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Do You Really Know Your Catholic Faith?

Do You Really Know Your Catholic Faith?

Last updated on: October 4, 2026 at 8:50 am by Michele Gunn

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Do You Really Know Your Catholic Faith? 2026-10-04T08:50:12-05:00 Michele Gunn

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Do You Really Know Your Catholic Faith?/created in Canva

Welcome to October! This month will be a Graceful Awakening mini-series called, “From Faith to Mission.” It will include the following:

Oct 4 (today): Know Your Faith (“Do You Really Know Your Catholic Faith?”) Do I understand what I profess to believe?

Oct 11. Live Your Faith (Personal Evangelization) Does knowing Christ affect how I live and am I willing to share Him?

Oct 18 Tell Your Faith Story (Personal Evangelization) Can I recognize and articulate what God has done in my own life?

0ct 25 Invite Not just telling people about Jesus, but becoming comfortable saying: “Would you like to come with me?”

I pray this series helps you understand that knowing your faith and living it are essential to living out our Call to baptism in the Catholic faith.

I Was Raised Catholic, but Did I Understand my Faith?

I was raised Catholic, well sort of. Because of our conflicting school schedule, I only received faith formation until the fifth grade. I was Baptized and received my First Holy Communion. As I aged, became a wife, and especially after having children of my own, I began my own spiritual growth journey. I followed the “proper” path of getting my kids baptized and enrolling them in Faith Formation classes. Because we were financially struggling as a young family, I volunteered to teach so that we could afford those classes for our children. This was the second beginning to my faith education. I had to learn what I was teaching, plus kids ask a lot of questions!

It was a blessing that God put people in my life to lead me back to Him. I had positive interactions with other Catholics. My experience working within churches helped me to recognize how much many of us, including myself, had never really learned or understood. So many people have an idea of what the Catholic faith is, but many just don’t know the truths. Working in one church specifically, laid the groundwork for me to learn and grow, not only as a Christian, but as a Catholic. It was Immaculate Conception Church in Lapeer, Michigan. That was a place that was family. It was a place that our whole family grew in faith, knowledge and love.

Although I had been growing in my faith as well as developing a better understanding of it, this is where I began to ask myself questions to help me become closer with God. Now, remember that life is a faith journey. You should always be growing. Ask yourself: Have I continued growing in my understanding of God as I have grown in every other area of my life? Do you know your Catholic faith or have you simply inherited it? Inherited faith is a beautiful gift, but eventually, inherited faith must become intentional faith. You have to understand it and know it before it can truly become intentional.

The Faith We Inherited

Being a cradle Catholic is a beginning and not a destination. Your faith, knowledge of it and understanding it is in your hands. For many cradle Catholics, Catholicism becomes intertwined with family and culture. It often includes Mass on Sunday, First Communion, Confirmation, prayers learned from parents or grandparents, holy days, sacramentals, traditions, weddings, funerals and fish on Fridays during Lent. Those traditions can be beautiful, but familiarity isn’t necessarily understanding. Someone can know what Catholics do without understanding why Catholics believe it. Also, people telling you what to believe doesn’t mean you believe it in your heart and soul. I have also seen many Catholics spreading incorrect information and practices which increase the criticism of the Catholic faith.

To help you grow in your faith and knowledge of it, start asking yourself the following questions:

Why do I believe what I believe?
Could I explain the Eucharist to someone who asked me about it?
Why do Catholics ask saints to intercede for us (and is it praying to them)?
Why do we confess our sins to a priest?
What happens during the Mass?
What does the Church actually teach about a difficult moral issue and why?

These questions are a great place to awaken your curiosity. Ensure your resources are approved by the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great resource. It is available in both print and digital formats.

Confirmation Wasn’t Graduation

Many Catholics receive their most concentrated religious education while they are children or teenagers. Yet the questions we face at 40, 50, 60 or 70 are very different from those we faced at 14. There is marriage, parenting, career decisions, suffering, loss, forgiveness, sexuality, aging, death, ethical questions, technology, cultural changes and more. An adolescent understanding of faith isn’t sufficient for an adult life. Many of us stop learning and stop searching for God believing Confirmation is the end. It is really a second beginning, similar to a new life. The Church specifically teaches that adults have an ongoing need for catechesis and describes faith as something that should mature along with adult responsibility. We wouldn’t stop learning about our careers at fourteen. Why would we expect a fourteen-year-old understanding of God to sustain our faith for the rest of our lives?

On the Vatican website you can find the following statement where adult catechesis is discussed, “The specific role of the catechesis of adults consists in an initial deepening of the faith received at baptism, in an elementary, complete and systematic way (CT 21), with a view to helping individuals all life long grow to the full maturity of Christ (cf. Eph 4, 13).” As adults, no matter our vocation, it is our duty to catechize others, including children. We need to first be catechized to be able to catechize others. That means being educated to know what you believe so that you can explain it to others. As an adult, I chose to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Although I went through the formation process, I still have much to learn about my faith. As I learn more, my faith deepens.

