University student confused about the Catholic faith

[Izze25]

I don’t consider myself Catholic at this point, but am still doing research into my questions–the role of tradition, papal infallibility, salvation by faith alone or faith plus works, the immaculate conception/assumption/etc. of Mary, and praying to her and the saints are the main issues. .

You should continue to study. It is a 2,000 year old religion, so be patient and realize you will not master it immediately. The vast amount of intellectual resources that you could read are part of what makes Catholicism so rich. If a Protestant asks you a question that you cannot answer, don’t be afraid to say that you need to look some things up in order to be able to provide a complete answer. It is difficult to be able to answer questions about Catholicism off the top of one’s head.

In particular, I think that you should select at least 3 books by Scott Hahn and read them. (Perhaps you and your parents could read Scott Hahn together) Edward Sri is another author you might look into. You might consider reading My Life With the Saints by Fr. James Martin. I liked Catholic Matters by Richard John Neuhaus. You should also devote a significant amount of time to studying the Mass – books you could read are The Mystery and Meaning of the Mass by Joseph M. Champlin and Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life by Grassi and Paprocki. Developing thorough understanding of the Mass will help you appreciate the richness of Catholicism. Just to give you a sense of our Catholic history, you may want to read Priestblock 2547: A Memoir of Dachau by Jean Bernard. If you do not already own one, you should purchase a catechism. I like the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

You are a baptized Catholic. You are young and still learning – I am not sure that questioning the Church should necessarily mean that you should avoid receiving Communion at Mass. You may want to find a good confessor and discuss this in confession. I’m apprehensive about your decision to avoid the sacraments as you study Catholicism.

As a college age student, you may want to utilize Facebook in your study of Catholicism. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has a Facebook page. There are also pages like Catholic Vote, Catholic Word of the Day, Ignatian Spirituality, Catholics Come Home, etc. Discussion groups exist within Facebook group pages such as We’re Not Crazy, We’re Just Catholic.

The website for Lighthouse Catholic Media also has lectures on CD that you can order and listen to.

In order to engage in comprehensive study of Catholicism, you will probably need to spend less time exploring other denominations. Since you were born into the Catholic Church, I think you owe it to yourself to engage in at least a few years of study of Catholicism prior to engaging in any type of exploration of Christian denominations.

Good luck!

 

[St_Francis]

I just wanted to ask that wen discussing this with non-Catholics, we do not have to win the argument, merely explain the Catholic point of view. IOW, just because they are not convinced does not mean that we need to keep going around and around.

 

[Izze25]

I just wanted to ask that wen discussing this with non-Catholics, we do not have to win the argument, merely explain the Catholic point of view. IOW, just because they are not convinced does not mean that we need to keep going around and around.

This comment is exactly what I needed to hear right now with regard to a conversation that I am currently having with a Protestant in my own life.

 

[choose_to_love]

CAF’s own Karl Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism is another good, short read on some of the topics that are troubling you, Trebor. You can read each chapter individually to address a question you are having instead of having to read cover-to-cover, too.

 

[JohnCS]

Hello,

To answer your actual question. In my opinion, I would not play with (hell)fire. There is no reason why you can’t be Catholic while learning to be Catholic. You are already baptized, and I assume confirmed. Go to confession and start being Catholic. If your studies show you something that makes you believe otherwise (which, if you have a good conscience and are honest with yourself cannot happen) then you didn’t lose anything and you worked on protecting your immortal soul while you were searching. It is very hard to learn about Catholicism, and it is even harder to learn from the outside. Immerse yourself and learn, seek out God and you will find Him in the Church. There can be only one Truth. My prayers are with you.

God bless,

John