Where did you learn what you know about Catholicism?

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Catholic4aReasn:
I was catechized in the 70’s, nuff said.

I had no idea what I didn’t know until my brother became “born again” and kept calling me up to tell me how wrong the Catholic Church was about everything. I was over 30 years old at that time. It drive me nuts when ex-Catholics (who hold many, many misconceptions) say things like “I was Catholic for 30 years so I should know what the Church teaches”, when all they really know is what they’ve been taught against her.

Books and websites were my school and I’m still learning!!

In Christ,
Nancy 🙂
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You can say that again half the fundies I meet are ex-catholics. Heck I wonder if all fundie churches are almost all ex-catholics.
Yeah they say I went to catholic school went to church so I know what catholcism is. Well you don’t if you sleepwalked through all the relgious classes and the mass. By speaking to them I really think they got their zzzzz during this period. They are just parrots of what their new church tells them nothing new beyond the standard 20 anti-catholic accusations I hear over and over.
 
I really wasn’t interested in the Church until about 10 years after High School! I believe it was watered down doctrine & discipline etc. I also didn’t have any remotely religious adults in my life after my grandmother died.

During those 10 years I thought I knew waht the Church teaches. When I decided to go “church shopping” I didn’t even consider Catholicism. I looked at many denominations & always felt something was missing. . . Then I picked up a book on Catholicism and was BLOWN AWAY (by the Holy Spirit of course :D). I couldn’t believe that the religion I thought I knew, and pooh poohed, was so perfect and complete.
 
There should be a category for “mom.” Mom taught me the faith, but I wasn’t really prepared to deal with fundies. I picked up Karl Keating’s book and then amassed a library pretty quickly. I learned most of what I know before the Internet (just ten years ago).
 
I was fortunate enough to have attended a very good Catholic school for 5 years. It closed later because of lack of funds. Sad! Anyway, this and a very orthodox Catholic Mom rooted me firmly in the faith.

When I was in my 20s I was confronted for the first time by a fundamentalist. I started researching my faith somewhat then but didn’t feel compelled to go into it full force since I knew who I was & wasn’t planning on changing.

It was when my first child was born that I finally realized the Holy Spirit had been continuously prodding me to learn more. At that point I became so interested in knowing my faith & began what has been a 10 year journey into apologetics. I love it but wish I had begun sooner.
 
I checked all the boxes.

My ‘other’ was by the example of Catholics who live faithful Christian lives.
 
Being older than 99% of the posters here, I never found poor catechesis in my day, but maybe little to none of some people.
T.A.Stobie:
I checked all the boxes.
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So did I, and other would be family.
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Maccabees:
Yeah they say I went to catholic school went to church so I know what catholcism is. Well you don’t if you sleepwalked through all the relgious classes and the mass. By speaking to them I really think they got their zzzzz during this period. They are just parrots of what their new church tells them nothing new beyond the standard 20 anti-catholic accusations I hear over and over.
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Have to agree that it sure seems they were sleeping during a lot of what we were taught. And the statement that ‘I was Catholic for X years and I know what the Church teaches’, falls apart in the next paragraph when they show their ignorance of doctrine, Church history, and practices of the Early Church.

Kotton 👍
 
Hi,
I went to catechism classes early in life then fell away when my parents divorced. I’ve learned most of what I know from study in the last year. I’ve read the cateshism (Big Green Book) this year. It took me four months of reading everyday - which at times seamed like pennance. I learned that everything in the Catechism is supported by references from the church founders and scripture.

By the way if your Catholic and you don’t have a copy of the catechism you should get one. It is our reference book on the Church and the faith.

Now I am in RCIA. I hope to be confirmed next year. I think I will never know everything there is about being catholic.
 
My parish is blessed to have a fabulous priest who really knows his stuff. I went through RCIA last year and have learned most of what I know through our priest and the people he had teaching the various subjects. I am going through RCIA again with my Daughter although as a sponsor and am learning even more. I also have learned much through the Homilies at mass.

I also occasionally get to listen to EWTN on the radio during the Catholic Answers hour in the afternoon and I am learning a lot through that as well.

I also agree that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is invaluable as a reference.

I have learned most of what I know of the Catholic church in the last two years and am still learning!

Blessed Be!
Chickenlady
 
Kind of surprising, but most of what I’ve learned has come from my priest’s sermons. At my church, CCD blows (we hardly learn anything unless it’s something new over and over), but we have a great priest. He’s a mega-conservative, and he can relate to teenagers. 👍

Growing up as a Fundamentalist, he became a Catholic as a young adult, so he knows a manure load of info about the Bible and Protestant teachings. He has shown us (the congregation) why the Catholic Church is a solid faith, and why we need to keep the faith to stay strong.
 
