I have an Idea

[Cure of Ars]

I have been reading the book [u]The Tipping Point[/u]. It is a good book and it has given me an idea. A lot of the things that it talked about reminds me of Phatmass. I don’t want to write a book so I will just give some basic ideas that the book gave and then my idea of how to apply it. In the book it talks about a study that was done with a pamphlet on tetanus with college students. They found that the students learned the information that was in the pamphlet and that they believed the information but despite this only 3% went out and got a tetanus shot. They did a follow-up study and this time they again handed out the same pamphlet but they included the practical information of a map of where the campus clinic was and times when the shots were available. They then went and looked who got shots and they found that 28% of the students went and got a tetanus shot. The practical information was not anything that the students didn't already know but it acted like a trigger helping them make the first step to getting the shot.


Like the pamphlet we have been giving out good information and a lot of people believe but there is not the trigger that gets them to actively seek entrance into the Catholic Church. Maybe if we had a little cool picture icon that would send someone to a page that gave very practical instructions and tips on how to become Catholic. We can then put the icon links on our signatures and blogs and even on Phatmass so that people can know how to make the first step. So this is my basic idea. This is what we are going to need if this is going to work.

1. We need to come up with some practical instructions on how to become Catholic. I was thinking something like this but better.

[url="http://wiki.ehow.com/Become-Catholic"]http://wiki.ehow.com/Become-Catholic[/url]

2. We are going to need somewhere to host the instructions. I am hoping somewhere on Phatmass.

3. We need someone to make a cool icon link that will send people to our practical instructions and tips.

4. We need to have people put them in their bloggs signatures and where ever else might help people make the first step.


Please let me know if you are willing to help with any of the above steps. This is not something I can do myself. Steps 2-4 I am going to need help because I either don’t have the skills or the sweet hook ups. Please let me know what you think and if you can help.

Edited August 10, 2005 by Cure of Ars

[goldenchild17]

Not sure what I can do, but I'll help however I can.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

I can host it, not a problem. I've got 100 GB of bandwidth.

[url="http://www.catholicfiles.com/"]http://www.catholicfiles.com/[/url]

Edited August 11, 2005 by thedude

[Fides_et_Ratio]

wow. sounds like a great idea!

I will definitely help out with #4, and in any other way I can.

[Cure of Ars]

Thanks for your guys support. But we are going to need more help.



I was thinking about a link kind of like this but with a Catholic twist:

[img]http://img.runboard.com/img/ltu/88x31_1.gif[/img]

I like how it grabs your attention. I have no clue how to make one of those.


Who is the person that is doing some of the artwork on Phatmass? I wounder if she/he could help us out with making the link?

Edited August 11, 2005 by Cure of Ars

[phatcatholic]

catholic answers has an awesome article on [url="http://www.catholic.com/library/How_to_Become_a_Catholic.asp"][b]How to Become a Catholic[/b][/url] that we could use as a guide.

[goldenchild17]

I'm about to set up a website www.fidesetvirtus.com

I'd be glad to do stuff through there if you want.

[Fides_et_Ratio]

I think we should be sure to include a place like masstimes.org (or something similar) to look up Catholic parishes in a person's area--something quick like just having to type in a zip code... and also including a link to the diocese's homepage (if there is one)-- sometimes they can be very helpful.

[phatcatholic]

we should just set up a website, like www.howtoconvert.com, or something like that.

[Cure of Ars]

I have been thinking about how things should be. I personally think that it should be on Phatmass somewhere. The reason I think this is because it’s kinda like one stop shopping. The person who clicks on the link will be introduced to the other stuff on phatmass as well. Phatmass becomes like the hub. Another advantage is that it would have Dust involved and anything that Dust is involved with turns to gold. If cost is an issue I will be willing to sponsor the page. What says thou Dust? Pray tell.

There are advantages to setting up a new site but I think it is a better bet to have it be part of Phatmass. If Dust thinks it’s a good idea that is.


I was also thinking that we also need an icon link for the Catholic Defense Directory. There are a lot of people that have blogs and websites and this would definitely help people know about our Directory. I was thinking that the new phatmass brand that is on the top left side of the web sight would be cool. If it had Catholic written on one side and then Defense on the right side of the scroll. What says thou to that Phatcatholic?

What should be the steps to becoming Catholic? Please make yourself heard if you have any input.

[Fides_et_Ratio]

(someone can feel free to add/subtract from my thoughts)

I think a section for fallen away Catholics also ought to be included. I know there's a website out there called "once catholic", but it seems rather dubious to me. When I was reconciling to the Church I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do, or where to go, etc. It took me several months to just decide to just call up the pastor and ask him what I was supposed to do (and it was definitely a lesson in humility!)... and there were a few times I almost didn't go through with it because I had no idea what exactly it entailed. But I don't know if that's going more detailed/in another direction/too much work that what you already had in mind.


