I am thinking of becoming Catholic. Could you give me some advice?

Question

First of all, I know someone my age who works with me who is Catholic. Would she be offended if I asked to attend with her so I can see if it is something I might want to do?
Secondly, is there anything I should avoid doing so I don't offend anyone? Or, is there anything I should do or say to help with acceptance?

I will just ignore the ones who know not how to answer my question. ;)

I guess she might be offended because I work with her, and what if we butt heads about things? Because I am confused right now but am exploring my faith. I know very little about religion but would like to learn and don't want to upset her with my stupidity. ;)

see- green I am asking here first so that I don't offend her. I do not attend church-my family does not go to church. I do not have anyone in my family to ask for this so what did I decide to do? ask on the internet and maybe confide in a friend at work. I am sorry if I offended you but I am looking out for myself and my future and my happiness-well being. I am sorry again I hope you have a great day.

Wow I wasn't expecting so much feedback. Thank you everyone.

Answer 1

if you go to mass do not go up for the eucharist,it is not permitted,you can go up and ask the priest for a blessing. if for the first time you go you might want to sit at the back so you can observe what happens etc.......you don't have to it won't offend anyone it just might help you feel more comfortable.......i don't think the co worker would be offended,if she gets offended you might want to go with someone else or go by yourself. you should dress modestly when you go. to become a member of the church you will need to find a rcia programme in your parish or a neighbouring parish. you can attain this information from the priest. as you are just considering it right now i don't want to bombard you to much so i will give you these web sites so you can read them at your own pace, i pray you may join christs church and may god bless you richly.

www.scripturecatholic.com
www.salvationhistory.com(the free study section is excellant)
www.catholiceducation.org
www.ewtn.com(also airs on cable and station 49 on regular tv)

http://www.fisheaters.com/challenge.html

the last one is a good website,the link will take you to one portion of the site(fisheaters.com),you can answer the questions if you wish but i gave the link more so you can hear the conversion story of scott hahn, scott hahn was an intensely anti catholic presbyterian minister at one point,this conversion story on how he became catholic is one of the best i have heard,you can read the conversion story on www.catholiceducation.org scott hahn is now a leading catholic apologist and author. hope these sites and my answer helps. good luck and god bless.

i would like to add,you should not let the anti catholic answers clout you better judgement, the one who said was jesus catholic.......yes jesus was catholic and so were the apostles, the word catholic means universal, god wants us all to be one and united unlike the protesant churches who have splintered and divided the body of christ some 28,000 times since the first splintering which came some 1500 years after the cahtolic church. all the catholic church contains is scripture in its fullest. without the catholic church no other chrisitan would have a bible. secular history can even prove this, read the church fathers aswell,they will show you that the first christians were all catholic in there teachings.

Answer 2

The best place for you to start is to talk to a priest about attending RCIA. This is where you can ask questions and learn about the Faith.

I would encourage you also to attend Mass. Ask your friend to go with you if you like. One thing you don't have to worry about is offending anyone. You will more than likely not understand a lot of what goes on during the mass, but that's okay. It takes time to learn what the Mass is and how to participate. It's perfectly okay to go and just sit, listen to the homily and pray. Since you are not officially Catholic yet, please do not take communion. Catholics believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and cannot allow someone to commit sin by taking communion who doesn't believe in the real presence. You can, however, get in line and ask the priest for a blessing. Just remember to approach with your hands folded across your chest as a sign that you want a blessing. However, if you aren't comfortable going to the priest, you can simply remain seated and pray.

Again, your best bet is RCIA. You should also begin your own personal study of the Faith and the Church's teachings.

I hope this helps. God bless, and welcome home.

Answer 3

No offense to anyone. i was brought up
Catholic. For the past 35+ yrs. I've been a student in the original Texts, and the languages necessary; I can tell you this:
First, I was really quite upset because I went to Catholic School, and then even when I moved over to Public school so I could take typing classes, I still went to Sunday Mass and Sunday School. So you would think i'd have learned something about Gods Word. What I realized from the manuscripts, was that what little I did learn was either completely false, or it was a Bible story in its most basic form - no reason given for it, no mention that it ties into something much more important - nothing, just a little "story". I was very angry. Even more than being angry at what I was taught, I was far more angry because of the multitude of things they did not teach me. I spoke to a Priest at our Church, who told me that the deeper messages in the Word are not easily understood by most, and so the Church prefers to stay within the boundaries of gospel passages that encourage a person through their life, helps with marriage and relationship issues, faith and charity, etc. That seemed fair, I suppose, although I don't agree with him that the entire Word should be withheld and only love, faith, baptism, and the ten commandments be taught.
The Word of God is the most important thing you will ever endeaver to understand in your entire life. It contains the very plan of God for this flesh age. What sense is there in adopting a "religion", if just to go and "play church"? Memorize the lines and go and recite them on Sunday morning or Saturday night. Say "peace be with you", "and also with you", on que, every single week. What do you actually think God feels about that? I can tell you: Its an insult. He is your heavenly Father. The closest relative you have. Honor Him as your Father, and speak to Him. He doesn't want you to memorize jargon - he wants you to communicate with Him as a son (no gender intended). And when He asks you why you didn't know the Plan for His children in this end generation, what will you tell him? You were too busy in church to study His Word? I can tell you this: there won't be any priest standing between you and God when you are judged, its just gonna be you, and you alone will have to answer for the fact that you will have zero knowledge of Jesus Christ. Why of Jesus Christ? Because Jesus Christ IS THE LIVING WORD. If you don't know Gods Word, you're gonna be one of those who God tells: "get out of my sight, I never knew you". The only way to the Father is by way of Jesus Christ. If the Word IS Christ, and you don't know that Word, how exactly did you think you will get to the Father? Will the church building save you?
I'm not saying all of this to upset you, only because I want you to really consider what you are doing, and go ahead and visit a mass - give it some thought, pray on it, and
then follow your heart. Just remember that if Gods Word is not taught there, then all you have is a building. God calls it in Hebrew, "Beth Aven"; that means "House of Nothing". God Bless you in your decision.

