
TwinMommy said:
Thank you so much for the link. I have been listening and watching videos on somethings here at this site and it is really helping. A book was mentioned, Rome Sweet Home, and I just called my library and only one library in the state had it, and it is missing 😦
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Welcome! 🙂 Thank you for posting here and giving us all the privilege of sharing your journey. For me, “communion” in every sense of the word is what Catholicism is all about.

Here’s a link to a free preview (pp. 1-25) of Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Rome–just to give you a taste. If your library can’t locate a copy through interlibrary loan, you could also read it online for a few dollars.

And here’s a great link–“How to Become Catholic” that should help answer some of your questions. (p.s. The Imprimatur means that the information in it has been approved as by the Catholic Church)

catholic.com/documents/how-to-become-a-catholic
IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827, permission to publish this work is hereby granted. +Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004

Blessings for your journey! 🙂
 
,
detoutcoeur said:
Welcome! 🙂 Thank you for posting here and giving us all the privilege of sharing your journey. For me, “communion” in every sense of the word is what Catholicism is all about.

Here’s a link to a free preview (pp. 1-25) of Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Rome–just to give you a taste. If your library can’t locate a copy through interlibrary loan, you could also read it online for a few dollars.
**
openisbn.com/preview/0898704782/**

And here’s a great link–“How to Become Catholic” that should help answer some of your questions. (p.s. The Imprimatur means that the information in it has been approved as by the Catholic Church)

catholic.com/documents/how-to-become-a-catholic
IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827, permission to publish this work is hereby granted. +Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004

Blessings for your journey! 🙂
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Link to preview of Scott Hahn’s RSR, which somehow disappeared!
**
openisbn.com/preview/0898704782/**
 
KathleenGee said:
Like the Jews, we as Catholics center our life on Jesus, and the seasons we live encircle Him. We come to Jesus as a gathering of people. He is the Center of our life.
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It is correct to say that, like Jews, Catholics have specific rituals and customs that correlate to the season.

However, there are distinct differences between Judaism and Christianity and much of it has to do with their view on Jesus.

Most Jews would argue that Jesus is:
  • a good guy
  • not divine
  • not a part of a “trinity”. God is one. Period.
  • not the savior or messiah
  • didn’t not rise from the dead.
Catholicism is very Jewish in a lot of ways, but unless it’s Messianic Judaism, then Jews don’t center their lives on Jesus.

(Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but they strive to retain their Jewish cultural identity and religious traditions. They keep the Sabbath on Saturdays, for example, read from both the Torah/New Testament. etc…)
 
TwinMommy said:
I am Protestant. I attend a non-denominational church. We are getting ready to move so I started the search for a new church. I have looked into many and just different red flags would come up. As I have proceeded along this journey I have felt God moving to Catholicism.Not what I expected but I am very open to it.
I have been reading up on this site and others and learning the things I thought were one way, have an amazing explanation and I don’t see how they could be wrong.

All of this is scary in a way because it is so different than Baptist and non-denominational, the two denominations I have been a part of. I am overwhelmed with all the information, with all the traditions, and on and on.

I don’t know where to go on from here. The idea of walking into Mass makes me uneasy because I wouldn’t know what to, I would probably end up looking like a fool.

Any suggestions? How do I figure out where I need to focus right now? I am use to contacting Protestant Pastors and asking questions about the church. I have no clue what to ask a Priest about the church, or is it parish? HELP!!!
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Welcome Home. You might get soem help from the Coming Home Netword (chnetwork.org/) which is for the purpose of helping those converting to The Catholic Faith. Many here are converts themselves and may be of help to you.

God bless you.
 
Twinmommy…I have shared alot with you. Now I keep you in prayer. So happy to see your joy and anticipation.

Many here have shared good materials with you!

God bless you on your undertaking and I will be very interested how everything works out for you!
 
Thank you, Kal for your sharing and comments.

Yes, the Jews are not like us in many ways. I would clarify in that Jews and Catholics tend to experience God as our center of our community. The Protestants look up to God and seek His will. It is a matter of different kinds of relating to come to the same God.

The Messianic Jews are akin to somewhat like Protestants in that they do not have a central authority in the way Catholicism does. You might like to check out Hebrew Catholics, Jews who have found fulfillment – a Jews – fulfilled in Catholicism. www.hebrewcatholic.org.

They want us to study more of our Jewish roots and to look at their calendar. They shared that for many the reality of the Church came in very small images in Sacred Scripture. Fascinating times…another, www.salvationisfromthejews.com by Ray Schoeman. Hope that is correct spelling, going to bed now!

God bless you this Easter!

I have come to see that the greatest definition to describe Catholicism is communion – with God, with each other, and the world around us in our life long journey always deeper into the life of the Holy Trinity!
 
TwinMommy said:
I

I am trying to figure out and am totally confused so of what I am reading about Mary. When it comes to apparitions, is that Mary? I was looking up info on Fatima prayers last night and am trying to figure out if Fatima is Mary.

Last night when I was praying the Rosary I was able to pray all the prayers without having to look at them and it made my prayers a lot more personal, I felt more of a connection.
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Welcome Home, TwinMommy.

It was so nice of your Mom to let you get your Rosary, Catechism.

About Fatima. That is the name of a town in Portugal where Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three peasant children. This apparition is known as Our Lady of Fatima. This apparition is approved by the Church and is known as a private revelation. Catholics are not obligated to believe in any private revelation, Church approval just means that there is nothing contrary to the teachings of the Church. However, most Catholics do believe in Fatima because there is much evidence that it is true. I bet you are just about in information overload now, so I won’t say anymore about it now:)

I echo others in thanking you for allowing us to share your journey!
 
detoutcoeur said:
Welcome! 🙂 Thank you for posting here and giving us all the privilege of sharing your journey. For me, “communion” in every sense of the word is what Catholicism is all about.

Here’s a link to a free preview (pp. 1-25) of Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Rome–just to give you a taste. If your library can’t locate a copy through interlibrary loan, you could also read it online for a few dollars.

And here’s a great link–“How to Become Catholic” that should help answer some of your questions. (p.s. The Imprimatur means that the information in it has been approved as by the Catholic Church)

catholic.com/documents/how-to-become-a-catholic
IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827, permission to publish this work is hereby granted. +Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004

Blessings for your journey! 🙂
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It was refreshing I guess you could say to see how important communion is. I know after yesterday that as time goes on the desire to take part is going to grow.

When we move I am going to look for that book more. Reading time is limited right now and I am focusing on the daily readings, reading the Catechism and learning about all the wonderful things that tie all of Catholicism together. I am so blessed by all the wonderful sites everyone is sharing with me.
 
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