(Part 2) Best products from r/Catholicism

First of all, welcome back, brother. I am especially touched that your fiancée would even suggest to find a Catholic Church. (As an aside, you're not a convert; you're a revert since you're already baptized into the Church. I thought maybe you'd appreciate that factoid.)

​

>I am looking for information about your Church, whatever you think is important to know.

There is a lot to know and many here would recommend a million and one things to study, especially since it sounds like you enjoy a good intellectual pursuit. I'm not going to discount others' recommendations, but I do want to highlight one thing: learn more about Jesus first. Find out what He taught, who He is, what His disciples and closest friends said about Him, what the Old Testament said about Him, etc. To that end...

​

>I am looking for recommendations for a Catholic-approved version of the Bible, geared towards someone who appreciates philosophy and prefers something close to the original translations, or the most accepted by the Church.

First thing to note, all Catholic Bibles have 72 books. Protestants have 66. If you can't get a hold of a Catholic Bible, a Protestant one will do for now until you do get around to buying a Catholic one. Now, as for Catholic Bibles, if you speak/read Latin you can't go wrong with the Vulgate Bible. It's a Bible that was translated by St. Jerome who was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; he had the original manuscripts -- some of which are lost to us today -- so his translations are widely accepted as authentic and faithful.

There's also the English version of the Vulgate Bible known as the Douay-Rheims. It's an almost word-for-word translation of the Latin so the English will sound archaic to our modern ears. It's not as frustrating as, say, reading Shakespeare but it's pretty close. I personally prefer (and currently use) a Douay-Rheims Bible that has the Clementina Vulgata beside it. It's essentially Latin and English side by side. You can find one here.

If want one with plain English, the New American Bible Revised Edition would suffice. (If you use this website, let me know. I have a discount code from my last purchase.)

​

>I know nothing of the culture or norms of the Church, or what to expect as a new member.

One major rule to remember is that you can't receive Holy Communion until after you've gone to Confession. Given your situation, I would recommend setting up an appointment with a parish priest so he can give his full attention to you and your needs.

​

>I do not know how to introduce myself to the congregation

There's usually no need to introduce yourself to the congregation since parishes tend to be big. If you would like to formally introduce yourself, however, give the parish priest a call and set up a meeting with him. It would also be a great chance to speak with him about your situation and get some pastoral guidance.

​

>or tell a good Catholic church from a lesser one

Many here would recommend a more traditional parish. If that's not available, I'd say any Catholic church would do. If you're unsure about a particular church's standing, just give us the details on this sub. I'm sure someone here would be able to double check for you.

​

>I know nothing of the Saints or the miracles, or what has been confirmed by the Church and what hasn't.

These are things you can learn later on. Focus on Jesus first. Rebuild your relationship with Him. Start with the basics; if you don't, you might burn yourself out. There is A LOT to learn about the Faith. Some say it's a lifelong endeavour. :P

​

>I am also looking for a reading list to explore Catholic philosophy beyond those you typically encounter in standard philosophical reading, such as Aquinas or Pascal.

Hmmm... this depends on what sorts of things interest you. A good one that lightly touches on philosophy is Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft (anything by this guy is pretty good, by the way).

A book that may be more pressing to your current situation is Why Be Catholic? by Patrick Madrid and Abraham Skorka, Why We're Catholic by Trent Horn, as well as Why I am a Catholic by Brandon Vogt. (They might need to work on a more original title, though :P) Since you have an Evangelical background, Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray might be helpful (although it can be a bit dry; also, it mostly deals with the Church's teaching on Baptism and the Eucharist) as well as Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn.

You can never go wrong with classics such as a collection of C. S. Lewis' works, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton, and Confessions by St. Augustine.

If you want a historical examination of Jesus and the Early Church, a good place to start is The Case for Christ by Brant Pitre, The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine by St. Eusebius, and The Fathers Know Best by Jimmy Akin. I'd like to thrown in Jesus, Peter, and the Keys by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and David J. Hess. This last one pertains to the Catholic claim regarding the papacy (and which I think is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the Catholic Church being the original one that the Lord founded).

Finally, there are YouTube channels you can follow/binge watch such as Bishop Robert Barron and Ascension Presents. Also, an amazing video about the Catholic Faith is a series made by Bishop Barron when he was "just" a priest called Catholicism.

I'm sorry if that's overwhelming but you raised some good questions. :P Anyway, I imagine it may be a lot right now so take it slowly, don't dive in through all of it at once. Find a local Catholic church, call up the priest, set up a meeting, then take it from there. And remember, you can always pray; God's always willing to talk with you.

This is a long post, so I'm putting this up front; if you read nothing else I've said, read this: Not talking about this with him is the wrong response. You absolutely must talk to him about this. Clear communication is crucial to a healthy marriage, much less a good sexual relationship.

Now, from what you say, there are probably issues for both of you here. I can't talk too much about his motivations, because we haven't heard from him, only from you--but I'll make an effort from my perspective as a husband in a moment.

First, let's take a quick look at what you've said: you find sex with your husband tedious and dirty. "Dirty" is a problem--a significant one--because marital sex is anything but dirty. To live chastely within marriage is to have marital sex. Marital sex is a reflection of Christ's love for the Church, and the love within the Godhead. It's a sacramental act of unity and life. You absolutely must abandon this notion that sex with your husband is dirty, but it won't be easy. Labeling sex as "dirty" is an easy way we repel our sexual desire when embracing it is sinful (e.g., as teenagers and when we're engaged). Forget that label. Sex isn't dirty. Extramarital sex is sinful; sex within marriage is a gift from God to express love and intimacy with our entire selves (body and soul).

The tedium of sex may be tied to several different issues. I do want to ask about the frequency of your intercourse: from what you say, it sounds like you're having sex regularly (daily a few months ago, several times per week now). Does that mean that you are not practicing NFP and periodic abstinence? Are you instead trying to have children now, or are you using artificial contraceptives?

I ask because artificial contraceptives, aside from being sinful, are known to have detrimental side effects in your sex life. Condoms reduce sensation for both parties. Hormonal contraceptives reduce your sex drive and (based on studies in other primates) may reduce your natural desirability to your mate. If this is the situation, it could contribute to his disinterest and your boredom.

Are you experiencing painful intercourse? My wife struggled with intercourse for our first year of marriage because she had conditions called vaginismus and vestibulodynia, which caused the whole experience to be excruciating rather than pleasant. We made a joint, sincere effort using multiple methods to reduce those conditions and improve her experience for months before we saw any real progress. That can be another factor.

What is your general attitude toward sex? Have you ever found it remotely pleasurable? If not, have you spoken to your husband about your experience in the bedroom? Or are you treating sex like a solemn duty you must perform so that he feels fulfilled? The entire process of human marital sex is for both husband and wife to enjoy it. In a technical sense, neither one of you "must" enjoy it in order for the other to do so, but it is more enjoyable for both of you if you both enjoy it. If you have ever felt pleasure during intercourse, talk to your husband about that--ask him to pursue that before satisfying himself. Satisfying him sexually is easy; satisfying you sexually probably takes a little work, and that should be a worthwhile pursuit.

Now, on to him for a moment. My guess is that he loves you. If he was unchaste before dating you, then he didn't marry you just to have sex with you (because he didn't have to get married to have sex); from what you have said, he remained chaste while dating you and engaged to you, too. Which means he does love you, but he may not know quite what that means (or should mean). Again, talk to him about his actions, about how you feel, about how he feels. Talk to him about your marriage, about your future together.

On the pornography: it almost definitely predates your marriage and your relationship and is absolutely never your fault. That's on him. You didn't hold a gun to his head and force him to do it, and even if you had, he still shouldn't have done it. Never blame yourself for this. I know that's difficult to accept, but it's the truth. He, and only he, is responsible for his sins. If you're the coldest wife in the world who refuses sex for twenty years straight, watching pornography and masturbating would still be his sins.

The most important thing here is for both of you to come to a real, clear understanding of what married life within the Church is. You need to read about the Theology of the Body. Here is a short, relatively easy book on the subject. Here is the longer book behind that book. Here is a tome with the religious and philosophical underpinnings of it all. Here is a short video and here is a long one. Others will hopefully post other resources (podcasts, videos, books, etc.). This is critical. It sounds like you and your husband both are lacking important information about how marriage works in the Catholic Church.

The second most important thing is for you to improve your communication with your husband. Here is a box set of short books that can help with that (these significantly improved communication between my wife and I). I've also seen these at a local library.

Your husband needs to commit to improving your marriage as much as you do. You must talk to him as soon as possible. Don't put it off. He should know that something is wrong, especially if he's choosing pornography over you.

More details will enable us to help you more, but nothing will help as much as clear communication with your husband and a dedication to building the best marriage possible.

>TL;DR I'm a Catholic who doesn't understand Catholicism

You know, as unfortunate as it is, the reality is that you will find many Catholic adults who have no clue what the Catholic Faith teaches.

Do you have an active youth group? If so, you may want to consider joining the youth group and becoming an active member. Also see if they will give you a Catechism of the Catholic Church for free. I hand those suckers out all of the time.

>I still don't really know what confirmation means. They did a horrible job at educating me, I basically sat there through general religious education, all of which I knew before, and then after 2 years, I got some oil on my forehead. I know that it basically means that I'm an adult in the church, but not quite sure what that entitles...

Again, unfortunately the adults that were "teaching" you probably had no clue what Confirmation is either. But a correction would be that you are not "an adult" in the Church. This is a common misconception in the American Catholic Church, mostly because the norm for Christian Rites of Initiation for many Dioceses separate Baptism and Confirmation. In many other places around the world, a child receives Baptism and Confirmation at the same time.

Now, the Catechism says: 1308 Although Confirmation is sometimes called the "sacrament of Christian maturity," we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need "ratification" to become effective. St. Thomas reminds us of this:

Age of body does not determine age of soul. Even in childhood man can attain spiritual maturity: as the book of Wisdom says: "For old age is not honored for length of time, or measured by number of years. "Many children, through the strength of the Holy Spirit they have received, have bravely fought for Christ even to the shedding of their blood.

I understand Confirmation as a completion of Baptism. The minister of Confirmation seals you with the Holy Spirit and "unlocks" the "full power" and blessing that was started in your soul in Baptism.

>As far as I can tell, most of the Dogmas of the Catholic church are pretty reasonable, so I don't have a problem with many of them.

Good!

>However, what gets me is the "Pick and Choose" part of the dogmas. I understand why that is there (people that pick and choose believing in core Catholic beliefs), but I'm pretty sure that the word of the clergy isn't 100% accurate with the wishes of God, since there has been corruption before, in the long history of the church, and in the recent history of the church.

I am not quite certain what you are asking here. Catholics cannot "pick and choose" which Dogmas to follow and which to not follow. Dogmas are essential to our Faith.

You are correct that sometimes the Clergy will make mistakes and they will not preach the fullness of Truth to their parishes. We can trust the Magisterium, though.

