I was hoping this would get more of a response from some more knowledgeable/well-read users, but I'll try to offer some suggestions. I'm only engaged now, never married, and I've loved reading books with my fiance to help support our spiritual life. The ones that we've read have mostly centered over Theology of the Body and understanding Catholic teachings around dating and sexuality - so I don't think these are exactly what you are looking for. (Edward Sri's "Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love" was one of my favorites that condensed JPII's book "Love and Responsibility" - it's an easy read and may be worth checking out - https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Mystery-Love-Responsibility/dp/0867168404 )


I feel like you are more looking for books on how to communicate, and I have two very basic suggestions for that (I apologize if you've heard of these or read them before!).

1.) The Temperament God Gave You (https://www.amazon.com/Temperament-God-Gave-You-Yourself/dp/1933184027/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501357551&sr=1-1&keywords=the+temperament+god+gave+you)

I brought up the temperaments with my fiance probably within the first month of dating. This book has the goofiest cover and it's a very simple read - but it is incredibly helpful in understanding one's natural tendencies, both strengths and weaknesses. The idea is that we all have a natural tendency to one of four temperaments and this will affect how we interact with others. Once you've determined your natural temperament, there is advice on how couples of certain combinations should best communicate. I know it sounds super pseudo-sciencey and Meyers-Briggs-esque, but I can say that is big in a lot of Catholic communities and it is so so helpful. If you don't want to buy the book this website has a lot of the core information as well: https://www.catholicmatch.com/institute/temperaments/

2.) The Five Love Languages (https://www.amazon.com/Love-Languages-Secret-that-Lasts/dp/080241270X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501358158&sr=1-1&keywords=the+five+love+language)

This one is also very popular and another goofy looking cover, but again really helpful in facilitating communication. The idea is that we all experience love in different ways (Quality Time, Gift Giving, Acts of Service, Physical Touch, and Words of Affirmation) and the love that we naturally give may not be the kind of love that your partner naturally wants to receive.

For both of these suggestions, I wouldn't recommend just reading cover to cover. You really can just skim through them or find resources online to get the gist and then just facilitate conversation. (I also second the Gottman Institute resources below!)


Then, on a more personal note for you, I would recommend reading "Kristin Lavransdatter" by Sigrid Undset. More information here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6217.Kristin_Lavransdatter

Use the new translation by Tiina Nunally, it seems like an off-the-wall suggestion because it's set in 14th century Norway, but Kristin gets swept up in a romance with an older man and marries him when she is very young. Then it follows her through their marriage and the difficulties they face. I'm only half way through (it's 900 pages long!!) but there are already so many scenes that have helped me personally, especially about how to deal with resentment. Here's a great podcast as an intro: https://player.fm/series/catholic-stuff-you-should-know/kristins-resentment


I did not mean for this to be so long! Hope it can help in any way :)

>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.

God established his covenant with Abraham. The promise did not belong to Ishmael but to Isaac. But Ishmael would also become a great chieftain--the father of many nations. From Isaac, the promise passed Esau and went to Jacob, who, it should be noted, inherited Esau's blessing by deceit.

You see, God established one people. One nation. "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named".

Even the twelve tribes were one people under a single leadership.

Joshua was ordained to succeed Moses, when Moses commissioned him by the laying on of hands.

To the crowds and to his disciples, Jesus said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you." There is one seat; one cathedra.

In the upper room before his Passion, when he was with the twelve, Jesus prayed, "Father...I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word...Sanctify them in the truth.

>I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.

After his resurrection, Jesus came among the twelve...

>On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

This was something that Jesus gave to the twelve (at this point, the 11--yet Judas' "office" was vacant, and had to be filled).

But to one Jesus gave a special trust. To St. Peter, Jesus gave the Keys of the Kingdom, "and the gates of hell will never prevail against it". Whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever he looses on earth will be loosed in heaven.

There's a great deal of special significance to the location Jesus chose to ask his disciples--the twelve--this question; "Who do you say that I am?"

He brought them to a temple erected by Herod in honor of Caesar, who fashioned himself "The Son of God". It was a temple in the side of an enormous rock. In the rock and in the temple was a pit that was literally said to be "the gates of hell", into which live sacrifice was thrown. And in various clefts of the rock were statues--idols--to the Greek god of sheep and shepherds, Pan.

So here was a false temple to a false Son of God, built upon a rock with a gate to hell, and all overseen by a false shepherd.

And Peter confessed, "You are the anointed one, the Son of the Living God".

To which Jesus replied, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven."

>And I tell you, you are Rock and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The note in the RSV-Catholic Edition, says:

>Peter has the key to the gates of the city of God. This power is exercised through the church. “Binding” and “loosing” are rabbinic terms referring to excommunication, then later to forbidding or allowing something. Not only can Peter admit to the kingdom; he also has power to make authoritative decisions in matters of faith or morals.

There's a reference implicit in Jesus' proclamation to Isaiah 22.

>Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him... I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

The steward being referred to in the House of David--the office he held--was that of the "prime minister" or vizier. Joseph had this role in the court of Pharaoh.

>So Pharaoh said to Joseph: ...you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.

This was the power given to Peter. The context is [necessarily] entirely Jewish. And the disciples would have understood it as such.

>The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren—him you shall heed

And Peter said (in Acts 3):

>Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came afterwards, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God gave to your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your posterity shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

The woman at the well, knowing her Torah, said to Jesus, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet."

>When the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Jesus is the prophet like Moses. He is the new Moses. Moses had a seat. Christ has a seat. The scribes and the pharisees sit on Moses' seat. And they were told to do whatever they told them.

Who sits on Jesus' seat--or throne? Yes, Jesus' throne is in heaven, but Jesus is not just a prophet but a king as well. And a king in the line of David. And he gave Peter the "keys of the kingdom", making Peter, Rocky, his prime minister. The prime ministry is an office, just as each of the twelve apostles held an office.

>In those days Peter stood up among the brethren (the company of persons was in all about a hundred and twenty), and said, “Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David, concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry...For it is written in the book of Psalms,

‘Let his habitation become desolate,
and let there be no one to live in it’;

and

‘His office let another take.’

An office, like the office of President of the United States, is something which allows of successors. The successors inherit, or assume the powers inherent in the office. The personal qualities of the man don't really matter. The office itself confers the power.

And what is the power? The power to bind and loose.

Abraham was one. Moses was one. Christ is one.

The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

How can the Church be one if she isn't united in communion to the office of he to whom our LORD gave the keys of the kingdom--he who has the authority of the king?

I once felt like you. That the Catholic claims were uncharitable and divisive. But if we're not one, how can we say that we're of Christ.

>Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

,,,

>The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

We are one if we are together in Christ. And we are together in Christ if we are in communion with the successor of Peter, who everyone acknowledges to be the Bishop of Rome.

And the gates of hell will never prevail.

The charism of Papal Infallibility is often misunderstood. All it means is that God will never permit the whole Church, in communion with the successor of Peter, to be led into error in matters of faith and morals.

That's all it means. Not that any Pope will be impeccable*. Or that any Pope will never make a mistake. Or that any Pope won't ever be a scoundrel or even a heretic. What matters is that the true successor of Peter will never commit the Church to any error in matters of faith and morals.

So we are one if we are united to the successor of Peter.

I'm almost out of space, so let me suggest some resources:

Former Pentecostal Pastor Alex Jones converted to the Catholic Church

Peter, the Rock, the Keys, and the Chair - Steve Ray

The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451

And finally, this was instrumental in my conversion to the Catholic Faith, so I can't recommend this enough:

Catechism of the Catholic Church

(Also here)

> 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!
  
  

Also.... forgot this bit:

>Also does anyone else's parish ring the church bells and open the doors when the consecration happens? Because they seemed to be doing that and it was awesome.

This is a very old custom. Many old Churches the doors faced east. Since early altars were free standing, the priest would serve Mass Ad Orientem; that is, toward the east, as well as facing the people, or Ad Populum. In the early Christian cult it was common to open the doors, and the whole congregation would turn to the east. I do not think this particularly took place during the consecration, but at the rising of the sun, as Mass was typically held in the morning. The rising of the sun had an important symbolism in early Christianity.

