Hi there, this is going to be a bit of a long post.

I'm a relatively recent convert after several long conversations with a lovely pentecostal fellow down here in Australia, and I've felt a calling that I need to commit myself more by attending church services and having works to back my faith, and I happen to live within 5 minutes walk of several churches, with quite a few a short train ride away.

I currently lean protestant, partly because of the man who converted me and partly the media I consume, but my YouTube feed randomly flipped to a lot of catholic/orthodox related content and I'm drawn to their conviction that this is the right way to save my soul. I just have a few misgivings I'd like to hammer out to see if I'm about to walk the right path for me. I hope my questions don't cause offence.

1. I'm not very comfortable in catholic churches that have a lot of statues and art of saints and others that are not christ. It feels close to idolatry to me. Why pray to saints at all?

2. I see churches as an institution of man, and thus fallible to all the faults inherent to man. (Pick your church scandal). I also don't like the idea of being beholden or fearful of an earthly establishment, be it government, and individual or a church. Do I need faith in the church for anything outside of the Eucharist and meeting fellow people of faith?

3. The idea of a confession booth makes me nervous. Because I can't guarantee the person I confess to won't recognise my voice, and that the person I confess to is human, and could misuse what I confess. Can I keep my confessions to my prayers between the lord and I?

4. I'm aware there's a lot of tradition that I am completely ignorant to, and would have no idea how to participate, like rosary and confession. Do I just stay after a service, introduce myself and ask for help?

5. I'm not sure if I was baptised or not, but considering that was a child baptism and I have long wandered off the path I feel drawn to seek an adult baptism, but one of immersion. Is there a big difference between an immersion baptism and the traditional sprinkling one?

Thank you all for reading and for your time. I've found an Anglican church in the mean time who perform the Eucharist and seem welcoming. I've never set foot in a church for a service before and feel very out of place!

Sincere apologies for asking a question so far removed from typical matters associated with the Faith, but I am concerned about something.

Ever since certain realisations, I have avoided accessing things online, one of which is emulating games but am uncertain. The Lord told us to render unto Caesar and I have every intention of doing so, but with older consoles and titles, it is impossible to do so save from going out of one's way to obtain something from one who wishes to get rid of his so I wish to know if downloading emulators for that which is otherwise unobtainable is sinful.

Same with emulating a game I actually bought. Have a Playstation 4 and bought an old title for it via the online shop, but would downloading that game as it was on an older, now obsolete, console be a sin?

Hi! I'm interested in joining the Catholic faith but I'm not sure where to begin. I grew up Southern Baptist in the Deep South and went through a phase of being agnostic. However, after attending a Mass with my stepmom, I was truly inspired. I've been going to Mass with her and my dad for about a year now, and I’d like to fully join the church. Could you recommend any books to help me understand the faith better? Also, are there any classes I can take? I usually travel on weekends, which makes it hard to attend them. Thank you!

Hello friends. Back when I was closer to New Age stuff, and back when I was Buddhist, one thing that I enjoyed was a strong sense of the harmony and interconnectedness of the creation. There was a quality of gentleness, wonder, awe, peace, and hope in those worlds. I also see that mood reflected in many of our Christian mystics. But I really have trouble finding it in my Catholic communities now.

I believe Catholic Christianity is good and right and true. That's why I'm here. I just experience many Catholics as focused on sin, porn, abortion, getting it right and proving others wrong. I'm looking for joy, wonder, harmony, awe. Any of you found that somewhere?

I live in just outside of my country’s relatively small capital. The capital is full of churches with novus ordo masses, tlms, and Greek Catholic liturgies in many different languages. I go to school in the city and it takes me around an hour to get to the center from where I live. Where I live there are two churches nearby, both around 40 minute walking distance which is virtually the only way for me to get to them. I have no free time during the week and the weekend is the only time I get to see my dad who commutes to another country, so I don’t want to be gone for half a day. My family is Catholic but since we got split up (due to financial reasons - my parents aren’t divorced), we’ve stopped going to church as much, so I’vetaken my spiritual life in my own hands. There is an amazing church I go to on Fridays after school which works out perfectly in every way. I don’t attend mass on sundays however.

I just wonder if the Friday mass fulfills my obligation…

We have been married for over 3 years, trying to concieve for over 2. It's been a long and hard journey. I returned to the faith right before we got married, and this has been the biggest challenge for me. I feel like my faith has being tested every single day, and every day is a struggle.

I have had so many invasive, painful tests. I even had to have laparoscopic surgery. I am still recovering. I would give anything for a baby, I want nothing more than for us to be parents. The problem, sadly, lies with my husband, as he has male factor infertility (all his numbers are low). We were advised by doctors to go straight to IUI/IVF. Our chances for natural pregnancy are not great. Of course, that is not something I want to pursue, but with each month my heart is being broken into million pieces and I don't know how long I can keep up. I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to persist.

I haven't found much help or support in my church which makes everything even harder. Everyone around us is being blessed with babies. My depression is starting to get me. I pray all the time but it doesn't help that much. So I am asking for your prayers, please. I am in a very dark place and don't know how to get out. Thank you.

