The Catholic Truth: Where To Begin

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[Salvation]

Where To Begin

 

Now that you have decided to learn more about your Catholic Faith, where do you begin?

Rather than point you to a text book or a list of facts, our unique 10-step plan uses a more "holistic" approach to teaching the Catholic Faith.  In addition to presenting the teachings of the Catholic Church, our method also makes use of the Sacraments, prayer, Sacred Scripture and the intercession of The Blessed Mother.  You will also have the ability to ask us questions and receive prompt responses.   

The benefit of this approach is that, in addition to learning more about the Catholic Faith, you will also become closer to Jesus Christ.  If you faithfully attempt to practice these steps, you will see amazing changes in your life.  Our plan takes very little time each day and will yield tremendous fruit.   

Why not try our method for a month and see what happens.  If you feel it didn’t work, you have lost nothing but a little time.  If it does work, however, you have gained everything!!!

 

 

1. Attend Mass as often as possible

In addition to the normal obligation to attend Mass each Sunday, we recommend attending at least one daily Mass if possible.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church does an excellent job of explaining the Mass.  While words cannot adequately explain the value of the Mass, try to remember this: When you attend Mass, you’re not only standing at the foot of the cross on Calvary, but you’re actually hanging on the cross with Jesus offering yourself to the Father for the salvation of mankind!  This miraculous event is made possible by God, who is not bound by the constraints of time and space.  If that isn’t remarkable enough, in a foretaste of life in Heaven, you are united with The Lord in the most intimate way possible by receiving His Body in Holy Communion.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):

The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering. (CCC 1368)

The celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us.  (CCC 1382) 

The Church teaches that the principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus.  If we are more closely united with Christ, it follows logically that we will be more inclined to willingly submit to the teaching of the Church and exhibit charity toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Most parishes have at least one daily Mass.  As part of your plan to learn more about the Catholic Faith why not try attending one extra Mass each week and see what happens? It will make a tremendous difference in your life.  Click here to find a Mass near you. 

NOTE: If you have been away from the Church for awhile or have unconfessed mortal sins on your soul, before receiving Communion you must first receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).

According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year." Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession. Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time. (CCC 1457)

For those days on which you are unable to attend daily Mass, try saying the Morning Offering or making a spiritual communion.  While not a substitute for Mass, these devotions will assist you in your spiritual journey and can be said anywhere.

2. Receive the Sacrament of Confession on a regular basis

Sadly, many Catholics ignore this great sacrament.  This is an opportunity for you to receive forgiveness directly from Jesus. It is not the priest that forgives your sins, but actually Christ who works through the priest. Why deny yourself the chance to personally receive forgiveness from Our Lord?  Also, please be aware that there is no sin that cannot be forgiven in Confession. As long as you express sorrow for your sins, you may receive absolution. Read what the Catechism says about Confession here. As with any of the Sacraments, you will receive grace.  Are you having difficulty with a particular sin or character flaw? Try going to Confession and you'll be amazed what happens. In addition to being reconciled with the Church, you will receive the grace to assist you in avoiding that sin in the future. If you're worried that the priest may reveal your sins...don't!  The seal of the confessional binds priests to keeping your confession secret. The Church takes this so seriously that violation of this seal leads to immediate excommunication for the priest. A priest will not reveal your sins or think less of you after hearing your confession. Make a resolution to go monthly. It will change your life.

3. Pray

The desire to learn more about your faith is not coming from you. It comes from the Holy Spirit working in your soul! (Read the last 2 sentences again... it's deep!) Pray to the Holy Spirit for the wisdom and fortitude needed to deepen your faith. He will lead you! You are never going to become closer to Jesus without prayer. Prayer doesn't have to be formal. Get into the habit of speaking to Jesus throughout the day. Talk to Him like a family member. Remember that when He became man, he also became your brother. He allowed us to become adopted sons and daughters of His Father! 

St. Paul instructs us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thes 5:17).  A great way to do this is by saying the Morning Offering. This simple prayer allows you to offer your whole day up to God. All of your activities (working at the office, taking care of the kids, attending school) become a prayerful offering to God the Father and are united to the offering of Jesus on the cross. This is a powerful concept and will completely change the way you live your life! 

You may also want to try some of these basic Catholic prayers:

The Our Father

The Hail Mary

The Glory Be

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

Prayer to your Guardian Angel

Come Holy Spirit

A Short Prayer

There are many ways to pray, but the most important thing to remember is that you do pray!  Prayer is a lifting of the mind and heart to Almighty God.  It is the means by which we build our relationship with Him.  As with any close friend, speak to Him often and the relationship will grow.

4. Read the Bible

As Catholics, we believe that the Bible is the written Word of God. It is not a something, it is a someone and that someone is Jesus Christ (If you doubt this, refer to John 1:1). When we read the Bible (both the Old and New Testament), Jesus is speaking directly to us. What a gift! Even if it's only for 5 minutes, make sure you read the Bible daily! You speak to The Lord when you pray, now let Him speak to you. If you can't decide what to read, try reading the Daily Mass Readings each day. This is an excellent way to ensure that you read Scripture daily and it only takes a few minutes!  If you can't find the time, try giving up 10 or 15 minutes of television viewing or get up a few minutes earlier. See our Reading page for recommended Biblical material.

