She wants to come to mass!

  • Thread starter Thread starter SilenceISgolden
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

SilenceISgolden

Guest
Hooray! :extrahappy: My best friend of almost 15 years has finally asked to attend mass with me. I’ve been inviting her for years. Now she is taking a comparative religion class and wants to do her project on the Catholic faith.

But now I’m FREAKED out! :bigyikes: I want to do it all right! I want to lead her to Christ, I want to reflect Christ’s love to her, I want to jump up and down and yell PRAISE GOD! But I also don’t want to FREAK her out!

So first off…Please pray for me. We will be going to mass together on the 20th. Secondly, please pray for her. Pray that God will fill me with His spirit that I may reflect His light and love to her and that He will soften her that she might be open to God’s call.

And lastly…how in the heck do you drill down our faith and present it to someone so they can write a 2500 word essay? Obviously we are attending mass but how do you simply and clearly layout a faith that is so rich without losing the sacredness? I would LOVE any suggestions you have for me!
 
I will pray for your friend. Make sure to tell her that she may not receive the Eucharist yet!
 
Congratulations to your friend for wanting to come to Mass. Hopefully this will be the beginning of her conversion. 🙂

If I were you, I would just go to Mass with her and let her experieince everything for herself and then, when Mass is over, you can answer any questions she may have (and there hopefully will be alot!). I would also bring a copy of the CCC so she can peruse it at her leisure.

This is definitely a step in the right direction, and she is lucky to have a friend like you. I’ll be praying for you both! 👍
 
First let me praise God with you.May I suggestFor the essay the "Apostles Creed"From theC.C.C.Peace:)
 
For something about the faith, I definitley recommend “Mere Christianity” by CS Lewis. It’s not specifically Catholic, but it’s so incredibly insightful, deep, and even persuasive without being pushy. It’s also very readable, which I think is its best attribute. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a must read for every Catholic.

It doesn’t go into the Mass and the Eucharist that much though; for something more specifically Catholic try Karl Keating’s works, or a similar apologist. Where else than in apologetics does one need to explain things that are specifically Catholic in a readable way?
 
Saint_Gemma said:
I will pray for your friend. Make sure to tell her that she may not receive the Eucharist yet!
Click to expand...
She knows! 🙂 She was the maid of honor at my wedding mass and we had the conversation then. But I will gently remind just incase.

Thank you for the prayers!
 
wardrandolph said:
First let me praise God with you.May I suggestFor the essay the "Apostles Creed"From theC.C.C.Peace:)
Click to expand...
I tried googling this…nothing came up. A million hits on Apostles Creed but nothing on CCC Peace? What is the CCC Peace?
 
First of all, congratulations. Second, dont come on too strong! Sometimes our intense love and passion can be misregarded as…well…insanity! 😃

Be nice, explain what is going on, invite her to come up for a blessing, make sure she doesn’t receive, then drive home and let her do all the talking. Pray to Jesus and Mary, and they’ll take care of it.

Good luck,

-revelations
 
Linda_Marie said:
I think he means the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). ‘Peace’ is his signoff.

The creed, ie - what we believe, is explained in detail starting here:
scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2.htm#185

Here is the home page:
scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

QUOTE]

DUH!!!:doh2:

Ok, I’ll use the fact that I’ve been at home all day with 3 little ones and my coffee pot broke so I’m having caffine withdrawal! Sorry! But thanks for the kind explanation and not just slapping me upside the head!
Click to expand...
 
revelations said:
First of all, congratulations. Second, dont come on too strong! Sometimes our intense love and passion can be misregarded as…well…insanity! 😃

Be nice, explain what is going on, invite her to come up for a blessing, make sure she doesn’t receive, then drive home and let her do all the talking. Pray to Jesus and Mary, and they’ll take care of it.

Good luck,

-revelations
Click to expand...
Thank you. Yeah, my sister said the same. Pray not for the right words but for the Holy Spirit to speak thru you! Like it says in Philipians, ‘Be anxious for nothing’! Easily said but hard to put into practice!😉
 
Praise the Lord, indeed! That is good news and I know how you must feel. A friend of mine has only just started to attend Mass again after a very long absence. And I’m freaked out as well. She loves going to the first Mass while I opt for the last Mass. So, my family’s Sunday schedule has now been re-organised because we strike while the iron is hot 🙂
 
I would suggest that before the friend comes to mass that she be given an explanatory book to read. Something that tells her all of the scriptural roots and explains why each thing happens. It will make it more meaningful and less of a “show.” I’m a convert and I wish that I had read such a book 20 years ago. I might have come into the church sooner!

