My parents have a problem with me being Catholic. Help? Advice?

If you've gone through Confirmation, then you had the Bishop smack you on the cheek. Guess he wasn't lying, was he.

I don't want to say mean things about your parents. But I guess they just don't get it. And it's possible they may never get it. Remember from the Bible (and from your Rosary) the Finding of Jesus in the Temple? They didn't get it then. And Jesus didn't change who He was or change His mission because they didn't get it. But He did find a way to honor them as best He could.

I'm a convert, and the only Catholic in a family of protestants, too. Prayin' for you.

Unfortunately, that is often what happens when people convert to Catholicism. There are a million misconceptions out there about what Catholics believe. If half of them were true, I would understand the position of anti-Catholics, yet none of them are. (thanks again to user "Chris" for proving my point) Truthfully, you are lucky they are still talking to you. Some people who become Catholic are shunned by their family and sometimes even kicked out of the house with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Take solace in Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake"

Also, I don't know about your relationship with your family well enough, but some ideas are to tell your father and grandfather, next time they are insulting you, flat out that their very attitude towards Catholics is what made you want to convert in the first place. In contrast, you might also be able to sit them down and explain to them the many misconceptions about Catholics that they hold and what the real truth is. (though truth be told, I get the impression they wouldn't listen)

What I hear most Catholic converts do in this situation is to put their foot down - tell your family you're not going to talk about it if they can't be nice. Tell them this means that if they can't stop with the insults, you'll just stop visiting and calling instead. From what I have told, such an ultimatum is typically very effective.

Learn to explain and defend the Catholic faith. This is different than just knowing it. There are specific issues that non-Catholic Christians have with Catholicism, all of which are based in misinformation and ignorance of Catholic beliefs.

Tell you father, you'll be happy to discuss the Catholic faith with him, one issue at a time. Don't try to discuss them all, as this can frustrate you and lead to confusion more than information. But don't try to convert him, just explain to him why the Church believes as she does, and what it is based in. All Catholic beliefs and practices can be supported in scripture, however not in the way most Baptists are used to.

The Catholic Church is not founded on the Bible, as the Baptist faith is. The Catholic Church came before the Bible, and the Bible itself is a product of sacred oral tradition.

Here are some sites that might help you out:

http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/index2.htm

http://www.fisheaters.com/

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/

http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/apologetics/t...

http://www.staycatholic.com/

http://www.catholicapologetics.org/

http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2009/06/catalogue-i...

http://www.catholicscomehome.org/

http://www.olrl.org/apologetics/

I had to chuckle a little because your grandparents and parents sound so much like mine. My grandmas were certain that if a person wasn't Catholic they were definitely going to hell. My parents are old school Catholics as well and tend to think similarly.

I am the next generation and tend to think that if you believe in the higher power that is much greater than yourself, you are certainly headed in the right direction.

Parents only want what is best for their kids. They have dreams and aspirations for their children. They also tend to have a "vision" of the way things will go, or at least the way they want them to go. When reality and their "visions" don't match, they tend to get a little stressed. It takes a little while sometimes for parents to accept the fact their children have their own dreams and wishes.

I think eventually things will settle down when they realize you aren't going to grow horns, a tail, turn bright red and start carrying a burning trident around. It will take time. Be strong, believe in yourself and your decision. Whoever is giving you a hard time is being rude and selfish. Bottom line in all of this is that you all believe in the same Person, you all just have a different road to get there.

I was in the same situation when I converted in high school. My mom fought me constantly, told me all kinds of false and mocking statements. But when she saw in me later how strong my personal relationship with Christ is she came around and loves how close to God the Church brought me. She is even attending my brothers baptism as he's converting too. She's come a long way and so will ur family. Just make sure you show them that u are a Christian who loves God and is being true to His guidance. stay strong, there will come a day when the storm finally ends

Honor your mother and father and do not make it an issue with them. Or as little a one as possible. They will get used to it.

Spare yourself the whole prodigal son thing. I wish I had not been a long haired guitar rebel. I should have cut my hair a bit and kissed both them more when I was young. It would have made a big difference and saved us all heartache.

Well, then just endure. That's all you can do. Keep the faith and seek the kingdom of God.

<< But, my father is upset that I am a Catholic and openly mocks my religion. He makes fun of my beliefs and practices and such. My grandfather even told me I'm going to hell for not being a Baptist.>>

Does not sound like a very Christian attitude to me. Perhaps this should be a sign to you.

Remember the words of Christ:

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me

Matthew 10:34-37

Don't let your parents sway your faith. If you know what you believe and why you believe it, that is enough. Pray for them, and I will pray for you.

God bless

The Best thing you can do, is to become well educated with the History of the Catholic Religion and the Teachings of the Church http://www.scribd.com/doc/51196082/What-the-Cathol... ; http://www.scribd.com/doc/51195285/Catechism-of-Pe... , of Catholic Doctrine: http://www.scribd.com/doc/51196611/Commentary-of-t... . Learn the history of the Bible : http://www.scribd.com/doc/51179988/The-Catholic-Co... , About the Real Presence : http://www.scribd.com/doc/36903542/Trogo . Read what the Early Church Fathers wrote: http://www.ccel.org/fathers.html

Once you have learned about the Faith and History of the Church, you will be able to completely defend yourself and defend the Church (a.k.a. an apologetic). From there you can simply "With Respect" correct them.

There are a lot of knowledgeable Catholic on Y!A who will be more than happy to help you with any questions that you may have.

One book that I highly recommend that you look into is "Tradition and the Church": http://www.amazon.com/Tradition-Church-George-Agiu... (You may want to look into Tanbooks for your purchase, there website is currently down)

Oremus pro Invicem

If the world hate you: know ye that it hath hated me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love his own. but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. [Joan. xv. 18-19]

I was raised catholic and my dad was so mad when I left the church and went to a protestant church lol I guess it works both ways. One thing in life is that you cannot make everyone happy. If you are an adult then you are responsible to do what is right for yourself. You have to please God first, He is the most important.

Your spirituality is your spirituality. Your religious choice is your religious choice. Your father is probably in with that crowd that believes Catholics aren't Christians and every lie ever conceived about Catholic dogma.

You don't know where you're going. No one does. We can say we do but in the end, we don't know. He has no right to judge where you are going because that puts himself in God's place as the Judge. And as for you dad, you should just break out and say, "I'm a Catholic Christian, and I'm proud of it. It's who I am, and you are supposed to love me for that exact reason."