Interestingly this would mean that the people would turn their backs to the priest! Today we have the discussion about whether or not the priests back should be to the people. Of course the idea is for all people, including the priest to be facing east; toward Jerusalem and our Lord's Calvary; toward the rising of the sun; and toward His coming again in glory.

Of course things have changed, and now when we think of Ad Orientem we think of facing either the direction of true east, or to Liturgical East - that is, the tabernacle, which in many churches is not even on the eastern wall. Yet the custom of opening the doors to the sunlight during Mass has been held on to as a custom in many places.

The ringing of the bells is also a very common custom. In the same way the sanctus bells are rung by the server to let the congregation know that Our Lord is making Himself truly present, the Church bells let those outside know what terrific mystery is happening at the altar inside. In many devout places people will stop and kneel outside while the bells ring in respect for the consecration. This is also where the custom of crossing oneself while passing a church to pay respect to the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle comes from that is so very common in Spanish, Latino, and Hispanic culture.

To read more of Ad Orientem you can read wiki's page here. They do the subject justice, even while it is wikipedia. Any google search will give you a wealth of information as well, and many people's opinions on why they prefer it or think it superior.

If you are interested in the development of the Mass I recommend Fr. Adrian Fortescue, The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy. He goes into excellent depth into the development from what the first Christians celebrated, all the way to his own time in the early 20th century.

To learn about the development of the Mass since, I recommend Msgr. Klaus Gamber's The Reform of the Roman Liturgy: Its Problems and Background

Awesome!!!

>As I am very new to the faith, I was wondering if I could receive some advice/answers from people here. What would the best writing be to look at for talks through various denominations. Do I need a specific denomination? What other Christian works would be good to read in order to gain a better understanding of the relationship with God and general Christian concepts (I have already ordered a collection of C. S. Lewis’s works as a start).

Well, I would of course want you to join the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Some great resources, in general, include Bishop Barron (anything by him, he's fantastic), Peter Kreeft's works, and Scott Hahn's works. C.S. Lewis, who was highly influenced by Tolkien and Chesterton, both Catholic, is a fantastic starting point. [This] (https://www.amazon.com/Why-Be-Catholic-Important-Question/dp/0307986438) book, [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Lambs-Supper-Mass-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591) book, and [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Church-Complete-Updated/dp/0385479670) Catechism aregreat reading resources. I'd recommend getting a kindle if you don't have one so you can do what I did and just pour through tons of books. If you have a past with Orthodoxy, check out the Orthodox Way by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches. [This] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/057803834X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493667291&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=origins+of+catholic+christianity&dpPl=1&dpID=41bsQ2nPSxL&ref=plSrch) book, as well as the other two parts of it, are very interesting as well, and include part I, the Crucified Rabbi, part II, the Catholic Paul, and part III, the Eternal City. Sorry for the boatload of information; Bishop Barron, overall, is the best place to start. You can find him on YouTube.

I'd also recommend that you go on the sidebar to each and every denominational subreddit and ask them why they think they are the True Church. The one thing I can't recommend enough is to not make a grocery list of doctrines you like and then pick the denomination that suits you best. That isn't how Christianity works; there is one Pillar and Bulwark of Truth, one Body of Christ, and one Church-- the next step for you is figuring out which one it is. You'd probably want to start with Catholicism or Orthodoxy, the two Churches that can directly trace their roots back to the Apostles, yet sadly one split from the other in 1054.

If you haven't yet, get a good, solid Bible (preferably one with the original canon, not the Lutheran one) and start reading the Gospels prayerfully, as well as the Epistles. For the epistles especially, keep in mind the audience of the letter and the context. For the New Testament, the Ignatius Study Bible is incredible; however, the Old Testament has yet to come out. You can get a bundle deal on Amazon with the Catechism and a Study Bible.

God bless, and we'll keep praying for you on your journey!

Get Your Questions Answered

So you have been to Mass but you have some serious questions about the faith that need to be answered before you can consider joining, so now what? Now it is time for you to learn about the Church! The Church has published a book called the Catechism of the Catholic Church (abbreviated as CCC). You can buy a copy just about anywhere or you can read it for free online. The CCC has all the basic teachings of the Church and an index in the back.

As good as the CCC is, it can be dense to read. Another great resource is called the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is also available for purchase or it can be read online for free online. It contains most of the information in the CCC, but it is organized in a question and answer format. I highly recommend it.

In addition to the CCC, you will find a ton of good information on catholic.com (warning: don’t go into the forums). Also, for converts I find it helpful to read other peoples conversion stories. There is a series of books called Surprised by Truth which contain the testimonial of converts. Also, the book Rome Sweet Rome is the true story of how a Scott and Kimberly Hahn came into the Church despite them starting off as militantly anti-Catholic Protestants.

In addition to those books, here are some other books I recommend.

• The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
  
• The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
  
• Catholicism All-In-One For Dummies
  
  If you prefer videos, the Catholicism Series by Bishop Robert Barron is excellent and a video series called Symbolon. These video series are a bit pricey, so before buying ask you parish if they have them available to lend out. Also, many parishes have subscriptions to Formed which allows you to watch these videos and many more for free.
  
  If you prefer audio, the website Lighthouse Catholic Media has many talks you can download and listen to.
  
  If you listen to radio in the car, there may be a Catholic radio station for you to listen to. Catholic radio is a good way to learn the faith. You can check to see if there is Catholic radio in your area at the EWTN website.
  
  In addition to everything listed above, you can always as your parish priest questions. Many parishes also have adult education programs which cover many topics. See your parish bulletin or contact the parish office to see what they offer.
  
  As always, you can ask questions here on /r/Catholicism.

> 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.

The mass should reflect what it is. For a good intro into what the mass is, I'd very much recommend Scott Hahn's "The Lamb's Supper".

TL;DR : when we're at mass, the Heavens open and we're surrounded by the saints and angels, who worship the Eucharist with us. When we're at mass, we see the crucified Christ on the crucifix above the altar- but He isn't there. Rather, He is what appears to be merely bread and wine, but is truly the crucified Christ on the crucifix.

If you would feel more solemn if the crucifix above the altar was truly the cross and corpus of the Lord, how much more solemn should we feel that the Eucharist is exactly that? The Eucharist is a more true Crucifix than any Crucifix. ( This image sort of demonstrates what I'm trying to say )

Here's what the Catechism says about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass:

>"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"

>...by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all.

>[We can call the mass] The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church's offering... The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church's whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred Mysteries. [Emphasis original]

> In the New Testament, the memorial takes on new meaning. When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ's Passover, and it is made present the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present.

>The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:

>>[Christ], our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the night when he was betrayed," [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit.

> The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different." "And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. . . this sacrifice is truly propitiatory."

Sure. Well, let me make a couple suggestions:

• My personal favorite not-an-apologetic is GK Chesterton's Orthodoxy (the link includes a free online version). That book sums up, paradoxically and romantically, Chesterton's views on God. It doesn't go out of its way to be convincing and doesn't take itself too seriously, which I love about it.
  
  
• If you're looking for convincing yet personal (and not too lofty) accounts of a couple of scientists who are believers, I recommend theoretical physicist and Anglican priest John Polkinghorne's Exploring Reality or geneticist Francis Collins' The Language of God.
  
  
• The best logical arguments for God that have been around for centuries (and have been pretty well defended by the likes of men like Victor Reppert and William Lane Craig) were developed by Aquinas in his Summa Theologica. I suggest reading Peter Kreeft's easier-to-swallow shorter version.
  
  
• I believe that Craig's Reasonable Faith does a very admirable and scholarly work of defending the faith philosophically.
  
  
• William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience have nothing to do with apologetics, but have affirmed my faith in God personally. I add it here just to demonstrate, I suppose, that faith is highly personal and that God is revealed as well in the beauty and mystery of the poetic and artistic as He is in nature.

