[markomalley]

Congratulations on your decision.

Books:

• Catholicism for Dummies by Fr. John Trigilio.
• People have already recommended the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But as useful is the Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. When you get the Catechism, you will find that there are a HUGE number of footnotes to obscure documents. The Companion has the texts that correspond to those footnotes -- thus, it is a very useful reference.
• People have recommended Ludwig Ott's book, the one that goes with it is Denzinger's Sources of Catholic Dogma. Ott looks at the doctrine from a topical organization, while Denzinger looks at it from a chronological point of view. Both are very useful, but: they are theological textbooks. Thus they are EXTREMELY dry to read. I'm not saying "don't get them." I am saying, "bring toothpicks."
• I would also recommend The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. (I know there are people reading this asking "WHY????") The reason I recommend this is that there are a lot of good parishes out there, but there are also a lot of parishes that will seem politically very liberal. In the process of discernment, it is very important to know what the Church actually teaches as her social doctrine, rather than what some interpret to be her social doctrine. As a candidate/neophyte, the tendency is to believe everything you hear at face value. Chances are, down in the South, it's not going to be as bad as it is here in the Northeast, but, you never can tell (I hear there are a lot of carpetbaggers that have moved down South in recent years).

Websites:

• Universalis. This site primarily contains a resource known as the "Liturgy of the Hours," the Church's "official" prayer throughout the day. Instructions for how to pray this are here. Essentially, it is a collection of the psalms, along with other readings, prayers directly from the scriptures, short readings from the early Church fathers, and intercessory prayers. It's benefit to you is that it provides a structure whereby you can consecrate your entire day to the Lord through prayer. (There are "hours" for when you wake, for the early morning, mid-morning, noontime, afternoon, evening, and night-time)
• Catholic Culture online. This site has a good collection of reviews of Catholic websites and a good library of articles covering a variety of subjects theological.
• New Advent. This well-known site has the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia online, a Douay Rheims Bible (as well as the Vulgate), St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, and a decent collection of the writings of the Church Fathers.
• Mass Times. If you travel, this is a useful site to find out where the nearest Catholic church is, or to find out when Masses are in the local area. In addition, if there are several parishes in the area, you might want to think about which one you'd feel the most comfortable in. (Editorial note: back "in the day," all Catholics would go to the church that was within their parish borders. It would be EXTREMELY rare to find a family who went to another church -- even considered scandalous in some areas. While "church-hopping" is not generally done, you may well wish to check out any different options that are available to you prior to actually settling into a place)

Of course, if you have questions, don't hesitate to either post a thread of FReepmail one of the regular Catholic posters here.

[Biggirl]

Congrats and WELCOME HOME!

[John Leland 1789]

I recommend the following two web sites.

www.mtc.org

www.exorthodoxforchrist.com

[OpusatFR]

God Bless You!

“On the Way to Jesus Christ”, by Pope Benedict16.

He brings the Scriptures and Christ Jesus to us in his writings so clearly in spirit.

[Not gonna take it anymore]

Congratulations to you. I was received into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil 2008 and I am so thankful.

This is a great website for the mass and how it applies to scripture.

http://www.catecheticsonline.com/apologetics_mass.php

Excerpt:
scripture in the order of the mass

Nearly everything we say at mass has its roots in Sacred Scripture. This guide will help you if anyone you know is in doubt about that. Catholics quote scripture all the time, and their actions are deeply scriptural. After all, scripture flowed out of the early Church. The Church came first, the New Testament and the canon of scripture second.

Greeting

Priest: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19)
People: Amen (1 Chr 16:36)
Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor 13:13)
People: And also with you.
Liturgy of the Word

Penitential Rite

All: I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault. (Jas. 5:16) In my thoughts and in my words, (Rom. 12:16) In what I have done and what I have failed to do; (Jas 3:6) and I ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angel and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. (1 Thess 5:25)
Priest: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. (1 John 1:9)
People: Amen (1 Chr 16:36)
All: Lord have mercy. (Tb 8:4) Christ have mercy. (1 Tim 1:2) Lord have mercy...

[paterfamilias]

Congratulations and welcome.

There have been many great suggestions, to which I have little to add.

However, if you get EWTN on TV, check out the replays of “Life Is Worth Living” by Fulton J. Sheen. He was a great preacher, and his instructions first broadcast in the 50’s and 60’s still speak to me today.

[Between the Lines]

I don't know if my family will follow me, per say, but I'm going to go ahead and take the plunge.

By family do you mean your brothers, sisters and parents or wife and children?

[pgyanke]

May God richly bless you on your continuing spiritual journey! Welcome home!

[Hoosier Catholic Momma]

First of all, congratulations on your decision! My own dh converted 10 years ago, two months before the birth of our first child.

