NWR: Catholic help (sort of long)

mcdol3 · November 2010

Ok ladies, I'm still new to being a Catholic and after reading the All Saints day post it's made me very sad.
I still don't know a lot about the Catholic faith and beliefs, even though I took 18 months in RCIA (yes it was very disappointing that I didn't learn more). While FI is a cradle-Catholic, it's me that gets us out of bed on Sunday and drags him to church. He says I know more about the faith than he does, yet I feel as if I know nothing.
With the wedding coming up, and being in the Church with a full Mass I feel like I need to learn so much more. I understand most of the Mass since that was focused on, it just seems like everything else is still a mystery to me.

I try to read the bible daily, but that doesn't always happen. I do try to pray daily but that also doesn't always happen.

Do you have any suggestions to a new Catholic? It's been almost 7 months after confirmation and I feel like I'm already falling away.

Do you have any books to suggest that will help deepen my faith? I have done a daily devotion book twice but it's so generalized. I want something more focused on Catholicism.

agapecarrie · November 2010

Listening to recordings of speakers is a good way to get a re-charge, and also learn. This leads to more focused self-study.

The thing that is so great about the church are the charisms....for some, the rosary is a very highly effective prayer that deepens one's faith. For others, not so much. Some like certain devotions, some get a lot from reading scripture.

I would recommend going to Eucharistic adoration. If they don't have that near you, then sitting in church in front of the tabernacle.

Theology of the Body helps to put the whole puzzle together-- even though it may seem like its focused on certain aspects of sexuality, it really helps understanding the big picture.

Christopher West: Theo of the body for Beginners and Good news about sex and marriage

Scott Hahn: Rome Sweet Home

www.catholicity.com gives away free recordings and books. The 3 novels are fiction, but very Catholic and evangelistic...changed my spiritual life.

The recordings of Fr. Corapi, Fr. Larry Richards, and Christopher West are all good (as well as the others, but I haven't heard them).

caitriona87 · November 2010

One of the things I love most about Catholicism is that it is impossible to ever know everything. We have such a deep & rich tradition that even people who spend their entire lives studying it will never learn it all in this life.

I'm sorry your RCIA experience was disappointing...unfortunately I think it's pretty common from the times I've been a sponsor. The program falls short in many ways.

Some of my favorite books are any by Scott Hahn--he is a convert himself (or maybe a re-vert?) and has books that deal with various Catholic topics. They tend to be on the short side and fairly accessible. The Lamb's Supper is a good one.

I know this always gets brought up when people have questions about sexual issues, but anything on Theology of the Body or books by Christopher West. They are about sex, yes, but they are also about God's eternal plan for humanity. I have felt like the more I study these, the more everything makes sense--life, the Church, the world--everything.

For quicker reading, I like the articles at www.peterkreeft.com. Peter Kreeft is a philosophy professor at Boston College who is absolutely brilliant.

Also keep an eye out for Bible studies or programs at your church or neighboring churches--any of the studies by Jeff Cavins are wonderful. I wish he wrote books too, but I don't think he does. I could be wrong, but google hasn't turned up anything. Reading the Bible is great, but doing so in a structured study program with others reveals so much more.

Watch EWTN--you can stream it online for free, if you don't get it at home.

Anyway, I hope some of these suggestions are helpful. Please don't be discouraged; we all have rough periods in our faith and for me at least, learning the theology and knowing it's true intellectually, even when I may not "feel spiritual" makes all the difference.

bibliophile2010 · November 2010

In addition to Agape's suggestions (which are great!), I would look into what your parish has to offer. Finding a group within your parish (be it a prayer group, a faith sharing group, a service group, whatever) will help you connect to other Catholics. In addition to meeting new people, you will also discover new devotions, new saints, new books, new prayers. You will learn about your faith and, in my experience, come away reenergized for your faith.

I would also suggest trying to get to daily mass on occasion. I'm currently bad about this, but I find that my faith is much more energized when I feel the daily pulse of the church -- really experience the seasons and the saints -- in a way that is different in Sunday mass.

mcdol3 · November 2010

Thank you so much for the suggestions.
bibliophile - our daily mass is at 9am and I work from 8 - 4:30 so I can never go unfortunately.