I haven't read the book, so I can't give you a strict recommendation based on its contents, but I have heard Fr Martin speak on Ignatian spirituality. Honestly I wasn't impressed; what he presented was incomplete, and where it was actually ignatian, it was very basic. He cut off St Ignatius's method of election (his process for making decisions) and all mention of virtue and vices, replacing all three with an appeal to what "your best self" would do. This is unfortunate because those virtues are what makes your "best self" best, and the process of election is the Ignatian method to figure out what he would do. If you read it, just remember that it is probably more Fr. Martin's spirituality than St. Ignatius's.

I don't know off the top of my head any great books on the subject for beginners, but St Ignatius's writings are worth grappling with a little. I read through this book devotionally, and I can certainly recommend it:

https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Writings-Penguin-Classics-Ignatius/dp/0140433856

It starts with his Autobiography, and works through his Spiritual Diary and an assortment of his letters before finishing with his famous Spiritual Exercises.

I'm not a non-practicing Catholic, but rather a poorly catechized Catholic for whom, up until about two years ago, Mass felt arbitrary, pointless, and especially, boring. I kept going because my whole family did, and my family structure is such that the problems I'd face by not going would have canceled out any perks of sleeping in on Sundays.

Either way, the questions remained: Why am I doing this? What does this all mean? Is it really so hard for a parish to make a mass that's at least mildly fulfilling and entertaining?

I also felt pretty bad because there was a part of me that knew that the ideal was to want to go to Mass every Sunday, and although I considered myself a spiritual and good person, I just didn't.

The answer? I was simply ignorant of what the Mass truly was. And on a deeper level, I was unaware of the tremendous love God has for me. I think Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper is super insightful on both fronts. I implore you to check it out.

Here's where it gets less nice: you have put your soul in grave danger by missing Mass for no good reason. Please don't wait til judgement day to discover the consequences of it. While it's unexpected to overturn years of apathy in a few days, you might not have forever to figure it out.

Make a sincere confession (general and specific) and begin attending Mass on Sundays. Be honest with God when you're there. Tell Him you honestly don't enjoy being there and can he do anything about it? The God that died for us would definitely throw a little something our way to remind us He's there and He wants us.

Hope this helps, I'll pray for ya.

Token Catholic chiming in with the suggestion that you have a look at the Catholic faith. I'm converting from Protestantism because I find Catholicism to be more consistent with historical Christianity and more intellectually satisfying. I almost became Anglican last year, but it just seemed so incomplete compared to the richness of Catholicism, no offense to Anglicans intended. The main things that drew me in were apostolic succession, the consistency and unity of the Church, and my rejection of sola scriptura as illogical and self-contradicting.

Catholic Answers has a lot of great resources. If this piques your interest, I also recommend you take a look at the Catechism online or buy your own hard copy. I also recommend you check out some of Scott Hahn's books; he is also a convert and his books are accessible, but thorough. And, if you aren't already completely overwhelmed with information, you may use this website to find a parish.

I wish you well on your spiritual journey. I hope you find a place where you feel welcome and comfortable, and get to know the Lord.

Edited to add: You can't get more personal in your relationship with Jesus than through the Eucharist.

It seems to me most of your argument comes from your last source. A quick look at one of the amazon reviews states this:

>All that said ... the book just isn't that good. Start with the fact that one of the arguments it presents concerns the abrogation of the old rite as a fact (response to Question 5); I got my copy just a matter of days before Benedict XVI said that it wasn't. The authors reached their conclusion by overreading the evidence. Moreover, the book throughout engages things at what I'm afraid is often a very superficial level. I guess there's a reason that some traditionalists call their opponents "positivists", because there's more than a trace of it here. Add in the facts that the writing is at best pedestrian and the arguments (when presented) wander all over the place. It's not a happy picture.

As we now know today, this is simply not true at all. As Summorum Pontificum states.

>I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted.

With regards to your comments on lex orandi, lex credendi and the Novus Ordo. You have defined something without addressing the real concern. The Novus Ordo is so broad in it's allowances in the ruberics that if you go to every Novus Ordo Parish in your average city, you will find that it is celebrated in a completely different way. This is not "interculturation," being from a different neighborhood does not constitute a different culture.

Some parishes will have guitars, some a choir, some a piano and a soloist, and so on and so on. They of course get permission to do this from a liberal interpretation of the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium. And the reason for having these variations in the music is not to lift the mind and heart to God, but it is based on the pleasure it gives the people.

A proper reading of Sacrosanctum Concilium would have to take into consideration prior documents such as Musicae Sacrae issued by Pius XII in 1955 which states:

>Which music finds itself in religious ritual must not be based upon the pleasure it gives the congregation but upon whether it lifts the minds and souls of the congregation to God. It is very easy for musicians who are not properly refined or educated to assume that eliciting emotions from people is the same as causing a "religious experience."

So a proper and honest music ministry would make serious attempts to implement Gregorian Chant which Sacrosanctum Concilium states should be given pride of place, and the prior documents on music should be considered before any apparent allowance implied in the document issued.

Sacrosanctum Concilium also states that Latin should be preserved as the language of worship, and although certain allowances seem to be made, you should consider the prior documents on the language in the liturgy before changing parts from Latin to the vernacular language.

In other areas, nearly every Novus Ordo parish distributes communion on the hand (never called for my Vatican II), removed altar rails, high altars, set the tabernacle to the side, (also not called for my Vatican II), and says the mass entirely in the vernacular (also not called for by Vatican II). Did you hear that? If you say the mass entirly in the venacular you are not taking into consideration previous documents on latin in the liturgy. You're not even taking into consideration Sacrosanctum Concilium itself.

I'm sorry but The Pope, the Council, and the Mass: Answers to Questions the “Traditionalists” is not an "academic" book, it's an attempt at apologetics directed to the general lay public that is obviously slanted against what it calls "traditionalists." I don't have my copy of The Reform of the Roman Liturgy: Its Problems and Background to draw upon right now but if you are serious about your academic pursuits on this issue I suggest you pick yourself up a copy.

I agree with JMJF1209.

There are a few things that can help with boredom:

You could go to Mass a few minutes early and spend the extra time asking Jesus to make you more aware of his presence. He is the Word of God, so he is present in a special way when people are reading the readings out loud, which can make the readings feel more "alive" to us because we are hearing them instead of seeing them. He is present in the tabernacle where there are consecrated hosts. He is present where two or three are gathered in his name (we can guarantee that there will be at least two people at Mass since you're not the priest). Also he will be present on the altar partway through Mass and then people will receive him; you should not, if you have not been to confession after time away; but you can think about what is going on in the other people (usually when we eat food, we turn the food into "us"; but like the "in Soviet Russia" jokes, when we eat Jesus, he turns us a little bit more into him. Practice being more open to the idea of that happening to you, in the future.)

You can learn more about the Mass. There is a Scott Hahn book https://www.amazon.com/Lambs-Supper-Mass-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591 for example (fair warning, I have to ignore his sub-headings within a chapter because they are usually puns; and I like puns (as much as the next person who read the then-entire Xanth series in her misspent youth) but they are kind of really jarring to me in this sort of a book.)

You can invest a little bit of time in your relationship with God ("how is your prayer life?") outside of Mass. If we play an instrument at school, we are supposed to practice it every day at home; otherwise we are not going to get much out of a concert; at home, we can sometimes mess around and have fun with it (though yes sometimes it is a tedious-but-necessary slog), and in the concert we all play the same piece together which is (if you are competent) also fun but a different kind of fun; if we never practice, and at the same time we expect the concert to feel like the playing-on-my-own kind of fun, then we are going to be doubly disappointed because we will not really experience either kind of fun. Get a good basic book on prayer such as https://www.amazon.com/God-You-Prayer-Personal-Relationship/dp/0809129353 or https://www.amazon.com/Time-God-Jacques-Philippe/dp/1594170665 (both are short, take a look and pick whichever one appeals to you.)