5. Ask the Blessed Mother To Lead You To Jesus

Mary will always lead you closer to Jesus if you ask her. Call on her daily and express that you have a desire to learn more about your faith. At the Wedding Feast in Cana, Jesus performed His first miracle after Mary interceded for the young couple (John 2:1-12). Begin praying the rosary daily. For more information about the rosary and how to say it see this site. We are so confident in Mary's intercession that we offer this bold claim - Think of some "impossible" intentions in your life. Perhaps things that you've been praying for that you don't think will ever get resolved. Take this list of intentions and turn them over to the Blessed Mother, asking her to present them to her Son and grant them if they are in accordance with His Will. Keep praying daily and watch what happens! They may not get answered as quickly as you'd like or in the way that you'd like (remember the part about God's will), but we guarantee you'll see results. She is our mother and will always help us.

6. Visit Catholic Internet Sites
The Internet is a GREAT source of information about the Catholic Faith. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of inaccurate or "fluffy" sites out there. That's where we come in. Start your search by looking at our Catholic Web Window (CWW) page. You will find links to many great websites that will assist you.  In addition, we provide direct links to the EWTN radio and TV feeds and many other useful features.  We recommend that you bookmark the CWW page and use it as your daily "window" to the Catholic web.  As for some general guidelines about Catholic websites, one way to tell that they represent authentic Catholic teaching is to look for references to the Catechism, Papal Documents, Church Councils and canonized Saints. Remember that you're praying to the Holy Spirit (Step 3), so if something sounds "fishy" He may be cautioning you to beware. Spend some time browsing each of our recommended sites. You will want to visit some of them daily as many of them are excellent learning tools.

View our daily blog (click HERE) for suggestions on how you can improve your spirituality. We post at least once each day with comments designed to "make you think" as we accompany you on your daily journey to a closer relationship with Christ.

7. Read Catholic Books and Magazines

Reading is a great way to learn about the Catholic Faith. As with the Internet, there are good and bad books. We have carefully selected the books and magazines on our Reading page. We have intentionally chosen books that are good for beginners. Though easy to understand, these books and periodicals contain substantial information about the Faith. There are a few recommended books and magazines that are noted as being for the "Intermediate level". You can move up to them as you grow in your Faith. It is important to remember that not all of these books will interest you. That's ok...read the ones that appeal to you. The Holy Spirit will lead you in the direction best suited for your journey of Faith. Trying to read material that doesn't interest you will only lead to frustration.

8. Make use of Catholic Media
There are many outstanding Catholic TV and radio programs available. EWTN (available on most cable TV systems) has many tremendous programs available 24 hours a day.  Click HERE for their program schedule. As we recommended with reading material, just watch the programs that you enjoy. Trust that the Holy Spirit will lead you. There are also many good Catholic radio stations across the country. Email us if you need assistance locating the ones in your area.  If you don't have Catholic radio in your area, CDs are a great alternative. They can either be musical or instructional. We have recommended some of our favorites on our Links page. You will be amazed at how much you can learn while driving in the car. It will also relax you and put you in a great state of mind!

9. Participate in Parish Bible Studies and Adult Education Classes.

There are many of these being offered in parishes around the country. Make every effort to attend them if possible. One of the best Bible studies that we have seen is Jeff Cavin's Great Adventure Bible Study.  A great overall program geared toward women is the Woman of Grace Foundational Study created by Johnnette Bencovic.  Their program covers prayer, Sacred Scripture, Church documents and teachings, the Catechism, the lives of women saints and the example of Our Blessed Mother.  Another good program for learning Church teaching is Renew International's Why Catholic program. If your parish does not offer these or any adult education programs, request that they do.

10. Get Involved In The Pro-Life Movement

The Catholic Church teaches that all life is sacred and must be protected from conception to natural death.  As Catholics we

need to speak out for the most defenseless of our brothers and sisters, including the unborn.  Millions of unborn children are

being "legally" slaughtered every year around the world.  They are unable to defend themselves and need our help.  Visit our

Pro-Life page to learn what abortion really is and

[Salvation]

Excellent suggestions for someone investigating the Catholic Church or coming back to the Catholic Church. I would like to make this an ecumenical thread, but something is telling me to leave it open.

Hopefully, that will work. This is only informational. We are not trying to convert those who aren't Catholic.

[Salvation]

I liked the suggestions about going to Confession! So important!

Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.

[Sun]

Prayer said.

I started a prayer thread for my nephew’s young girlfriend, and her cancer is gone.

Later I started one for my brother-in-law, and his cancer is now dormant.

May God bless you!

[Sun]

Sorry I posted here by mistake, but then posted in the prayer thread.

[Biggirl]

A great way to begin or begin again.

[bdeaner]

Great post!

[Salvation]

I thought so too. It covers a lot, from Mass, to Confession to prayer to the Bible. And then goes on to being invovlved. This is the way to not only become Catholic but stay Catholic!

[bdeaner]

Definitely! I’m feeling good too because I can check off all of those things. Now if I could just learn to be patient with snarky comments from Protestants on ecumenical threads! LOL. God help me.

[Salvation]

I didn’t think about it being a check list for me, but I also can check off all those things. (And I’m learning to just present the facts to non-Catholics — that is what we are asked to do. The one thing, however, is that we never know that at the moment of our death, one of those people that we did present the facts too, will meet us and thank us for what we did.

We just never do know, do we?

[bdeaner]

We just never do know, do we?

No, we sure don't! Great attitude -- I will adopt it for myself! God bless.