CATHOLIC LIFE Community Group
proud catholic's discussing life as a catholic.from singles, marriage, views, thoughts,teachings,experiences,teens,adults,come one come all....
I need some help. I'm dating a guy who is Catholic and his parents are really strong Catholics. I am baptist and my grandpa is an elder in our church. However, I don't feel like i belong anymore and when I went to mass last week with my boy-friend I felt like I actually belong and it had such a homey feel to it. I am meeting with a lady from the Catholic church in town next week to ask a few questions. I am really interested in becoming Catholic but how will it make my family look? Also my best friend just told me tonight that if i became Catholic that things would change between us. I don't want to loose her but I also feel that if she was my true friend that religion wouldn't matter. I have no idea what to do. Becoming Catholic would make things between my boy-friend and i so much easier. Plus Catholic weddings are absolutely beautiful. Please someone help me...what do I do?
I would say if you want to learn more about Catholicism, learn more about it. Don't worry about telling everyone you're thinking about converting, because at this point, you probably still need more information and spiritual discernment anyway. You could always say something like, "As a Baptist with Catholic friends, I think that it is important to understand where Catholics are coming from, and why they believe what they do." That's a true statement and not necessarily threatening to anyone.
The Catholic Church has a fairly lengthy process people who are interested in become Catholic, involving prayer and developing an understanding of what the Church teaches. While I agree that there is much beauty to what the Church does, the only reason to become a Catholic is because one finds that what the Church teaches is true. The RCIA program (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) would help you in discerning that.
Eventually, you will have to let the Holy Spirit guide you. Pray that you will be open to God's will despite the challenges you might face. Jesus did say, "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37). Hopefully it would never come to choosing between family and God's will, but we must always choose God's path.