> It surprises me to hear singing isn't a communal thing at church, I'd honestly always imagined it to be a pretty major part (maybe in protestant churches? I don't actually know where I got that idea from)

I think Protestant churches are different than Catholic in this sense. Google Catholics not singing at church and you'll find a ton of stuff. Someone even wrote a book about it: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Catholics-Cant-Sing-Catholicism/dp/0824511530

> It's also interesting to hear that shul is a less "supernatural" experience. Do you feel that way also on, say, Rosh Hashana when the shofar is blown? (although of course there's a big difference between "supernatural" and "spiritual")

I think that distinction is important. The Shul that I go to is definitely spiritual. It might be one of the most spiritual places I've ever been. But it's not "supernatural". As far as I know, there isn't any Jewish theology that say God is being literally brought into the building by a specific person doing a specific prayer (like a Catholic Priest).

With regards to the shofar, in my reading and understanding, it doesn't hold the same kind of supernatural aspect as a Catholic Mass. Rabbi Irving Greenberg says in The Jewish Way:
> In ancient times, people believed that blasts from a horn drove away demons. It is striking that this association is picked up by the Talmud, which suggests that the shofar can drive away Satan and evil spirits.... The primary meaning of the shofar blast seems to be that of the coronation theme--a symbolic declaration of faith in God as Ruler of the world. "The Lord ascends [His throne] amidst a loud sound. God [rises] amidst the sound of the shofar" (Psalms 47:6). Some modern scholars argued that Rosh hashanah is linked to the Canaanite annual divine coronation ceremonies at which the powers of the gods were "renewed" by smpathetic magic, assuring the Earth's fertility. But the Bible rejects the notion of humans giving power to God and/or a divine need for "renewal." However, the Bible does teach that human affirmation (especially in community and liturgy) makes the Divine present and effective on Earth in a greater way. In the Jewish context, the shofar blast represents the Jewish people's proclamation that the Lord is their King or Ruler. (p. 195).

To me, that doesn't come off as supernatural unless you hold the position that it holds off demons. But a Catholic has to believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist or they aren't a Catholic. And that happens every day, not once a year.

If you're a book guy, Scott Hahn has a good book about it. It's what got me back into Mass. You never look at it the same way again. It's not just a bunch of people in a room talking about God for 45 minutes.

If you can't/don't want to drop the 13 bucks on the book, don't worry, there're a few articles on the Catholic Answers website. Here're a few:

The Mass is Profoundly Biblical

The Sacrifice of the Mass

The Institution of the Mass

The big question: Why Go to Mass??

The Mass is a wonderful thing once you know what it is. As a kid, I hated it with a burning passion. Now, I'm discerning the priesthood and have taken a liking to the pre-Vatican II mass, which is in Latin (pretty old school, I know, but it's beautiful. Doesn't appeal to everyone.)

Anyway, welcome home!! If you have any questions at all about Catholicism, feel free to ask here. We've got some pretty smart theologians on this sub

We are here to support you on your journey home, brother/sister.

First, you should know that the Canon of Scripture (the Bible) is not meant to be read from cover-to-cover as a coherent, linear story. Scripture is a collection of books, some of which contain poetry, some song, some pre-history myth, some parable, some wisdom sayings, some history, and some letters to a distinct audience.

One resource I have heard good reviews about is the Quick Journey through the Bible series by Ascension Press. It is intended as a course of study with a group, though.

Other good resources for reading Scripture are:

• Bible Basics for Catholics by Dr. John Bergsma
  
  
• You Can Understand The Bible: A Practical And Illuminating Guide To Each Book In The Bible by Peter Kreeft
  
  
• The Lamb's Supper
  
  For other good resources on returning to Catholicism, I recommend the following:
  
  
• Rome Sweet Home
  
  
• Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic
  
  
• Reasons to Believe
  
  
• Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist
  
  Do not be afraid to go to study groups. As someone who has led study groups, my favorite people are those who come in eager for Truth and ready to ask questions.

I've not dug into Von Balthasar very much, since the little I've encountered him in coursework has been rather unfulfilling, unlike Ratzinger who I adore.

If you're all in on Balthasar, go for it. But if you're at all open to other Communio scholars, take a look at Henri de Lubac! He's a personal favorite of mine, even though the debate over grace and nature he's most famous for I think he got wrong. His stuff on patristic and medieval exegesis almost makes the Fathers of the Church live again, and he was a major contributor to Dei Verbum (along with Yves Congar, who is the one member of Concilium that you absolutely should read, especially if you enjoy de Lubac, as they pair well together).

Reading list recommendations:
De Lubac's most readable work, impossible not to recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-Christ-Common-Destiny-Man/dp/0898702038/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525705139&sr=8-1&keywords=de+lubac+catholicism

De Lubac on spiritual exegesis, the topic where I think he's most brilliant: https://www.amazon.com/Scripture-Tradition-Milestones-Catholic-Theology/dp/0824518713
If you like the first chapter of that one, there's a big ol' study of Origen by him that is pretty important to the last 100 years of patristics scholarship.

Congar is important because of his research into the nature of Tradition. Be sure to check out: https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Tradition-Yves-Congar/dp/158617021X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525705236&sr=8-1&keywords=congar+tradition
That is a shortened, better organized version of his much longer research work, "Tradition and Traditions", which he was working on when consulting on Dei Verbum.

How does that line up with the saved by grace/works dichotomy?

The parable of the sheep and goats makes it plain that none of us are good enough.

There's a great little book called Good Goats.

We're all good goats, sometimes we do good, sometimes we don't.

Your question goes both ways: how can you ignore the passages I cited? Jesus is meant to have said that "Love God" and "Love your neighbour as yourself" are the greatest commandments (some are more important than others), and that everything else is built on that. The verses I cited (from the old and new testament) are about the character of that love.

Paul says the character of love is to always hope, to keep no record of wrongs (this I assume is what we are meant to aspire to in our relationship with the world), but why is the nature of God's love any less than that?

I think there are two ways to support more singing:

1. Encourage the use of beautiful Sacred Music that sustained the Church for centuries such as Gregorian Chant and Polyphony. Use events, and homily as a means of catechism for the importance of Sacred Music in the Liturgy.
   
   
2. Foster volunteer choirs as part of church ministry to sing Gregorian Chant and polyphony at the principle Mass of Sunday. Offer tutorials, or encourage parishoners to attend Sacred Music workshops or conferences. The group may start out small, but once the beauty and quality of music grows it will attract more interest. In every parish I have been a member there is always a sizable volunteer parish choir that sings for the principle Sunday Mass.
   
   An interesting book to read on the issue is:
   
   Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste
   
   Sacred Music sites worth checking out:
   
   Corpus Christ Watershed
   
   Musica Sacra
   
   Edit: the blog New Liturgical Movement posted a entry today about a Sacred Music workshop going on in Lincoln Nebraska Here.

Awww yeah!

• The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn. Excellent read to learn about the Biblical foundations of the Mass and an explanation of the Church's understanding of the oft-misunderstood Book of Revelation of John.
  
  
• The Soul of the Apostoalte. Words can't really express the spiritual treasury in this book. It basically describes how rooted we must be in prayer for any apostolate to survive.
  
  
• Introduction to the Devout Life. Another spiritual classic by St. Francis de Sales. A classic piece of literature that EVERY faithful Catholic should have in their home! St. Francis teaches us how to pray and meditate in very simple, accessible ways.
  
  
• The Confessions of St. Augustine. This isn't a novel about a saint airing his dirty laundry, this is entire piece of literature is a prayer and an introspective, philosophical examination of why we tend to choose evil over good. It may be a challenge for new readers, but it's an incredible work.
  
  
• An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories by Fr. Gabriel Amorth, chief exorcist of Rome. Two excellent works on demonic activity, spiritual warfare, and the Rite of Exorcism. More Stories has a better format than the first work, but both are worth reading.
  
  
• The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist. Though told from the perspective of a journalist, and including a ridiculous armchair psychological examination that attempts to disprove demonic activity (chapter 13 I believe), it's a good book worth reading on spiritual warfare. NOT at all similar to the movie, and a good read.
  
  There are more books, but I'll have to go into my memory-vault to remember what I would recommend.

Depends on what section of the Church she wants to discover. Just off the top of my head:

The Lamb's supper is widely recommended, I haven't read it but any word of it highly praises the way it explains and appreciates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

I enjoyed Francis Cardinal Arinze's book on Mary, and how it relates perfectly to scripture.