I realize everyone has ups and downs in their faith, it's just hard to go through.
I've been looking for a bible study, but it doesn't seem that our church has them. My sponsor for RCIA had wanted to start one, but never got around to it.

I'll probably order some of the books you guys suggested and do some reading. (Another excuse to buy books!)

Calypso1977 · November 2010

ive have often heard that converts make the best catholics! i'm not surprised that you are more "into" church and the faith than your cradle catholic husband based on that statement. it was something you wanted and pursued, rather than being born into it.

i think a big part of what makes it hard is that we have such a diverse mix of followers. there are the catholics in name only, the uber devout, the cafeteria catholics, and then everythign in between. it can be difficult to find your niche and socialize/spend time with like minded catholics. even just finding a church that has a priest in line with where your beliefs are can be tough. i hear all the time "our priest is too liberal" or "our priest is very traditional and its too strict for me there". we drive 1/2 hour to our church simply because we like the priest there. the trade off is that its extremely difficult to be involved with the parish beyond going to mass. i can see why some get disillusioned or feel lost becuase there is great divide. i think jewish folks probably have it similar - there are very devout jews and very liberal jews.

i feel i dont know near what i should. i did not get much bible based catechism. most of what i learned growing up came from teh baltimore catechism (a great resource, and one that doesnt appear widely used in CCD/RCIA). i wish i knew more about the bible.

clearheavens · November 2010

Hearing that you want to learn about our Catholic faith is a huge blessing. It's a sign that the Holy Spirit is working and turning your heart towards Christ. It's what the Holy Spirit is doing to all of us regardless of where we are in our faith.

From one of my spiritual director's standpoint, each Catholic should do something in each category at all times:

worship (adoration, Stations, Mass)

study (reading)

prayer (Rosary, centering, Litanies, etc.)

social teaching (community service, helping needy)

Of all of these, the most important is Mass, since the source and summit of our faith is the Eucharist. Also, a prayer a day is important, even if it's a quick one for thanksgiving or one asking for forgiveness. God is yearning to listen.

It's also a huge point to get together with other people, whether that's with family, your FI, or with a young adult group. You hear the phrase, "No man is an island" by Trappist monk Thomas Merton. When you practice our faith with others, it really strengthens your journey.

I'm going to suggest here things in the "study" category. That's how I came to know our faith more intimately, and since you said you work full-time then it's really the most flexible option. I did most of my readings before bedtime; those books piled right on my nightstand. Also, these books I suggested are easier to read and in clear formats, and nothing too wordy, or else it will make you struggle through each sentence or put you to sleep.

I am a huge fan of personal study because when I came to know Christ and the Church more through my studies, I automatically wanted to worship and pray more. I believe it will do the same for you.

Without further ado, here's books to order for the holidays!

Beginner's Catholicism:

Did Adam Have a Belly Button? (it's for teens, but I learned so much!)

Did Jesus Have a Last Name?

Beginning Apologetics (this is one of my favorites; if cost an issue, get #1, #6, #7 instead of whole set)

Main sources:

Handbook for Today's Catholic

Compendium of the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church (if you're starting out, this is more for reference than to read cover to cover)

Theology of the Body:

Theology of the Body for Beginners

Good News about Sex and Marriage

Catholic Bible:

New American Bible

A note about reading the Bible. You will encounter some Catholics who claim the Bible isn't important. But the truth is far from that: The Church gave the world the Bible. The Bible does not exist apart from the Church, and the Church does not exist apart from the Bible. But the way Catholics view the inspiration of the Bible and the way Protestants do is different. While Protestants believe in "sola scriptura," or scripture alone, we believe in the whole picture. Let me briefly explain.

The Catechism says, "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written (111)." That means we read it within the living tradition of the Church. We believe the Holy Spirit who inspired he Bible also guides and guards the teaching authority of the Church, i.e. Magisterium, which guards us from erroneous interpretations. While this isn't meant to discourage you from reading the Bible--on the contrary, it means to encourage you when you get stumped on something in the Bible, that there are explanations.

kbarker719 · November 2010

All these suggestions are stellar and highly recommended. The other thing that really helped me out was listening to Relevant Radio (Catholic radio station). I don't know what part of the country you're in, but they're a national station, so check them out online to see if they're in your area too. www.relevantradio.com. I learned more about my faith by listening to this station than all my years in Catholic school (disappointing, I know, but I think this station came to my attention at a point in my life when I was really ready for it so I'm grateful it happened that way). If you don't get them on a station in your area you can also listen online 24/7. Check back in and let us know how it's going!

ootmother2 · November 2010

Have you ever read the bible as a literary work?

