New here after being away from The Catholic Church for many years

General Introductions
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Hi everyone!

My name is Kyle and I’m brand new to the forum. I have been away from the Catholic Church for many years, since childhood pretty much. I was Baptized as an infant and received my First Holy Communion through the Catholic Church, so I was always part of it. Throughout my teenage and young adult years, I was a loose believer, bouncing back and forth from agnosticism to Catholicism. This past year and the years before, I went through some difficult times, and deep down, I knew that our Lord was calling my name back to the Church. Fast forward many years and here I am at age 32, returning to the faith and our Lord Jesus Christ. I went to my first Catholic Mass (I was a bit lost I must say!) by myself this past Sunday and it was really great. I’m looking at a local OCIA program, and I am serious about going forward with receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

God Bless!

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Welcome home! We may wander away from God but He never stops looking for his sheep :wink:

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I had a similar conversion.

I sobbed most of the Liturgy when I came back. It was beyond beautiful. I wasn’t sure that I would be welcomed back and I can tell you that day I knew I was welcomed back! It must have been what the Prodigal Son must have felt (Luke 15:11-32).

I was scared to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but knew that I needed to, so I called up an old friend of mine. And we we went together. He was glad that I had called, because it had been a while for him as well. It was great!

If you lived closer, I would gladly be your sponsor!

When my Wife did RCIA it was not like a class, but rather more like a small group, which made it more inviting. We shared a meal and then they would have a presenter and then we would have group Prayer. Our friend was also in RCIA around this same time at a different Parish and she said it was more like class.

Welcome back! “Catholic Answers Live” is a great Podcast/Radio show if you are interested in learning more in addition to OCIA. “The Bible in a Year” and the “Catechism in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz are also fantastic.

I also recommend old episodes of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on YouTube.

The “Surprised by Truth” book series is great too. We are blessed to have so many great resources.

My favorite Bible App is Catena, where you can click on any verse and see what the Early Church Fathers had to say about any particular verse.

If you don’t mind paying for an App, Truthly is a nice A.i. and Scroll the Bible, though not Catholic, is an enjoyable way to read the Bible.

Dwell is a good way to listen to the Bible read to you. It allows you to choose the narrator and the background music.

And MassTimes is a nice App for looking up Mass Times near you. I use it when we go on vacation or if I travel for Conferences.

I hope I haven’t overwhelmed you, but I am excited for you : )

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I was also emotional and overwhelmed with joy and beauty during the Liturgy too. I didn’t take Communion because I still have to go to Reconciliation as soon as possible. I followed the best I could and I am still learning and remaining open to learning. The Church I attend is new to me and in my neighborhood. It is one of the few Catholic Churches in my area that was founded by Catholic Polish Immigrants in the 1880’s. My ancestral heritage is Polish, so it’s been great. It is a very welcoming Roman Catholic Church and community. I just found out that the OCIA program I would do is one day a week on over zoom and goes from September to March. My Church is also working on starting a Young Adult Group which I’d be eager to be involved with. I’ve met a few nice people at the church and one of the Priests who was super welcoming. Also, outside of zoom I believe we will still have opportunities to meet in person and be involved in my church’s community. I still have to find out more information, but I was told by the OCIA director that the OCIA Ceremony is beautiful and on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil Mass. It’s a group of about 10-15 people, all different age groups. The ceremony and vigil are after dark, and they have a bonfire too!

You have not overwhelmed me, honestly, thank you for all of the resources! I will definitely check a lot of these out. I’ve been wanting to get a Bible App and Dwell sounds nice for when you want to just listen. Your RCIA sounds like it was a nice time! And thanks for the generous offer about sponsorship! Very kind. I have to figure out who that will be as I don’t have too many devoted Catholics in my life, but I could think of a few.

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Thanks! This is so well said. I’m so happy to be welcomed back!