Has she seen Bishop Barron's Catholicism series in general?

These are some of the better books I've accumulated in school:

• An Introduction to the New Testament - Raymond Brown. Exactly what the title says.
  
  
• The Early Church - Henry Chadwick. This is more of a historical overview of the development of the Church, etc.
  
  
• The Shape of Catholic Theology - Aiden Nichols. This book is kind of a dense read. Not gonna lie.
  
  
• At the Origin of the Christian Claim - Luigi Giussani.
  
  
• The Craft of Theology - Avery Dulles.
  
  
• The Theology of the Church - Charles Jornet. - This one is about ecclesiology, or the structure of the Church.
  
  
• Early Christian Fathers -Cyril Richardson. Includes primary sources like letters and homilies.
  
  
• The Trinitarian Crontroversy - William Rusch. Very good history of early heresies, like Arianism and Nestorianism, and how they pushed the Church to develop the Creed.
  
  
• Called to Communion - Joseph Ratzinger.
  
  
• Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man - Henri de Lubac. This book is fantastic!
  
  
• The Meaning of Tradition - Yves Congar.
  
  
• Introduction to Moral Theology - Romanus Cessario.
  
  
• The Major Works -Anselm of Canterbury. Nice collection, see especially: Cur Deus Homo.
  
  
• On the Incarnation - Ignatius of Antioch. I LOVED this one!
  
  
• Credo for Today - Joseph Ratzinger. Basically anything by Ratzinger.

Go to mass. Even if you think it is boring.

Did you know that at every single mass you are at the foot of the cross on Calvalry? Do you understand the implications of this?

Did you know that when one receives communion it is the flesh and blood of God one is consuming? Do you understand the implications of this?

When you know these things and more not only is mass less "boring", you start to want to attend mass every day and remain in a state of grace as much as possible so you can receive communion at every mass. I go to mass every day and it is the highlight of my day. I make great effort to attend mass daily even when I travel.

Consider reading The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn to get a better understanding of what the holy mass is. There is much more to be said than I have written! Be an active participant by offering up your works, joys and sufferings for the week. Go to mass, it is good!

https://www.amazon.com/Lambs-Supper-Mass-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591

Given that your friend is not really in doubt about his present atheism and will be reading this book to please his friend, I suggest you go easy and give him An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion by Fr Brian Davies, OP. It introduces a variety of arguments about the existence and nature of God in an even-handed way, and it would be reasonable to expect him to come away thinking there is more to be said for theism than he has given credit for. You could even hope for him to become a cancellation agnostic (i.e., someone who can't decide between theism and atheism because there is about equally good evidence for both). Or maybe he will find one of the arguments for theism really striking.

A good second book would be The Belief of Catholics by Msgr Ronald Knox, an atheism-to-Catholicism apologetic aimed especially at convincing the slightly-religious person that religion actually matters.

Sure. The first thing I did was read the primary sources and pretty much in chronological order. I began with the Apostolic Fathers (Michael Holmes has this edition with Greek and English). I then read some 2nd century stuff, especially Irenaeus. Cyprian, Tertullian, etc, were all important. The fourth century took me forever to read through. I probably stayed in the 4th century for a year.

For secondary literature, I'd recommend, in no particular order:

Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition

J.N.D. Kelley, Early Christian Doctrines

Henry Chadwick, The Early Church (Chadwick is my doctoral grandfather, so to speak)

Adrian Fortescue, The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon

Benedicta Ward's translation of The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Less to do with Church history, but filling in some intellectual gaps:

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Called to Communion

Henri de Lubac, Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man (This may shock people that I recommend it, but I do like the nouvelle théologie every now and again)

I also welcome /u/koine_lingua to offer some of his own recommendations to give some balance if he'd like.

For overall use? Nothing offhand--/u/MedievalPenguin has got it covered. However, I'm a huge fan (and former student) of John Bergsma, and his new book (Bible Basics for Catholics)[http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Basics-Catholics-Picture-Salvation/dp/1594712913/] does a pretty great job of distilling his beloved Scripture courses into a brief, accessible book without dumbing it down.

The intro is written by Scott Hahn, which makes total sense because they're friendly colleagues who focus on the same areas of salvation history (covenant theology rooted in the Old Testament, fulfilled in Christ).

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!

I typically pass by my parish building on the way to and from work while driving. When I pass by, I cross myself.

There's another way that I go that I can see the Church, but it doesn't feel like I'm passing by -- so I don't cross myself then.

Making the Sign of the Cross is always a good thing. It's a sacramental that every single one of us has on hand, so make good use of it whenever you can. In fact, if you want an awesome book on it, St Francis de Sales is great. The fifteen most powerful words in the English language! I need to reread it.

Living in Oklahoma all my life I've come across a LOT of religious people that claim to have the ear of God Almighty and threaten you with hell, fire and brimstone. They never once consider that perhaps God is actually speaking to many more people than just them....for if they consider that, we don't need them. Hmmm

I've worked for decades to reconcile my experiences with a loving, caring higher power that I choose to call God, Source Energy, or any number of other terms with the hell, fire and brimstone messages that have been a large part of my life. It wasn't easy at first but once I realized that God does indeed love us all, not matter what we've done, and is 100% there for us it completely changed my experiences.

Here's a book that I absolutely LOVE because it helped me start putting all those messages I heard back in my childhood in the proper perspective.

Let me see am I going to believe the feelings in my lying heart, my experiences and numerous confirmations throughout the years or what someone else tells me? It's not a hard choice today but it was growing up.

Here's the thing tho - we're all on different journeys and Christina is no different. I've learned over the years that I don't have to FIX anyone anymore. They still have free will as do I and I'll just wish them well and be on my way.

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

Here are some posts that have been shared on r/Catholicism before:

• Catholicism For Protestants
  
  
• Introduction to Catholicism 101
  
  
• butch81385 explains Catholicism to a Swede
  
  
• Curious redditor gets some help learning about Catholicism
  
  
• Baptist redditor asks for advice on Sunday Mass
  
  While Catechism and official Church documents are the most comprehensive and clear way to answer virtually all your questions, they are dense, long and more like reference materials. I recommend The Faith Explained for a start.
  
  Many people I know, including myself found Scott Hahn's "The Lamb's Supper" to be eye opening about the nature of the Church and the Mass, also life changing.
  
  My faithfully Catholic sister recently married a fundamentalist southern baptist. If you wanna talk with a Catholic who has some 3rd-person experience in this situation, message me.

Starting with the Gospels is not a bad idea, but since they depend on the Old Testament, I recommend reading this easy to read summary of the whole Bible (OT included) so that you have a better idea of the significance of the NT. It says "Catholics" in the title, but its good for any denomination to read.

Some books that helped me:

How Do Catholics Read the Bible?
Short book that discusses the holistic approach to Scripture study in the Catholic Tradition

Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction; Second Edition
Comprehensive historical discussion of the books of the Old Testament with some theological interpretation

Reading the Bible: A Study Guide
Covers pretty much the whole Bible with historical context and modern application of Scripture

Faith Comes from What Is Heard: An Introduction to Fundamental Theology
This is a huge book with just a LOT going on, but it has a very clear response to the question of the historical reliability of the gospels in the later chapters. It’s pretty well comprehensive for Catholic apologetics, but it’s aimed at a more academic audience than, for example, Catholic Answers

The Bible, the Church, and Authority: The Canon of the Christian Bible in History and Theology
On the development of the canon of Scripture

Sure. It's an excellent book talking about the beauty of the church, the sacrament's, some commentary on sainthood, etc. Kind of a "come back to the faith" kind of book. It's actually been a while since I've read it!
http://www.amazon.com/Rediscover-Catholicism-Matthew-Kelly/dp/0984131892

A good read is The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth - Mass is Heaven on Earth because God is right there. This life is to help us appreciate that, and it takes time.

Hi there, and welcome to the biggest party on Earth.

As far as knowing "what to do" during Mass - your parish should have a missalette located either in your pew or at the back of the church to pick up with your hymnal and whatnot. They usually look like this or something similar. Say the black, do the red, the priest says the bold. But at the same time, don't worry - it's okay if you don't say everything just right; for many hundreds of years, the laity didn't have any verbal participation, and your spiritual participation (ie adding your prayers and intentions to that of the Holy Sacrifice) is plenty.

