How much practrice is “practicing”?
Okay, I know. Thirty Hail Marys. I’ll get on it right away. (I should never have asked.)
Roger, it’s my thread, and I can hijack it if I want! 
Thank you so much for the responses so far- they’re very interesting. Keep 'em coming! (Err, that’s assuming that there are more Catholics still to come out of the woodwork).
I’ve talked a little bit in a few different threads threads about how we’ve gradually converted. I suppose bears repeating, although I try not to bore people with it. It’s long. I was raised, baptised, and confirmed Anglican. I have the documents right here that say I was baptised in June of 1979, at age eight months. I was raised with the Book of Common Prayer, which means a liturgy that’s not very different from Novus Ordo, in King James Bible type English. I’m still very attached to it. I have always been a Christian, although I’ve become more devout as I’ve gotten older. I’m also (this is important) a book addict.
My husband was not raised in any religion. When we met, we spent a lot of time talking about religion while falling in love. He converted shortly after we met, while going through the Alpha program, which is a Protestant (specifically Anglican, but now widely popular in different denominations) sort of Christianity basics course. I took it with him. I was a cradle Christian, but the structure and teaching encouraged really interesting conversation with lots of neat people.
A couple of years later we went together to a small ecumenical Western history/literature/philosophy college, where we studied church history, a little theology, Great Books, and Latin. My Latin sucks- it didn’t take. I can translate church engravings sometimes. Anyway, we read Plato and St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas and Dante, the Book of Common Prayer and St. John Chrysostom. They held a book club meeting on G. K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. I remember staying up late talking to my roommate about transubstantiation and sola scriptura (she was Baptist. She and her husband beat us into the RC) and being amazed at all these writers.
We came back to Toronto, and after a year or two Mr. Lissar was baptised, and we got married. During that time I read The Rule of St. Benedict and the Desert Fathers, the Penses, lots of Kathleen Norris (my Mum is an Associate of an Anglican convent here, she loves Kathleen Norris). I read Annie Dillard. We attended a very high Anglican church, and talked about Mary and papal infallibility and veneration of the saints with our former roommates. I’d already read parts of The Dark Night of the Soul and Lady Julian’s Revelation of Divine Love.
They got married, and just before the wedding Mr. Lissar’s Best Friend (the guy half of our Best Friends) handed him The Seven Storey Mountain, and said, “Read this. It’ll make you Catholic.”
Some time in the next year we tentatively start occasionally praying the rosary. We were both attracted very much to the beauty of the love that showed through all the writing we’d read, but we weren’t sure about the role of the Pope and the heavy, sometimes nit-picky theology and all the rules.
Best Friend and her husband entered the Church, over considerable family dicouragement. They gave us Rome, Sweet Home, and we sent them Brideshead Revisited. We re-read the Divine Comedy and became reconciled to the understanding of Purgatory.
After a long period of indecision, we started attending Mass. We both prayed for clarity and for conversion of the heart. We had both been consubstantianists (do I get all sorts of points for long words?), and we became gradually convinced of the reality of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We read the Catechism. Well, Mr. Lissar read it front to back, and I’ve read large portions of it. We read Swimming with Scapulars.
Another friend became Catholic.
We contacted our parish about RCIA, and were told that it was being held with another parish, on a night when I couldn’t attend regularly due to work. Our pastor said that was okay- Mr. Lissar goes, I make it some of the time, we talk about it. The priest in charge says it is not so okay, and suggests we wait for another few years. In charity, he didn’t know us, we didn’t know him. We probably sounded like dilettantes. If we can’t make it to class every week for twenty six weeks, how could we commit to Mass and Holy Days?
Anyway, we talked to our pastor, found another RCIA downtown that I could go to, talked to our parish admin-lady, and she just called earlier today to say that someone at our parish has volunteered to do the programme at our parish. We still don’t know what times or how many people, although I suspect it’s just us, which would be nice, I think, since we’re both candidates, not catechumens. I think.
None of our friends who converted went through RCIA- they were catechized privately by their parish priests, so we don’t know much about the RCIA process. We don’t actually have sponsors, as we don’t know anyone at our parish well, and all our Catholic friends live far away. We’ll talk to whomever is running it about what to do.
Stay tuned. We hope to talk to the guy who’s volunteered in the next couple of days, and arrange things.
So that’s the story of how we’ve become Catholic. Some of the timelines are a little fuzzy, due to my poor memory.
