If You Are New

Perhaps you are curious, or a friend is Catholic, or you have been drawn into a church and sat at the back wondering what was going on. Whatever brought you here, you are welcome, and you do not need to know anything yet. This page suggests a short path through three questions: what Christians believe, what Catholics do on Sunday, and how you might pray tonight.

What Christians believe, in a paragraph

Christians believe there is one God, who made everything that exists and made it good. This one God is a communion of three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; Christians call this the Trinity (CCC 232–234). Human beings turned away from God, and the world bears the wounds of that. But God did not leave us: the Son became a man, Jesus of Nazareth, born of the Virgin Mary. He taught, healed and forgave, was crucified, died, and on the third day rose from the dead (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3–4). He sends the Holy Spirit to gather a people, the Church, and promises that death is not the end but the doorway to life with God for ever.

That is, in outline, what the ancient creeds say. A creed is a short statement of faith, from the Latin credo, "I believe". To go further, read what a creed is and then Jesus Christ.

What Catholics do on Sunday

On Sunday, the day Jesus rose, Catholics gather for the Mass, the Church's central act of worship. It has two main parts. In the first, the Liturgy of the Word, readings from the Bible are proclaimed and the priest preaches on them. In the second, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the bread and wine are offered and, Catholics believe, become the Body and Blood of Christ, who gives himself to his people in Holy Communion (CCC 1346, 1374). The shape is very old: around AD 155, St Justin Martyr described a Sunday gathering with readings, a homily, prayers, bread and wine, and a collection for the poor, and it is recognisably the Mass (CCC 1345).

For the full picture, see the Mass as biblical prayer and the Mass as prayer.

How to pray tonight

You do not need special words to pray. Prayer is speaking with God and listening to him, as a child does with a father. But it helps to borrow words, and the best are the ones Jesus himself gave when his disciples asked him how to pray (Luke 11:1–4). You could pray them slowly tonight:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Read the Our Father for what each line means, and what prayer is for more.

What to expect if you visit a Mass

You are welcome at Mass. Nobody will ask who you are or check whether you belong. Arrive a few minutes early, sit wherever you like, and do as much or as little as you are comfortable with. Catholics stand, sit and kneel at different points; you can simply follow along, or stay seated. There is usually a book or a card with the responses, but you do not have to say them. A collection basket may come round; you need not give anything.

The one moment that may feel awkward is Communion, when people go forward to receive. Visitors sometimes worry about this, so here is the honest reason, offered gently. For Catholics, receiving the Eucharist is not only a personal act of devotion but a sign of full unity: of shared faith in what the Eucharist is, and of belonging to the one visible Church. Because Christians are still divided, the Church does not ordinarily share Communion with those who are not in full communion with her (CCC 1398–1400). This is not a judgment on your sincerity or your relationship with God. It is the Church being truthful about a wound that all Christians long to see healed. (The rules for Orthodox Christians, and for rare cases of grave need, are different; a priest can explain them, cf. CCC 1399, 1401.)

So during Communion you may stay in your seat and pray. In many parishes you may also go forward with your arms crossed over your chest to receive a blessing from the priest. Either is completely fine.

How adults become Catholic

If you find yourself wanting more, the Church has a path for adults called the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), still known in many places as RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It is not a quick course but a journey in stages, with time to ask questions, learn, pray and get to know a parish community (CCC 1232, 1247–1249).

It usually begins with an informal period of enquiry, with no commitment. Those who go on become catechumens (people being taught the faith before Baptism). Through Lent they prepare more intensely, and most receive Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist together at the Easter Vigil, the great night service before Easter Sunday. If you have already been validly baptised in another Christian community, you are not baptised again; you are received into full communion with the Catholic Church (cf. CCC 1271–1272).

To begin, contact a local parish and ask about OCIA or RCIA. Nobody will rush you.

Going deeper

• What prayer is: the simplest place to start.
• The Mass as spirituality: what to bring to Mass, and why it need never be boring.
• Baptism: the doorway into the Christian life.
• In the Catechism: CCC 1–3, on God's desire to draw every person to himself.