There has been corruption in the people of the Church, yes. The recent scandals still sting all of us Catholics to the Core of our being. I, myself, am still trying to reconcile how the most respected of our Fold could betray us in such a way. But I know that the reasons behind the pedophilia scandal are many and they are varied and they are not exclusive to the Catholic Church.

I also understand that 50 years ago, Bishops sincerely did not know how to handle allegations of this magnitude and did what they thought was best. In many cases, the Bishops had their priest sent to a psychologist and listened to what the psychologist told them. You would think that common sense would tell the Bishops to hand the accused clergy over to the local authorities for an investigation, but we have to remember that it was a very different time back then. I do not make excuses for the bishops or priests, nor do I presume that I can even entertain the thought of justifying their actions; not at all. But I do know that there is always more to the story than what we hear reported on the news.

>Though I can't think of a specific thing for the prior statement, an example I previously felt about this was purgatory. I heard that it was worse than hell, but a Religion teacher at my school enlightened me by asking me the question: "If we don't know what it is, just that it is a spiritual cleansing, couldn't it be relaxing as a day of personal cleansing, such as at a spa?"

I do not know who told you Purgatory was worse than hell. They were clearly wrong. Purgatory is a part of Heaven. But I do not think it is relaxing as a day of cleansing, like the spa. I think it is very painful. We must suffer to rid ourselves of "self" so that we might love God more.

>At my church, every sermon is about politics, with a radical right-wing viewpoint on it in general. Is it like that everywhere?

Not at all. In fact, many parishes in my area refuse to comment on politics. Instead, they comment on morality, which should guide the way we vote and participate in government.

>What is the official Catholic stance on gay people? My church is SUPER anti-gay, but I have a few openly gay friends at school, and nobody gives a crap. I understand that they aren't allowed marriage because of the Catholic definition of marriage, but would the church condemn another type of union under a different title for political and financial reasons? Chaste, of course...

Read Same Sex Attraction: Church Teaching and Pastoral Practice to understand more on the subject. But you may also notice that nobody at your school "gives a crap" if their friends are having sex, or getting pregnant, or having abortions. Does this justify their behavior?

The Church would indeed condemn any union between a same-sex couple. Why? Because the Church does not look only at the material reasons for the union (political, financial). The Church cares more for the spirituality of the persons involved and wants the salvation of their souls. How can these people be saved if they believe that their immoral actions are sanctioned by the government? How can these people come to know, love, and serve Christ in this life if they think they are doing nothing wrong? The Church teaches that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. Nothing will ever make those actions "good."

>I understand the process of confession and the method, but I'm a bit unclear about what I'm supposed to confess. It's impossible for me to remember every transgression that I make, so I generally try to focus on major ones (10 commandments), with a generalized perspective, (I'm sure I did this at some point in time). I feel kinda awkward asking about this anywhere else but reddit...

You confess all the sins that you can recall. It is a good practice for you to do an examination of conscience each night before you go to bed so that you might be able to make a better confession on your next visit. It is very good to start with the Ten Commandments. The Church recommends you confess every mortal sin first, then your venial sins. Finding a good examination of conscience to aid your prayer might help.

>Catholics don't believe that the bible is 100% true, literal translation, do they? I've heard it both ways, but I'm more comfortable with the definition of the bible being a message of spiritual truth, not literal truth.

No, Catholics do believe that the Bible is the "100% true, literal translation." "Literal" just means that whatever we interpret or translate belongs to a literary work. Many people confuse "literal" with "literalistic", which would say that everything is written down exactly as it happened and does not take into account a contextual analysis of the text (which may be poetry or song or parable).

I do not know what you are attempting to distinguish between spiritual truth and literal truth, though. Truth is Truth.

> I have no idea if this post contains anything insulting/against the rules/breaking some secret taboo. I just want to become closer to the family of the man I love.

This last sentence just made me smile so big today. We're a pretty thick skinned bunch, and hearing that you want to come into this with an open heart and mind, prompted by a man and family whom you love, is an occasion for joy. Welcome! We're happy to have you here. Please stick around and ask as many questions as you wish!

I want to make this offer at the beginning of this post, so it doesn't get buried. As you embark upon this journey, please feel free to keep my username handy and DM with any specific questions that trip you up or pique your curiosity. I mean that, I'm happy to be a resource in addition to all the wonderful folks who help this subreddit tick.

I'm a cradle Catholic, 28 years old, and I, too, feel like there's an eternity's worth of stuff to discover about the faith. It's always overwhelming.

I'm going to first echo /u/Trubea's sentiments, Catholicism For Dummies is an excellent resource book and worth picking up.

Given that your SO has been sharing lots of biblical stories with you it would also make sense to buy a Bible. I'd recommend the following for a very readable Bible with awesome footnotes, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a teaching companion to reference against. It may take time to dig really deeply into those, but eventually you'll want them.

• Bible
  
• Catechism
  
  Two YouTube channels (finally I'm recommending something free, right?) where you'll find great short videos on what the Church teaches, pop culture, and everything in between are found here:
  
  
• Bishop Robert Barron's "Word On Fire" Channel
  
• Father Mike Schmitz on "Ascension Presents"
  
  Also, I've noticed you seem to be drawn to the "beauty" of the faith. The aforementioned Bishop Barron has some great media that I think you'd really enjoy.
  
  
• The Catholicism Video Series - A 10 episode documentary with some great cinematic work and soundtrack that break down some of the basics of the faith. A bit pricey for the whole thing, but something to consider. A trailer for the whole series can be found here and they did post a free, 53 min long episode on YouTube which can be found here.
  
  
• Bishop Barron's book that covers some of the same info as the video series, aptly named Catholicism.
  
  Before I recommend too many more options that break the bank, I'll leave you with that. :) There are lots of free resources to learn about the Catholic Church online, as well. The teachings, the stories, the lives of the saints, the miracles, you name it! Just let us know what is piquing your interest the most, and we'll do our best to direct you to something awesome on it.
  
  In the present, will say a prayer for your journey. Peace to you!
  
  

Welcome back :)

Start going to Sunday Mass regularly if you have not yet, but do not receive communion until you have been to confession. I went to confession after a very long gap (25+ years), folks here will have good advice on how to do that. I decided to go confession on some kind of regular schedule after that.

> I'm reading the Youcat and Rediscover Catholicism to catch me up and fill in the gaps. Do you have any other recommendations?

Read a short basic book on prayer, if possible - I like either of these two (general rule of thumb for books: if money is an issue, try interlibrary loan.)

https://www.amazon.com/God-You-Prayer-Personal-Relationship/dp/0809129353

https://www.amazon.com/Time-God-Jacques-Philippe/dp/1594170665

Also pick a saint to learn more about. We are supposed to imitate Jesus, but sometimes it is easier to see some ways that a person can do that by looking at an example that is "closer to home". (Mary is the greatest of saints and we should remember to look to her as an example as well.) Saints are like our big brothers and big sisters - they want to help us, like someone would who loves their dear little sister (which is you), and God lets them help us, like a loving parent would. They are ordinary people who love God very much; and we are all called to become saints (and the way to do that is to ask God to make you a saint and then try to cooperate with him.)

Make a little time in your day every day for prayer (like brushing teeth, it doesn't matter whether it seems to do any good.)

I don't know what age your kids are - I have three (school age). You are instilling habits in them now that they will have later. Also, their idea of what God is like, when they are older, will be based (whether they realize it or not) on the unconditional love that they saw in you - when you hug them, when you comfort them in their sadness and hurt, when you share their joys, when you teach them right and wrong, and the ways that you correct them; these are the memories that will give meaning to the idea of God doing these things.

At whatever age they can do it, I would teach them to make the sign of the cross "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" and teach them to say the Our Father and the Hail Mary. At bedtime I help them to say "now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; may angels watch me through the night until I wake in morning light". Before meals I say grace "bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive through Christ our Lord amen" and they are supposed to cross themselves before and after and say it with me. I bring them to church with me on Sunday and have taught them where the tabernacle is, that they genuflect towards the tabernacle before sitting down in the pew when we enter, that Jesus is really present in the tabernacle (looking like bread) and that he is really present in the consecrated bread and wine on the altar, that the "boring quiet part" when the priest is saying "this is my body ... this is my blood" is the most important part and they are supposed to pay attention (and not be whispering to each other "how long until church is done"). They see that I like to go to church although they do not understand why. I let them take turns sitting on my lap so that they will remember closeness and love in church and not just being bored and coloring pictures. My husband is nominally Jewish, actually agnostic, so any kind of talking about God to them has all been up to me. I moved out recently (long story) and the kids are with me half the time.

Hi there! Thanks for giving us a look!

The central "thing" about Catholicism is that we are the continuation of the Church that Christ founded on his Apostles/Peter. By looking at the history of Christianity, I think you'll find that statement is true (like I did).

I'm a cradle Catholic, but I never really looked into or practiced my faith that much. One day, I thought I'd have myself a go and try to disprove religion. Religion is just holding us back as a society right? So let me start at the top of the ladder. I tried to disprove theism in general.

Couldn't do it.

Ok, let me disprove Christianity then.

Couldn't do it.

Dang, can I at least prove that Catholicism isn't the true form of Christianity?

LOL, nope. I ended up having a much stronger connection to my faith. Presently, I am discerning the priesthood. I thank God every day that He allowed me to have such arrogance as to think "I can disprove God!" and travel down that rabbit hole. I came out with a profound love and trust for God. It was stressful and hair-pulling, but worth it!

I, for one, am a reader. Literature is what brought me back to the Church. There area many works which I would recommend:

• a small encyclical by Pope John Paul II called Fides et Ratio, or Faith and Reason in Latin. This very short book is about how faith and human reason are not opposed to each other! Faith and reason are two wings of the same dove on which man ascends to God. It's a very simple, yet important thing to read, and sets the stage for Catholic philosophy and theology.
  
  
• The Fathers Know Best by Jimmy Akin. Jimmy converted to Catholicism after being a Baptist. This amazing book shows historical documents from the Early Church and shows how the Church Fathers, those who studied under the Apostles themselves, prove that Catholicism is the true form of Christianity.
  
  
• The Protestant's Dilemma is a fantastic read. It points to the inconsistencies in Protestantism and how such a religion cannot work. After I finished this book, I realized that every branch of Protestantism was false, and that the only true religion could be either Catholicism or Orthodoxy.
  
  
• Jesus, Peter, and the Keys convinced me Catholicism was true and Orthodoxy was false because of its denial of the Papacy. I was hooked.
  
  
• In your situation, specifically with the attachment to Our Lady that you have, Behold Your Mother is a beautiful read. It's written by Tim Staples, another Catholic convert who converted his whole family to the Church. Tim explains why Catholics love Mary so much, and where all our fancy Mary doctrines come from. I think you would benefit greatly from this read!
  
  Finally, Catholic Answers has a YouTube channel. They have a 2 hour show every weekday in which they answer questions from Catholics and non-Catholics, and upload these questions as short videos. Any question you have should be answered here.
  
  There are many other books you could look into, but we don't want to scare you away! We have almost 2,000 years of material to read.