When We Don’t Know Our Faith, Something Else Fills the Gap

If we don’t know what Scripture and the Church actually teach, we’re vulnerable to accepting:

social-media theology, something a friend told us, cultural traditions, misunderstood Catholic practices, popular spirituality, superstition or simply “I’ve always heard Catholics believe…” Working in a church, I had a mentor in my faith that helped to direct my learning. When I asked questions, I was directed on how to find the answers. This helped me learn and helped me to teach others who had questions I had not yet considered., When you invest in learning about your faith, it gives you an opportunity to say: Not everything practiced by Catholics is necessarily Catholic teaching. Rather than criticizing people for believing something incorrectly, become comfortable asking: “Is that actually what the Church teaches?” Then, help them find the answers. Provide resources.

Society is quick to offer solutions to replace faith or to make our faith understanding murky. One of my pet peeves is hearing Catholics say, “pray to the Saints or to Mary.” neither one can answer prayers. What is proper is that we ask for their intercession, or their prayers on our behalf. Small things like this cause a great deal of misunderstandings. Another is superstition. As Catholics, we don’t believe in superstition because it is simply, “belief that is not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but is connected with old ideas about magic, etc.” Society also offers many ways to ‘get answers” to your future. Be very careful about where you put your faith.

Faith Is Not Superstition

The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses this issue of superstition, but many Catholics still fall into the superstition trap. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2110–2111, explicitly warns against superstition. It even warns that legitimate religious practices can become distorted when we attribute a kind of magical effectiveness to the practice itself rather than approaching God with the interior disposition faith requires.

Faith trusts God. Superstition tries to control the outcome. We pray for “God’s will to be done.” although as humans that is particularly hard to cling to, that is our faith. Remember:

A rosary isn’t magic.
A novena isn’t an incantation.
A medal isn’t a good-luck charm.
A particular number doesn’t force God to act.

These practices and sacramentals can help turn our hearts toward God, but God remains God.

Ask yourself: Am I using this devotion to draw closer to God, or am I believing that performing it guarantees the outcome I want? That question encourages you to discern devotion. Hence, it is God’s will we want done.

Your Faith Should Engage Your Mind

Faith isn’t opposed to asking questions. Remember that questions can lead us deeper. They lead us deeper into knowledge as well as deeper into relationship. There is nothing wrong with saying: “I don’t know. I need to learn.” In fact, intellectual humility can be part of spiritual maturity. Afterall, faith is a lifelong journey. You need to learn to grow.

At the same time, know that learning about God doesn’t replace knowing God. It helps us know Him more deeply. The objective isn’t winning theological arguments. It is growing and developing that meaningful relationship with God. So ask questions and seek truth. Build that relationship and keep in mind Romans 12:2, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

You Don’t Need a Theology Degree to Learn Your Faith

When it comes to learning more about your faith, you may ask yourself, “Where do I begin?”

The first, most obvious answer is to look to your local church for resources. There should be adult faith formation classes offered. There may also be Bible studies, parish programs, retreats, and discussion groups available. These aren’t just for people who haven’t gone through formal formation in younger years. Here are some other ways to learn about your faith:

Read Scripture regularly. Don’t simply rely on verses quoted by others. Mark and highlight your Bible. Take notes to ponder on later.
Open the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You don’t need to start on page one and read straight through. Look up a question or topic that interests you. The Catechism itself is designed with cross-references and Scripture references to help you explore subjects more deeply.
Ask questions. Talk with a priest, deacon, trained catechist, or knowledgeable faith leader. Then use your Bible and the Catechism to read more about it.

Ensure that you use trustworthy Catholic sources. When something online sounds surprising, verify it rather than immediately accepting or sharing it. There are many misconceptions about the Catholic faith. Always verify what you have heard or have been told. Pray about what you are learning. Catholic formation isn’t merely academic. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand, guide you and live what you’re discovering.

Challenge: Choose one thing about your Catholic faith that you’ve always wondered about. Learn about it this week. Just start with one question. That will be manageable and a great way to start. Oftentimes, one question leads to another.

From Inherited Faith to Intentional Faith

In conclusion, remember that there is nothing wrong with having inherited your faith from your parents or grandparents. What a tremendous gift that can be! But at some point, you need to choose it for yourself. “This is what my family believes” eventually needs to become “This is what I believe and I understand why.” Understanding doesn’t eliminate mystery. Catholicism is filled with mystery. Rather, knowledge gives us a stronger foundation to enter that mystery with faith. Rise, Align, and Shine through a faith you know and understand.

Rise beyond simply practicing the faith you’ve always known and become curious about the God who is continually inviting you deeper.

Align your beliefs and practices with Scripture and the authentic teachings of the Church rather than assumptions, misinformation, cultural habits or superstition.

Shine by living a faith that has become genuinely yours; a faith you understand, embrace and can confidently share with others.

Take your inherited faith to intentional faith. God isn’t threatened by your questions. Perhaps the question you’ve been afraid to ask is exactly where your next season of spiritual growth begins. What is one thing about your Catholic faith that you have always wanted to understand better? Go find the answer. In seeking the answer, you may discover more of God.

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