Seriously considering becoming Catholic.

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Hi everyone. I honestly have no idea if this thread is in the right place or not, sorry if it is.

I have been researching Catholicism for the past 2 1/2 months or so, and the more I find out, the more I love it. I have a strong desire to join the Church and am starting to believe in certain parts of the faith. I feel that if I became a Catholic, I would have a much deeper relationship with Jesus and love Him even more than I do now. I know more than ever that God is calling me to the Church. I even made a list of the reasons why I want to become Catholic vs. why I wouldn’t want to become Catholic, which I feel is a huge step for me. The reasons why I want to become Catholic vastly outnumbered why I wouldn’t.

I come from a Presbyterian (PCA) household, so it would a fairly drastic change if I was to convert. I am 21, still living at home and going to college.

My concern though is this, how would I even begin to tell my parents? (my mother was raised Catholic and became Protestant in college, although I’m not sure she was that big into it in the first place). I also am in a Bible study with some friends from my current church, and I would have to tell them at some point. I guess my question is, after all that rambling, how does one go about telling friends/family about their desire to join the Catholic church? I know about RCIA, I should probably tell at least my parents before I would begin the classes, right?

Sorry about writing a novel. Thank you for responses. God bless everyone.
 
Blessed be God for your conversion.

God will lead you.

I am not sure if you should tell them now or later. You know your parents better than anyone here. So, you decide what is best for you. All I can say is that may Our Lord be with you as you go in your journey to the Truth.

This should give you some strenght.

star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/aplgtc/hahn/m3/Mod3.html
 
StephenH2 said:
Hi everyone. I honestly have no idea if this thread is in the right place or not, sorry if it is.

I have been researching Catholicism for the past 2 1/2 months or so, and the more I find out, the more I love it. I have a strong desire to join the Church and am starting to believe in certain parts of the faith. I feel that if I became a Catholic, I would have a much deeper relationship with Jesus and love Him even more than I do now. I know more than ever that God is calling me to the Church. I even made a list of the reasons why I want to become Catholic vs. why I wouldn’t want to become Catholic, which I feel is a huge step for me. The reasons why I want to become Catholic vastly outnumbered why I wouldn’t.

I come from a Presbyterian (PCA) household, so it would a fairly drastic change if I was to convert. I am 21, still living at home and going to college.

My concern though is this, how would I even begin to tell my parents? (my mother was raised Catholic and became Protestant in college, although I’m not sure she was that big into it in the first place). I also am in a Bible study with some friends from my current church, and I would have to tell them at some point. I guess my question is, after all that rambling, how does one go about telling friends/family about their desire to join the Catholic church? I know about RCIA, I should probably tell at least my parents before I would begin the classes, right?

Sorry about writing a novel. Thank you for responses. God bless everyone.
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Your post sounds familiar. 😛

Before you actively join the RCIA, it’d probably be best to discuss it with your parents, both because it would avoid excess endless drama, and plus because it is the right thing to do. Even if they refuse to support your ultimate decision to convert, you owe it to them to tell them the truth. It could probably be much worse if you try to convert and hide it all this time. It will most certainly be a difficult thing to do. I don’t envy you.

I’d say talk to a couple of friends first. Presumably, your real friends shouldn’t be at all bothered by it. Honestly, you should probably in fact find solace and comfort in knowing that you have your friends by your side. That should give you additional resolve in telling your parents.

Naturally, you’ll also want to discuss it with a priest. Priests, I’m sure, see these kinds of situations all the time. They should be able to help.

And foremost, take it slow. You want to prepare your parents gently. If you’re really drawn to Catholicism - just keep studying it. The Lord will guide you. And if it is God’s will, he’ll find a way to have you join.

God protect you on your journey. May you be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Pax Christi sit semper tecum!***
 
StephenH2 said:
Hi everyone. I honestly have no idea if this thread is in the right place or not, sorry if it is.