On a deeper note, if you want to learn about the history and the theology behind the Mass, I really strongly recommend Scott Hahn's excellent book, The Lamb's Supper as it goes into the Jewish roots of much of the Mass. It really helped me understand not only what was going on from a sensory perspective, but also from a theological perspective.

As far as kneeling: You are more than welcome to remain seated if you can't kneel without pain. You're also welcome to kneel anyway and offer that pain as a sacrifice, but sitting is okay, too!

Non-fiction:

• Summa of the Summa
  
• Anselm's Monoslogion, Proslogion, and Gaunilo's Reply
  
• Peter Abelard's Ethics and Dialoge Between a Philosopher, a Christian, and a Jew
  
• This is just barely pre-Reformation, but I think it is valuable because it explains the views of someone who was faithful to the Catholic Church during the Reformation, but still thought it should change: Erasmus' In Praise of Folly
  
  Fiction
  
  
• A Canticle for Leibowitz
  
• The Lord of the Rings

Here's a handy 90-day reading plan, which takes you through the narrative books of the Bible. It's a good place to start when reading scripture, giving you a good look at the story of Scripture.

Aquinas is the premier Catholic thinker. I wouldn't recommend you start reading Aquinas unless you have firm grounding in Aristotelian philosophy. But that's not to say you can't learn about Aquinas' thought. You might find books like A Summa of the Summa, Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide, or The Dumb Ox useful introductory texts to his works. After you're comfortable reading him, you can jump in to some primary texts.

You can absolutely study theology and/or canon law formally. Just be aware that there aren't to many jobs you'll be able to get with a theology degree under your belt. Your options would be pretty much just professor, priest, or religion teacher.

Edit: Also, if you haven't done so already, read the Catechism or the Compendium of the Catechism.

I have used this version http://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Church-U-S/dp/0385479670/ref=pd_sim_b_2 since I was in 7th grade (Catholic school lifer here!) and it's the one from the USCCB. I love it, it's my go-to. The one you have is also in keeping with the Magesterium, though note that since 1994, some language may have changed. The teachings are always consistent, but their are some occasional "tweaks" to wording (as English is always changing!).

Fenelon is required reading in school for me (bachelors of the arts, theological studies) so we're pretty much BFFs now. I'd also recommend Henri de Lubac and Hans Urs von Balthasar, and not just because they've got cool names. :)

Don't worry, none of us are experts, really. There's always room to grow and learn.

> 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

Most Missals include the daily readings for Daily Masses (Mon-Sat) and Sunday Mass, as well as any feasts and solemnities. This enables you to read and pray over the readings before or after Mass and, of course, follow along during Mass if you wish.

There is often a section with the Order of the Mass so that you can follow along with what is going on at Mass, though it isn't exactly laid out step by step unless you know how to flip pages and recognize certain things. Some of the monthly ones include articles and art to get you deeper into the readings or the season.

One of my favorite books on the Mass, particularly the Eucharist, and the Bible (though mainly the Book of Revelation) is Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth.

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

The Roman Catholic theologian Scott Hann deals with this concept in his book "The Lamb's Supper."

https://www.amazon.com/Lambs-Supper-Mass-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591

I'm sure the book is well-written and theologically sound given Hann's reputation. There might be some ideas contained in his book that are not shared by Protestants, but Anglicans may find themselves agreeing more with Hann then our Protestant sisters and brothers.

I've not read the book, but this seems along the same lines you're talking about. I'm sure there are a plethora of ideas and books written about the Mass being an expectation or foretaste of things to come.

My first post on r/Anglicanism, I believe, was actually this picture which I think speaks to what my interpretation of Mass is when I go to church on Sundays.

http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Traditional-Latin-Mass.jpg

I still love this picture.

Love this parable - it has so many layers that it's definitely worth rereading over and over because there's always something new to discover.

Henry Nouwen has an awesome book that explores this parable that I definitely recommend - it's a short/totally manageable read, and is really insightful.

There's no official list from the vatican, but there is this. Your church library may have a copy you can check out.

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma From the amazon bio: "Recognized as the greatest summary of Catholic dogma ever put between two covers. A one-volume encyclopedia of Catholic doctrines. Tells exactly what the Church teaches on any particular topic. Tells when the pronouncement was made and gives the sources from Scripture, Church Councils, Papal statements and the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Essential for priests, seminarians, parents and teachers. Easily one of our most important books."

Wow. A little like sipping from a fire hose here. I would love to talk, preferably point by point, with you on this. Maybe a good place for you to start it with Allen Hunt, a former UMC pastor and a convert to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. In addition to his website - http://drallenhunt.com/ - he's written a book, sort of a primer - Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor (https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Mega-Church-Pastor-Discovered/dp/0984131833/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510282035&sr=1-6&refinements=p_27%3AAllen+Hunt) that might be helpful.

Pursue the Truth and see where that takes you.

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen. Taken from a parable from Jesus himself expressing the love of God, Nouwen interacts with Rembrandt's life and his painting and connects it with this parable from the perspective of the youngest son, the oldest son, and the father. Really puts the love of God in perspective.

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.

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.

I would sincerely ask you read this book, http://www.amazon.com/Hail-Holy-Queen-Scott-Hahn/dp/0385501684, or listen to this excellent podcast, which is free (or both): http://www.salvationhistory.com/audio-resources/hail_holy_queen3

They expound upon the misconceptions of why Mary is often so misunderstood by both Catholics and non-Catholics, and why the Bible itself claims that she is worthy of honor and praise. Please at least listen to the first few of the podcasts so that you understand that the speaker, Scott Hahn, is not proselytizing, but examines Scripture as the primary source of truth.

Here is another short article that demonstrates the many parallels that establish Mary as queen mother of the King, Christ, and as the new Ark of the Covenant: http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/mary-the-ark-of-the-new-covenant

Our Blessed Mother is the Ark of the New Covenant. She was born free from original sin because she was the one who had to carry the incarnation of God in her womb.

Back in Exodus 25:11-21 we see the the ark of the Old Covenant was made of the purest gold for God's Word. Mary is the ark of the New Covenant and is the purest vessel for the Word of God made flesh. Look in 2 Sam. 6:7 and find the Ark is so holy and pure that when Uzzah touched it, the Lord slew him. This shows us that the Ark is undefiled. Mary the Ark of the New Covenant is even more immaculate and undefiled, spared by God from original sin so that she could bear His eternal Word in her womb.

We see in 1 Chron. 13:9-10 another account of Uzzah and the Ark. For God to dwell within Mary the Ark, Mary had to be conceived without sin. For Protestants to argue otherwise would be to say that God would let the finger of Satan touch His Son made flesh. This is incomprehensible.

You can find more scripture to back this up here. I also recommend the book, "Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God, in the Word of God by Dr. Scott Hahn. You can download the audiobook version here.


----------

And as for the pope, you are correct in the sense we see from the Gospel of Matthew, that Jesus choose Saint Peter to be the first leader of his church. Saint Peter was the Bishop of Rome, and ever successor of his chair for nearly 2,000 years has lead the Catholic Church. The pope is not perfect, he can make mistakes and is a sinner just like the rest of us. Pope Benedict XVI himself goes to weekly confession. We only believe he is infallible on matters of faith and morals because Jesus promised Saint Peter that the gates of hell, would never prevail against his church. We believe the Holy Spirit has protected the church through the toughest more troubling times. And while we've had horrible popes at times, no pope has ever went against the bible or taught heresy.

Catholics believe in a lot of things because of tradition, because we believe the Church is a living organism and our beliefs are found not only in Sacred Scripture, but also Sacred tradition.

----------

As a gay man, I can imagine life being hard for you. And I know dealing with your relationship with God is probably frustrating and confusing. My advice would be to find a local parish and ask to speak with the priest or deacon. You may be surprised how open they are with you and how helpful they may be to you.

Keep us update on how things are going for you, you're in my prayers my friend.