It is said "so the last will be first, and the first last". My understanding is everyone's reward in heaven is equal. Does this contradict ehat is said in matthew 5:19 "Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." And in matthew 11:11 "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."? Or am i missing something?

As title suggests, still in school (secular) and jewelry etc is heavily regulated. Is this considered disrespectful?

To all Filipino Catholics. Pwede pong makahingi ng kopy ng pabasa? Hindi po kasi yan ginagawa dito sa amin at gusto po sana namin simulan ang tradisyon na ito. Thanky you in advance!

I find myself unable to break free from sin, often letting my guard down and questioning my faith, which has brought catastrophic consequences to my life: my relationships, studies, and health have all suffered immensely. I feel incapable of walking this path on my own, and I'm struggling with depression, often thinking that carrying the cross through life feels unbearably difficult.

I feel that I was almost compelled to commit these sins. During my youth, I was infatuated with someone I still believe is irreplaceable. But she dated someone I saw as vulgar, ignorant, and shallow—a person who eventually hurt her. His presence in her life shattered my confidence, leaving me with a complex around purity and a series of negative traits that persist to this day. Though this relationship ended four years ago, I can’t seem to move on.

This year, I found God, and reading the Bible has brought some improvement to my life. But thoughts of her still arise, even appearing in my dreams, leaving me feeling down for days. Though we are now completely out of contact, I still live with a PTSD-like anxiety day by day. At some point, I developed a dependency on pornography; only those fleeting moments of pleasure seem to offer an escape from an otherwise suffocating life. I don’t want to continue down this path. What should I do?

I would like to share about my sleep experience that when I sleep, there were nights that I pray Our Lord's prayer through my mouth. I can hear myself talking and praying but my body is in deep sleep and there is also a time I remember I heard myself saying "Father, forgive me for I have sinned.... for I am a sinner". Then I just woke up a normal morning. I admit the most of the time, I don't pray before I go to bed, I just sign of the cross then go to sleep.

Is there someone who could share or explain about this?

Your feedback regardless if it is negative would be highly appreciated. Thank you guys.

Hi all,
I've been searching for a 1962 hand missal without gilded or red-dyed edges but have not been able to find one. Is anyone familiar with an in-print edition that has plain edges?
Thank you!

I am a episcopal christian who is antiochian by baptism and I visit a basilica for daily mass sometimes. I do not take communion but I pray with everyone.

I veil and wear a ribbon on my waist with a rosary/prayer beads.

I have been mistaken as a sister multiple times.

This brings me at first joy that maybe someone sees holiness within me. But I am not only an outcast I am a sinner. Being called sister makes me feel joy and pride. It makes me cry.

Is God trying to tell me something? I feel incapable of doing what he tells me to.

Because I could never be a real roman nun. I could be an episcopal nun. But outside of the "progressive" mainline church I could not be a roman nun. Due to being a mtf eunuch.

I hate who I am sometimes. Because I cannot find a real spiritual home. I go to the Roman church because my Anglican church does not offer the mass regularly enough and the sacrament of conffesion is hard to obtain there.

I feel like I betray my friends when I go to the Roman church due to the pain the Roman church has inflicted on them.

But I do not see it that way. I pray because the eucharist is the presence of God. Why would I not want to worship God. Are my neighbors not also fellow christians?

I wish vocation was easier but the episcopal church does not yet have a community in the twin cities big enough yet. I feel I'd betray my marginalized siblings if I left this place.

The Roman church if I accepted it would not know what to do with me.

So I remain a lay person who merely helps with my church and does what she can to help her outcast siblings. I love Jesus with all my heart. I hope someday I can figure out where I belong.

In my despair recently I wish I could just disappear and lock myself away from the world. And pray with like minded people.

Hello!

I am a Protestant (Lutheran, I assume fondly loved here lol /s) trying to understand the practice of the Apostolic Churches (Eastern Orthodox & The Catholic) of praying to the saints / asking for the intercession of the saints.

I am genuinely interested in this question and have been pondering it for months now. It is sort of a spiritual problem for me. I say this just to emphasize that I am not rage-baiting here. In fact, I really wish I could justify this practice to myself.

I have come to the conclusion that, barring the use of mental gymnastics, there is no real scriptural evidence (in the Bible) for such practice. I am welcome to objections on this, I might have missed something and I am open to learn, but this is just how it seems from a objective-ish viewpoint.

But then again, this alone is not necessarily problematic. I do hold the Church Fathers and the Early Church to a high regard in theological matters, and there are many things that are not present in the Bible but are nevertheless a crucial and widely accepted parts of Christianity and that I do hold to (the Trinity, for an instance).

Therefore, I am trying to kind of investigate whether or not the early Christians offered prayers to the Saints. And what a better place than r/Catholicism, I guess.

I came across this article: https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-intercession-of-the-saints, but came to the conclusion that the earliest of the given examples that actually seems to indicate intercession (again, barring mental gymnastics) is the example given from Methodius (305 AD).