I have been researching Catholicism for the past 2 1/2 months or so, and the more I find out, the more I love it. I have a strong desire to join the Church and am starting to believe in certain parts of the faith. I feel that if I became a Catholic, I would have a much deeper relationship with Jesus and love Him even more than I do now. I know more than ever that God is calling me to the Church. I even made a list of the reasons why I want to become Catholic vs. why I wouldn’t want to become Catholic, which I feel is a huge step for me. The reasons why I want to become Catholic vastly outnumbered why I wouldn’t.

I come from a Presbyterian (PCA) household, so it would a fairly drastic change if I was to convert. I am 21, still living at home and going to college.

My concern though is this, how would I even begin to tell my parents? (my mother was raised Catholic and became Protestant in college, although I’m not sure she was that big into it in the first place). I also am in a Bible study with some friends from my current church, and I would have to tell them at some point. I guess my question is, after all that rambling, how does one go about telling friends/family about their desire to join the Catholic church? I know about RCIA, I should probably tell at least my parents before I would begin the classes, right?

Sorry about writing a novel. Thank you for responses. God bless everyone.
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Wow. Our stories are so similar it’s scary. I grew up PCA too (though I was agnostic before becoming Catholic). I am also in college and started looking into Catholicism when I was 21/22 (I came into the Church this past Easter). And like you my biggest fear was telling my parents about it. I went through a year of RCIA without telling them. I ended up not coming into the Church that year because of my dad’s reaction when I told him.

I remember saying something like this:

“Dad, I have recently taken an interest in my Christian faith and have begun reexamining it, its history, and its spirituality. The more I learn, the more compelled I am toward the Catholic faith, which I believe is, both historically and spiritually, the fullness of the Christian faith. I would gladly discuss these things with you in the future as I continue this journey.”

I broke it to my dad in email, which was easier for me because it gave me time to gather my thoughts when I wrote responses. Debating is difficult for me; especially with my dad because as I’ve come to find he is very anti-Catholic and not at all charitable about it. Most of the time I just have to bite my tongue and hang my head. But there is a pretty good chance that your parents are not this way, as most people are not. I guess the email thing isn’t really much of an option for you since you live with your parents.

If I were you I would start with whichever one of your parents is likely to be the most understanding/gentle about it (in my case, it was my mom). I would also emphasize how your exploration of the Catholic faith has really led to your personal spiritual growth. Focus on Jesus and on scripture as much as you can. Also, let them know that you don’t want faith to create a dividing barrier between you and them. I talked about this a lot with my mom. Be charitable and let them know that they are still your brothers and sisters in Christ.
 
Excellent advice, CompSciGuy. 👍

Paul (formerly LDS, now happily Catholic)
 
CompSciGuy,

Thank you, that is some great advice. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.

RCIA classes start in September at the church that’s about five minutes from my house. First thing I thought when I saw that was “that’s so soon!” I’ll have to keep praying to know whether I’m ready to do this sooner rather than later.

Also, I left out a detail. My current girlfriend is Catholic. At first, I wanted to learn what Catholics believe and why, and now it’s led me here. That’s another reason why I’m pretty nervous to talk to my parents about it, I’m afraid they’ll think I’m changing just for her.

Thanks for your responses.
 
As an aside, the beginning of the RCIA program is known as Inquiry, in which participants learn about the Church and are free to continue or leave at basically any point. From what I understand, there’s no pressure to join the Church and it’s great information. Basically, my point is that even if you do decide to go to RCIA this September, you’re not fully committed as soon as the classes start. You’ll be in my prayers as you seek a deeper walk with the Lord.

Chris
 
In the gospels Jesus said that the faith would divide families, father from son, son from father, etc. So, this situation was fortold.

By the same token, Jesus doesn’t say to back down from that problem. It should all be a matter of how you can manage it.

There’s a book that is well off the “beaten path” of books about becoming Catholic.

