Am considering becoming Catholic. Where for RCIA? SSPX or diocesan parish?

[IrishCowboy]

So I went to mass today at a diocesan parish, and please don't get angry/upset, but it was the New Mass.  But it was reverent.  The parish was mostly Filipino and Korean immigrants--no T-shirts, shorts, flip flops--the stuff I've seen in many, sorry to say, white American NO parishes.  I spoke with the father and he seemed surprised that I wanted to be Catholic; pleasantly surprised.  He is a monsignor and was very kind.  He has offered to counsel me in my journey, and I am grateful, as I've been so afraid to speak to a priest for nearly 5 years and had finally worked up the courage to do so.  You must understand that the Catholic church for a non-Catholic who does not know any practicing Catholics in real life (not online) can seem very distant, monolithic, and impenetrable.  All that I have learned from Catholicism so far has been from books, and the few Catholics I do know were raised Catholic, no longer go to mass, and know less than me about their faith.  I have not had the privilege of having someone I could ask questions to or speak to, so the sheer act of speaking to a priest was daunting.  I come from an evangelical tradition and people there are very welcoming and it's much easier.  Probably one of the reasons they have been successful at welcoming new members.  But I digress.

We spoke for over an hour about how I came to the faith and what I had been reading.  I told him I was currently reading the catechism.  He presented me with a "modern" Catechism.  I leafed through it briefly, and the Eucharist as "communal meal" was there and as a former Protestant, I found this alarming.  I want to be Catholic, not a hybrid Protestant/Catholic, if that makes any sense.  The Eucharist as communal meal sounds Protestant.

But he spoke about the Latin mass with reverence and devotion and we spoke of the real presence, and I believe in that and told him so.  He respects Dorothy Day (I do, too) and we spoke of her and her work. He works with drug addicts and alcoholics and holds mass at prisons, and I respect all this very much.

He suggested I go to a certain parish nearby with a young adult ministry.  I will go to RCIA there.  As Benno suggested, I will become Catholic first, study much on my own, and then find a parish after I've become Catholic, just so there aren't any problems with documents later on. 

I'm sure there are people here on this forum who will NOT agree with my course, but this is where I have been led.  I will continue on in studying my faith, and will have faith in the Church's teachings and Magisterium before what any one person tells me, including the RCIA counselor.

Thank you for your prayers, and God bless.

I'm glad you've made a decision to become Catholic.  Obviously it's the right decision and you won't regret it.  But I caution you not to make the mistake of assuming that the SSPX or other traditional groups can't or won't make you Catholic.  Take care not to jeopardize your soul by exposing yourself to the modern propaganda of the RCIA just to stay "official."

Oh, to clarify, this is the course I took because no ICSP or FSSP parish even remotely near me.  I would go to the SSPX but am concerned about documents for when I get married, etc., as one poster pointed out. 

Thank you again and God bless.

This is not a good enough reason to stay away from the SSPX.

[BrevisVir55]

So I went to mass today at a diocesan parish, and please don't get angry/upset, but it was the New Mass.  But it was reverent.  The parish was mostly Filipino and Korean immigrants--no T-shirts, shorts, flip flops--the stuff I've seen in many, sorry to say, white American NO parishes.  I spoke with the father and he seemed surprised that I wanted to be Catholic; pleasantly surprised.  He is a monsignor and was very kind.  He has offered to counsel me in my journey, and I am grateful, as I've been so afraid to speak to a priest for nearly 5 years and had finally worked up the courage to do so.  You must understand that the Catholic church for a non-Catholic who does not know any practicing Catholics in real life (not online) can seem very distant, monolithic, and impenetrable.  All that I have learned from Catholicism so far has been from books, and the few Catholics I do know were raised Catholic, no longer go to mass, and know less than me about their faith.  I have not had the privilege of having someone I could ask questions to or speak to, so the sheer act of speaking to a priest was daunting.  I come from an evangelical tradition and people there are very welcoming and it's much easier.  Probably one of the reasons they have been successful at welcoming new members.  But I digress.

We spoke for over an hour about how I came to the faith and what I had been reading.  I told him I was currently reading the catechism.  He presented me with a "modern" Catechism.  I leafed through it briefly, and the Eucharist as "communal meal" was there and as a former Protestant, I found this alarming.  I want to be Catholic, not a hybrid Protestant/Catholic, if that makes any sense.  The Eucharist as communal meal sounds Protestant.

