Should I move to another church?

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I delayed my baptism because I was not ready yet. Just because of this many of the long standing members think of me as a traitor and blocked my call. I know I have not been attending church lately but I feel that we should not attend church as if we are obligated or forced to do so. If you truly love God, you could worship Him everywhere and anytime as He is very close. Should I move to another church? 😥
 
My Dear friend,

I am so very sad to see that your Parish members are in any way disrespecting you and excluding you. Please trust me when I tell you that their behaviour is in no way reflective of how a true Catholic should act. I honestly have great respect and admiration towards you for being so mature as to realise that you want to be prepared for your baptism. Not many people regard this sacrament with such high esteem and respect at which you clearly do. I understand your idea that you do not want to attend Church merely for the fact that it is just an obligation. My understanding is that you want to show you truly love God through worship as He is everywhere. While that is true my dear friend, please understand that while God is everywhere it is also a truth that his level of presence is not the same everywhere. So while God is definitely present with you while you are praying at home or while you walk around your garden admiring his creations, you must believe that there is no place on earth where God is more present then in God’s own house: his Holy Church. If God were everywhere in equal levels of presence then the same could be said about his level of presence in our own hearts. But that is not true otherwise everyone would be the same level of holiness but obviously we do not observe that in this world. There are people of varying levels of holiness because some have kicked God and the Holy Spirit out of their lives completely while some have only let a little bit of God in. So, the question is where can we open our hearts more to God? At Church, that is the answer my friend. The sacraments you receive in mass or not just ordinary bread and wine. They are truly present with the REAL body and REAL blood of Christ. If only you knew how many graces are immediately bestowed upon you by the mere receival of the Eucharist alone!💟✝️

So my loving friend, I hope next time you ignore those people in your parish or better yet, try to feel sorry for them that they do not know what they do. They may not realise how hostile they are towards you. Love them and always forgive your enemies so that God may reciprocate your level of forgiveness towards others upon you when your Judgement day comes. Thank you for your beautiful question. God Bless you and may Mother Mary keep you close.
 
Rutherford2 said:
Just because of this many of the long standing members think of me as a traitor and blocked my call.
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Are you in RCIA? You really should be discussing this with your Parish Priest…
Rutherford2 said:
I know I have not been attending church lately but I feel that we should not attend church as if we are obligated or forced to do so.
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Well, Catholics are obligated to attend Sunday Mass as well as Holy Days of Obligation.
Rutherford2 said:
If you truly love God, you could worship Him everywhere and anytime as He is very close.
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@Rutherford2, please, speak to your Priest about this. He will be able to help you.
 
IMHO…

Q. Should you seek to have your relationships be reconciled and renewed in the place where you were?

A. Yes.

Q. If you do go to a new Catholic Church, should the priest there seek for you to go and be reconciled with the priest and people at your previous Catholic Church.

A. A new priest at a new Church should have some discretion in how to handle your situation.

Q. Should be attending Mass every Sunday?

A. Yes .

Q. Should you attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation and obtain absolution before receiving the Eucharist?

A. Yes
 
Maybe they are new to being in charge and took it personally. They should not have reacted that way. When my husband went through RCIA there was a lady who had gone almost all the way through 5 times. Everyone’s path is a little different. I agree that your parish priest needs to know this is happening.
 
Rutherford2 said:
I delayed my baptism because I was not ready yet.
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I recall from your earlier posts that you keep doing this, this isn’t the first time. Why do you not think you’re ready? You’ve been in RCIA for a very long time.
Rutherford2 said:
I feel that we should not attend church as if we are obligated or forced to do so.
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There is no contradiction in going to Mass because we love God or going because there’s an obligation. The obligation guides us toward doing what we ought to do in order to grow in the love of God. As St Paul says, for those who love God, there is no law. If I love God, I don’t need the obligation to tell me to go to Mass. If my love of God is not yet sufficient, the obligation keeps me on the path. Put another way, if I know the way to another city, I need no map, I can drive there myself just fine. If I don’t know the way, the answer is not to avoid driving there, it’s to use the map to get me there.

You really need to address whatever it is that causes your hesitation with this. You seem to have been putting off getting baptized for a very long time now. If you know God wants you in his Church, what are you waiting for? We can’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. None of us will ever be 100% perfectly ready for anything we’re supposed to do in life. That’s fine. We should still do what’s good, because doing what’s good shapes us into who we ought to be.

-Fr ACEGC
 
RCIA has been presented as a means to explore the Catholic faith. RCIA is also the path to join the Catholic faith. IMHO, joining RCIA does not indicate a commitment to join the Catholic faith. I think that it’s good if it ends up there. However, IMHO, feel free to use RCIA as a means to explore.
 
OP has been exploring for years now, and keeps putting off baptism. But he announced today he’s finally going to do it. Thanks be to God.
 
Talk to your Priest. You should be attending Liturgy as often as you can.
 
stoplooklisten said:
joining RCIA does not indicate a commitment to join the Catholic faith
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This is very important for non-Catholics to know. At the parish I attend I have inquired twice about RCIA but have not pursued it beyond asking when it started. In both instances I received no response and, since I was not that keen on it to begin with, did not take it any further. I feel I have researched the faith thoroughly enough on my own and have no wish to make any sort of formal commitment.
 
Rutherford2 said:
I delayed my baptism because I was not ready yet. Just because of this many of the long standing members think of me as a traitor and blocked my call.
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This seems like a highly abnormal reason for even one person to hold a grudge against another. Did they tell you this outright? Have you spoken with RCIA director about your concerns, let alone your priest?

Congratulations on your baptism, and welcome to the Catholic faith!
 
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