"Celebrating the Mass: A Guide for Understanding and Loving the Mass More Deeply" by Alfred McBride is a good short book for under $5 on Amazon.com that I have used for many years to give to RCIA candidates and catechumens. The author is a priest. It explains about the Jewish roots,etc which might appeal to someone doing a comparative religions course. If I remember it correctly, this book also has all of the vestment parts and vessels named in drawings.

I would also echo the need for restraint. The OP has got to let the friend learn and possibly grow toward the faith in her own time. Just answer questions in a non-defensive manner and provide resources when you can.
 
SilenceISgolden said:
But now I’m FREAKED out! :bigyikes: I want to do it all right! I want to lead her to Christ, I want to reflect Christ’s love to her, I want to jump up and down and yell PRAISE GOD! But I also don’t want to FREAK her out!
Click to expand...
Let the Holy Spirit go to work now. Let Him water the seeds you have planted. I don’t mean you shouldn’t talk things through with her about the faith, just take a slight back seat to God now and don’t press. Let her ask questions and drive the conversations.
SilenceISgolden said:
And lastly…how in the heck do you drill down our faith and present it to someone so they can write a 2500 word essay? Obviously we are attending mass but how do you simply and clearly layout a faith that is so rich without losing the sacredness? I would LOVE any suggestions you have for me!
Click to expand...
I haven’t read it, but I have heard that Catholicism for Dummies is an excellent book.
 
LindaMarie is correct,I was refering to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.I appologise for assumeing everyone would know what I meant with just the initials.Peace:)
 
Be prepared to explain the Mass…

We dip our fingers in the Holy water font to remind us of our baptism.

We bend our knee (genuflect) out of repect, for our King Jesus who is present in the tabernacle.

The priest is in persona of Christ. When the priest walks into the church, we are reminded of when Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey. Palm Sunday (notice the cross on his back)

The priest at the altar with the Host and the Cup it is a reminder of Jesus at the Last Supper. Holy Thursday

When the priest washes his hands it reminds of us when Pontius Pilate washed his hands.

The priest breaking the Host is a reminder of Jesus dying on the cross. Good Friday

When the priest takes a piece of the Host and adds it to the Cup it is a reminder of Jesus defeating death. His Body and Blood back together. Easter Sunday

Jesus is our Passover Meal our sacrifical Lamb…think Old Testament

Eucharist is Greek it means “Thanksgiving”

Holy Communion…Comm (community) union (united)

In order to receive you must be in “union” with the church.

Family shares flesh and blood. Catholics are family we share His Flesh and Blood

Host comes from the Latin “Hostia” means Victim

Explain why we do what we do,then things seem to make more sense.👍 I love our Faith! Praise God!

A pamphlet to printout/ Scripture in the Mass
pjpiisoe.org/pamphlets/274ScriptureInMass.pdf

Walk through the Mass
americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0889.asp

Scripture Catholic
scripturecatholic.com/
 
Our parish priest did a one year explanation of the Mass, part for part, with the history, meaning and where it can be found in the Scriptures, if she wants that kind of info his site is www.fathermike.info

God BLess you and your friend.
 
Just an update…she dogged me:banghead:

We ended up having a decent snowfall and so she called me up that AM and cancelled. I have given her Catholicism for Dummies and I went thru and marked up some important parts (which is hard cause it’s all importatnt!) Then I gave her a print out my DH found online that describes each part of the mass. I offered an audio of Scott Hahn on the Lambs supper but she thought the book & print out was enough. So seeds are planted.

She said maybe she’ll come to ‘that thing you do on Ash Wednesday’. So we’ll seewhat happens!
 
SilenceISgolden said:
Hooray! :extrahappy: My best friend of almost 15 years has finally asked to attend mass with me. I’ve been inviting her for years. Now she is taking a comparative religion class and wants to do her project on the Catholic faith.

But now I’m FREAKED out! :bigyikes: I want to do it all right! I want to lead her to Christ, I want to reflect Christ’s love to her, I want to jump up and down and yell PRAISE GOD! But I also don’t want to FREAK her out!

So first off…Please pray for me. We will be going to mass together on the 20th. Secondly, please pray for her. Pray that God will fill me with His spirit that I may reflect His light and love to her and that He will soften her that she might be open to God’s call.

And lastly…how in the heck do you drill down our faith and present it to someone so they can write a 2500 word essay? Obviously we are attending mass but how do you simply and clearly layout a faith that is so rich without losing the sacredness? I would LOVE any suggestions you have for me!
Click to expand...
I’m sorry that things didn’t work out the way you planned… I’ll be praying for your friend, and also that the Holy Spirit would speak through you. He really moves in mysterious ways…
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top