It’s a book called Tradition and the Church by Msgr George Agius. It’s a definitely rigorous explanation of what Tradition is, how Jesus started it, how the Catholic Church has always relied on Tradition (as a source of divine revelation).

Sacred Tradition is the explanation for Catholic things not found in the Bible, like the Mass, the Sacraments, devotion to Mary and praying to the saints, praying for the dead, using holy water, etc.

As a matter of historical justification of Tradition, Agius points out that the church was growing and spreading, before even a word of the New Testament had been written. The point is, that sola scriptura – the Bible alone or the idea of Biblical sufficiency – are not logical, consistent, or historical. YOU should WANT the Church of Tradition, nothing else.

This may help crystalize this important fundamental of Catholic faith. There’s really no other book (says the publisher) that is quite like this book.

It is aimed at persuading Protestants to join the Catholic Church.
 
Crumpy said:
…As a matter of historical justification of Tradition, Agius points out that the church was growing and spreading, before even a word of the New Testament had been written…
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I have never thought about this before, and it makes sense. Thanks for the book suggestion, I will look into it!
 
StephenH2 said:
CompSciGuy,

Thank you, that is some great advice. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.

RCIA classes start in September at the church that’s about five minutes from my house. First thing I thought when I saw that was “that’s so soon!” I’ll have to keep praying to know whether I’m ready to do this sooner rather than later.

Also, I left out a detail. My current girlfriend is Catholic. At first, I wanted to learn what Catholics believe and why, and now it’s led me here. That’s another reason why I’m pretty nervous to talk to my parents about it, I’m afraid they’ll think I’m changing just for her.

Thanks for your responses.
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Sounds like your girlfriend is a gift from God. Cherish her.

Paul
 
Hi,

While I am a cradle catholic and have not had the problem you are going through, I was watching the Journey Home on EWTN the other day and someone asked a very similar question. How do they break it to their family that they want to become Catholic. The host Marcus Grodi and the guest David Currie are both converts from Protestanism. They both broke it to their families and friends through certified letters. They wrote letters so they could explain their rational in a logical, loving manner without having to encounter the initial emotional turmoil that would occur from doing it face to face. Plus, they said this had the added advantage that everyone would know at the same time (certifiied letters) so they would not have to explain it a bunch of different times to different people. Also, this would give everyone a chance to calm down before they talked to them face to face.

I would recommend David Currie’s book Born Fundamentalist Born again Catholic. It is a really good read about his conversion and rational for conversion. If nothing else it may provide you with a model of what to do.

God bless and I’ll be praying for you continued desire to enter the Church.
 
I think I can relate to what you are going through. My mother was raised catholic but her and my father decided to raise us in the Evangelical Free Church. We stopped going there when I was about 8 or so. Then for a couple of years no one went to church. When I was old enought to ride my bike alone I began going to the Presbyterian church alone. I was confirmed there and had many great relationship and groups to which I belonged. I later moved away and had a daughter and attended catholic mass often with her father. When I moved back home, the presbyterian church wasn’t the same, not because I was gone for a while but because I needed more. I searched every catholic church around my house until I found one that felt like home. I went through the RCIA process, which really taught me alot and I was received into the church this past Easter. When I first started going to Mass my parents, who were back at the Evangelical church, would just give the “the look” and later began asking why. To this day I do not have one solid answere for them besides this is where I feel at home. I know it doesn’t sound like much of an answere but I cannot put into words why I was drawn to the catholic church, I just was!!! I guess you can say I’ve been on a spiritual search for many years and never really felt at home but now I do.
So my advice is this, try to start going to mass on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Tell your parents where you are going. When they ask why tell them because you feel you are being called a different direction that you feel you need to explore. I would ask the parish priest about the RCIA program. It usually starts in Sept. I highly suggest you attend some of these classes. If you decide to go to these classses you are not saying to your family I AM BECOMING CATHOLIC!!! You are simply saying you are exploring your options and learning more. Some people are in RCIA for a year and some for five, it all depends on when you are ready to convert.
Whatever you do, respect what your parent say. Understand what you are about to throw their way may be a huge change for them. People generally don’t do very well with change. Give them time and pray for them and your conversion process.
My conversion process was the best point in my spiritual journey so far…I hope you find the same comfort I did. Gob bless you…
 