But he spoke about the Latin mass with reverence and devotion and we spoke of the real presence, and I believe in that and told him so.  He respects Dorothy Day (I do, too) and we spoke of her and her work. He works with drug addicts and alcoholics and holds mass at prisons, and I respect all this very much.

He suggested I go to a certain parish nearby with a young adult ministry.  I will go to RCIA there.  As Benno suggested, I will become Catholic first, study much on my own, and then find a parish after I've become Catholic, just so there aren't any problems with documents later on. 

I'm sure there are people here on this forum who will NOT agree with my course, but this is where I have been led.  I will continue on in studying my faith, and will have faith in the Church's teachings and Magisterium before what any one person tells me, including the RCIA counselor.

Thank you for your prayers, and God bless.

It is your decision, but when you get fed up with RCIA and want to leave it please do. I wish I had left it half-way through and gone to the SSPX like I had wanted to.

pax

[Ave Maria]

Thank you all for your help.

There is no FSSP parish near me, but there is a parish that offers a TLM every Sunday nearby and there is also an SSPX parish nearby.  Perhaps I should go to both and ask at both...?

Now to get over my fear/shyness of actually speaking to a priest.  Strange, I'm not shy about much else in life!  

Go to the one that is in full communion with the Holy See and Pope Benedict XVI.  Don't go to an SSPX one until the SSPX have been fully reinstated and approved by the Magisterium.

[jovan66102]

Thank you all for your help.

There is no FSSP parish near me, but there is a parish that offers a TLM every Sunday nearby and there is also an SSPX parish nearby.  Perhaps I should go to both and ask at both...?

Now to get over my fear/shyness of actually speaking to a priest.  Strange, I'm not shy about much else in life!  

Go to the one that is in full communion with the Holy See and Pope Benedict XVI.  Don't go to an SSPX one until the SSPX have been fully reinstated and approved by the Magisterium.

Once again, I am not an 'SSPX'er'. I have never in my life attended a Mass offered by a Society Priest, but I totally disagree. My experience of RCIA is that they are not 'approved by the Magisterium'. In fact, when I stood sponsor to a convert through RCIA we had at least two people who converted, received the First Sacraments and then moved to where the Faith was actually taught and LEFT THE CHURCH!!!  They said that if they had actually been taught Catholic Doctrine in RCIA they would never have become Catholic. I still pray for them.

My advice is if there are no FSSP, ICKSP, etc. options, hie yourself to the SSPX ASAP and learn the Divine and Catholic Faith, not the watered down,  modernist, neo-Protestant, neo-Pagan bullshit you'll find in the overwhelming majority of RCIA programmes.

[Scipio_a]

As with so many others...I wish we had found the SSPX before any goofy RCIA crap....


I wish Our FSSP priest had been allowed to catechize...but he was not...

[devotedknuckles]

Not much else we c*n say. Sadly anonymous will go to an rcia and get taught a false religion. Certainly won't be the catholic faith. But I guess its the paperwork that counts. I guess its the stasmp from a curropt modernist bishop and vatican beurocrat that counts.
Shame because what counts is the Mass and saving your soul.
But
U can bring a horse to water, u can't force it to drink
Sip

[Scipio_a]

I know...can you imagine having the chance to be married at an SSPX chapel...THE REAL THING....and CHOOSING to go NO on what is supposed to be such a great day....I only wish I had known....

and that gets us to my three elements deal...since marriage is a sacrament...as will these folks confirmation and any confession...not to mention Mass

Once again it comes down to the three essentials -- matter, form, and intention.  Now, some Novus Order folks don’t seem to understand that since we believe as we pray, that in short order there will be services of the NO that are invalid due to belief changes.  The abuse of not using the correct matter is known, of not using the correct form is known, not having the proper intention can only be suspected but is not a bad bet in some cases.  Since this is the case it would be best to avoid those known and suspected invalid services, be they any one of the sacraments.  Let’s see what those are:

1)   Baptism
2)   Confession
3)   Confirmation
4)   Marriage
5)   Holy Orders (any of them)
6)   Extreme Unction
7)   Holy Eucharist

All of these can be called into question because they all require the same three elements.  I’ll let each of you follow the logic of what happens over time with each invalid sacrament, but the conclusion is this, fewer real Masses, priests, bishops, marriages, Christians, etc., not in any particular order but the whole thing snowballs.  And when is that critical mass point reached where it becomes unsafe to attend NO services?  I have described the NO as a mine field and suggested.  I would not step in the field were I to know that there was only one mine (even suspect only one mine).  If you choose to enter such a field you are foolish at best.