Cradle Catholic, baptized and confirmed, 14 years of Catholic schooling (School Sisters of Notre Dame for parochial school, Jesuits for high school), and former altar boy. When I was growing up, we always went to church on Sunday, without exception (even when on vacation). The only reason I seldom go to mass now is shear laziness. But if I happen to see the daily mass on EWTN, chances are I’ll stay and watch it through “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” What still attracts me? The mystery, the metaphysics, the eternal, the ritual, the beauty, the faith. When I go to mass, I reconnect with God and with the faith community.
I do not pray for things, because I believe we are either worthy of what we ask for, or not. Nagging God about it is just an insult to his omniscience. God knows what we need, and not a sparrow falls but he is aware of it. I do, however, believe wholeheartedly in giving prayers of thanks, because to do so is humbling in the best sense of the word.
Most important is to try to live out the life of the Gospels, in how I treat my fellow human beings the other six days of the week.
What I don’t like about the RCC: It’s incredible that in the 21st century women are delegated to second class status. They should be allowed into the priesthood now. And if the church has any hope in keeping a sufficient number of priests, it should also allow married persons to become priests. I think a lot of problems that the church has now would be helped by the balance women and married people would offer to it.
My Daily-Mass (if possible, she’s been sickly her whole life) Mom, when angry at certain remarks from priests, snorts “bloody bachelors! Sometimes it ain’t that they should be allowed to marry… a few oughta be obligated!”
Yes Mom, now calm down, thaaaaat’s a good Mommeeeeee!
(If the SJ admitted women, I would have been one. Never found a female order with that kind of mentality, more’s the pity)
That’s so wonderful. I’ve mentioned the story before, but I love the one where God tells Elijah to stand watch for Him, He will make His presence known:
1 Kings 11 So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD " And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.
To me it says we have to do what you and your husband are doing: ignore the loud noises the world makes and be still and listen for the gentle breeze. That’s where the truth will be. I have yet to learn this lesson very well but it inspires me.
Mostly we haven’t learned that lesson yet, but we’re working on it. Thank you.
Yup. Me too. Plus what George Weigel calls the grittiness of Catholicism, by which he means the emphasis on the physical- that the world matters, and that matter matters, because of creation and Incarnation. It’s something that I found wanting in Protestantism.
Any others hiding out there?
I won’t out anyone but there’s at least one more traditional devout Catholic out there who hasn’t shown up yet.
St. Germain, yes? And gardentraveler.
We’re thinking that after we’ve been received we’d like to become lectors. Speaking of which, I should trot off to Mass.
Another life-long Catholic here, married to a life-long Catholic. My wife and I have known each other since 2nd grade at St. Joseph’s Parish/School in Fontana, CA. My parents had sent me to different schools (some public, some parochial) over the years which became an issue just a couple of years ago…I was never confirmed (even though I thought I was in 5th grade). My mom said I wasn’t about 3 years ago. So I made a trip back to St. Joseph’s to find my name in the confrimation record books, and she was right. I saw all the names and signatures of my classmates (including my wife’s…brought a tear to my eye for some reason), but I was missing…it was because the class was confirmed in 6th grade while I was at a public school that year. :smack: So after a year or two of missing out on adult confirmation classes, I finally got into a class last year and it deepened my understanding of Catholicism, and I felt greater sense of humility and compassion towards others. I was confirmed just last June, and I have since then “pulled my head out of my arse” and started caring more for my wife, my family, my friends and relatives, my employees, and strangers as well. I try to practice what Jesus had taught in His greatest sermon, documented pretty well in Luke 6. I do not pray the rosary, although I pray for those in need, help those who I can, and respect all…but since we are human, we are not perfect and we hurt others, so I need to practice mercy and forgiveness and hopefully foster mercy and forgiveness in others with my actions.
Another cradle Catholic. I would love to be able to attend daily mass (I have been able to during certain stretches), and I say the rosary as often as I can, which is less than daily. Counting my graduate work, I attended Catholic schools for over 20 years (night school, and all that).
My wife is not Catholic, though we are raising our son Catholic, and we all attend mass. I would love if my wife converted, and I don’t think she’d rule it out, but she hasn’t seen the strong need yet.
Oh! And I have been an altar boy (we weren’t altar servers back then ;)), and a lector for several years. I’d love to explore joining one of our parish’s music programs (I can sing and play guitar).