Are there any earlier, clear examples? Pre-Nicaea (325 AD) preferably, and of respected theologians / Church Fathers of the time.

Thank you for any help, and sorry if my formatting / English are not perfect here.

edit: grammar

Hi everyone , what are some suggestions of good Catholic gifts?

So i went to confession fir the first time in minths. Im chronically ill. I have plattpenea of unkown cause but likely neuro or kidneys. Drs are defaulting tomneuro wven though cant find a cause or disease while the neuro says its ruuem, rhuem says its defintely not us. Gotta love healthcare.! All the while i was told Ill die from "this" If i die naturally; even though we have no name For it all. Inhave so ammy symtoms, i have a dr in jsut sbout every area of mwdicien post covid (was heslthy before this, what a difference a few years made

I went in with plenty if time and was delighted when i saw a hour left and no one in the church, i figured i can take ky time while still being respectful, plenty of time and no one behind me. I talked fast and he was nice and respectful but i was so thrown off and he was in a hurry after all. Tell tell signs. He fianlly cinfirmed what i thought was true, he told me to say rhe act of cintrition right before inhad the chance to spit out my last sin. I was automaticslly dissapointed but did as he said.

So my last sin was, I may have went overboard with ky wife and gossipped about family. Im really not sure if its gossip if its true?? Anyhow, God knowd inhad my mental list ajd i had every intention of confess this. If my body is able to make it to mass this weekend (i do have an ezception), can i take the eucharist in good faith? I know what i want to hear but not sure if its correct. Thanks

What is the purpose of life if it’s all suffering? I have hyperhidrosis, a condition where I sweat excessively all over my body. I try to stay positive, thinking there are many people with disabilities yet still fighting in life. But sometimes, people’s words are too much. All my life, I’ve been ridiculed and ashamed by many people. I can’t tell anyone I have hyperhidrosis because no one believes me, not even my parents, they always say it’s just normal to sweat.

Fast forward, I found a remedy (glycopyrrolate), but it comes with side effects that could ruin my future. Even though I know the risks like the possibility of Alzheimer’s I took it. Thank's to it I graduated college, but now the side effects are too much. I can't find a job because every day I suffer from severe headaches and vertigo. It's my fault, it was my decision, but why is life so unfair? Why did God give me this disease in the first place? I pray seeking his comfort, but all I get is a severe headache every morning.

If God is defined as the "perfect being" what motivation can push it to create the universe? Was there something missing that made it necessary for it to create the universe?

Today my friend that wants to be a catholic asked me if "being breastfeeding as And grown male is a sin"and even tho I read bible many times i cant really yes if it is a sin or not so I came here to ask

I have a little box filled with tons of Rosaries, some of which are broken. Is there some way to dispose them respectfully?

Is it possible to not have a big-V Vocation? I’m a single mom, had my child from a bad relationship (we weren’t married) and I don’t want to date again. The thought of men and marriage makes me ill. I’m wondering if some people go through their whole lives with no big-V Vocation (yes I have other little-V vocations like being a mother and my job) but what if I never get married, and obviously I can’t be a nun or consecrated single after having a child. I’m wondering if there is anyone in the same situation? Is this normal? Is this something that God intends for certain people eg. people in situations like mine, or those who die before getting to live out a vocation?

I always had a fear of that and demons and I’m a very paranoid person, like I’m a very paranoid person and my big sister made a joke about somebody living in the attic and I have a vent in my room on my wall and I just started looking at it for hours on it and I was covering myself a blanket and I was sobbing it was in the middle of the night And I went to go use the bathroom in the middle of the night and my big sister’s room. My room was closed and I just heard something and I couldn’t leave the bathroom until 20 minutes later because I was crying and contemplating. Why am I so scared of demons and ghosts? Also does sleep paralysis have any biblical meaning or is it real or anything? As in real demons and are ghosts real? Can we communicate with them? How do we become one?

So a rather popular Catholic Instagram influencer in my country recently stated in a video he loves everyone and that everyone should feel loved by him. This came in light of certain criticism he had been getting and he gave that statement amidst explanations that one of the content creators calling him out was actually just jealous he didn't get as much attention from him anymore. This content creator replied in a video saying that the way he described him and explained what happened was condescending and that made it difficult to believe he loved him, and that he indeed could not truly love him, as he doesn't know him for real.

That got me thinking. We are certainly called to love everyone like ourselves, and we have hundreds of examples of saints who loved their neighbors deeply and excelled in seeing the good in everyone.

But here, we are talking about physical, material experiences they had with people. When we don't know someone, we only have an idea of them, which is abstract in the same proportion as our unacquaintance with them (I mean, when I see someone on the street I literally only know they are an existing human being and that's all). Because of that, I tend to think that saying "I love everyone" would be a lie, because I don't know everyone. "I love the idea of everyone" in my mind would be the honest version of that phrase. And things like "I love everyone I know" would be more suitable to sainthood as I understand it.

But I'm sure all of this has been philosophically and probably extensively discussed before. So I ask you, is my reasoning wrong?

ive looked this up and christian websites are telling me no.

Getting it blessed Sunday what do you guys think?