You sound open to learning more and very curious, which is a great thing. As I stated, classical theism is on very strong grounds, and the deductive proofs for God's existence are thorough and very defensible, but you really need some training in metaphysics to grasp them. Things like the four causes, act/potency, essentialism, to name a few. Understanding these ideas, how they interact with discoveries in modern science, and of course how they work to ground the arguments for God's existence - is a great first step. To that end, I will recommend several books. Ed Feser's books Aquinas that I've already mentioned is a great introduction, but his book Scholastic Metaphysics is a more thorough exploration and defense of these ideas. Next up, I'd recommend exploring just online the idea of "classical theism" and how it differs from "theistic personalism", which it appears you believe the Catholic idea of God to be. Additionally, I recommend exploration of moral realism through the works of Alastair MacIntyre and G.E.M. Anscombe, two brilliant philosophers whose work in reviving virtue ethics has been instrumental in my turning against relativism. C.S. Lewis is also great for this, but he does not have the rigor of those two I mentioned. Then of course there is natural theology, for which I love Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange for, but he can be a bit exhaustive (not that that's a bad thing!).

One final thought I will leave you with that addresses that all too-common "yeah, well what about this God/religion! What makes you so sure of yours!?"-style of argument. Frankly, I find this line of thinking flawed even when I was an atheist. It is equally plausible that all religions have aspects of the ultimate truth, but that one is the most true. In fact, the ubiquitous spread and prevelance of religion, the widespread belief in moral realism, the common testimony of supernatural experiences, and explanatory power (not just qualitative/observable causes but also final/formal explanatory power that is outside the scientific realm), lends strong evidence to this being the case. This is also what Catholicism and St. Paul teach about the law being written on our hearts. A great recent book similar to this idea is Fr. Spitzer's The Soul's Upward Yearning, which is simply a great overview of the best of these kinds of arguments. He also includes a whole chapter on Fr. Bernard Lonnergan's excellent intelligibility argument for God's existence.

Another fair point. So, a clip here, so you don't even need to leave Reddit.

>...

>#Our Argument in Brief

>To orient readers, let me summarize the claims we defend in our book.

>Marriage is a human good with its own structure, like knowledge or friendship. The present debate is not a debate about whom to let marry, but about what marriage (the human good that the law has reasons to track) really is. Two answers compete for legal enshrinement.

>The first, driving the push for same-sex marriage, is that a certain emotional intimacy makes a marriage. But as our book shows, this answer can’t coherently distinguish marriage from companionship, an obviously broader category. So it gets marriage (the human good) wrong.

>The second view of marriage begins from basics. Any voluntary form of community involves common action; it unites people toward common ends in the context of commitment. And in these respects, what sets marital community apart is its comprehensiveness: in (1) how it unites people, (2) what it unites them with respect to, and (3) how extensive a commitment it demands.

>First, marriage unites people in their bodies as well as their minds. Just as your organs are one body by coordinating for the biological good of the whole (your survival), so a man and woman’s bodies unite by coordination (in sexual intercourse) for a biological good (reproduction) of the couple as a whole. No other activity makes of two people “one flesh.”

>Second, as the act that makes marital love also makes new life, so marriage itself is uniquely enriched and extended by the bearing and rearing of children, and the wide sharing of family life.

>Third, because of its comprehensiveness in both these senses, marriage alone requires comprehensive (permanent and exclusive) commitment, whatever the partners’ tastes.

>The stability of marriage, so understood, best ensures that children will know the committed love of those whose union brought them forth. This gives them the best shot at becoming healthy and happy people, which affects every other social good. That is why every society with the merest ambition to thrive has socially regulated male-female sexual bonds: to shore up the stabilizing norms of marriage, on which social order rests.

>If marriage is redefined (in law, and hence in public opinion and practice) as simple companionship for adult fulfillment, then, for reasons to be explained, it will be harder to live by its norms and urge them on others. And this will harm the social goods that hook society into regulating marriage in the first place.

>Besides defending these claims, my coauthors and I answer the most common objections to the historic view of marriage. And we show how society can uphold that view without ignoring the needs, undermining the social dignity, or curbing the fulfillment of same-sex attracted people.

>#Misreadings

>...

I end the clip at that point from this article as this is a succinct presentation of their book, What Is Marriage?

I actually deconverted from Catholicism in college. I'm a revert.

I never got into into the party culture. I'm really against drinking and doing drugs, and I've always been skeptical of sex outside of a committed relationship and those morals stuck with me even after I deconverted from Christianity. What I did encounter was a lot of intellectual arguments against religion that I couldn't answer. However, what I also eventually discovered was that most of those objections had been heard before and responded to, at least in some manner.

So, here's my semi-comprehensive list of apologetics apologetics resources that I've accumulated over the years.

IMHO, the following books cover all the essentials very well and are probably must reads. You can buy used or online copies of them relatively cheaply, under 20 dollars if you're in the US. Check out Trent Horn's Answering Atheism, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civ, Mere Christianity by CS Lewis (you can probably get Mere Christianity at your at public library), and What is Marriage? Man and Woman a Defense for defending the concept of natural marriage. You should also read How to Argue which is a free pdf. I haven't researched abortion apologetics as extensively as other areas but I know Trent Horn has some books on those.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not going to say you should read all of my remaining recommendations but I'm putting the rest out there for you so you know they exist.

Now, no list of apologtics is going to cover every argument about Christianity so I would also recommend some online resources. www.reddit.com/r/Catholicism is an amazing forum. It has tons of Catholics who are way more knowledgable and experienced that me who can answer questions and stuff. You may or may not have heard of it ;). I also recommend William Lane Craig's site: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/question-answer. Again, Craig is a protestant so don't look to him for a defense of Catholicism. However, he's good when it comes to defending the basics of Christianity from atheism. Catholic Answers is good. Fr Barron is good. Strange Notions can be good, I link to it in my last paragraph.

The exact relationship between faith and reason was my biggest stumbling block on the road back to Catholicism, so I have some good recommendations on that topic. I recommend the papal encycle Fides et Ratio and How the Catholic Church Built Western Civ. Plantinga's book Where the Conflict Really Lies is also popular and uses evolution to make an interesting argument against materialism. Plantinga's not a Catholic so I don't know how well they would square with Catholic philosophies like Thomism, but, yeah, he exists. He also wrote this giant essay on faith and science, which was helpful. The book God and the Philosophers is pretty good too, it's an anthology of different Christian philosophers and talks about how they converted to Christianity.

Some comprehensive (but expensive) books by non-Catholics include The Blackwell Companion to natural theology by William Lane Craig (not a Catholic). I've heard good things about Richard Swinburne's apologetics trilogy The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason. Swinburne is Eastern Orthodox, just for the record.

I want to give a special shoutout to Edward Fesser. He's a secular atheist philosopher who converted to Catholicism. You can read his conversion story here. He also has a blog that you can google. Fesser also wrote a bunch of books that are highly recommended by people on this sub, although I haven't read them.

If you are praying Morning, Evening, and/or Night Prayer, I'd recommend you starting with Shorter Christian Prayer. It's the one I started with before moving on to [Christian Prayer](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0899424066].

The St Joseph Guide to Christian Prayer is very helpful in navigating this book (note that there is no St Joseph Guide for SCP).

Christian Prayer gives you room to learn how to more fully pray the Hours. You'll also be able to pray a one-week psalter for Daytime Prayer. There's also a four-week psalter for the Office of Readings, but the 1st and 2nd readings are just a selection (I use iBreviary for the OR). You'll also learn how to use the ribbons and learn how to flip around the book. Not too hard to learn, but it takes patience and experience to learn how to get through certain seasons (such as the period between Christmas and Ephiphany -- though the St Joseph Guide helps a lot).

There is, of course, the 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours, but I wouldn't recommend that for beginners. I've been praying the Hours on-and-off again for about fifteen years and I still don't have a copy of it; I'll probably get one when the revisions are done sometime around/after 2020. I use Christian Prayer for MP, EP, and NP and iBreviary for everything else (Office of Readings, Daytime Prayer -- though I recently acquired a standalone book for Daytime Prayer that has the 4-week psalter).

Praying the Hours through an app is great. iBreviary is excellent and free and super easy to use.

For more about the Hours, I'll recommend three books: Daria Sockey's Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, which is a nuts and bolts approach to it (her blog Coffee and Canticles is good reading); Fr Timothy Gallagher's Praying The Liturgy of the Hours: A Personal Journey, which is a great testament to the power of this prayer; John Brook's The School of Prayer: An Introduction to the Divine Office for All Christians, which is a bit of nuts and bolts but with a commentary on all the psalms and canticles of MP, EP, and NP -- it also deals with the spirituality of the Hours and more topics.

Note that my recommendations are assuming that you are attending the Ordinary Form of the Mass. The Mass is the jewel, and the Hours are its setting. If you go to the EF, you'll probably want to get the older form of the Hours, which I don't have a clue about.

EDIT: link

> What are the sacraments? Where can I find them in scripture?

Catholicism isn't a sola scriptura religion (and, really, sola scriptura wasn't meant to eliminate other sources of knowledge such as Tradition, but that's how it's ended up for a lot of denominations). Sometimes, there are things that logic and reasoning bring you to.

That said, Baptism, Reconciliation (Confession), and the Eucharist are extremely clear from scripture [Matt 28:19] [John 20:22-23] [Luke 22:19].

Someone else already discussed confirmation but I'll add this: [ccc 1286-1289].

Jesus teaches about marriage very definitively to the point of referencing Genesis and the insoluble union of becoming one flesh. He also performed His first public miracle at a wedding. (Interesting side note: the sacrament of marriage is conferred upon one another by the bridge and groom. The Church merely witnesses.)

I'm going to refer you to the Catechism for Holy Orders since I don't have the skill to summarize it for you. Although that implies I'm doing a good job summarizing the others, which probably isn't the case.

Jesus publicly healed the sick, sometimes using sacramentals to anoint them even though He clearly didn't need to [John 9:6-7]. And Jesus' ministry was certainly a healing ministry for both body and soul.

> Do Catholics worship Mary?

No. We honor Mary as the mother of God. I think the biggest thing that causes so much confusion for many Christians is that they equate prayer with worship. To pray is to ask, as in "pray tell". So we ask Mary to intercede on our behalf with her Son, just as she did for the bride and groom at Cana [John 2:1-5].

>So do you pray to Saints? How do we know they are in heaven now? I always thought everyone was at rest waiting for judgement day.

The modern process for declaring that someone is in heaven requires authenticated miracles that could only be attributed to the intercession of someone who is dead (there's more to it than just that, but that's the logical basis for the declaration). There are most assuredly some that have been declared saints in the past that were done so more for political reasons than theological, so I don't really know what their exact standing would be. The Church has been given no knowledge about who isn't in heaven - only those that are. [Luke 23:43] [Mark 9:2-4]

> I'd always thought that meant making images of angels or the trinity was forbidden but correct me if I am wrong.

And yet, [Exodus 25:18-20].

> -Not that is particularly matter to me personally, but I am curious as to whether Catholics believe the images to be aesthetically accurate.