I wasn’t taught well enough in Catholic school (the late 60’s and into the 1970’s…a very LIBERAL time).

However returning to the Catholic Church, with Catholic media, strong courses of study (apologetics), and a wonderful and orthodox pastor, I believe that my learning the faith has been increased drastically.

I grew up in the liberal desert and now found the orthodox oasis!

Go with God!
Edwin
 
From ruler wielding nuns of course. 😉

There was no one source. I had (have) a good family. I grew up in an area that was majority catholic so it was just part of the culture.

I attended a great High School with very dedicated teachers both lay and religious.

I didn’t appriciate them as a boy but years later I can see the difference they made.
👍
 
Most of what I learned was from self study and my mother’s example. Since my father was a Lutheran and he and my mother could not discuss religion, we children were not allowed to attend the local Catholic schools. We were baptized Catholics and went to religious ed classes on Sundays through the 12th grade back when everything taught was orthodox. I do remember that we studied Bible history one year and I had one top-notch sister who grabbed my imagination by asking us to listen to the popular music with a view to using it as prayer between us and God. I still do that 45 years later.

My mother often went to evening Masses with me and from that I learned to love the Eucharist, often stopping in Church for visits whenever I could.

I am a voracious reader and religious material has always fascinated me. Catholic religious material, that is. I remember in high school ordering lots of booklets about the faith put out by the Knights of Columbus back when they came in plain brown envelopes.

Now I am constantly cramming my bookshelves with more Catholic books. There is so much excellent material to choose from that I have a hard time deciding which comes next.

Mary Fran
 
Fr. John Corapi! He is on EWTN Sunday’s 8p-9p. He taugh the entire Catholic Cathechism to a University in CA back in 1998. He went through the entire book. It took 1 hr a week for an entire year to complete all the teachings. He is an excellent speaker and it is so obvious that the Holy Spirt talks straight through him. Check out his website. www.Fathercorapi We just purchased the DVD’s of the teachings and it is truly amazing. Has anyone else heard of him? -Donielle : >
 
in order:
  1. My parents
  2. As an altar boy
  3. From the nuns at grade school and lay teachers
  4. From attending sunday mass
  5. Catholic College
  6. Self study
  7. the internet
  8. volunteering at a catholic bookstore
 
Mainly from school since grade 1. But it was very superficial. Like they tell you that Jesus came to save us all from sin. But why? How come? Why his death would save us?
In-depth faith i have learned on my own through asking around, reading, and this forum.
And one more thing, i think that the Da Vinci Code made such a blast because most christians do not know their faith well enough, as to its history, its main core beliefs,…if many would have known about their real faith they would have been armoured against any misconceptions generated by this book, and it wouldn’t have affected most christians as much.
It should be a wake-up call to all priests out there…it is time to educate!!!
 
I voted and I have to admit that I am somewhat dissappointed in the results.

I voted for “Other” because I learned about the Catholic faith through various educated Priests, laymen and personal studies that have all contributed to my knowledge.

The Church teaches that it is the duty of parents to teach their children and faith and through a Catholic based school system those teachings ought to be brought to a higher academic level. Sadly this is no longer the case. Parents no longer formally teach their children the faith, because they themselves are not knowledgable in it.

Self-study is wonderful but it must be done properly. A balance must be hit to ensure that what is studies is in par with the current teachings of the Church, there is a lot of garbage out there.

All and all, this was a good topic and a wonderful thread, it forces one to examine the state of the Catholic Church, we cannot advance if we are not aware of Church teachings.
 
From Saint Michaels primary school, & Saint Josephs college, and my own study of the Bible, and from the numerous religious books I’ve read.

I have built up quite a collection of books, mainly the Saints.
 
This is one of the largest problems I see facing the Church today. Nobody knows what our faith is. This problem causes friction and limits our universiality.

Everything I have learned so far has come from Priests, educated friends and being self taught. We are trying to educate our parish now by bringing in speakers and handing out materials.

Peace,
Trevor
 
  1. Through attempts at catechesis as a child (religion classes taught by sisters and brothers and lay persons, CCD).
  2. Through an ubiased study of history
  3. Through formal theological education in a diocesan Catholic seminary
  4. Through the witness of others who embraced and lived the Catholic faith
  5. Through non-Catholics who challenged me to further investigate regarding what they believed and how they understood the Catholic faith
  6. By the divine grace of God’s Holy Spirit who enlightened me and disposed me toward belief
 
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