CompSciGuy said:
Wow. Our stories are so similar it’s scary. I grew up PCA too (though I was agnostic before becoming Catholic). I am also in college and started looking into Catholicism when I was 21/22 (I came into the Church this past Easter). And like you my biggest fear was telling my parents about it. I went through a year of RCIA without telling them. I ended up not coming into the Church that year because of my dad’s reaction when I told him.

I remember saying something like this:

“Dad, I have recently taken an interest in my Christian faith and have begun reexamining it, its history, and its spirituality. The more I learn, the more compelled I am toward the Catholic faith, which I believe is, both historically and spiritually, the fullness of the Christian faith. I would gladly discuss these things with you in the future as I continue this journey.”

I broke it to my dad in email, which was easier for me because it gave me time to gather my thoughts when I wrote responses. Debating is difficult for me; especially with my dad because as I’ve come to find he is very anti-Catholic and not at all charitable about it. Most of the time I just have to bite my tongue and hang my head. But there is a pretty good chance that your parents are not this way, as most people are not. I guess the email thing isn’t really much of an option for you since you live with your parents.

If I were you I would start with whichever one of your parents is likely to be the most understanding/gentle about it (in my case, it was my mom). I would also emphasize how your exploration of the Catholic faith has really led to your personal spiritual growth. Focus on Jesus and on scripture as much as you can. Also, let them know that you don’t want faith to create a dividing barrier between you and them. I talked about this a lot with my mom. Be charitable and let them know that they are still your brothers and sisters in Christ.
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You have the biggest you-know-what known to mankind. Just sayin’. Because I know how my parents would react if I ever said that. I already remembered when I told them I enjoyed the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, my dad mumbled “from grace to legalism!” and my mother asked “have you renounced your baptism?”. I tried to stop discussing religion with them after that, unless we mutually agreed on something. 😃

Show them the “Coming Home Catholic” commercials. Those are swell 😛
 
Thanks for the response so far, all this is being taken into consideration.

The letters idea from DJK100 is a good one, but I think I would rather tell my parents face to face. I’m better at communicating face to face.
 
As a cradle catholic, I have no experience and no worthwhile advice to offer on the family conflict issue, sorry!

But I did want to express joy for you discovering the Church! I dabbled at the edge of evangelical protestantism in college and was strongly attracted by the strong, concentrated fellowship present in those groups. If you are a newcomer to the catholic church, I want to warn you that a 2,000 year old church has had a long time to grow (as Jesus put it) ‘weeds among the wheat.’

Typical catholic parish life involves an awful lot of semi-comatose pew sitters that is pretty appalling if you are used to a small and fired up band of believers. But faith isn’t about feelings, it is about what is true and about what God wants for us and from us. Once you make the adjustment and realize that mass is about worshipping God more than fellowshipping with the community, it gets easier. Then you can get involved in the smaller groups that exist within the parish and find the more concentrated fellowship you are likely used to. It’s different than you are used to, but worth it to be receiving the body and blood of Christ!

Welcome!
 
Manualman, there’s “semi-comatose” people in my church as well, that either: A. don’t sing or sing very quietly. B. Find it necessary to start talking to me about something that’s extremely off topic in the middle of church.

I think most of what is fueling this is to get away from the denominations. There are so many denominations that divide the Protestant church more than unite it.
 
StephenH2 said:
Hi everyone. I honestly have no idea if this thread is in the right place or not, sorry if it is.