I don't actually know if there's an official Church teaching on that particular item, but I'm personally fairly certain the Jesus wasn't a white guy with blue eyes. Obviously I could be wrong. There are definitely people in the Middle East that vary a lot in complexion, hair color, and eye color. I suppose the various representations of Jesus are more about helping you to identify with Him on a more personal level; hence Him looking more like people in the region that the images were made: white Jesus in Europe, black Jesus in Africa, semetic Jesus in the Middle East. I haven't actually seen an Asian Jesus, but I'm sure He's out there.


---

Wow! A lot of great questions. I think you would benefit greatly by purchasing the Catechism of the Catholic Church - CCC for short. It's also available online. I would tell you to follow the links in the part that Catebot will provide from the bot callout I did, but those links aren't working correctly anymore and I haven't made it a priority to fix them. :(

I also checked your posting history and while I don't have experience with the turmoil you're going through, feel free to PM me if you just need to talk. I did go through a similar search as you are including Judaism and very seriously considered converting prior to returning to Catholicism (raised Catholic, never confirmed, drifted away but never completely stopped believing, various Christian denominations, mysticism, etc.). I will pray that your search for the Truth is fruitful: [Phil 1:4-6].

edit: Huh. My instance of versebot scanned my post but chose not to quote any verses. Weird. I'm going to put them all together in a separate comment and call out the official bot.

A quick comment before I start lobbing people for you to read. Most people stop learning about the faith at around 6 or 7 years old and so it's no wonder that once you read someone who can form a coherent argument against what you barely understand, your opinion is easily swayed.

So I'm going to give you some suggestions of people to read. Take them or leave them, but the Catholic intellectual tradition is amazing, so please at least consider some of these authors.

Chesterton, Chesterton, Chesterton. GK Chesterton's Heretics, Orthodoxy, and The Everlasting Man are all great reads and they're all online in text and audio for free. Chesterton debated all the greats of his age: HG Wells, Kipling, Bernard Shaw, and did so with courtesy and a great love of paradox.

CS Lewis' Mere Christianity is also a classic and keep in mind that Lewis was strongly influenced by his friend, you guessed it... GK Chesterton.

There's always Aquinas, who was so brilliant that he was even recognized by Monty Python (the philosopher's soccer match sketch). Seriously though, New Advent has his Summa (along with about a million other Catholic documents and texts) available for free. Aquinas gets pretty deep, and the Summa is really long, so you may want to start with a primer.

Moving into our own times, there's Peter Kreeft, who is one of my favorite philosophers.

Jennifer Fulweiler is an atheist convert, who writes a blog and does a lot of radio appearances.

If you love the science, check out The Catholic Laboratory; it's a podcast about the intersection of faith and science and how the two are really complimentary. After all, God created the laws of physics and rules the universe through them. Fr. Robert Spitzer is a priest and scientist, who has done some significant research on new proofs of God's existence using things like quantum physics.

Anyway, there's some stuff to get you started if you're interested in reading a bit to counter Hitchens and Dawkins. FWIW, I am a fan of Hitchens' writing, even if I disagree with him; Dawkins on the other hand I consider a no-talent hack, who should stick to science and leave philosophy and theology to other people. Reading Dawkins' take on Aquinas is like reading a young earth creationist writing about evolution. But I digress.

As far as the Church sex scandal, it's a tragic affair. However, you should really read the John Jay report on the scandal; this is an independently written report from the John Jay College that really nails down the causes of the sex abuse scandal (spoiler alert: celibacy had nothing to do with it). Also, if you read the statistics of abuse between Catholic clergy and other institutions (public schools, Boy Scouts, other religious institutions), you'll see that only 4% of priests between 1950 and 2002 were ever even accused and that the average abuse rate in other populations is around 10%. As for the cover up, at the time, the Church was doing what modern psychology said to do because the recidivism rate wasn't really understood (remember that the vast majority of these cases happened between 1950 and 1970). This website has some statistics on all of this and while it is published by the Church, all of the statements are cross referenced to non-church sources.

Anyway, I'll stop with the wall of text and even if you don't read anything I've suggested, I'm glad that your opinion of Catholics has improved. :)

I am also a Christian with mostly Baptist family who is considering entering the Catholic Church. I'll second (or third or fourth) Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn. I also enjoyed his Hail, Holy Queen. It really helped me to understand the Church's view of Mary. Just watch out for the puns. Hahn loves him some terrible puns.

I can tell you that reading the early Church Fathers was what really moved me away from Protestantism. I saw that the Church of the first millennium looked a lot more Catholic than I ever imagined. New Advent has an index of them here. New Advent is also the home of the online Catholic Encyclopedia. Lots of really good stuff there, although it is almost 100 years old.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and recommend the catholic.com Catholic Answers forum. I wouldn't visit unless you really enjoy debate and don't get frustrated easily, but I have had more questions answered by reading some of the debates there between Catholics and Protestants than almost anywhere else. Just be aware that it's a large forum and quality varies. I know there are people here who don't like Catholic Answers at all because of how rowdy it can get, but it has been a huge help to me.

Visit Word on Fire. Father Barron is awesome, and WOF's videos are really informative. If you have the chance, check out their Catholicism series. EWTN runs them occasionally. It's a really great show.

Good luck with your journey. It's a big transition, but it's so beautiful.

EDIT: I forgot to add that I have a copy of the catechism. I have this one. It's pretty dense in spots, but I have found it a HUGE help. I would also recommend a Catholic study Bible. I am actually using an Orthodox study Bible at the moment, and it's great to have the deuterocanonical books included.

I'd suggest Jimmy Akins The Fathers Know Best which compiles quotes from the Church Fathers and Akins enumerates them based on subject. It's not comprehensive but it's a good start and touches on a lot of things such as doctrines and dogmas, teachings and long held Church belief like contraceptives. It's a great book if you just want to look up what the Fathers have said and it's a great apologetics tool if you want to back up your positions. Either way, I think the following three books might be more inline with what you're looking for.

• Reading the Early Church Fathers: From the Didache to Nicaea by Jim Papandrea.
  
  I haven't read this one, but I do know the author and it looks like it's right up your alley. Papandrea is a Catholic professor and this book covers important documents from the Early Church period and dissects the texts and explains them to you.
  
  
• [When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers] (https://www.amazon.com/When-Church-Was-Young-Fathers/dp/1616367776/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479111666&sr=8-3&keywords=church+fathers) by Marcellino D'Ambrosio
  
  Another book that is similar to Papandrea's book.
  
  
• Father's of the Church
  
  Similar in content to the last two. Worth checking out.
  
  And here's if you want to read the Church Fathers directly
  
  I've constantly heard that the Jurgens 3 volume set was one of the best physical sets to buy. It's pricey, but I do know that it's cheaper on ebay so might be worth looking for it on there. (That is assuming you're within the US)
  
  
• Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers Collection by Phillip Schaff.
  
  I suggest you buy it digitally for next to nothing, it's great on Kindle and works well as a more comprehensive resource for studying the Fathers. His set is also digitalized online if you'd like to read it there for free. Absolutely no difference in content. Word of caution though, Schaff translated this in the late 19th century and was a Protestant, so his commentary may not always be historically and theologically sound. He does provide an exhaustive amount of footnotes that maintain the citations the Fathers used which is a task of its own. A great resource but with certain limitations.

> I want to start going again, but dealing with his anti Catholicism and New Atheist Facebook posts, etc as a practicing Catholic just sounds emotionally exhausting. Plus I'd have to attend church alone with our toddler, who tries to make a break for the altar every time she's set loose.

Going to mass without your husband is better than not going at all. Moreover, other people should not inhibit your ability to practice the Faith. Concerning the New Atheist Facebook posts, if your husband finds that kind of material even remotely convincing, I would recommend he read Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.

> Then I start wondering what the point even is because she will probably just end up being an atheist because of his example.

Set a better example than your husband and make an effort to show your child that there are good reasons to be a Catholic. Read and study apologetic books like William Lane Craig's On Guard and/or Trent Horn's Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love so that you are better equipped to defend the Faith. When your daughter is old enough, she can read these books and other apologetics books for herself. Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea for your husband to read these same books. Although, William Lane Craig's On Guard for Students was written specifically for non-Christians; so it might be a better option than On Guard, which is intended for Christians.

> You can only pray for the same thing over and over so many times with no change before it starts feeling hopeless.

Keep praying. If you are not already doing so, pray the Rosary. Even if God is not granting you the request(s) made in your prayers, know that there is a good reason for doing so. The reason(s) may never be known during your time on earth, but do not allow this to damage your relationship with God.

> The prospect of returning just feels so lonely. Our parish is huge and no one ever says a word to me. Does anyone have any advice or encouragement?

Many parishes have bible studies or meetups of some kind that would give you the opportunity to meet other Catholics. It is better to feel lonely and do what is right than not feel lonely and fail to do what is right.

First and foremost. God loves you. This is the most important thing anyone here can relate to you. Just know that God loves you and He made you with a purpose.

Now, to make inroads to the Catholic faith, you need to approach this in a logical manner. Since you're coming from the perspective of an atheist, the common approach to recognizing the truth of the Catholic faith is as follows.

1. Does God exist?
   
   
2. Has he revealed himself?
   
   
3. How do we know?
   
   There are many classical arguments to answer the first question. The most basic and simple argument is a thought experiment that goes as follows. Where did I come from? If I was created, or caused, then who created me? If I say my father created me, then who created, or caused, him? If his forefathers created him, then what led to their existence? If the universe cause their existence, then what caused the universe? Continue in this manner, and the result is an infinite regression of causes. But an infinite causal regression is impossible because we can't have infinite temporal relapse. In other words, there must be an "uncaused cause," or what Aristotle referred to as an "unmoved mover." This primal cause is the cause of everything else, because everything regressed back to it, and we say it is infinite being, because everything that exists can trace its existence back to this one being. The unmoved mover, as such, is God.
   
   You can read more about other proofs for the existence of God from the following author (who also is a former atheist, turned Catholic).
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Five-Proofs-Existence-Edward-Feser/dp/1621641333
   
   Once you have convinced yourself that the universe cannot be infinite and must therefore have an infinite Creator, you can perform another thought experiment. If the Creator is infinite in being and all powerful, can he, and has he, revealed himself to mankind? Well, if the answer is "yes," then we must search for the evidence of that revelation, and by nature of the history of human perception, we must find such a concrete revelation in the annals of human history. We read the Bible for the evidence of this revelation. In particular, the resurrection of Jesus brought to its completion the fullness of this revelation. Even secular historians agree on several main aspects of this story. A) Jesus died by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. B) Early Christians testified that they saw the risen Jesus in the flesh. C) Many of these witnesses were martyred for proclaiming this. To summarize the argument for the resurrection, we look at what the alternative possibilities are and rule them out to draw the conclusion that the mainstream story is most plausible and therefore the accurate one. Gary Habermas, an evangelical Christian scholar, has made good work on this subject.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Case-Resurrection-Jesus-Gary-Habermas/dp/0825427886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518533326&sr=1-1&keywords=the+case+for+the+resurrection
   
   Finally, you need to come to the recognition that the Catholic Church has the fullness of the Christian faith. To be brief, we as Catholics believe that Jesus Christ established this Church during his earthly ministry and made Peter the first Bishop of Rome (the Pope). Suffice it to say there is supporting Biblical scripture for this, and ample evidence that the early fathers of the Church regarded the Catholic Church as the one true Church, and further evidence that they observed the same traditions we Catholics carry on today. The supporting literature and apologetics for this subject are numerous, and I won't yet post them all. For starters, you could read Trent Horn's book. He's a relatively young Catholic apologist, and I really like his approach.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Why-Were-Catholic-Reasons-Faith/dp/1683570243

I think you would enjoy this book greatly: http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Church-Built-Western-Civilization/dp/1596983280

Most complaints from non-militant atheists (love these guys, they love deep philosophical conversation) I see are do to the so called dark ages brought about by the Church or religion in general. While members of the Catholic Church have never been perfect, the Church is responsible for some of the most progressive ideas ever to be born of man. The university system, science, it's all really fascinating to read about.

