Returning Catholics - St. Raymond Catholic Parish

Returning Catholics

Have you taken a vacation from God?

Is it time to return home to the practice of your faith?

Is God calling you to return to the Catholic Church?

Come, explore these questions and others!

We at St. Raymond Parish would like to invite you to join us in a non-threatening non-judgemental environment to discuss the Catholic Church, why we leave it and why we return to it. We examine the causes of alienation and explore the avenues of reconciliation.

The program is led by parishioners who, themselves, have left the church and returned. We meet once a week, usually for ten or twelve weeks in each session. There is no strict beginning or ending, however. Anyone interested in taking another look at the Catholic faith is welcome to join us at anytime during the ongoing cycle.

We discuss subjects of interest to you. In previous meetings we have discussed divorce and remarriage; conscience and guilt; the sacraments; the relevance of God in the 21st century; the Mass, ritual and meaning; spirituality and prayer. The topics are determined by the interest and questions of you and other participants.

It isn't always easy to come home. We may feel hurt or anger or rejection or guilt. But we long for God. We hunger for a sense of belonging. We need to be part of a church community. Returning Catholics offers a forum to address these issues.

For more information please contact Diana Bitz at (925) 365-0015

Here are some of the topics we have discussed in previous cycles:

How does the annulment process work?
If I am divorced am I excommunicated?
Can my children be baptized if I am not actively practicing my faith?
Is Christ relevant in the 21st century?
If I have had an abortion am I excommunicated?
What is the church position on birth control?
Does God really exist?
What is a sin and what isn't?
Why isn't the Mass still celebrated in Latin?
Does God hear our prayers and answer them?
Do I have to go to confession?
Is it possible or practical to be a Christian in today's world?
Why does God let so many bad things happen?

Note which of these questions are of interest to you. Add others that you would like discussed.

Other sources of data: The Returning Catholics Bibliography

Then he addressed this parable to them:

"Who among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does no leave the ninety-nine in the wasteland and follow the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders in jubilation. Once arrived home, he invites friends and neighbors in and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep'"

-Luke 15, 3-6