A Little Overwhelmed...

[daniellealysa]

I'm a new Catholic (just finished RCIA and had first confession, eucharist and confirmation this Easter.) I grew up Lutheran but was never REALLY actively involved in the church or did a lot of Bible study.
I am so excited about becoming Catholic and am eager to be really active in my faith and know a lot about the church and the Bible, but I think that I am a bit overwhelmed with some things... I have common prayers memorized and am reading the Bible regularly. My goal is to read from Genesis right through to Revelations. I am also reading the Pieta prayer book, praying the rosary and reading the catechism and the BC Catholic newspaper... however, every way I turn it seems that there is something else that I don't know much about but feel I should keep myself up to date on... like the encyclicals from the Pope, etc... but I don't know what the most important things are that I should know about (besides reading the Bible and praying of course) and when certain things like encyclicals are published?
Does anybody have any recommendations for me as to how I can keep actively learning more about my Catholic faith now that RCIA is done? Do you know of a good book or website outlining some of these Catholic basics? A good Bible study for new Catholics?
Do you think I'm trying to take on too much all at once? :

Thanks!

[jmj]

I wish I had some advice for you, but I'm finding myself in the same position. I'm just overwhelmed by everything.

I'll pray for you, though. : ]

[Anthony]

[quote name='daniellealysa' post='952866' date='Apr 18 2006, 05:09 PM']
I'm a new Catholic (just finished RCIA and had first confession, eucharist and confirmation this Easter.) I grew up Lutheran but was never REALLY actively involved in the church or did a lot of Bible study.
I am so excited about becoming Catholic and am eager to be really active in my faith and know a lot about the church and the Bible, but I think that I am a bit overwhelmed with some things... I have common prayers memorized and am reading the Bible regularly. My goal is to read from Genesis right through to Revelations. I am also reading the Pieta prayer book, praying the rosary and reading the catechism and the BC Catholic newspaper... however, every way I turn it seems that there is something else that I don't know much about but feel I should keep myself up to date on... like the encyclicals from the Pope, etc... but I don't know what the most important things are that I should know about (besides reading the Bible and praying of course) and when certain things like encyclicals are published?
Does anybody have any recommendations for me as to how I can keep actively learning more about my Catholic faith now that RCIA is done? Do you know of a good book or website outlining some of these Catholic basics? A good Bible study for new Catholics?
Do you think I'm trying to take on too much all at once? :

Thanks!
[/quote]


I wouldn't be too concerned with trying to know everything there is to know about Catholicism. Give it time, you only been Catholic for a few days.

If you are serious about learning more about your faith, check out www.newadvent.org or www.catholic.com. These are two great Catholic apologetics websites. I also encourage you to read about the lives of the saints, stuff by Dr. Scott Hahn, and continue to read the Catechism. I hope this helps. Welcome home!

[homeschoolmom]

Congratulations and welcome. May I make a recommendation? Rather than reading the bible from start to finish, following this: [url="http://www.thebibletimeline.com/"]Great Adventure Bible Study[/url] It takes you through the story of the bible rather than reading every page. You don't have to buy anything. I can give you the suggested readings. It's a good study, though. It will give you the whole overview of the story of salvation history without getting bogged down with the law etc.

[daniellealysa]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='953692' date='Apr 19 2006, 04:21 AM']
Congratulations and welcome. May I make a recommendation? Rather than reading the bible from start to finish, following this: [url="http://www.thebibletimeline.com/"]Great Adventure Bible Study[/url] It takes you through the story of the bible rather than reading every page. You don't have to buy anything. I can give you the suggested readings. It's a good study, though. It will give you the whole overview of the story of salvation history without getting bogged down with the law etc.
[/quote]

Thank you to everybody who replied here. JMJ I'll pray for you too. The Great Adventure Bible study sounds good. I really want to read the whole Bible but I have been told that if I go from first page to last, I will probably get discouraged along the way and be more unlikely to complete the task. I don't want to get bogged down and end up not learning. I want to really get to know the Bible. Homeschoolmom and Anthony I really appreciate your advice.

[journeyman]

to the Church
to Phatmass
and to what the catechists might call mystagogy - the period where you learn everything else you need to know . . . I've spent the two years since my acceptance in a perpetual state of mystagogy trying to learn what I thought cradle Catholics learn in infancy . . . and I wouldn't be surprised if I kept at it for the rest of my life . . . after all, there's 2000 years of catching up to do . . . so don't sweat it if you don't think you're getting it all done

Check your parish for a bible study . . . with a group, it isn't as daunting to read new books

Check out the Word phorum - one of a host of "read the Bible in a year" schedules is posted there - no need to worry about being behind schedule - just make January 1 tomorrow (in addition to everything else, I'm chronologically challenged)

If you have specific questions, check out the Reference section (also in the Word phorum) - phatcatholic, our resident apologist, with a lot of help, has compiled an incredibly diverse section of links

For the more generic stuff, books like Catholicism for Dummies enjoys a surprisingly positive reputation . . . and I found "Why Do Catholics Do That" . . . or something like that . . . very enlightening on general customs

The catechism (available on e-Bay for ridiculously low prices) is another source of the Church's teaching . . . and the footnotes will send you all over the place if you try to follow them all.

Have fun!!