I've never been an atheist but I haven't always looked favorably on the Catholic church either (I wasn't born a Catholic and am still learning about it before making decisions). This book really helped me see what a tremendously positive force the Church has been throughout the ages. From making the western world a joy to live in to systematic helping of unfortunates.

Best of luck in any other books recommended here that you decide to read. In my experience, there's some warm and loving about the Church that I can't move away from now and I hope you find something similar or the same or at the very least feel good about continuing to learn more about a topic that interests you.

Alright here are some of the best resources I know as a Catholic. Hope they help!

Edward Feser's blog as well as his The Last Superstition and 5 Proofs of the Existence of God

Stephen Barr's Modern Physics and Ancient Faith

Francis Collin's The Language of God

Anthony Flew's There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

Thomas Wood's How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

Brant Pitre's The Case For Jesus

Tim O Neill on the Church and science, the Inquisition and the Galileo affair

Jenny Hawkins on Jesus and God, early Christianity and form criticism

Al Moritz on the Fine Tuning Argument

>There is a reason someone should believe in the supernatural and mystical aspects of Christianity. This is a large issue for me. Solely based on supernatural and mystical ideas, from an outsider perspective, Christianity is no different than animism or Buddhism. I can't have faith alone.

Well when you look at the world's religions, Christianity has a clear and impressive advantage in the miracles/mystical department. Historically, in Christianity, there have been numerous cases of Eucharistic miracles, Marian apparitions, miraculous healings and the spiritual gifts and religious experiences of countless Christian saints -- men and women of great virtue whose admirable character only add to the credibility of their testimony. Examples of these include Paul, Benedict of Nursia, Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Hildegard of Bingen, Anthony of Padua, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Vincent Ferrer, Joan of Arc, Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Catherine Emmerich, John Vianney, Anna Maria Taigi, Genma Galangi, Faustina Kowalska and Padre Pio. We also have a pair of impressive relics, the shroud of Turin and the sudarium of Orvieto. I'll also throw in Catholic exorcisms.

And these Eucharistic miracles, Marian apparitions and religious/mystical experiences continue to happen today.

What do Buddhism and animism have in comparison?

>Anything that discusses and argues against some common tropes from atheists such as Mother Teresa being a vile, sadistic person.

Honestly, I'm quite stunned at the portrait atheists have painted of her. At worst, she wasn't perfect and made mistakes. She cannot be a vile monster like Hitchens claims she was, that's ridiculous. Here are some articles that defend Mother Teresa -- here, here, here and here.

Check out any of Mother Teresa's personal writings (e.g. No Greater Love, A Simple Path, Come Be Thy Light) to see what she believed in, what she valued and how she saw the world. Check out books written by people who actually knew her such as that of Malcolm Muggeridge, an agnostic BBC reporter who ended up converting to Catholicism because of Teresa and ended up becoming a lifelong friend of hers. Or that of her priest, friend and confessor, Leo Maasburg, who was able to recall 50 inspiring stories of Mother Teresa. Or that of Conroy, a person who actually worked with her. Or any biography of hers. Find out what she was like according to the people around her. Then afterwards, determine for yourself if she resembles Hitchen's "monster" or the Catholic Church's "saint".

> What are some good books to read about it?

A good, thorough book on what we believe is The Catholic Catechism by Fr John Hardon. It doesn't directly confront the attacks that would be familiar to someone from an evangelical background (like a book such as Catholicism and Fundamentalism), but just calmly, clearly sets forth what we believe on the assumption that the reader accepts Catholicism and wants to understand it better. Another helpful book to have is Midwest Theological Forum's Handbook of Prayers, which includes the text of the parts of the Mass that are the same every week and many other traditional prayers and devotions.

> How do I go about getting involved in a Catholic Church?

MassTimes.org is a good tool for finding a parish close to you. Call the rectory and make an appointment to introduce yourself to the pastor. Although we are unable to invite you to receive Communion yet, you are welcome to go to Mass and participate to any other degree you are comfortable with.

There are literally entire books written about this type of thing (see Love and Responsibility). There isn't enough room here to do it justice, but I'll try to address some of your concerns.

> I believe love trumps all

I think that you should begin by examining what you really mean by this, and if that is really what you believe. This is a view that has probably become quite popular because of American culture. In all the romantic movies, the guy and the girl usually end up running away together and everything works out because they "love" each other. But that's now the way real life works, and I think it's a poor depiction of what real love is. Does love in fact trump all? That's a personal question about your own beliefs that I can't answer for you, but that you should think about.

I also want to mention that I think you should read Genesis 2-3. When I read that passage it helps me understand that men and women are, in fact, not "equal". They are not exactly the same. They are two completely different beings with different body parts and traits, who are both created in the image of God.

I too grew up (80s, 90s) with some pretty lousy CCD; it was a little better after switching to a Catholic high school, but I still went into college with surprisingly little knowledge about the content of Catholic doctrine.

In trying to rectify the current crisis in catechesis, I've seen plenty of people advocate for a return to pre-Vatican II CCD, i.e. the Baltimore Catechism for children and even dogmatic manuals (e.g. Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Dogma) for adults. After all, such sources are chock full of content, which is precisely what has been missing in much of the empty catechesis that has been going on for the past few decades.

However, I'd strongly advise against reverting to these sources. While they may have plenty of content, it's content that misses out on many of the wonderful developments and insights at and since Vatican II. E.g., they treat "revelation" as a propositional body of truths, rather than more fundamentally as God's relational self-disclosure to us (cf. Dei Verbum). It's for reasons like this that an entire generation of the 20th century's greatest theologians (e.g. Ratzinger, de Lubac, Rahner, von Balthasar) had major reservations about the manual-style theology that produced the Baltimore Catechism, etc.

Thankfully, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was a big step in communicating content of the Catholic tradition in a non-manualist sort of way, taking into account many of the rich developments which occurred at and after Vatican II. However, it's so voluminous that using it as a "textbook" for catechesis, even for adults, is pretty impractical.

I'd steer you toward using Card. Schönborn's YouCat, a simplified youth catechism based on the CCC, as a textual resource for teaching CCD. It has many of the advantages of the Baltimore Catechism (succinctness, Q&A format, content!) without the outmoded theology.

TL;DR - As far as textual resources for catechesis, rather the trying to slog through the voluminous CCC or reverting to the (clear but outdated) Baltimore Catechism, look into using YouCat.

What a great desire! I heartily fifth the recommendation to pray the rosary daily! Here is a video (I think I saw it posted here somewhat recently, but in case you didn't see it...) on the rosary by Fr. Don Calloway, MIC. It's a good video.

I recently finished total consecration to Jesus through Mary and I cannot recommend it enough. This is a link to St. Louis de Montfort's method for consecration. It also includes links to parts of True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary written by that saint which can be read for free on that site. (If you like physical books, you can also find it cheaply on Amazon)

I used 33 Days to Morning Glory for my consecration preparation. Use whichever you want.

You can also consider reading the Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics. A short compilation of several Catholic mystics relaying Mary's life as told by Mary when those mystics had visions of Mary. I was quite skeptical about this book, but my mom lent it to me and I decided to give it a try. It brought me closer to Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. I have found this book helped me tremendously with meditating on the mysteries while praying the rosary.

If you liked Theology of the Body, you'd probably also enjoy Love and Responsibility, which he wrote first. It's a bit dense, but if you study philosophy you shouldn't have any trouble.

I absolutely agree with your sentiment! It's a shame that these ideas aren't more widespread. I think the best thing we can do is to 1) keep talking about it, making it appear as exciting and truthful as it is, and 2) living it out to the best of our abilities.

I also like his book Walking With God. It's by the same guy and it explains each section of the timeline to you in more detail. I've got both the Great Adventure Bible and Walking With God. I'd actually recommend getting Walking with God along with a cheap Bible you can mark up rather than spending $60 on the Great Adventure Timeline Bible. I think you get more bang for your buck that way. But if you want the Great Adventure Bible, it's still a really nice buy.

I converted in 2006 based on my belief in Jesus and the scriptures... Read lots of good books. As a former Baptist, my favorite book was Catholicism and Fundamentalism: https://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-Fundamentalism-Attack-Romanism-Christians/dp/0898701775

Also pray lots and get comfortable with intercessory prayer -- that is asking others, even those who have gone before us, to pray for us... (e.g. Mary, Saints, and lower-case saints). "Praying to Mary" was my toughest thing to overcome, and once crossing that hurdle, I adore asking the Blessed Mother to pray for me.... Who better to capture the Lord's ear.

33 days to Morning Glory is an excellent book that takes a look at Marian consecration from the view of 4 great Saints. This author has also written a few other amazing books. The journaling you do with this program is life-changing. The website is pretty great too, the last I checked (a few years ago).

And then of course there is the Montefort classic True Devotion to Mary which is what many many people from laypersons to popes have used to consecrate themselves.

Give either book a read through and talk with your local priest. Also lots of prayer. Like, LOTS of prayer. Also I've been slowly feeling a call back to Catholicism and back to my Consecration, so thank you for your post.

I recommended this collection to her http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Early-Fathers-Three-Set/dp/0814610250

I converted 3 years ago and for awhile it was really a nightmare with my mom. I didn't think it would ever get better. But now the emotions are finally starting to settle and we're beginning to be able to have civil discussions about it. I have no idea where all of this will go, but I'm really happy that she's getting interesting in hearing why I converted and looking into some of it herself.

My advice to you would be to pray and pray for patience. Your parents might be really upset for years, but the more patience you have, the better it will be. And at some point things will settle down again. Always keep hope, you'll be amazed how much things can change with time!

> Is St. Thomas replying to the objections or is he just interjecting between two hypothetical debaters?

St. Thomas is using the typical rhetorical style which was used in lectures during his time, but seems strange to us today. You can find more information about the structure of the Summa from wikipedia.

> Does anyone know of a good book, either a companion or an abridged verson of the Summa Theologica that could kind of help me through it?

There are two ways you can go. For beginners, it is easiest to read the proposition, skip the objections, and go straight to St. Thomas's explanation (starting with "on the contrary"). Now that you know what St. Thomas is getting at, go back and read the objections and St. Thomas's responses to those objections.