Answer 4

I'm sure you'll be able to attend a mass if you ask your friend. It is definetely not offensive at ALL to go to a Catholic mass. Pretty much, you can walk right in if you know when it starts. If you are wondering about any rituals, there are times when the audience stands and sits. Basically you just follow what they do. When you go to a mass, there are vocal prayers. If you aren't familiar with them, you can listen to be more comfortable. A lot of what Catholics believe is recited in these prayers. During about the second half of the mass, Church members who have recieved their First Communion go up to recieve bread and wine ("the body and blood of Christ"). If you do decide you would like to be initiated into the Catholic Church, you can ask your friend about programs called RCIA and RCIC. I hope this helps. It will be a great learning experience for you.

Answer 5

Your friend should not mind you attending mass with her. I'm sure she'd be honored. There isn't much to remember. Just follow what your friend does. Most people know that everyone isn't familiar with Catholic mass, so they won't be offended if you don't know all the rituals. The only thing I recommend is, and only if you feel comfortable, taking the Holy Water when you walk in, and crossing yourself. The other is kneeling and crossing yourself before you enter a pew. You don't have to do either of course. Just listen and learn. You'll probably have to attend mass a couple of times to get an idea, and make sure you take any literature they might have on hand. Enjoy and relax.

Answer 6

This is completely up to you, and you must make certain that you are doing this for yourself and not for anybody else.
I think it is a fantastic idea to ask your friend if you can attend church with her. It shows your consideration and thoughfullness and that you are genuine enough to research your pending decision. It is not an easy process and will take time. I think you should just go and sit for a while, listen and pay attention to your surroundings. A catholic church or chapel is a beautiful place, shrouded in history and tradition.
You can also meet with a priest and discuss any concerns you may have. You will not be pressured to conform in any way, the priests will answer your questions and assist you in any way possible.

Answer 7

I converted to Catholicism in 1999. Your co-worker shouldn't be offended if you ask to attend Mass with her. You can't receive Communion, but you can go up for a blessing (crossing your arms over your chest is generally the signal for this in Western Catholicism). You are also free to stay in the pew if you prefer; just don't make it difficult for others to get around you. Sit, stand, and kneel when everyone else does. Don't worry if it is hard to follow along at first; you will pick it up eventually. If you are used to a congregation that makes a huge fuss over visitors, be aware that is very unlikely at the average Catholic church.

Answer 8

I'm sure your Catholic friend would love having you go with her to mass.

I wouldn't worry about offending anyone, because Catholics have all heard it all from Protestants who don't understand the religion.

Just be honest and open-minded. No one will ask you to convert just because you go to mass.

Don't listen to the people above who think they have a monopoly on the truth.

(Gods Girl, if anything, Catholics are unified in their beliefs in comparison to Protestants and their multiplicity of beliefs and interpretations of the Bible. Whether or not an individual completely agrees with the Church's position or not, at least people know what the Church's stance is on the issues. I'm not saying anyone's right, Gods Girl, I'm just saying you are wrong.)

Same goes for all you other haters out there!

Answer 9

No one would be offended if someone asked to go to church with them, just make sure your friend actually does go to church first!! Lots of us don't go regularly so I wouldn't want you to embarass her by assuming she does if you really don't know.

Otherwise, blending in is easy, there's no uniform and you just follow what everyone else does (except don't go up for communion, stay seated). You'll find all the texts in the pews so you can read along with the priest and even say the parts we are expected to say during the mass if you want to say them (probably you'll want to stay clear of the "I believe" stuff since you don't yet know if you do). ;) Good luck!

Answer 10

well, if you would seriously like to get into the religion, I'd definately ask your co-worker to attend it with her. Just act natural. You don't have to act or do anything to be accepted. Just be yourself. I would suggest, though, that if anyone asks why you decided to change religions, try to sound nice about it; don't say stuff that can offend someone in the religion you removed yourself from.