RCIA - Second Doubts/Fears?

[Bill_Cherry]

Well,I had my second class yesterday(22nd Sept).There are maybe 50 or so people.Most of us are strangers to each other,so of course it’s akward.
The gist of this class was that everyone,regardless of why THEY think they are in RCIA,is there because that is where God wants them.
We devided up into smaller groups of ,…oh,8-10,…and chatted with certain 'team members’or people who like helping with RCIA,and my little group was concerned with whether or not non-catholics are going to heaven or hell…
Then we planted some sort of flower seed;symbolic of our journey.
It was cool.
Of course I had to be to work at 3am this morning.which means I was up @ 1am because the jobsite is only 70 miles away.But its worth it!
I cant think of anything that has ever been this important to me since I was in high school.(1981)

 

[jmcrae]

It does take awhile to get used to Mass, but it’s a beautiful experience! I add my prayers for all going through RCIA.

Here’s a question for anyone who has been through the process of RCIA: if you complete RCIA and decide to officially join the Catholic Church, is your original church notified?

No. The other churches are separated from us, organizationally. We normally don’t have any kind of contact whatsoever with them.

If you want them to know, you would notify them yourself.

 

[strngrnrth]

I made the mistake the past two meetings sitting at tables with engaged couples (one is a sponsor, the other is a candidate) where they where they were involved with talking among themselves. I really wish I had someone I could rely on being with me for the classes…we won’t be getting our sponsors till the end of October which seems so long to go without one. I feel really alone in the classes. They are friendly people…I just feel like there are so many people and I never see the same sponsor twice. When is it common to get sponsors?

I think we got ours about a month in, give or take. I’m sad to hear oyur calss is so big and you can’t get to know people. I would imagine the parish just doesn’t have the staffing to teach small classes. They had us in a big group of about eightyish and we broke down to small groups of about eight to ten, not counting sponsors.

I feel like at Mass I have a huge stamp on my forehead that says Protestant. I don’t always do everything right but I’m trying to remind myself to be patient and not feel like a fool. Sitting down while others are receiving the Eucharist is the hardest part. I’m trying not to feel like an outsider in those moments, but literally I never see anyone sitting down around me.

Most people ar ejust trying not to make a mistake themselves. I feel welcome in my new parish.

My heavily Protestant family is not always supportive of my conversion…which is hard when you see them on a daily basis.

It’s rough, isn’t it? My last church community was like a family to me (seriously. I even lived with some of them for a time in the beginning, when I needed a place to stay), and they are somewhat anti-Catholic for the most part, though there is considerable variation there. My brother was pretty upset at first. Oddly most of my friends and family seemed happy about it. You never know how people will react. You just can’t worry about it.

 

[puzzleannie]

I’ve been feeling second doubts and fears about my conversion to the Catholic Church and thinking about not attending RCIA…

I know that I’m on the right path… but have any of you who converted from protestantism ever feel these feelings as you got closer to finally being Catholic?

someone who proceeds through the RCIA journey thoughtfully and sincerely can almost certainly expect roadblocks along the way. These can proceed directly from attack by the enemy, especially the closer one gets to the goal.

They can also proceed from sincere doubts and questions particularly with someone whose faith in his former religion has been very strong, as he seeks intellectually and psychologically to resolve conflicts between his former and his new self.

These can also arise from outside sources–family, dear friends at the former church or way of life, people who sincerely (or, rarely but it happens, out of malice) seek to derail what they see as a change in someone they love.

Someone who is serious about the process should be bringing up questions as they arise, asking the director, catechist or priest for help in resolving those issues, and admitting humbly that as beginners we cannot “know it all” and submit to further instruction and counsel.

Keep praying, keep trusting in God, keep your eyes on the prize, keep asking the right questions.

oh, and welcome home, no matter how long it takes you to actually step off the porch and come through the front door.

 

[puzzleannie]

It does take awhile to get used to Mass, but it’s a beautiful experience! I add my prayers for all going through RCIA.

Here’s a question for anyone who has been through the process of RCIA: if you complete RCIA and decide to officially join the Catholic Church, is your original church notified? Or is the record simply kept within the Catholic Church?

no official notification is sent, it is up to the candidate to speak to his former pastor, if he feels the need. Many denoms do not keep any kind for formal sacramental register in any case.

the parish where you are admitted to the Catholic Church will record all sacraments received on its registers. If you were previously validly baptized in another Christian denomination, that fact with dates and details will be entered as well.

watch Journey Home on EWTN which features people giving their conversion stories–many of them are even former pastors–and how they dealt with the issue of making the break with their former congregations. very enlightening, often very painful.

 

[Hope070408]

Thank you all! I do know they sent a record of my marriage to the church I grew up in (which my mother still attends), so was just curious if it would happen in this case. But it’s true that even that record will probably not really be kept anywhere, anyway

I was validly baptised, and my husband’s parish where I’m in RCIA should have the record of that from the marriage preparation.

 

[CalCatholic]

Stella,

This is why I sit in the back row at Mass…no one behind me watching me learn. I am in the same place you are. Just know that you are loved and that everyone, EVERYONE, had to start somewhere, and learn it all just like we are doing now. Someday, we will be the ones who are comfortable and knowing. Until then, enjoy your journey down the path, and if you ever need to vent or share, I am here too!!!

I alway sat in the back row for that reason also. I bought a Sunday missal which has the order of the Mass in it, plus all the Sunday readings. This really helped me understand what was being said, and the responses. I recommend to all people who come through the RCIA classes at our parish to get one.

 

[CalCatholic]

Yes I have and do right now, hence my signature line. I went back to Protestantism many times, I want the truth and some traditions in the Church don’t jive with Scripture. I have those doubts all the time and right now I wouldn’t consider myself a complete Catholic anymore.

I heard something once - Protestants tend to convert because we don’t know our own history or doctrines. I don’t know where I’ll end up but I know it will be somewhere, but I stopped swimming the Tiber for now

historyb, A lot of Protestants tend to convert because when they find out that their history and tradition only go back as far as the mid 16th century (Protestant Reformation). There was a vibrant Church for 1500 years before the Reformation. Protestant doctrines such as Sola Scriptura (16th century) and the Rapture (19th century) are new teachings, that can’t be found in any Church history or teachings prior to the reformation. There was a Church for at least 20 years prior to the first words of the New Testament ever being written down, there was a Church for at least 60 years before the last words of the New Testament were written, and the the Church had overcome the Roman Empire before the we had the New Testament in our current order.
That is 330 years of Church traditions before the final NewTestament took complete form. We are not a Church of the book, rather the Bible is a book of the Church.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I’ve been feeling second doubts and fears about my conversion to the Catholic Church and thinking about not attending RCIA…

I know that I’m on the right path… but have any of you who converted from protestantism ever feel these feelings as you got closer to finally being Catholic?

Everyone has, especially those who satan does not want to convert. I have seen many very difficult attacks as the Easter Vigil nears.