If you are looking for a book to help, I found A Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreeft very helpful. He filters the Summa down to the most essential parts and provides footnotes to help in understanding.

Also, the Dominicans provide Fr. Farrell's commentary called Companion to the Summa for free on their website.

>Unlike your anthropomorphic sky creature.

Straw man, straw man, swimming through the ocean, causing a commotion, because it’s so fallacious...We don’t believe in a dude with a beard in the sky. You realize those depictions are just for ease of viewing, right? Otherwise we would literally not be able to depict the moment of creation, which would make for very unentertaining images.

>And some non spatial/temporal-ether (for lack of a better descriptive term) is an entirely possible, even likely explanation of observable facts.

Mmmmmhmmmm. It’s weird that you guys are all “hurr durr magic sky fairy,” and in order to keep any semblance of self-consistent philosophy you have to resort to untestable universes that spontaneously generated out of nothing. You literally read more like a caricature of Christian beliefs than I do. “It just happened! It popped out of space juice!”

Which one of us is high, again?

Also, note that God is also a perfectly consistent explanation. But sure, magic sky multiverses. Whatever.

>Please read ACTUAL theories and research.

Did you read the research behind the book you linked? I too read pop science. I’m reading an ancient Brian Greene book called Fabric of the Cosmos right now. I would encourage you to look up the critical reviews for the book you linked, as well. Here’s one I found (admittedly on Wikipedia), that I thought was interesting:

>Commenting on the philosophical debate sparked by the book, the physicist Sean M. Carroll asked, "Do advances in modern physics and cosmology help us address these underlying questions, of why there is something called the universe at all, and why there are things called 'the laws of physics,' and why those laws seem to take the form of quantum mechanics, and why some particular wave function and Hamiltonian? In a word: no. I don't see how they could."

Weird.

>Sorry I won't read your bronze age myths anymore than I have.

Okay? We’ll see who’s right when we die, I guess.

>Equivocate if you wish.

Thank you for your generosity.

>Religion gave us sacrificial goats.

Science gave us Hiroshima and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, but I’m not railing at science, am I?

>Science (an actual, demonstrable understanding of reality) gave us engines, planes, computers...

Catholicism gave us the university system, Western civilization, the Big Bang Theory, tons of advances in modern medicine, a modern legal system, and, what do you know, according to this, modern science. Weird, huh?

>Probability is temporal, so even the most unlikely things are bound to happen in a multiverse, btw...

Who are you to decide how probability does or does not apply in a multiverse that you don’t even know exists?

>if you'll leave me to take advantage of the life I actually know I'll get.

Yes, please, continue leading your meaningful life trolling Catholic forums.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I do think appealing to the natural / biological realities of our bodies as fundamental to our ethical and theological beliefs can appeal to people. It's pretty undeniable that, biologically speaking, the purpose of our sex organs is to procreate.

Anyway, I think I see the point you're making, as well. I think I will leave it at that, but if you haven't already read this book I will recommend it to you because I think it's interesting and helpful on the topic of marriage.

You can consecrate yourself to Christ through Mary on any day of the year - God would not restrict such a beautiful gift to certain days.

However, it is tradition, and somewhat more meaningful, to consecrate yourself on a Marian feast day. Typically you try to time it so the traditional 33 days of study/prayer finish on the day before the consecration, and you do your consecration on the 34th day, which would be a Marian feast day. I finished mine recently, on the Our Lady of the Rosary fest day.

I would highly recommend St. Louis de Montford's guide, but when I did my consecration, I used not only that book but also the more modern 33 Days to Morning Glory. The 33 Days book is a little more modern in its text and easier to understand, but the original guide by St. Louis de Montford had many more prayers and a more in-depth introduction to Mary that I greatly appreciated. So for my 33 day study, I used both, which I highly recommend, since I felt like I learned a lot from both.

I'm reading 3 this lent (the first 3) but recommend everything.

• Mother Theresa Come Be My Light The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta
  
• 33 Days To Morning Glory: A Do-It Yourself Retreat In Preparation For Marian Consecration
  
• David Steindl Rast - Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer An Approach To Life In Fullness
  
• Romano Guardini - The Art Of Praying

Your welcome, this is a good forum if you want to learn more.

If your interested in learning more, I suggest the following 2 books

Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith by Bishop Robert Barron

Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love by Trent Horn

1- Bible: Any Bible with the word "Catholic" on the front (and without words like "Story", "Picture", "For Little Ones", etc) will suit your purposes. Your best bet is either the NRSV-CE or the New American Bible. Beyond that, it's completely up to you - different editions have different features. Just go to a Catholic bookstore and see which one you like best. This blog has some information on the different editions.

For the NRSV-CE, take a look at the Ignatius Bible

For New American, take a look at a St Joseph edition. I've also heard a recommendation for the Fireside editions.

Either one of those might fit the bill for "quintessential"

2 - For learning the prayers of the Mass, get a St Joseph Sunday Missal. Any edition will have the basic prayers. If you get the inexpensive paperback "2015" book, it will have the prayers of the Mass, but the Bible readings won't pick up until the new Church year starts in late November.

For learning more about the whys and wherefores of the Mass, the Catechism has a good start on this information. You might also like to check out Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper

3- printed Catechism - Get this one. If it looks intimidating, get one of its little sisters, the Compendium or even the YouCat

4 - Philosophy - The Catechism itself will have references. I like Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed

Hope this is helpful! Welcome aboard!

Well, it would depend on what you feel your soul is looking for right now.

You say you're agnostic, there are books for people who want to get a sense of the existence of God, like Jacob's Ladder: Ten Steps to Truth. Peter Kreeft, the author of the book, has a handy section on his website going over various perspectives on the verification of God's existence.

There are books for people who want to get to know Catholic faith a little better before committing, like Waking Up Catholic: A Guide to Catholic Beliefs for Converts, Reverts, and Anyone Becoming Catholic.

There are books for people who want to get to know the Catholic faith more in depth, and have some hurdles to overcome, particularly from the protestant objections, like Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism, from an anti-Catholic Presbyterian minister whose battle against the faith pulled him into it.

There are people who come to the Church by reading on the lives of saints, others by reading on the history of the church and how it built western civilization, and others just by reading the news. It's not just a purely intelectual exercise, this is a spiritual quest and as such you have to give your soul what it yearns for.

Get a Bible you would read. I like the RSV-CE, but you can also go with the Douay Rheims if you want archaic English or the NAB. Of the Bibles, the Navarre Bible (RSV) has commentary sections from Saints throughout the centuries. They have a single volume version of the New Testament that I use. (Also good, the Ignatius Study Bible, also New Testament only).

I recommend Thomas Howard's If Your Mind Wanders At Mass and Healing Through the Mass by Fr. Robert DeGrandis.

Get the Official Catechism of the Catholic Church, and get the helps put out by Ignatius Press (which contain the texts of all the footnotes). The Compendium is also good, if you want an abridgement.

For Philosophy, I recommend The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin. In that book he takes the writings of seven doctors of the Church and encapsulates them so that a layperson can follow them. You can use that as a springboard to discover your own readings about St. Augustine, St. John of the Cross, etc.

These are all affiliate links, but you do not have to use them.

The US Catholic Church uses the New American Bible, so that's the translation you'll be hearing at Mass if you're in the US. So, just search New American Bible and go with that. I would even recommend getting a study Bible to help you understand what's happening and how things relate to other parts of the Bible, because it can be confusing. Just as a recommendation, this one is fantastic.


There are quite a few sources on understanding the Mass. I would look up the Order of the Mass and maybe try reading through that and following along during Mass, so you understand what is being said and also know what to say.


The Catechism is fantastic. Here is a pretty safe bet on getting started with reading that and something to use as reference.


If you're interested in reading the Summa Theologica, there are shorter versions like Summa of the Summa, which, while still not too short, condense down the most important information and make it easier for somebody without as much time to at least get the general idea.


Good luck on your journey, as I am currently doing the same and am in RCIA, but I've been doing my research for quite a while and am very excited for the coming year!

Welcome! I appreciate your genuine curiosity to learn more about Catholicism from Catholics.

I would recommend Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray. Steve has a Baptist background as well and wrote that book to explain why he was converting to Catholicism. I really enjoyed it and it combines Scripture and Early Christian's writings to support his reasons.

​

God bless!

It's not a Catholic book, but if you want to go the 'not pushy' route, I would suggest something like C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce—something that gives a little bit of a taste of broader Christian theology, but that isn't itself overwhelmingly doctrinal (since I know that many non-believers tend to react quite forcefully against that kind of thing).

If you want to be more explicitly doctrinal but still just want to give a kind of inviting teaser into greater mysteries, I would recommend picking up a short topical work in theology. Something, perhaps, like Ratzinger's 'In the Beginning…': A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall.

Otherwise there's always Bishop Barron's Catholicism.

>What is the general consensus on things such as the Little Office of Our Lady?

As a layperson, you can pray any office you wish. I love the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially the one from Baronius Press.

I started praying the LOTH with Shorter Christian Prayer. It's a good way to get into it without all the page flipping. I know priests who use this as their travel edition. ;)

These are all very good and very in-depth questions that require time to answer. I am limited, so I will point you in the direction of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is available for free online in many places, notably through the USCCB.

I highly recommend getting your hands on one and taking some time to research what the Church says on many of the topics you ask, re: heaven/hell/purgatory, sin, hell, the crucifixion, and the deposit of Faith.

I'll also point you to my good friend Jimmy Akin and encourage you to search through some of his articles there about the questions you have. He's faithful to the Magisterium and spot-on in everything he writes.

>What are the essential beliefs that all Catholics share?

The Nicene Creed.

>Are Catholics allowed to not necessarily believe in an afterlife, or disagree on some of the questions I ask in this post?

If you accept the teachings of Christ, you necessarily accept the belief in an afterlife.

Godspeed in your search for the Truth.

Universalis (app or website) is a good resource for praying the office. There's 6 times per day that a professed religious stops and prays the psalms in the Office, but for laypeople the best ones are probably Lauds (in the morning), Vespers (after work), and Compline (before bed).

Breviaries like this one can help laypeople pray the office.

Personally, I think there's a lot of garbage, namby-pamby advice in this thread.

As Venerable Fulton Sheen said, "There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing."

If you believe the Catholic Faith is true, then presumably your end goal is their conversion. If it's not, it should be.

Perhaps the initial explanation won't go well. That's fine. Whatever happens, don't burn any bridges. Unfortunately, since it's today there's not much more prep you can do.

The best advice I can give is to come armed with what they think they know. Beyond the initial, emotional reaction, they will have arguments. Maybe not today, but they'll come. They already know what they're going to say. They already have their "Catholicism is the Whore of Babylon Talking Points" on a 3x5 index card (even if it's just a mental index card.) So what do you do? Surprise them. Steal their lines. Ask questions that they aren't expecting. Since you already know all of the anti-Catholic talking points, you are (hopefully) well prepared to counter them with clarity and charity, using Holy Scripture as your guide.

Also, remember you're not alone in this. LOTS of fantastic people have made this conversion. Here are a few book recs that are relevant.

