Converting to Catholic

Hi. I have been RCIA classes for the past 7 weeks and am looking forward to our Rite of Acceptance ceremony in a couple of weeks. I am really enjoying the classes and am so glad I took this step, but having other people to talk to is a joy as well. God Bless us all on our journey with God.

My meeting with the Deacon in regards to my annulment went very well. He explained the process to me, gave me the forms to fill out and told me what documents I will need to bring with me when I bring the forms back to him. He did inform me that there will be no charge. The diocese where I live made the decision years ago to have each parish contribute a sum of money that went into an endowment and that endowment has been used to cover the costs. That was a nice surprise!

After listening to my story about my first marriage he told me he could see a clear case for immaturity as far as how young we were when we married. There was also parental pressure as well as personal pressure to marry because I had had a son earlier that year. He felt my chances were very good but of course he cannot make any promises or guarantees.

As for my husband's annulment of his first marriage, apparently since he is Catholic and did not get special permission to marry outside the church the process for him is quick and painless. He simply submits a copy of his marriage license divorce decree and they will sign the petition annulling the marriage. Easy peasy. For me, not so much.

But I'm much relieved and plan to return the completed forms to the Deacon on Sunday after Mass and let the clock begin. Hopefully it does not drag on forever and the outcome is the one I'm praying for.

cvbs21: AH! Well that clears it up. What LemonPoppy says makes sense, it was listed in our calendar as Rite of Welcoming/Acceptance. I just assumed it was called by either name, I didn't know they were technically separate rites. Mystery solved! And thanks for the thoughts. I'm still waiting to hear from the dr who will consult me for the surgery, I am getting impatient! I just want it to be over and done with....

LemonPoppy: Good luck! We just talked about marriage at RCIA yesterday. I"m continually thankful I don't have a previous marriage, I know the whole process has got to be tough on you. I'll be praying for you.

no good: I'm glad to hear you are having a better time now!

cvbs21: I was told that as a person who has already been baptized I am a Candidate to become Catholic, not a Catechumen. The Rite of Welcoming ceremony is for the Catechumens. The Rite of Acceptance ceremony should be given to the Candidates. I assume you will be welcomed that way since you were previously baptized.

By the way...I have my meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the Deacon to discuss getting the annulment of my first marriage underway. Wish me luck!

I wanted to give an update since it's been awhile since my last post. I have stuck with attending the RCIA classes, I left my first class very intimidated...but not the case anymore! I'm so thankful for the advise that I have read not only in messages, this group, and many of the threads as well! Thank you to each and every one!

Thanks Sarah25

I was planning on attending the mass~to support the group anyways!!

Sorry to hear about the surgery~will keep you in our thoughts! Hopefully, the surgery will have you feeling better sooner rather than later!

cvbs21: Well, my parish included both Candidates and Catechumens. However, only the Catechumens got the oil on their foreheads. So perhaps it's one of those things that is really supposed to be only for the Catechumens but they decided to include everyone in ours. That's the only thing I can think of. Maybe just ask next time you go if you are supposed to do anything for it, or maybe just ask if you can attend for the fun of it. Might be fun to watch even if they don't include Candidates.

hi all...

a little confused tonight~just home from RCIA class and at the begining of class Father reminded the group of the Rite of Welcome taking place in 2 weeks and all must be in attendance.

Then he looks and me and says "not you~as you have been baptized"

I didn't speak to him about this after class but is this correct?

Hi lemonpoppy and welcome.
I will pray that all goes well with you regarding these issues. The more I learn about the Church's rules and regulations about marriages the more confused I get. But I'm sure you'll get all the right answers when you have the meeting. :-)

Hi to Everyone,

I am new to the forum. I just discovered it today, went back and read every post. So I feel up to speed.

Here's where I'm at: I was baptized when I was 13 yrs. old at a Baptist church. I attended church with my Mom for about 4 yrs. (A yr prior to baptism, approx. 3 after) Once I got older I just slipped away from going and never got back into it. I would go occasionally at Easter or Christmas, that's about it.

I married at 18, had two sons, divorced after 3 yrs. Met and married my current husband when I was 24. He is Catholic and had been married and divorced as well. He was not married in the church by the time of his marriage he was not active in any church (though he did attend Catholic schools from K to 12). Our 26th anniversary is the 25th of this month.

Over the years I would go through periods where I felt the desire to attend church but never followed through. Last April (2008) my husband and I were talking and I don't remember how but we began talking about church and how both of us had been really feeling this desire to go to church. I knew he'd never attend a Baptist church and that wasn't where I wanted to go. My urge was to go to Mass at the local Catholic church. So we did. We have been going faithfully ever since.

The idea of converting has been dancing around in my head for awhile now and I kept blowing it off because I wasn't sure if it was a true desire to become a Catholic or just a feeling of wanting to fit in. I prayed on it, asking God to remove the urge if that was not the path I was to take. Well, the urge did not go away. It got stronger. I had my answer.

So I contacted the person in charge of the RCIA classes and had a mtg. with her yesterday. The classes began a month ago but she gave me all the materials they are using and the guide they are following. I now need to read like crazy and get caught up. I started that last night. My mother in law plans to be my sponsor.

I know that our prior marriages will have to be annulled and we will need to be remarried in the church. We are both ok with that, we actually welcome it. We just sincerely hope it does not take forever.

That's where I'm at. I have very few issues with the Catholic faith and have no doubts that I'll get those ironed out. I'm just most nervous about the whole annulment business. Neither of us have had any contact with our ex's in over 25 yrs. so if they need to be involved (signing of any papers etc.) that will be a real problem. I'm waiting on a call from the Deacon as he is the one who walks people through the process when necessary. My plan is to turn it all over to God and let Him pave the way. I'm just along for the ride on this one

Pray for us that this process moves through the channels smoothly and doesn't present a roadblock to my conversion!!