I’m a leader of my son’s Boy Scout troop at our parish, and we always bring the boys to mass when we take a weekend trip (the priest invariably loves seeing us walk in, all in uniform, and chats us up, sometimes during mass). I love attending mass at different churches. There is a tradition and consistency–a feeling of belonging to something unchanging, which is comforting–combined with a local flavor that I find very appealing. We’ve attended mass at cathedrals, at West Point’s chapel, and at tiny country churches where the aisle was so small, only one side of the church could go up for communion at a time.
I’m reasonably sure I’m Catholic.
After kindergarten, I spent the next 17 years in Catholic schools.
I’ve had periods where I was less active and more active, but I am in a more active cycle, at the moment. I have, chronologically, been a member of the boys’ choir, an acolyte, a lector, a CCD teacher (Catechism of Christian Doctrine–the religion classes that the public school kids took in the old days, since they were not in the Catholic school), and a parish council member.
I am currently a lector and help out with the education programs around our parish including RCIA, where, for some odd reason I am the “go to” guy for the esoteric questions when someone else is making a presentation. (We present RCIA as a group, with individuals making presentations on particular topics each week so that the candidates get a wide variety of human perspectives from different Catholics and only the coordinator is required to commit a night every week during the process, but several of us make a point to show up whenever possible).
As the great Ed Norton would say, “I don’t have to practice- I KNOW it!”
(Wanna hear an Act of Contrition? The Hail Mary in Latin? )
Come on, tom, I just can’t imagine how anyone could possibly think of you in that role.
Baffles me, too.
I’m another cradle Catholic. In some ways, I think I take it for granted too much. Even if I never went to church again in my life, I would still be Catholic. The way I think is Catholic.
I attend Mass often, although not as often as I should. I do make the holidays and Holy Days of Obligation, though. I hate doing readings or anything during Mass, it makes me ultra nervous that I’m going to mess up and 2000 years of spiritual tradition will go down the drain. I’m better at the community aspects – the volunteer opportunities, bake sales, come clean up the rectory garden, etc. outside of services.
I do try to pay extra attention when Bricker or tomndebb post about Catholicism, it’s like a reminder that I should keep up more.
My entire life is post-Vatican II, so that feels like the “way it’s supposed to be” to me. I’ve enjoyed attending Mass in Latin a few times, but it seems more like a historical field trip.
Raised Catholic, left the Church to explore other options when I was about 19, and then came back with a vengeance when I was 21. My parents took me through communion and didn’t force anything on me, so it’s always been a source of comfort to me. Also, I come from a very musical family, and I feel closest to God when singing. I was in my church choir for about 15 years, and I miss that aspect of it.
[Lame joke attempt] All these practicing Catholics and not one has gotten it right yet? [/LJA]
IANACatholic, although I nearly was. I was raised with nothing, but spent most of my childhood trying to get religion. My Catholic friends would come home (bored) from CCD and I’d badger them to teach me what they had learned. I was voted “Most Likely to Become a Nun” in grammar school!
In the end, it was the official stance on women’s issues like birth control, abortion and our place in the priesthood that made me look elsewhere. Honestly, if they had let me be a priest, I might have even toed the line on the other stuff. But it’s not to be.
I think it’s, generally speaking, a fantastic religion, and I find a lot of comfort and beauty in it. I enjoy Catholic Mass more than any other Christian service, and I pray not THE Rosary, but using Rosary beads in a modified prayer about once a week - not with Hail Marys and Our Fathers, but meditating/praying on love, as described by a priest in one of the Notre Dame Magazines several years ago. You begin the circle meditating on and praying for those close to you whom you love, and then the further out the beads get, on those further away and harder to love, until you’re loving people like Osama Bin Laden and Hitler. Then at the end, you Love God and all His creation at once. It’s incredibly powerful.
Look what you did! You broke the Church! Bad delphica!
We’re still waiting for someone to get in contact with us. I’m sure everything will be fine, but with the other RCIA guy talking about us not having enough time, and since it’s already the end of October, I’m getting a little nervous.
I’ve just been re-reading Letters to a Young Catholic, and the parts about the culture of Catholicism really resonate- it’s a language we don’t really speak yet.
I would love to be in an RCIA group run by tom and Bricker. That would be fun!
On preview, WhyNot, that’s a lovely idea.
Spaniard, so obviously born into the faith. Went to Jesuit schools until I was about 9 or 10. Atheist even prior to that – never had much patience for incoherence.