Catholicism and Fundamentalism

Rome Sweet Home

Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic

Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church

I haven't read this one yet, but it also looks awesome. Dr. Brant Pitre also writes on this topic:

The Fourth Cup: Unveiling the Mystery of the Last Supper and the Cross

I was raised Evangelical... converted to Catholic in adulthood. There are a number of books that I could recommend. Here are some of my favorites - in order of importance/preference.

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (only the NT though, they are currently working on OT)

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Catholicism and Fundamentalism (written in the 80's, but still very relevant and the best Catholic apologetics book to defend the faith that I've ever read)

Works of G.K. Chesterton Vol 3 (This volume explains why he converted from Anglican to Catholic)

Rome Sweet Home

The Fathers Know Best

Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic

Surprised By Truth

Youcat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church and YOUCAT Bible It's filled with engaging photos, clever and fun illustrations, insightful sidebar quotes from great thinkers, Catholic saints and leaders, past and present, and young people living their faith today. It includes helpful introductions to the books of the Bible and short, easy-to-understand commentaries by some of today's top Bible teachers.

Hihi!

I really liked the book 33 Days to Morning Glory a friend recommended it and it was super easy to follow, not overwhelming, and had so many excellent reflections.

I'm glad to have done the consecration, it helped me a lot on my faith journey.

Perhaps this could interfere with another consecration or make it seem burdensome to do multiple ones, but at the end of the day, this all leads to Christ. To Jesus through Mary. :)

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! The consecration is not until the end of the book/journey, so you can always opt out and just use it as an educational tool.

If you are in college, seek out your Catholic Campus Ministries program, if you have one, and speak to the representative about RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults).

If the college has no CCM (or its equal), then seek out the local parish in your area and speak directly to the pastor about converting to the faith.

Before all of this, though, pray.

If the pastor you go to makes you feel like you have to run the gauntlet to join the Roman Church - this is a good thing. We have too many lukewarm Catholics who do not practice what the Church teaches. If you're going to join, we want you to be all-in.

Next, study. Do your own research with the Scriptures, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Canon Law to be your guide.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask them here (or with your local pastor).

Edit Recommended Reading

• Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism
  
  
• Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic
  
  
• Catholicism and Fundamentalism
  
  
• Theology for Beginners
  
  I also recommend watching some episodes of Catholicism by Fr. Robert Barron.

I have a couple of book recommendations, which may or may not be too long for you. They're both clearly written and easy to understand.
Both follow the general structure of the Catechism. You can read them through, or choose to read or skip over topics depending on your interest. The first is only half the size of the second, and is probably a better one to start with.

A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic's Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe - by Joe Paprocki.


YouCat by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn

My mom got me this book called "33 Days to Morning Glory", and its a easy to follow version of how to consecrate yourself to mary and what it means. You have to prepare 33 days before a Marian feast day (for Lent I was prepping for the Annunciation) and then you're closer to Mary in special ways and try to be more intentional in the way you live to honor her, and she brings you closer to Jesus. I'd recommend the book, my faith life was getting rather boring and repeptive and this was a nice refresher and good thing to read every morning.
Here's a link to amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Days-Morning-Glory-Do-Yourself/dp/1596142448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522042462&sr=8-1&keywords=33+days+to+morning+glory+book

Welcome


You did first part by contacting your nearest parish. They will send you to RCIA, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It is kind of course that will teach you basics.

About reading these two newer books are good:
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Catholicism-Religion/dp/0521608554

https://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-Journey-Heart-Robert-Barron/dp/0307720527

If you are short on money, I can recommend three older books which you read for free:

The faith of our fathers - Cardinal Gibbon

The spirit of Catholicism - Karl Adam

The belief of Catholics - Ronald Knox

Godspeed

> why the Catholic faith is the only true faith as opposed to just "one of many paths," a.k.a. religious relativism

• A Biblical Defense of Catholicism by Dave Armstrong
  
  
• A Brief for Belief: The Case of Catholicism by Frederick Marks
  
  
• Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith by Robert Barron
  
  > Basically I need a book on how to counter moral relativism
  
  
• Peter Kreeft wrote A Refutation on Moral Relativism. You can find an audio version of it on his website.
  
  
• "True for You, But Not For Me": Deflating the Slogans That Leave Christians Speechless by Paul Copan
  
  
• Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air by Francis Beckwith and Greg Koukl
  
  
• Who Am I To Judge?: Responding to Relativism with Logic and Love by Edward Sri

If you like philosophy I'd suggest Thomas Aquinas and a good interpreter of Aquinas like Peter Kreeft

https://www.amazon.com/Summa-Thomas-Aquinas/dp/089870300X

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Scholar-Philosophy-Thomas-Aquinas/dp/B002QBNVAW

If you wanna learn the bible and the catechism at the same time, I can heartily suggest the Didache bible, which includes both, or rather it uses the catechism as commentary for the Bible.

http://www.ignatius.com/Products/DBIB-H/the-didache-bible-with-commentaries-based-on-the-catechism-of-the-catholic-church.aspx

If you are more into learning baby step by baby step, I'd recommend EWTN radio, which has shows like Open Line and Called to Communion. Called to communion is especially goo because Dr. Anders takes small issues and unpacks them into large theological catechises.

St Catherines Catholic church also has a nice video bible study

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3B6ihEAmqWIsQXE5tVob_w

Hey, sorry I never replied to this! Aquinas is who I read, primarily. And the philosophers in his tradition who come after him. I think he probably presents the strongest arguments, but to consider them for what they actually are, you have to have a basic understanding of Aristotelian metaphysics. You're probably not looking for this, but I would recommend these books, in this order:

The Last Superstition

Aquinas (A "Beginner's" [quotes mine; not all that beginner-ish imo] Guide)

Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction

The first one is a polemic, so beware. But it lays out a pretty decent modern cultural context for Scholastic metaphysics. That last one is especially good if you're interested in how science plays out in Thomism. The second one (and the bulk of the last one) though is kinda meaty technical stuff. But I think that series prepares you to understand the arguments of all different sorts of metaphysicians quite well.

It is a lot of work though. I won't deny that. It sort of pissed me off at first, but truth doesn't necessarily have to be easy to comprehend. Of course that's not to say that the difficulty of all this is meritorious or anything in itself.

Redemptoris Missio - This encyclical kick started my passion for evangelization. St. JP2, 'nuff said

Forming Intentional Disciples - I truly believe that this book is going to transform the way parishes and individuals approach their methods of evangelization.

Evangelical Catholicism - This book gave me the most comprehensive vision for how the popes of the 20th century began a movement that will fully take root in 21st century Catholicism. It challenged the way I express my faith and provided a vision for priesthood and married life that affects the world by living lives radically transformed by Christ.

Evangelii Gaudium - Pope Francis rounds out my essential texts on Catholics living lives that evangelize. He gives a compelling vision for how our Catholic witness starts with an encounter with Christ, that leads to a profound joy and requires us to reach out to others.

I Believe In Love - This book was my introduction to St Therese. The series of reflections reinvigorated my prayer life, introduced me to Mary, and inspired my attention to Christ being present in my daily life.

Catholicism - This is my go to book when people ask me for an introduction to Catholicism. Fr Barron gives a phenomenal explanation of how the Church is not an organization of rules, but rather a living, breathing witness of Christ.

Steve Ray was formerly this type of Evangelical/baptist. He is now a devout apologist for the Catholic church. He wrote a book entitled "Crossing the Tiber." If you read this then you will learn the points that likely can get your type of Christian friend thinking outside of his very comfortable and judgmental box. Have fun.

A link to a used book sales summary on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0898705770/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

You don't have to toss your KJV. As a convert from Protestantism, I still have mine as well. For studying, I would suggest the Ignatius Bible (RSV-CE) and you will probably be given another Bible in RCIA. You should definitely pick up The Catechism of the Catholic Church if you don't have one already. You will be given one of these in RCIA as well. It would answer a ton of your questions (and of course, this subreddit as well, heh)

Next, there is Catholic Answers, one of the best online resources to find what you need.

about the music, yeah, if you feel some negativity like anger from your music you might want to tone it down. it will be hard if it's your favorite but do what you think is best.

The Catechism is awesome, but it can be a tad overwhelming. I always recommend the Compendium to people who to lean about the church, but have little background info about it first. It's really outstanding and accessible.

http://www.amazon.com/Compendium-United-States-Conference-Bishops/dp/1574557203

[Crossing the Tiber](http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Tiber-Evangelical-Protestants-Historical/dp/0898705770 "Also available for Kindle!"), by Stephen K. Ray. It's very well researched; sometimes the footnotes and references take up most of the page!

dessinemoiunmouton referenced this elsewhere in the thread, and I agree: [Faith of the Early Fathers](http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Early-Fathers-Three--Set/dp/0814610250/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320271030&sr=1-1 "Also available for Kindle!"), by Jurgens. It's a three-volume set, and best used as a reference, instead of a straight-read. Of immense value is the doctrinal index, which lists various elements of theology, and then points you to the relevant historical writings!

Whether it would work for you as a "beginner" probably depends on your temperament. It's very much in the style of a textbook or reference book. It's arranged topically, and will give a basic summary of the topic in question, along with notation of the strength of the teaching (whether it be dogma, doctrine, the general consensus, etc.) and references to primary sources.

As to the references, it typically refers you to Denzinger's Enchiridion Symbolorum, and I share the popular opinion that the two books are best read together.

I think that's wonderful. As a former Protestant I would only sound a word of caution about what one can learn of the Catholic Church from non-Catholic sources. My own experience was that the non-Catholic sources according to which I had formed my judgment of the Catholic Church didn't always present Catholic belief or theology accurately.

I don't know how well or how accurately the book you're reading presents Catholic theology and practice--it may be perfectly adequate. Only I would suggest, as others here already have, that you supplement this reading with the new Catechism, or other books written by Catholics or for Catholics.

Another good resource is the online Catholic Encyclopedia. It has in-depth articles about just about any subject pertinent to the Church (as of 1913, that is).

This book is really great It's Catholicism: Journey to the heart of the faith by Bishop Barren

https://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-Journey-Heart-Robert-Barron/dp/0307720527

If you have any specific questions, Catholic Answers is a great resource. Catholic Culture has good information on the liturgical year, and they also do reviews of Catholic websites. If you're interested in offline reading material, there's the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, which (despite the name) is a very readable resource. I also really like Father Barron's Catholicism.

It can be a bit daunting due to its length, but the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a text describing the beliefs which the Church officially considers doctrinal. There's the regular Catechism text, but also a Compendium and a Catechism for Adults if the regular Catechism is too long or too dense of a read right now. The parish you contacted might have a copy of the Catechism you can borrow/keep if you ask.