Anyhow, my take on "steps to becoming Catholic":

1) Find a parish. It doesn't matter if they aren't already Catholic. Coming to an appreciation of the Sacred Liturgy will be very helpful as will becoming familiar with the parish.
In addition I would also exhort them to attend Mass (at least on Sundays) while refraining from the reception of Holy Communion.
(some nifty link like masstimes.org would work here)

2) Contact the priest. Give him a call and set up an appointment to tell him that they are thinking of becoming Catholic. From there, he can give them some helpful advice, put them into contact with whomever is in charge of RCIA and set them on the right track to learning more about the Catholic faith.
(tell them when they call they will probably get the parish secretary, and they just need to ask to speak with the pastor about converting)

3) Buy a Catholic Bible and a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Read them. Slowly and intently. We don't need anymore poorly informed Catholics.
(nifty links to places to buy a good Bible & Catechism would be appreciated)

4) Go to the RCIA classes. All of them. Pay attention.
(maybe a link to describe a typical RCIA class)

5) Study the Catholic faith outside of RCIA classes. Read books, articles, magazines, etc.
(links with suggestions of books, articles, etc. ... PM's "Catholic Defense Directory" would go well here)

6) PRAY (could tack this on to the end of every step...)
(link to prayers)

7) Make an examination of conscience. Go to Confession.
(link to an examination of conscience and "how to go to Confession" helper page)

8) Participate in the Easter Vigil and receive appropriate Sacraments of initiation and Holy Communion.
(describe the Easter Vigil... what goes on, how cool it is, how exciting, and how fun it is to be received into the Church-- they get a party afterwards at my parish)

9) Rejoice.
(self-explanatory)

[phatcatholic]

cure.............email dUSt about all this.

[Cure of Ars]

How to Become Catholic

The Steps:

1. Pray every day. Jesus is calling you to a deeper relationship and we need to respond to this call through frequent prayer. “Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

2. Call a priest. Find the closest Catholic Church in the phone book or put your zip code [url="http://www.masstimes.org/dotNet/"]HERE[/url]. Give the priest a call and let him know that you are thinking about becoming Catholic. Set an appointment to meet with the priest.

3. Attend Mass every Sunday. The liturgy of the Mass is how Catholics worship as a community. It is helpful to have a Catholic friend attend Mass with you. If you do not know a practicing Catholic then ask the priest to introduce you to one. Please do not receive Holy Communion until you are in full communion with the Church.

4. Attend instruction and study the faith. This is done in most parishes through an education program called Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A). During your meeting with the priest find out about when and where the classes are being held. Also make sure that you ask the priest about material for private study.

5. Receive the Sacraments. “Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.” You will learn more about the meaning and practice of the sacraments from the R.C.I.A. classes.

6. Rejoice and be glad, you are now officially apart of the Catholic Church that Christ established.

Edited August 12, 2005 by Cure of Ars

[Cure of Ars]

Thanks Fides_et_Ratio for you list. It helped a lot.


I e-mailed Dust.


I was thinking about the steps. My steps are heavily dependent on hooking up with a priest. Maybe I should have it go through the rectory and then RCIA and then the priest? Only reason I say this is because people who are not familiarly with the Catholic Church tend to be afraid of Priests. Any thoughts or changes that you can see with my list so far? At this point it’s just a draft.

[Fides_et_Ratio]

Your wordage sounds better.

For the Catechism quotes it might be helpful to put the references (including cross references to the Scriptures if there are any in those particular instances)

Talking to the priest is important-- even if they are afraid. He's there to help. Besides, if a priest knew someone was interested in attending RCIA and maybe converting to the faith, he'd probably jump on the prayers, say 'hello' after Mass, etc. In addition, he can talk about the RCIA program and make suggestions for other helpful preparatory things.

[phatcatholic]

this may be helpful as well:
--[url="http://www.ncregister.com/features/livingGuides.htm"][b]How to Be a Catholic[/b][/url]

[Cure of Ars]

I was thinking about taking out the Catechism quotes because I want it to be as much like computer manual instruction or like a cook book as possible. (I'm serious) I don't want anything to take away from the idea of acting on the steps. I want it to be as practical as possible, with the absence of anything abstract. The intent is for it to be a trigger and not a meditation.

What do you guys think about this?

I am also going to ask for help on the graphics links in the General section.

[Lil Red]

i think a link for the Defense Directory for other sites would be well worth the time. i don't know how to do it though!

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='Lil Red' date='Aug 17 2005, 07:06 PM']i think a link for the Defense Directory for other sites would be well worth the time. i don't know how to do it though!
[right][snapback]688268[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
can you reword that? i'm not sure what you mean.

[Cure of Ars]

Makes sense to me