A lot of good books and websites have been suggested...another good site is catholic-convert.com. It is run by Steve Ray, another convert and a great apologist. I was raised Catholic, but I learn something new there all the time. The people there are very welcoming and for the most part conservative. You can ask all the questions you want without impunity (although they may razz you—it’s part of the territory). I have been a member for almost 4 years myself.

[dangus]

My favorite audio book, read by the authors, Bob and Peggy Lord:

http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/seriessearchprog.asp?seriesID=841236056&T1=Saints

It really is worth it to LISTEN to this book. The authors read it with such a love in their voices. I pray my wife and I sound like them when we’re their age. :^D They not only explain the fantastic things that saints have done, but they SELL it so well by the richness of their empathetic reading that you feel the love that inspired the saints. (Some more encyclopedic books make the saints just seem nuts to me, because I don’t FEEL what motivated them.)

[NYer]

Welcome Home!

If you have access to cable or satellite dish tv, check your local service provider for channel access to EWTN. One program that offers an opportunity to call in with questions is:

Marcus Grodi also maintains a web site for those who are considering the Catholic Church. The purpose of The Coming Home Network International (CHNetwork) is to provide fellowship, encouragement and support for pastors and laymen of other traditions (Protestant, Orthodox, etc..) who are somewhere along the journey or have already converted to the Catholic Church. The CHNetwork is committed to assisting and standing beside all inquirers, serving as a friend and an advocate. The site also provides a forum where you may post questions.

COMING HOME NETWORK

And always feel free to contact any one of us. We will be happy to offer assistance.

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[AbnSarge]

Welcome, and one bit of advice -
Never visit any of the many “My Church is better than your Church threads.

[HamiltonJay]

Welcome.

I can’t recommend a book per se, but if you have it available, the EWTN network has a show that is quite good called “Life is Worth Living” I would highly recommend watching.

They are reruns of television lectures given by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. They are entertaining and informative and contextual.

Any Church will have classes for those looking to join the faith, as well as other studies for those already active in the Church.

[ex-snook]

Suggest Catholicism for Dummies. Hey don’t laugh we are all dummies. [Imprimatur Archbishop Buechlein] Regards and Welcome.

Also local Church RCIA prograrm a must.

[Uri’el-2012]

Membership in any man-made religion,
will not bring you salvation for your sins !

Only a personal relationship with the YHvH,
the creator of the universe, will provide you
with the means to ask Yah'shua
for His Salvation for your sins.

The only place to begin a personal relationship
with the creator of the universe,
the Jewish Messiah, is in His Holy Word.

I pray that you come to know Yah'shua the Messiah.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Any other pointers

If you are being called to...

*venerate Mary as "co-redeemer"

*consider your priest as "another Christ"

*pray to dead people rather than Jesus Christ, the "one mediator between God and men"

*say a man in Rome in "infallible" in religious matters (recall JPII kissing the Koran)

*believe that vain and changeable tradition is equal to and even superior to God's holy word...

Then brother, you need more "pointers" than any internet chatroom can provide.

As is, I have a few volumes of the Magnificat pamphlet and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to read.

Perhaps there's hope yet. Read the 1,000-page catechism and see where it differs from your 700-page Bible.

[Verloona Ti]

What about Catholic periodicals and magazines like Catholic Digest ? Are you interested in those, or just books? For books, someone waaaay upthread mentioned My way of Life : the Summa Simplified by Farrell & Healy; that and This is the Faith by Canon Francis Ripley and The Faith Explained by Leo Trese in addition to the oft mentioned Catechism are all recommended. Also, be sure to check out TAN books; they have new writers like Joan Carroll Cruz and Scott Hahn, but they also offer many classics (St Teresa de Avila, St Francis de Sales, St John of the Cross, Catherine Anne Emmerich, Venerable Mary de Agreda etc.) You can download and/or print off their 40 page catalog at their site.

[mockingbyrd]

Aquinas, Aquinas, Aquinas.

Sprinkle liberally with Augustine, Athanasius, Damasene. But Aquinas all the way. You will not be disappointed.

[Antoninus]

You're one of my favorite FReepers--and a fellow veteran of the Hunter brigades. Welcome home!

May God bless you in your decision. The Catholic Church is a vast treasure trove of spiritual riches and it takes perseverence and will to mine it. Just remember--the men who lead the Church are not perfect and never have been. But the doctrine is pure and true. It leads to fulfillment in life, a joyful death, and a place with Christ after death.

Two words of advice--1.) avail yourself of the sacraments of confession and eucharist as often as possible. 2.) find yourself a priest who preaches strongly about the evils of abortion and the sexualization of the culture. These are the crises of our time and a priest who refuses to address them is abdicating his duty.

[Antoninus]

Oh, and as for reading, I recommend The Confessions of St. Augustine. But, then again, I'm into early Church history.

Here's another book that's fiction, but it's a great one to get an idea of how Catholicism saved Westrn Civilization: