What drew you to catholisism

[Skyisbluetoday]

If you became Catholic later in life, rather than through your parents religious guidance, what was it that felt right about the Catholic Church for you and where did you start?

I was brought up in a denomination that is fairly unusual and there is no church of this denomination anywhere near me. I have not been to church in a very long time, but am feeling the need to seek something. There are aspects that attract me to the Catholic Church (e.g. the rituals, the worship of Mary as the mother of God, the Saints), but there is also plenty that puts me off and I have no idea where to start. I am interested how you found your way in and what did it.

I grew up in an atheist/agnostic family with no discussion of God or interest in religion. I converted to Catholicism at 19. What drew me to Catholicism was God. I mean I had a very strong encounter with the love of God and after that the only Christian church I wanted to join was Catholic, none of the others interested me at all. Once I knew more about what Catholics believe that all made sense to me. I have lived as a Catholic now for decades, my husband is a Cradle Catholic (raised Catholic from birth) and our three children are all Catholic. The rest of my family remain atheists/agnostics.
I love being Catholic and I don’t see that changing.

I grew up C of E but went to a Catholic school. I wanted to get back into church when I got to about 20. But didn't want to go to my parents church. So went to the high Anglican Church. By chance went to Lourdes. And it felt like the decision was made for me. Best thing I have ever done. I've got so such from it. I'm an altar sever and a Eucharistic minister. And go to Lourdes every year. I love the sense of community and the Catholic Church is such a small world and everyone knows each other.

For me it was defending Catholicism from accusations of being paganism, even though I had been lapsed for decades. I found I was really, really offended by these accusations, especially the ones who slated Mary as some sort of pagan "goddess" and that she wasn't the Mother of God! I was appalled by the one who called Mary "a HORRIBLE sinner"! I was so shook up and insulted on her behalf and on behalf of Catholics,, it made me examine myself. This lead me to look far more deeply into the Faith I'd been reared in but had long drifted away from, such as listening to converts' testimonies, which were very inspiring, researching early Christian history, and of course, reading up about why the RCC teaches what it does and questioning it with an adult's mind, rather than the child I was.
I ended up going back to full practice, my now husband joined me and we have been back ever since. When the restrictions, or illness stop us from going to Mass, we hear it online or on the radio. I pray every day but I do need to up my game even more. It can be a demanding religion but the rewards, deep peace of mind, a genuine sense of the reality of Christ and His Blessed Mother as real people who care so deeply about us, an awe and wonder at the Grace of the Saints and their close relationship with God, and the great hope of Heaven it gives, are priceless and well worth it! Eternal happiness? Yes please, lol!
I wish you well in your search OP. Ring your local Catholic priest/presbetary and see can you arrange to meet with him and have a chat and see where it leads you. God bless!

Catholics don’t worship Mary. We ask for her help to intercede (speak on our behalf) for our prayers to God.
Look at some of the Miracles eg Fatima in Portugal - 1917 and Out Lady of Akita.
For me you can trace the start of Catholicism and St Peter right back to Jesus. No other Christian denomination can do that.

I'm interested too. Wanted to post on another thread but it was only for those who are practising and didn't want to hijack!

Those who say that you are practising, what does that actually involve?

Hello, I'm not exactly what you're looking for as I was raised Catholic (not intensely - Mass most Sundays but not family prayers/fasting etc), lapsed as a teen but found my way back again.

Anyway, just wanted to encourage you to check out Fr. Mike Schmitz on the Ascension Presents YouTube channel. He is fantastic.

All the best!!!

@Thecurtainsofdestiny Mass. Sacraments (Eucharist, confession). Prayer (personal silently while getting ready in a morning, perhaps a rosary in the car, grace before dinner, gratitude with the children before bed). Charity. Fasting. Community. Joy. Cross-carrying. Hope. Peace.
We're fairly normal people with plenty of atheist/agnostic friends and our lives aren't too dissimilar!

Thanks @buntywindermere

@Thecurtainsofdestiny by practicing I mean church every week, go to mass on Holy days of obligation, go to reconciliation (confession) at least once a year in lent and on Fridays abstain from meat. You can do more, many people I know do much less but are still good Catholics. They go to mass intermittently and ignore the Friday fast and avoid confession like the plague! I'm a bit more into it.

I wrote a whole response to what drew me to the faith. Mainly it is encounters with God that wrenched me out of agnosticism. I was born Catholic and attended regularly as a child but gave up at 14. I love being Catholic now. I feel that spirituality is a very important part of life.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I have found them all educational and heartening. My children attend a Catholic school and my husband was brought up Catholic,but is now at best an agnostic and not particularly interested. I feel somewhat shy to make contact with the priest because I know so little about the church. As an outsider, much of the RCC practices and beliefs are a bit of a mystery to me and I worry that I put my foot in it, won't like it after all or will be condemned for having had an abortion. Is this likely? Also, how do you become Catholic as an adult? Do you need to be baptised again?

First, you will NEVER be condemned for having an abortion. The Church is definitely pro-life so anti the death penalty and supportive with services for families with disabled or vulnerable children. All life precious. If you come across condemnation from a Catholic - which I have never known to happen please ignore them as this is not Church teaching. We have all done (or not done) things which are against the law of love - which is sin - deciding against love. Women especially have a lot of compassion understanding the pressures women are under and their treatment by men which can make women feel they have no choice. Also the messages from a secular society that says having a baby will ruin your life. I was an atheist and believed all the arguments for abortion. There is also a ministry for women who struggle with the

Sorry posted too soon phone is acting bonkers. The ministry for those wanting support from the after affects of abortion is Project Rachel hopeafterabortion.com/

As for the Church, its an ongoing community that is 2,000 old and when you enter you realize how deep and broad this is, so you can never plumb the depths of all the Church has to offer. For that reason it can be confusing or daunting. That's why most keep their spirituality relatively simple, especially when new to the faith. Simple is wonderful and fine, there is no need for it to be complicated. I would encourage you to talk to a devout Catholic priest and ask if he can suggest any women in the parish who would be happy to befriend you. That way you can gradually learn step by step at your own pace. Its basically a process of falling in love with God. RCIA might also be a place to start and talk to those local to you teaching RCIA.

@GoodnessTruthBeauty I had a bad experience as a teenager with a well known pro-life charity, run by Catholics. It doesn't market itself as a Catholic organisation but was founded by very staunch Catholics. I didn't feel supported at all, they just wanted to brainwash me into having the baby.

Anyway, that's not what this is about, I digress...

I am a lapsed Catholic but I do still feel quite strongly that is still the faith I would pin my colours to. For me, I really enjoy mass, holy communion, the rituals - I find my rosary beads very comforting and keep them near my bed.

What is RCIA?
chnetwork.org/2021/11/11/what-is-rcia/

@CornishGem1975 I'm very sorry to hear you had that experience. Although pro-life Catholics aren't going to encourage abortion they should also not pressure you or "brainwash" you into doing anything against your free will. Its a very difficult issue all round because I also know women who experienced immense pressure from male partners/husband's and doctors to abort. Our free will is sacrosanct. Unfortunately some people are not centering the woman and aren't supporting her, giving her space and listening to her.

You may well be condemned by some Catholics for choosing abortion I know women who have I'm Presbyterian so nothing attracts me to Roman Catholic Church but I wish you well in your spiritual quest

So well answered @GoodnessTruthBeauty and love your username! @CornishGem1975 that sounds like such a difficult experience, I'm so sorry, and hope you have found some peace.
I have a friend who has found a lot of healing from Project Rachel, although it's not for the faint hearted so do take your time before you consider throwing yourself into something like this.
You don't have to be rebaptised - you just come home! Returning to Sunday Mass and getting to Confession would be a good place to start. It's not as archaic or terrifying as people make out, honest!
I hope you experience God's mercy in abundance, and face no condemnation from anyone. I'd love to say every confession experience will bring you closer to God and the Church, and that there'll be no judgement at all about any choices you have made, but sadly the Church has been let down by deeply flawed people, and it may happen. Please do take heart though in knowing there are truly wonderful Priests out there who can and will counsel and guide you well, and wonderful Catholic communities across the country. I personally don't know a single Catholic who would judge you, but sadly that's not to say they don't exist. Reach out to your Parish Priest. If you don't get on with him, reach out to the Priest in the next Parish. There are Alpha courses run in Catholic parishes, and another great course called the Sycamore course, these may be worth looking into? There are also lots of Catholic Mum Facebook groups and Instagram pages - they can be a bit intense but happy to share suggestions via a PM if you'd like.

The Catholic Church is universal and in virtually every country in the world, so wherever you go you can usually find a local community to join. The Church does have a different history everywhere however, so if you are in the UK, as Western Europe is post-Christian generally, practicing Christians of all stripes are a very small minority (10% or less of the population?) and as a Catholic you would be very much in a minority. Due to the history of the Church in the UK there can be a lot of ignorance and prejudice about the Church, so people can say all sorts of things that may not be accurate about the practices and beliefs of the Church. So I would make sure you are talking to believing, practicing Catholics so you get a balanced view.
The secular press tends to report every scandal and crime of the Church and nothing else. So when people say “Why isn’t the Pope talking about this?” or “why doesn’t the Church help these people?” There is a very good chance that is already happening but it will never be reported as it’s not salacious enough.
The Catholic Church has a minuscule hierarchy and a very large body of laity so you really need to get to know a community to get a more accurate view.

Thanks for answering @ZenNudist

I like this thread!

Really pleased to come across this recent thread.
I am a lapsed catholic. I went to catholic school but my mum never made us go to church and I never really got into the practice of going weekly.
I’m at a stage where I want to now and actually went to mass for the first time in many years this morning. I also took my daughter. She was baptised in the Church of England but I’m now wishing I’d christened her catholic. She’s seven.
I’m a bit nervous around how I integrate back into church and as a lapsed catholic what I should be doing. I didn’t go for communion and embarrassingly I’ve only ever done confession once (when I got confirmed). I am married but wasn’t married in the Church. Any advice on what I should be doing would be very helpful.
I would at some point also like to broach the subject of my daughter becoming a catholic but want to give this some time as I/we attend mass weekly. Also a bit nervous about how I go about this.
The priest at my local church was never particularly welcoming. I’ve moved to a neighbouring parish so decided to try there.

@Popsicle30 I would approach your Parish Priest or the person responsible for RCIA. Hopefully they will be welcoming and happy to know you are interested in being active in the Church again. As for your marriage, that can all depend on the circumstances. It might be possible if your husband is open to it to have your marriage convalidated and it would than be blessed and be sacramental. Your spouse does not need to be Catholic as far as I am aware, but of course they do need to give their full consent, as you will have a small ceremony and renewal of your vows. But please don’t take my word for it as there can be many other circumstances that I am not aware of, so chat to your PP or RCIA teacher. As your daughter was baptized in a Christian church her baptism is of course valid so she could be prepared for her First Holy Communion without any other changes, other than to teach her about the faith. If you never received your Confirmation you might like to see if you can start preparation/classes and receive your Confirmation this Easter. That would be a lovely way to become reacquainted with the faith and make friends. It’s very common that adults who haven’t received their Confirmation to be prepared this way at this time of year. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

Sorry I am a twit, I see you are already Confirmed! Not sure how I missed that! 😂 Call your Parish and explain your situation and see who they recommend you speak to. In the meantime keep going to weekly Mass and look out for any friendly parishioners who could help you reintegrate and answer any questions you have.

A “practicing” Catholic is like an “observant” Jew, in that we have a saying “once Catholic, always Catholic”. This means, once you have been baptized into the Church you are a member, even if you never believe or darken the door again! You’re like a family member who has gone NC 😂 (joke). So at any time you can turn to God and decide you want to walk with Him and the community of the Church. Very similar to people who are raised Jewish or are Jewish through their mother but chose not to be observant. Jews will still consider them Jewish (as they will themselves because of course Judaism does have other elements such as matriarchal descent that Christians don’t).

We also believe Baptism marks your soul as belonging to Christ and that is forever, no matter what you do. So you only need to turn to him, repent and you are in relationship once again. (Christ is always present, we are the ones who aren’t interested, he never leaves us).
“Practicing” in a Catholic context means joining the community in communal liturgy (Mass) at least once a week, receiving the Sacraments, personal prayer, reading Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and serving those around you with love. It’s about drawing close to the love of God. In Catholicism there are many different spiritual practices and organizations to help you do that. What you like to do and join depends on your personality, interest and gifts and what you feel God is inviting you to do.
The major difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is that we believe in the Real Presence. That means we believe at Mass that the bread and wine becomes the literal Body and Blood of Jesus (The Gospel of John chapter 6). So do the Orthodox, Copts, Chaldeans etc. That’s why there is a big emphasis on the sacred and beautiful churches, because we believe they house Christ in a unique and special way. Some Protestant domination do also believe this, such as some Lutherans and some “High” Anglicans, but most don’t, so as an atheist previously that was the most significant theological difference to me.

@GoodnessTruthBeauty this is really helpful information, thank you.
I’ll certainly continue with the weekly mass with my daughter and look to approach the priest or RCIA teacher.
This has been so helpful and such a welcoming thread. Thank you.

FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO SEND PRACTICAL HELP TO UKRAINE 🇺🇦
Matt Fradd a well known Australian Catholic you tuber (Pints with Aquinas) who lives in the USA with his wife and 4 children has just arrived in Poland to record and publicize ways we can help. He was invited by a Catholic Priest friend Fr. Jason. There is a group of Greek Catholic nuns who are helping the arriving refugees and need medical supplies. Here is Matt’s report with the link in the description which goes to a list of supplies and an address to send them to in Poland. I am in the USA and don’t usually work on a Sunday but I think I will make a run to fill a couple of boxes. Thank you.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch7hmNGZUKU

The list of supplies and address: please NO food or clothes.
www.patreon.com/posts/63437180

There is also a link if you would prefer to donate. 100% of funds go to help refugees.