Thank you for this! As a former protestant, I really hope there will come a day you are welcomed in the Catholic Church and receive Holy Communion! It'll be so worth your time to see how Catholics support their beliefs in the Real Presence and what the Mass is with Scripture and Early Christian writings.

The mass is truly the most beautiful thing on earth. I’ve also really enjoyed this book, it might cover some of the same things but is really good, maybe consider picking this up also

https://www.amazon.com/Lambs-Supper-Mass-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591

Here are some books on the Catholic view of Heaven and Spiritual realities.

A Travel Guide to Heaven: 10th Anniversary Edition

The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth

The Invisible World: Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities That Surround Us

The Bible presents a substantially coherent story from beginning to end, but reading the Bible cover-to-cover for comprehension and understanding is a difficult task for someone to do on their own with little background in the scriptures. Although not impossible, it is made easier with some assistance. The commentary in the study bible will help, but I would suggest sitting down and reading this excellent resource first:

Bible Basics for Catholics

You can read through this thin book in one or two sittings and understand the "plot" of the story. I'm assuming you're not worried about spoilers! Then go ahead and read the the scriptures themselves, which is immeasurably easier when you can put it all into context.

Henri Nouwen ([Life of the Beloved](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Beloved-Spiritual-Living-Secular/dp/0824519868), [Return of the Prodigal Son](http://www.amazon.com/Return-Prodigal-Son-Story-Homecoming/dp/0385473079), [Seeds of Hope](http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0385490496))
Karl Rahner (The Great Church Year, Love of Jesus and the Love of Neighbor)
Thomas Merton ([New Seeds of Contemplation*](http://www.amazon.com/New-Seeds-Contemplation-Thomas-Merton/dp/0811217248))

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.

You're welcome! Gotta do something with that undergrad degree from a seminary.

Oh, I didn't answer the limitations part. Right, in theory the Pope could use the "formula" of saying I am about to declare something infallibly, but it would have to be on a matter of faith and morals (as per Vatican 1 which formalized the doctrine in 1870). Additionally, Catholics believe it couldn't contradict other infallible statements, including the ordinary infallibility of the magisterium. So, for example, Francis can't overturn anything already considered part of the deposit of the faith (this excellent book lists all Catholic Dogma and its "tier"). Stuff that is considered in the highest tier could never be overturned by future popes without the whole house of cards falling down. So far it hasn't happened, though: changes have always been to the lower tier things, or in ways that maintain the entire truth of a top tier item but see it in a different light. For example "outside the Church there is no salvation" is a fundamental dogma, but it used to be interpreted as literal membership in the visible Church, while Vatican 2 redefined it to still mean "all salvation comes from the Church, i.e. from Christ", but those who are visibly outside of the Church on earth may still be able to attain salvation, but that salvation comes through the Church even if not part of it. Provided their non-membership is due to no fault of their own, etc etc.

Example of the tiers and items from each tier are here: http://catholicism.org/the-three-levels-of-magisterial-teaching.html

The Lambs Supper is an awesome book about the mass and how heaven is on earth during mass, regardless of how shitty the choir is. I'm only a couple of chapters in and I'm loving it.

Before beginning, the Church doesn't have any stance on premill vs amill, so both are perfectly allowable. That being said, a very large number of the Church Fathers were amill, so it's definitely a good idea to become well-acquainted with it, at the very least.

I tend to lean more amill, so I'll try to give an overview of why I think so. Primarily, I am just generally weary of taking a strong stance on prophecy in the Book of Revelation. It's all highly symbolic, yet somehow grounded and real. I tend to believe most of it is describing actual historical events as well as future events at the same time, with the past events being types of the future events. For example, I generally think Babylon and its destruction correspond to Jerusalem, Rome, and a future event(s) all at once. The difficulty for me is distinguishing which details refer to which event. Certainly, the destruction of Babylon seems to match different details of the destruction of Rome and Jerusalem at the same time. Applied to the Millennium specifically, I generally think the thousand years is referring to the reign of the Church on Earth as the Body of Christ, as well as possibly to a future event of some sort. I'm quite weary of believing that it will be a literal 1000 year reign given how often 1000 years is used in less-than-literal comparisons in the rest of Scripture. Perhaps the Millennium is entirely the reign of the Church described from a spiritual perspective, which is why it appears so different from present reality. Like most things in the Book of Revelation, I honestly don't know and wouldn't bet money on anyone's guess.

Beyond historical vs. future events there is a further issue. The Church emphasizes a strong connection between the Book of Revelation and the Mass; for more details, The Lamb's Supper is a nice summary. With that additional perspective, events in Revelation may be describing things in the liturgy, things presently and perpetually going on. This particularly lends credence to amill for me.

To connect this back with your objection: The difference lies not simply in amill vs premill, but rather in whether one can discern a universal ordering/timeline in the Book of Revelation, or whether events being described are definitely in the past, present, or future. Once I began to believe that it could be all three all at once, I started to think that being premill or amill or even postmill to the exclusion of the other(s) was too strong of a position to take. For this reason, I am generally weary of arguing any point from the Book of Revelation that is not a bald statement of fact or has multiple likely interpretations.

Hope this helps! Let me know if there's anything I can clarify, or if you have any more questions.

Dr. Scott Hahn has a fantastic book on the Mass called The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth. Here it is on Amazon. I'm a former Southern Baptist myself and this book answered every single one of my questions.

[Confessions of a Mega-church Pastor] (http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Mega-Church-Pastor-Discovered/dp/0984131833) is a great book that explains some of the major differences between Catholicism and other Christian denominations. It was written by a man who used to be a Mega-church pastor but then converted to Catholicism. My husband and I were given this book when we were in RCIA and we both really enjoyed it.

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).

Great link! I also recommend that people read Scott Hahn's Hail, Holy Queen

You might enjoy this book. It describes the connections between Revelation and the Divine Liturgy (the Mass).

I can't vouch personally since I've never read any of his stuff, but a lot of people love Scott Hahn's books. He has one called Hail, Holy Queen about Mary.

This one is supposed to be pretty good. I haven’t read it, but I believe it’s basically a shorter and more concise version of his previous book “Summa of the Summa”



Also, this post from this sub should also be helpful.

In 1860, The Congregation of the Holy Office (later renamed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) made the same distinction (proper intention is necessary for validity, proper faith/repentance is not):

>“the intention or desire to receive baptism is a necessary requirement: if it is lacking, the baptismal character is not conferred on the adult. This does not apply to faith and penance, which are required if the adult is to receive the same and its inherent fruits licitly: the intention is necessary for the validity of the sacrament, so that an adult baptized without faith and penance is baptized illicitly but validly; on the other hand, a person baptized without the will to receive the sacrament is neither licitly nor validly baptized”
>
>(Instr. In foliis of the Supreme S. Congr. of the Holy Office, 03-08-1860 Collectanea S. Congregationis de propanda fide; seu Decreta, instructiones, rescripta pro apostolicis missionibus, vol. I, 1622-1866, NN 1-1299, Romae, Ex Typographia polyglotta S. C. de propaganda fide, 1907, no. 1198, pp 655-656) as quoted in E. Caparros, M. Theriault, J. Thorn, eds., Code of Canon Law Annotated

If you'd like a great book to read on the Mass and the book of Revelation, check out Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper. You may even be able to request it through your local library if you don't wish to purchase it.

> 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.

Or saying mass facing the people. Of all the changes, this is by far the easiest to criticize.

Turning Towards the Lord by Fr. Michael Lang and The Reform of the Roman Liturgy by Msgr. Klaus Gamber easily demonstrate that it has always been the practice even from the beggining of the Church to pray facing east, not pray facing each other in some kind of communal gathering like we do in the modern liturgy.

>We do not stand alone. We have the shared and consistent apostolic confession as passed down through the generations.

- exactly what our Lutheran friend said. So look at the early church fathers and read what they said from their own mouths. Just follow it from the ground up through the 21st century.


