M
murse24
Guest
Hello everyone,
I am really excited to be here. Just typing out this post has been years in the making.
At birth I was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church, since then I was raised outside of the Church. I never really knew what it meant to be a practicing Catholic, or what it even meant to be a Catholic. Growing up I was exposed to the occasional prayer in the form of my parents telling me to talk to God to ask for guidance whenever I needed it, but I never really understood what it meant to truly have a relationship with Him.
I am now 25 years old. Since graduating high school, I have felt this desire to be closer to God and his church growing stronger and stronger within me. It had on one occasion a few years ago driven me to drive myself to Mass to which I found myself completely lost in the celebration, and yet feeling a strong sense of home. I also on a few occasions made it out to the Catholic service within boot camp during my time in the military.
At this point in my life, the desire within me to return to God and to the church is absolutely burning. I have spent the past two months now conducting a great deal of research, trying my best to learn and understanding more about the Catholic faith and what I should be doing next. I really am filled with so much excitement to be here now making active steps to reconnect to the Church! Really, I’ve spent the past couple days looking at secular mendicant orders- yes I should probably learn to walk before I run!
I have tried reaching out to my local parish via their website for more guidance, unfortunately I have not yet received a response. I guess not the best timing with the current state of the health crisis.
But enough context, I do have some special circumstances leading to my primary questions.
Was the Confirmation I participated in truly a legitimate Confirmation to be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church? When the time comes when I can attend my local parish again (assumingly after the pandemic clears up) should I tell them I have only had Baptism and not confirmation so to be able to start from scratch- to which I would be more than happy to do. Or would it be correct to embrace the Confirmation I partook in and go from there?
I apologize for the lengthy post, thank you so much for reading to this point. I hope to find some guidance as to what my next steps should be going forward.
I look forward to reading your responses.
I am really excited to be here. Just typing out this post has been years in the making.
At birth I was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church, since then I was raised outside of the Church. I never really knew what it meant to be a practicing Catholic, or what it even meant to be a Catholic. Growing up I was exposed to the occasional prayer in the form of my parents telling me to talk to God to ask for guidance whenever I needed it, but I never really understood what it meant to truly have a relationship with Him.
I am now 25 years old. Since graduating high school, I have felt this desire to be closer to God and his church growing stronger and stronger within me. It had on one occasion a few years ago driven me to drive myself to Mass to which I found myself completely lost in the celebration, and yet feeling a strong sense of home. I also on a few occasions made it out to the Catholic service within boot camp during my time in the military.
At this point in my life, the desire within me to return to God and to the church is absolutely burning. I have spent the past two months now conducting a great deal of research, trying my best to learn and understanding more about the Catholic faith and what I should be doing next. I really am filled with so much excitement to be here now making active steps to reconnect to the Church! Really, I’ve spent the past couple days looking at secular mendicant orders- yes I should probably learn to walk before I run!
I have tried reaching out to my local parish via their website for more guidance, unfortunately I have not yet received a response. I guess not the best timing with the current state of the health crisis.
But enough context, I do have some special circumstances leading to my primary questions.
- At around age 13 or 14, my parents had me undergo the sacrament of Confirmation at a Catholic church while vacationing overseas. Truthfully, I did not truly have a grasp on what it was I was actually doing, and to my understanding, I believe there is supposed to be a formal process of schooling and education before receiving the sacrament of Confirmation (correct me if I am wrong). I did not have any of that before this Confirmation. In addition, doing my research now, I see that the Catholic church it was conducted at was not the Roman Catholic Church. It was a Catholic church that had split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1902.
Was the Confirmation I participated in truly a legitimate Confirmation to be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church? When the time comes when I can attend my local parish again (assumingly after the pandemic clears up) should I tell them I have only had Baptism and not confirmation so to be able to start from scratch- to which I would be more than happy to do. Or would it be correct to embrace the Confirmation I partook in and go from there?
I apologize for the lengthy post, thank you so much for reading to this point. I hope to find some guidance as to what my next steps should be going forward.
I look forward to reading your responses.
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