Other good "starter" books on Catholicism include:

• Rediscover Catholicism - Matthew Kelly
  
• Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith - Robert Barron
  
• The Lamb's Supper - Scott Hahn
  
• Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist - Brant Pitre
  
• The Creed - Scott Hahn
  
• Theology for Beginners - Frank Sheed
  
• A Biblical Walk Through the Mass - Edward Sri
  
• Waking Up Catholic - Chad Torgerson
  
  Also be aware that the Catholic Bible has a few more books than the Protestant one, so also see if you can get ahold of one. Catholic Bible translations include the New American Bible, the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (also the NRSV-CE), the New Jerusalem Bible (less common here in America), and the traditional Douay-Rheims translation--the Douay Rheims is to Catholicism as the King James Version is to Protestant Christianity.

For an intro to the Fathers, definitely recommend the 3-volume Faith of the Early Fathers by William Jurgens.

Faith of the Early Fathers: Three-Volume Set
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0814610250/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Qo.0AbD48WTXZ

As far as Church documents, Denzinger is a standard reference (Ignatius has a nice copy on sale for $40 on Amazon), but it’s arranged chronologically which can make it harder for study. For a bit less, you can pick up a copy of The Christian Faith compiled by Jacques Dupuis, which orders everything by topic. This volume is not as comprehensive as Denzinger, but I like it a lot.

Enchiridion Symbolorum: A Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and Declarations of the Catholic Church (Latin Edition) (Latin and English Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898707463/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Yq.0AbN6564B0

The Christian Faith: In the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church https://www.amazon.com/dp/0818908939/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pr.0AbZBR1BD4

Might want to check out Trent Horn's book Why We're Catholic, especially these chapters:

Why We Believe in Jesus

Why We Believe in the Resurrection

Basically, God answered your reasonable question by giving us the Resurrection, something know to be impossible before and after under normal circumstances as evidence. Once you accept the Resurrection you can be sure God is the Catholic God.

Get Shorter Christian Prayer and start praying Compline (Night Prayer) -- there's even a book with just Night Prayer in it. Once you get into the habit, add another hour, such as Morning or Evening Prayer. When you get comfortable with this, you may want to get Christian Prayer, which has more page flipping involved.

Or you could pray The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's very simple and lovely. All the hours are the same for each day. There is a slight variation during Advent and Christmas.

I've done both the LOTR and LOBVM. Currently I pray LOBVM's Matins/Lauds every morning and Vespers most evenings. I used to pray Compline, but I haven't done so in a while.

It takes about 15-20 minutes to say the LOBVM Matins/Lauds and about 10-15 mins for Vespers.

Denzinger is a compendium of dogmatic/doctrinal/important statements of the Church. It has a scriptural index in the back, which allows you to look if there's an official interpretation on a certain Bible verse. It may not have every verse, or every authentic interpretation (and it's only magisterial statements, not interpretations of the Saints) but it is pretty good.

Hi, /u/CalmPassenger!

I'm on the journey to the Church; I come from the Reformed & Evangelical Protestant tradition - I raised many of the same concerns that you have. If it's alright, I'll share some links that I found helpful on this road! Many blessings.

"Why Are Priests Called Father?"

"Do Catholics Worship Statues?"

"Veneration of Images" from The Catholic Encyclopedia (this was especially helpful to me!)

"Why Do Catholics Confess Their Sins to a Priest?"

Edit: I can't recommend highly enough Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" - next to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it has been one of the most instrumental tools in breaking down the misconceptions Protestants often have about the Catholic Church.

I often recommend Bishop Robert Barrons book “Catholicism”

Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307720527/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CCCYDb5RDFXEF

I would suggest the shorter form of the Divine Office for starters! It can be found on Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Shorter-Christian-Prayer-Four-Week-Containing/dp/0899424082.

I personally have loved it.

>Also, where can I read more about Natural Law?

Edward Feser is very good at explaining it. Here's a blog post to get you started: http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2012/10/whose-nature-which-law.html

And if you want to read more, I'd recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Scholastic-Metaphysics-Contemporary-Introduction-Scholasticae/dp/3868385444/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PQZCBY62513VPV3H3SE

I would recommend Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith. It's a great overview of how Catholics think. Specifically, it also includes a few topics that you and Catholics might disagree on such as the Eucharist, the nature of the Church, and the saints.

http://amzn.com/0307720527

Two caveats:

1. I am not an expert on Autism.
   
2. It is usually irresponsible to speculate on or try to retroactively diagnose historical persons with differences, disorders, or illnesses.
   
   That said, I have read speculation that St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph Cupertino both may have been autistic.
   
   Whether or not he may have been on the Autism Spectrum, St. Thomas is fruitful reading. I would encourage starting with the biography, Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G.K. Chesterton. This is widely regarded as the best biography of the man himself. The Summa Theologica is beautiful, logical, and comprehensive. Peter Kreeft's A Summa of the Summa is a great place to start reading the work of Thomas himself.

Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction will certainly cover it, but from a definitely Thomistic point of view. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy, and don't know much about the argument, save I'll probably agree with Aquinas because he's larger and easier to hide behind.

The St. Joseph Guide for Christian Prayer really won't be of much help since it is for Christian Prayer and OP is using Shorter Christian Prayer. If I was ambitious I would put together a short .pdf guide for Shorter Christian Prayer for Lent next year, since that seems to be when everyone gets interested.

For your own edification and sheer joy, read Triumph! by H W Crocker. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Tom Woods is excellent too.

Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtła

This book is based on Bl. Pope John Paul II's pastoral work as a priest and bishop in Poland before becoming pope. It is a philosophical treatment of love and family and is very dense but very good in my opinion. I first came across this book in a philosophy course. The other main texts utilized in this course were Plato's Phaedo and portions of St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica. I've been meaning to go back and reread this book for years.

I know people who got pregnant while using birth control.

If you confess fornication and struggle with accepting the Church's teaching on sex, may I suggest digging deeper? I've had to do that to understand more than one topic. Theology of the Body, Love and Responsibility, and Humanae Vitae are great places to start. If you're anything like me and you suck at theology, Christopher West and Edward Sri might be helpful.

I recommend the divine office, a.k.a. the Liturgy of the Hours. Mainly because praying Morning, Evening and Night Prayers tend to keep you through the day. If you add a rosary somewhere to that, you'll be in good shape. Here's an online link: http://www.divineoffice.org.

and of course /r/divineoffice

Good resources, but I'd recommend picking up a copy of this:

http://www.amazon.ca/Shorter-Christian-National-Conference-Catholi/dp/0899424082/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411429333&sr=1-2&keywords=shorter+christian+prayer

...because it has Morning, Evening and Night prayer and you don't need to go online. Just avoid going online as much as possible, if you know where it's going to head when you do.

This, confession, and jogging.

Came here to recommend them too. Can find at Amazon, Volume 1 here. Really neat thing is that they have a doctrinal index too, so if you want to read up on a particular topic amongst a representative sample of the Fathers, you aren't chasing all over the place.

The best book by far for you would be Catholicism and Fundamentalism. https://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-Fundamentalism-Attack-Romanism-Christians/dp/0898701775
It is comprehensive and has to do with exactly what you are talking about. It is protestant convert Scott Hahn's recommended book.

I read Rome Sweet Home by Scott & Kimberly Hahn and I thought it was a very good tale of conversion. There's a bit of light apologetics throughout and it was compelling enough for me to finish it in a day. (I hardly read.)

Next up on my list are The Lamb's Supper by Hahn, The Love Chapter: The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 13 by St. John Chrysostom, and An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabrielle Amorth, exorcist of the Vatican.

If you know any young people, the YOUCAT is an invaluable resource if they don't want to sit through the entire Catechism. Of course you want to eventually point them to it but I find, at 22, it's more suited to me poor attention span.

Canticle for Leibowitz is my favourite Catholic fiction but that doesn't mean much because I haven't read anything else. If you're looking for a good Catholic writer, I hear Flannery O'Connor is one. Of course Tolkien is a giant as is Chesterton (literally).

If you really want to learn a lot about the differences, go to YouTube and start listening to Steve Ray and read his book Crossing the Tiber. I have a friend who grew up in the Church of the Bible and they switched the Catholicism. He said this book along with listening to Steve Ray, and another book called Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating really helped him understand Catholicism when he was still surrounded by Protestant friends.

This is a short and sweet book that highlights the Church's activities and contributions to Western Civilization during the Medieval ages. Really fantastic book, can't recommend enough!

https://www.smile.amazon.com/Catholic-Church-Built-Western-Civilization/dp/1596983280

As /u/z_grady mentioned below, the Catechism is a good reference work - if you have a question about what the Church teaches the Catechism will often answer it. Another reference is Denzinger which may be of interest even to non-Catholics as it contains all the magisterial documents from the earliest Church, including such things as:

>Since as we have learned from your report, it sometimes happens because of the scarcity of water, that infants of your lands are baptized in beer, we reply to you in the tenor of those present that, since according to evangelical doctrine it is necessary "to be reborn from water and the Holy Spirit" [ John 3:5] they are not to be considered rightly baptized who are baptized in beer.

But to find out more about why the Church teaches something, you'll often have to dig into the references.

Nice story. You might consider consecrating yourself to Jesus through Mary. My wife and I did so this past year.

Since you have been away from Church for a while and if you have the resources this DVD series by Bishop Robert Barron is an excellent (re)introduction to Catholicism.

Nearly a 500 page colossus of information, presented academically. Not popular with the masses but maybe for you. I converted to Catholicism and this book played a large part, since I loved Orthodoxy (Oriental) more.

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Peter-Keys-Scriptural-Handbook/dp/1882972546/ref=pd_sim_b_22?ie=UTF8&refRID=00D8Q477G181HWVT9B24

> hard from an intellectual point of view

I'm sorry, I had to snicker when I read this. There is no other organization that has more intellectual underpinnings than the Catholic Church.

If you are having problems reconciling Scripture (exegetically or hermeneutically), you need to start reading academic books, such as those by Brown, Meier, Gonzalez, and Martos, just to name a few.

Helpful for me was Thomism and modern Thomists such as Feser.

/u/Hurrah_for_Karamazov, I'm still following the discussion, and I'm impressed, I'm already looking forward to buy this book to start somewhere on this topic of metaphysics.

Do not feel bad or hurt by the unnecessary and pointless mean things this folk writes in some paragraphs of his replies or get impressed by the things written to play the victim card, as you may know already, it only shows how much he needs Christ in his life (because, some happy person wouldn't use such resources in a discussion; obviously there is something wrong with the anger of this friend). This folk should be keep in our prayers.

Please do not give up! I'm learning a lot of things with this discussion!!

Sure! They're lots of different websites if you just google it, but if you want to learn even more, I recommend picking up [33 Days to Morning Glory] (https://www.amazon.com/Days-Morning-Glory-Do-Yourself/dp/1596142448) and just reading about it, even if you're not prepared to make your consecration now!

You definitely would enjoy some of their works. Particularly:

https://www.amazon.com/What-Marriage-Man-Woman-Defense/dp/1594036225/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=X39PYP8GT616NY99W3SC

I always recommend the Compendium of the CCC also available for free here, its a bit more accessible and a bit less daunting in size.

Scapular and beer. Scapular flavored beer!

You might try the Christian Prayer liturgy of the hours for a real gift that he could come to like.

Definitely read the Catechism.You should also check out the Compendium of the Catechism. It is a shorter, easier to read synopsis that explains much of the CCC.