Aside from being the basis of both Judiasm & Christianity, it's a very interesting reading! There are so may passages, both old and new testament, that you can apply to your everyday life.

My pastor ends each mass saying "let us go now and serve God by loving one and other".

Saturday, feeling a bit down, I was walking home and a homeless man said something to me that I really didn't hear. I stopped and asked him what he had said. "Do you have 25 cents so I can get some coffee?". Well, we all know that coffee is 5 times that so I asked if he wanted me to get him some coffee. (I don't give cash to street beggers for obvious reasons.) He said he would love a coffee with cream and two sugars and the deli was right there, so I got it. He didn't thank me. on well.

Sunday, there was a little notice in the church flyer that someone was taking donations for a hospital in the Domincan Republic. I don't have tons of cash, I've been disabled for close to 6 years but I did have a walker, unused, sitting in a bedroom foyer so I called the number. They were thrilled and picked it up immediately.

Little things can lead you to feeling closer to God. It doesn't always have to be prayer.

GL!

newlyseliski · November 2010

Definitely (ditto) Relevant Radio, Ave Maria Radio or EWTN Radio are great to listen to and I believe that they all stream online for free if there aren't any local affiliates by you! I've personally grown a lot more in my faith by getting involved in a local catholic young adult group that I'm on the core team for now. It's good to have friends that you can share your faith with, support one another and just generally have fun with! If there's both social and spiritual offerings, it may something good to bring your fiance along to without completely pushing him in head first! We have a sports night every Friday and get a lot of people attending that aren't necessarily drawn to the catechetical stuff right away; they eventually become good friends with people in the group and start coming to our other events like volunteering, Theology on Tap or scripture studies.

I'm right there with you in struggling to pray daily, read scripture daily and have a deeper understanding of my faith and the lives of saints! I have a lot of friends with theology and philosophy degrees and I often feel rather inadequate in my knowledge and practice of the faith in comparison to them... ultimately that's unimportant and what is important is that you as an individual have the desire to grow and take incremental steps to continue on that path. Usually during Lent, I try to give something up and add something like weekly confession or going to a daily mass in addition to Sunday mass.

mica178 · November 2010

One of my DH's friends is a priest who sends out his weekly homily via email. I find it useful to read his homily in addition to hearing the homily at my parish because it offers different perspectives on the same readings. If you're interested, I can give you the father's email address so you can ask to be on his mailing list.

It's not Catholic-specific, but I read the daily Proverbs reading on bible.com . Every day, the writer covers a new verse from Proverbs and draws in support from both the OT and the NT in her discussion. I find that it is a nice way to start my day.

ZeenonClare · November 2010

Don't be sad! Don't look at the glass half-empty! You have discovered the great treasure that is the Catholic Faith, and you will always be able to delve into it ever deeper. Duc in altum!

I have a few more suggestions for reading:

The Balitmore Catechism: This is a really clear, concise, systematic treatment of the basics of the Faith in question and answer format. The rules about fasting are out of date (it was published in the 40s), but most all the material is still relevant, since the teachings of the Church do not change, and I do not think any little Catechism like it has been compiled since. If you are looking for a good, concise explanation of the basics, I highly recommend the Baltimore Catechism. It might be out of print so it might be hard to find in a bound volume, but it is also available online here: http://www.catholicity.com/baltimore-catechism/

Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux: If you are looking for spiritual reading, I highly recommend this as a good place to start. The writings of the saints are always one of the best places to go to help deepen your faith, and Story of a Soul is very approachable, very easy to read and very simple, yet profound, beautiful and inspiring.

Catholic Answers (www.catholic.com): This website has a lot of good articles in the Library section, you can read This Rock magazine online, and there are many other resources there as well.

NWR: Catholic help (sort of long)

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