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

[Scipio_a]

If the SSPX is what you have near by you are very lucky indeed...don't worry about what the world and the mainstream press thinks...

You should not think of it as "oh darn, I don't have these other two...guess I just have to settle for the SSPX."


You're not settling...you got as good as it gets....or, you could settle on going to RCIA....


As for going to a TLM...do NOT go unless you commit to going 3 times in a row...be sure to pick up one of the little red missals in the pews...and DO NOT be afraid to ask for help to show you where you are in the missal....make sure...


3 times to the TLM

missal each time

get help if needed

[ggreg]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5585738.ece

I don't know if I feel comfortable about the SSPX after this...

Is this view prevalent? 

Oh yes, many a red and white armband do I see everytime I am forced to go to the SSPX.

When coming back from Communion people click their heels.  And the lampshades in the entrance are made from the most curious leather I've even seen.

Why not go along to an SSPX chapel and find out.  If you're not "comfortable" then stop going.

[BrevisVir55]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5585738.ece

I don't know if I feel comfortable about the SSPX after this...

Is this view prevalent? 

Bishop Williamson is an excellent Bishop but he wasn't acting like a Bishop when he was speaking about his personal opinions. He wasn't speaking about the Faith or morals so just disregard the liberal witch-hunt that has ensued. They are after anyone who upholds Catholic Tradition.

pax

[NonSumDignus]

There is also the option of being catechized in an Eastern Catholic church.  I know there are several near me.  I really would like to avoid the NO if at all possible. 

Eastern Catholics generally fared better post VII; they actually went back to tradition (for the most part.) Why not attend a Divine Liturgy there? Some people are more drawn to the east than the west (Can't say I am, but I do attend the occasional Divine Liturgy)

[devotedknuckles]

Brevis Bishops speak about their personal opinions all the time. Especially when asked in an interview. Now we have been through this. Bishop williamson gave the onterview after being gauranteed he would not be asked questions re the holohoax. It was a trap plan and simple. The only mistake Bishop williamson did was not see the trap fpr what it was.
But this should not have any matter on whether the op goes to a TLM offered b y the society. Contrary to what. The jews and media might spew. There are other things far more inportant then the alleged attrocities committed against the jews by the nazis. Your sou and saving it are way way way more important.
Sip

[nsper7]

Hello everyone,
Am a longtime lurker, first time poster.

I won't bore all of you with the details, but I have been considering becoming a Catholic for several years now, and although I have contacted RCIA programs, because of moving and relocating, I haven't yet participated.

I was raised Protestant (evangelical, and quite anti-Catholic at that) as a child but left the church in college.  Now, strangely, enough, I have been drawn to the Catholic faith, and traditional Catholicism.

Not quite sure why this is the case, other than by the grace of God (something I believe in effortlessly at times and at other times believe in with much effort).  I live a very "modern" life and am politically liberal, at least on the outside (although personally, I am much more moderate and even downright conservative in some areas, but this I keep to myself).  Pretty sure that's very different from most of you lovely people here on this forum. 

Here's my question:  Where should I attend RCIA?  Does RCIA exist in an SSPX parish?  Forgive me for my ignorance; I have never been to one.  I have been to the TLM at a diocesan parish and truly love the TLM.  I have read stories online about RCIA classes that were less than edifying and didn't seem very Catholic.  And I have been to parishes where the mass seemed more like an evangelical service than an actual Catholic mass, which is what I truly crave.

I'd like to be challenged in my RCIA and be taught correctly.  Would becoming Catholic in an SSPX parish be the best way to do this? 

A dear friend of mine converted to Judaism (she was raised nominally Catholic and fell in love with an Orthodox Jew).  She went through the Orthodox conversion process, which was a lengthy, extremely in-depth process of three years.  I'm pretty sure nothing so rigorous exists in Catholicism, but I would very much like to have as in-depth a process as possible.

Thank you for your thoughts.  And I truly appreciate this website and all the information it contains. 

If you have a love for the TLM, then go to a good FSSP, ICKSP, etc. religious Priest or a Diocesan Priest who regularaly celebrates the TLM (what Diocese are you in BTW) and talk to them. Be very wary of RCIA--not all are bad, but, as you said, you have heard horror stories. Make sure you read on your own. I cannot hammer that enough: READ UP ON THE FAITH ON YOUR OWN!

[SoleRedemption]

N-thing finding a traditional parish (really, it doesn't matter what society you choose, but I personally recommend the ICKSP first and the SSPX second if possible), and staying away from the RCIA. I had to literally unlearn about 75% of what I learned in there after I switched to a traditional parish.

Among the BS they told me in RCIA was that the Church or even belief in Jesus Christ was not the sole way to get into heaven, that disagreement with church dogma is perfectly fine, that its okay to take communion or attend any other religious service in place of Mass, that the pre-VII church was basically backwards and superstitious, that the rosary was "kind of a thing for old timers", and that the protestants are "probably right" about the deuterocanonical books being invalid. My instructor also praised the local parish for giving annulments out like candy and claimed they've never said "no" to anyone asking for one.

[Benno]

Just my two cents - don't trust any of 'em!  Become a Catholic formally and figure it out from there.

[anonymousseeker]

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.

[anonymousseeker]

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.