I have been researching Catholicism for the past 2 1/2 months or so, and the more I find out, the more I love it. I have a strong desire to join the Church and am starting to believe in certain parts of the faith. I feel that if I became a Catholic, I would have a much deeper relationship with Jesus and love Him even more than I do now. I know more than ever that God is calling me to the Church. I even made a list of the reasons why I want to become Catholic vs. why I wouldn’t want to become Catholic, which I feel is a huge step for me. The reasons why I want to become Catholic vastly outnumbered why I wouldn’t.

I come from a Presbyterian (PCA) household, so it would a fairly drastic change if I was to convert. I am 21, still living at home and going to college.

My concern though is this, how would I even begin to tell my parents? (my mother was raised Catholic and became Protestant in college, although I’m not sure she was that big into it in the first place). I also am in a Bible study with some friends from my current church, and I would have to tell them at some point. I guess my question is, after all that rambling, how does one go about telling friends/family about their desire to join the Catholic church? I know about RCIA, I should probably tell at least my parents before I would begin the classes, right?

Sorry about writing a novel. Thank you for responses. God bless everyone.
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I am not a convert,but a cradle Catholic, as the Director of Catechetical Ministry at a local parish here in So.Cal I recommend to read:

Surprised by Truth by Patrick Madrid and foreword by Scott Hahn (Former Protestant). The books discusses 11 converts who converted to Catholicism. Many share your experiences and how each handled it.

God Bless and feel free to ask me or anyone here any questions who may have.
 
Stephen, a cautionary point jumped out at me when I read this:
StephenH2 said:
Also, I left out a detail. My current girlfriend is Catholic. At first, I wanted to learn what Catholics believe and why, and now it’s led me here. That’s another reason why I’m pretty nervous to talk to my parents about it, I’m afraid they’ll think I’m changing just for her.
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Just be honest with yourself if this has influenced you (which would not necessarily be a bad thing). Consider if you were to convert and later break-up with this person, then meet a new girl friend who you fall for head-over-heels but is very anti-Catholic, how would you feel? I know that is a bit contrived, but think about it as you discern conversion.
 
StephenH2 said:
Hi everyone. I honestly have no idea if this thread is in the right place or not, sorry if it is.

I have been researching Catholicism for the past 2 1/2 months or so, and the more I find out, the more I love it. I have a strong desire to join the Church and am starting to believe in certain parts of the faith. I feel that if I became a Catholic, I would have a much deeper relationship with Jesus and love Him even more than I do now. I know more than ever that God is calling me to the Church. I even made a list of the reasons why I want to become Catholic vs. why I wouldn’t want to become Catholic, which I feel is a huge step for me. The reasons why I want to become Catholic vastly outnumbered why I wouldn’t.

I come from a Presbyterian (PCA) household, so it would a fairly drastic change if I was to convert. I am 21, still living at home and going to college.

My concern though is this, how would I even begin to tell my parents? (my mother was raised Catholic and became Protestant in college, although I’m not sure she was that big into it in the first place). I also am in a Bible study with some friends from my current church, and I would have to tell them at some point. I guess my question is, after all that rambling, how does one go about telling friends/family about their desire to join the Catholic church? I know about RCIA, I should probably tell at least my parents before I would begin the classes, right?

Sorry about writing a novel. Thank you for responses. God bless everyone.
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Blessed be your desire to know Jesus and His mystical body the Church.

This is not a direct comparison…the example here is of someone young wanting to convert from the Jewish faith…but listen to the advice…all the way up to the last words.

youtube.com/watch?v=34vJiib7kzs
 
Lutherlic, yes this has crossed my mind. It’s not a very pleasant thought. Converting would had never crossed my mind if it wasn’t for her, but I’ve been praying about enough to be pretty certain that being Catholic is God’s plan for my life. If it wasn’t, then I would not be following Galatians 1:10, hoping just to seek her approval and not God’s. Hope that makes sense.
 
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