A Protestant wanting to know more about Catholicism

Well in the Missal (books in the pews) you should be able to follow along to some extent. Just find the current date (the next Sunday being Feb 5th), and it'll have the first, second, third readings, songs etc along with laity responses. This link should cover responses http://www.catecheticalresources.com/docs/TreasureofMass.pdf

It goes through the whole mass, what the priest says, laity responses etc. The actual mass process starts with Greeting, but there's some text before that.

Well the Missal itself it like a bible and songbook combined into one. You'll find the scripture readings in there, but also songs as well. Every church I've been to has had them, so that's surprising.

um yea, some churches do not have missals any more. A lot of the Mass comes right out of the bible, many of the prayers and the way we do things, ask the local priest for a Missal, in the front you will have the order of the Mass, the middle will have the bible readings for each day and in the back you will most likely have the hymns.

BlazerSax said:

Hey guys

I'm currently a Protestant but recently I have been feeling God calling me to visit a Catholic church.

I went to the Wednesday night Mass at a local Catholic church last week but I was SOOO confused. I didn't really know what was going on and I didn't know what the laiety responses were to the priest when the priest was speaking to us.

Where can I find out more about being Catholic...and more about how a Mass works and what you're supposed to do/say?

I know I'll have to do through the RCIA...but I understand since I'm already a baptized Christian adult, it is not the same catechumen(sp??) as a non-Christian adult.

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Last year I started going to the Catholic Church for the first time and joined RCIA, I was also a baptised Adult...The course is really worth going to and you will find it very helpful.

I also read this website which is an excellent one...it goes through all the Mass and the responses and all the things that Catholics do...eg crossing oneself, etc.. Read it, it is very good....I also printed it off to read at my lesuire..... it has a printable version there. God Bless you in your journey..

Why Do Catholics Bounce On One Knee

I picked up the book "Catholocism for Dummies". It helped a lot in my overall understanding of the Church. I too am a Protestant being called to the Catholic Church.

alucardr said:

Well the Missal itself it like a bible and songbook combined into one. You'll find the scripture readings in there, but also songs as well. Every church I've been to has had them, so that's surprising.

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I'd say 75% of the churches I've been to don't have them. But, there are quite a few resources online about Mass -- I can't think of what's best right now but I'll looko later if someone doesn't point to them all first!

Welcome!

I'll second the recommendation of "Catholicism for Dummies". For general questions, the website "Catholic Answers" is very good, too. In my case, it's easier coming from a Lutheran background. The Lutheran and Anglican services are VERY similar to the mass, so it's already familiar to me.

Perhaps you could pick up a missal yourself, though. Missals contain Scripture readings and hymns for each Mass for every day of the year. St. Joseph's missals are very inexpensive - up here I think they're $3-$5 - and they will help a lot with following the Mass.

You can also download the Mass texts online! Or, if there is a Catholic bookstore near you, you could go in and ask about finding something that contains all the dialogue.

Don't worry, it takes some time to get used to it. But you were brave in even deciding to go to Mass. If you're still interested, look into the things that we've mentioned here, and see where that takes you.

This might help in the short-term: http://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Mass.htm

BlazerSax said:

I know I'll have to do through the RCIA...but I understand since I'm already a baptized Christian adult, it is not the same catechumen(sp??) as a non-Christian adult.

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Well, if you are a non-Christian adult, like a muslim, and you came from a very different culture, there are other specific courses/path different from RCIA.

Because the RCIA is organized at parish level, it is not easy to organize different classes.

For a catholic the baptism is NOT something you got in your pocket, but it is a starting point of a path: the RCIA gives you the more usefull tools (not only doctrinary) for this path: this is usefull for all.

The Christian Initiation is itself a path: starts with the Baptism (that gives you the grace to be a Christian), through the Confirmation (the sigil of the Holy Spirit), to the Eucharist.

Any Christian baptism is perfectly right and valid.

The already baptized people who attend RCIA do not start the path from the beginning (as not-baptized people), but what was made in other Churches is usefull.

My husband caught on by attending regularly.

He knows every response by heart. And it took perhaps a month or so before he 'got it'...but its easy once you follow along frequently enough.

May God keep you in His protection during this time. May He Bless you abundantly, and Peace be with you.

BlazerSax said:

Are you saying I'll have to be rebaptized as a Catholic?

From what I've read, it is my understanding that that is not the case. I've read that the large majority (95%) of Catholic churches accept baptisms from other denominations.

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As long as you had a Trinitarian baptism.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and you profess all 3 are ONE God.

Good luck! I'll be praying for you!

BlazerSax said:

Yea, I grew up in a Methodist church--also known as "Catholic Lite" church!

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Seems correct to me.

Talk to your priest about classes.
And 'stay tuned' at Mass. It will come easily.

AND BTW...I see you already know 'also with you...'

BlazerSax said:

Hey guys

I'm currently a Protestant but recently I have been feeling God calling me to visit a Catholic church.

I went to the Wednesday night Mass at a local Catholic church last week but I was SOOO confused. I didn't really know what was going on and I didn't know what the laiety responses were to the priest when the priest was speaking to us.

Where can I find out more about being Catholic...and more about how a Mass works and what you're supposed to do/say?

I know I'll have to do through the RCIA...but I understand since I'm already a baptized Christian adult, it is not the same catechumen(sp??) as a non-Christian adult.

Click to expand...

Hey Blazer. Cool- when I was 21 I felt God calling me to the Church as well. I was raised protestant- never really knew any Catholics. There are a lot of people here that have come to the Church as protestants and are seeking answers to their questions.

A Catechumen is a non-baptized, adult. Those who are baptized Christians seeking the fullness and reunion with the Church are 'Candidates'.

A good site I found was Catholic.com, their sidebar has lots of useful articles. Even this forum was helpful to me.

Here's a link I found real quick that explains the Mass:
http://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Mass.htm#Word

The Mass consists of two parts. The first is what is traditionally called 'the Mass of the Catechumens". Here the Mass goes to our jewish roots, filled with readings from the scripture and important creeds. It concludes with the Gospel reading, (you will notice a lot of reverence here for it), followed by a homily- a sermon that should be based on the readings for the day. After that is called the "Mass of the Faithful" where the focus is on the Eucharist- that is, the last supper.

I would suggest trying not to worry too much about following along, the information will come to you. Try to understand what is going on in general and that'll help the experience.

Good luck