Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the e-mail.

First, I'd like to applaud you on having the courage to discover what the Catholic Mass is all about. Many separated brethren are scared, for some reason, to take even one Sunday off, to go and find out how Catholics worship God.

• No one will be at the door asking for your "Catholic Pass".
• No one will be stamping your hand with ink : )

The biggest concern I can think of is if someone says,

"I haven't seen your face in the parish, are you new here?"

All you have to say is:

• I'm just a Christian visitor, [state your name], or
• I'm just a Christian visitor interested in how Catholics worship God.
  

If you wish to go deeper, consider buying a cheap copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to learn everything we believe as Catholics.

As to how to explain your feelings to your family, friends and girl friend, I would recommend the following:

• Start all things with prayer.

After that, I'd like to paraphrase a good priest-friend of mine, Fr. John C.

Truth unites, though initially, it may divide.

Our Blessed Lord says in the Holy Written Word:

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. 35 For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's enemies will be those of his household.' 37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Matthew 10:34-39

The point I'm trying to make, Kevin, is it wouldn't be normal for either your father, mother, friends or girlfriend to react in any way other than surprised. Everyone within your family and circle of friends are on different faith journeys. Based on their current faith journey, some will be more open to truth than others. It will depend on their current faith journey, family background and any personal biases, etc.

What you have to explain to them is that you have to be true to your conscience and to what you believe is correct for you at this point in your faith journey.

Take my friendship with my Baptist friend, Fred. Both Fred and I agree that there are important areas of disagreement between us on important topics like:

• grace
• salvation
• merit, and
• justification

Nevertheless, we can still agree to agree in other areas like:

• the Trinity (though the word Trinity is not in the Holy Scriptures) and
• Jesus being Truly God and Truly Man

What makes friends, friends, is they can still get along despite their differences of opinion. Some family members may see your choice to learn more about the Catholic Faith as offensive.

What the Catholic Christian is called to do is what Jesus tells us: Pray for our persecutors.

• Perseverance
• courage, and
• patience

are the most important virtues you should pray for.

I hope this advice helps a little. Remember to check out my Catechism program above.
All I ask is one thing: that you notify me via e-mail, when, and if, you receive it.

Mike

Dear Kevin,

The Lord Himself is calling you, through His presence in the Eucharist that you encounter at Mass. What a blessing! God will take care of all the "problems" that come when we decide to follow Him. Once you are more informed about the Faith, you will be able to speak from both your heart and your conviction to your family, girlfriend and friends.

If I were you, I would go find just a few things:

• the documents of Vatican II
  (the documents on Revelation and on the Church sum up the Faith wonderfully)
• a Catechism of the Catholic Church, and
• a an old Baltimore Catechism or old inquirer's Catechism, which you will be able to find at a Daughters of St. Paul bookstore or some other Catholic bookstore.

There is also a new Compendium of the Catechism out, a short form, so to speak.

Pray that the Lord guide you to a good priest for instruction along with a good RCIA program and don't be afraid. The Lord Jesus, that you know and love, is the same One calling you to fullness of communion with Him.

• What is there to be afraid of?

Prayerfully,

Mary Ann

A wonderfully comprehensive and easy CD to listen to is:

• This is the Faith— A complete explanation of the Catholic Faith
  by Francis Ripley

It also comes in book form.

I frequently use this book and recommend copies to those seeking explanations.

Terry

Hi Kevin,

As one who has been [teaching/doing] RCIA for 10 years, I would also suggest to him Surprised by Truth edited by Patrick Madrid. There are actually three versions of this book, but the first one has Marcus Grodi's conversion story.

It's excellent in helping Protestants see what divisions they have been led into, due to separation from the Church, as told by converts to the Faith. Also good is Scott Hahn's Rome Sweet Home,
a step-by-step look at his and his wife Kimberly's journey to the Church.

Just a couple of suggestions, which I find to be very accessible to the average seeker.

Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism is top notch as far as explaining in a charitable way the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism.

Check out our other recommended reading as well.

Nettie