I would start here: Early Church Writings - 2nd Century Church

Go mid-way here: Church Fathers 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Century,

6th century to 16th century here: Later Centuries / Renaissance + Not What Luther Thought of the Gospel

End here: Final Centuries - The Church's Designated Sr. Pastor Sums it Up for You

Just follow the Church's confessions, including its confessions through the Protestant heresies, and just make it to the end. Very simple. It's crisp when others don't throw in heresies in the middle to confuse you.

Remember: as Catholics we understand a hierarchy of authority. A Council carries great magisterial weight - if a Council declares that reform is necessary, we are obliged to assent. At the same time, lesser authorities who are undertaking that reform carry lower magisterial weights - and can err in doing so.

For example, a conference of bishops might issue an official translation of the liturgy into a vernacular language, containing many mistranslations (intended or not). Obviously, changing the meaning of the parts of the liturgy is not a legitimate development, even though the idea of a translation is. And we've seen this: bishops' conferences issue new translations, where the previous was inaccurate. The translation have been so bad in some places, that you end up with an entire structure and community of people just trying to get the accurate translation to understand what the Mass means (Fr. Z started 'What Does the Prayer Really Say' - an example, among others).

An example that some point to as illegitimate would be the creation of Eucharistic Prayer II. It was touted as the recovered Anaphora of Hippolytus, as a return to an ancient liturgical tradition. However, it is actually a prayer composed by a few priests in a cafe (read Fr. Bouyer's account in his memoirs), loosely inspired by Hippolytus. And, if you read through the actual sessions of the 2nd Vatican Council, the Council fathers were extremely hesitant to make any changes to the Eucharistic Prayer (i.e. the Roman Canon). Indeed, the final schema and the official document they produced make no mention of change here. Yet it happened, pushed by those in the Consilium (a working group on liturgical reform).

Or you could look at the push for worship 'versus populum'. It was described as a return to early liturgical practice (as well as the practice of some of the Roman basilicas), where the priest would face the people during Mass. However, a better understanding of liturgical archaeology indicates that even in those places where the priest would face the people because of the orientation of the building, everyone would turn to face east during the Eucharistic liturgy. Another instances where a reform was not asked for by the Council, but implemented by a lesser authority. This is discussed more in Klaus Gamber's Reform of the Roman Liturgy.

Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly

I know you aren't "rediscovering" the faith but this book is amazing and approachable for everyone.

> But where in scripture does it say that?

Your question may be better answered if you learned about the Mass itself and the origins in scripture and Tradition. Scott Hahn has a good book discussing this topic. Called The Lamb's Supper. See if your library has it. Give it a read.

A helpful popular level book is Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper.

Get the USA edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's very cheap and it will give a complete picture of the Catholic teachings about everything, which are widely misrepresented. Not theology per se, but it will help you to understand exactly what is really being rejected (often unwittingly or at best clumsily) by many theologians, so you can make up your own mind.

Actually, Denzinger and Ott provide a more comprehensive list, albeit far less accessible and reader friendly.

You absolutely must read The Return of the Prodigal Son. It transformed the way I understood God as the loving Father even as I was being the wayward son. Seriously, this is a great book for exactly what you are going through right now.

I don't know of a website, but Peter Kreeft's "Summa of the Summa" is very good.

Check out Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. The new Baronius Press versions is apparently the best.

Also http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_1998_professio-fidei_en.html

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

this

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Are you able to go to Mass? It's really the center of Catholicism, for it's where we have an intimate encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

A great book on the Mass is Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper. Learn as much as you can about the Mass. It's the model prayer of the Church.

I haven't read it, but The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn is supposed to be a great book for would-be converts with the standard theological apprehensions for conversion. I think it addresses the Marian doctrines, but I'm not sure about the amount of depth it goes into.

1. Read the bible - 3-4 chapters a day and you'll finish in about a year. One chapter of the new testament, 2 from the old, and one from the psalms. Skip anything that bogs you down, but keep going.
   
   
2. Read the catechism.
   
   
3. Read the major writings of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.
   
   
4. For English-language books (which may be available in French), I would like to echo the several prior recommendations for Chesterton. Also consider Ronald Knox's The Belief of Catholics, Frank Sheed's Theology and Sanity, and Peter Kreeft's Catholic Christianity.

I'm taking this from Msgr. Klaus Gamber's book, The Reform of the Roman Liturgy: Its Problems and Background (Amazon link). The French edition of this book has a preface by Cardinal Ratzinger, a portion of which is printed on the back cover of the English edition.

Gamber, an expert in Eastern and Western liturgy, is definitely of the opinion that the new Mass is in rupture with the old, and cannot be called the Roman Rite Mass in a true sense. He also goes almost, but not explicitly all the way, to saying that the pope had no authority to do this. I'd recommend the book. It contains two of his treatises, a lot of the latter one dedicated to debunking the historical authenticity of the concept of versus populum.

The Lord's Supper: The Mass As Heaven On Earth

The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385496591/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tnZYAbRXDH0DN

Ott is pretty complete.

Here's a good short book for you:

The Bible, the Church, and Authority: The Canon of the Christian Bible in History and Theology (Michael Glazier Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/081465536X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZUaVAbSZBFSEK

Actually, Peter Kreeft did! He wrote a Summa of the Summa and then A Shorter Summa, which is only like 150 pages.

Shout out to my professor, Thomist teacher and writer Peter Kreeft, who wrote A Summa of the Summa, for easier access to this great work by St. Thomas!

Haven't read it yet sorry! But I have heard people talk about Summa of the Summa. Maybe that could help?

• Why We're Catholic
  
• The Case for Catholicism
  
• The Lamb's Supper
  
  
  If you're coming from a Protestant background
  
  
• Rome Sweet Home
  
• The Protestant's Dilemma
  
  
  If you're coming from an Atheist/Agnostic background
  
  
• Answering Atheism
  
  
  Books every Catholic must or should own.
  
  
• Catholic Bible
  
• Catechism
  
  edited to add the more practical Catechism

If you're interested in this painting, check out the book "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. It's an incredible read and the cover folds out so that you can look at that painting while reading the book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Return-Prodigal-Son-Homecoming/dp/0385473079

The Summa Theologica is not a good place to start. You're better off getting the Summa of the Summa.

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

"But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me."

• St. Augustine
  
  If you get your hands on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (http://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Church-U-S/dp/0385479670/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411907813&sr=1-1&keywords=catechism+of+the+catholic+church) you can find deep answers to most, if not all, of your questions. There's no better place to go to be nearer to Jesus than the Catholic Church (the 7 Sacraments are essential - especially the Eucharist).
  
  http://johnpaulthewriter.com/2/post/2014/07/the-way-and-the-truth-and-the-life.html
  

A) No, if you don't agree with the pope, you're not catholic, per catholic dogma, but I wouldn't expect you to understand what that is, as you belong to a catholic-in-name-only church.
B) You're required, as a catholic, to follow all catholic dogma, the first and foremost teaching of that dogma being that the pope is infallible (always right/a representation of Jesus) during certain situations.
This is the most basic copy of the Catechism. A book that rivals the Bible in it's importance to Catholics. Essentially an outline of how to live your live. If you ever actually listened the Pope, you'd hear him reference it often.

I don't agree with any of this, mind you, but don't down vote me just because you're too lazy to understand your own religion.

You're asking for the Catechism.

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

More Relevant

https://www.amazon.com/Code-Canon-Law-Annotated-Responsibility/dp/189017744X/

That one. Not actually that expensive though.

Catechism:

Web

Print

http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Catholic-Dogma-Dr-Ludwig/dp/0895550091

Scott Hahn has an interesting book in which he looks at Revelation as an allegorical representation of the Mass.

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Catholic-Dogma-Ludwig-Ott/dp/0895550091

Or you believe "God has a plan" for you, and they just need to be there for you when you finally come around. I remember one of the last Christian Theology books I read before I stopped believing was Good Goats, and I think a lot of Christian responses to your argument would be similar to stuff in that book. A lot of Christians I know think good Muslims and Hindus will find their way to Heaven after they die.

We are not capable of comprehending some things.

"But here's an 846-page description of the things we know we're right about. Now available on Kindle and iPhone!"

Sickening.

Otherwise I suggest you rethink why you don't believe in God.

You don't need a reason not to believe in something for which there is no evidence.