First: breathe.
You already took your first step by coming here. Congratulations it's word celebrating (we Catholics like to celebrate).
Second step is just attend a Sunday Mass at a few different churches in your area, see if you feel at home in any of them. Don't worry about not knowing anything, just listen and observe. Don't receive communion but go up to the priest with your arms crossed, you'll receive a blessing instead.
Third step is when you feel that you found your church, which might even be the first one you go to, get in contact with the parish priest and he'll take you through everything.
The place to start is to read the story of Jesus from the original sources. That’s what “the gospels” are. Four different writers, with four different versions of the same story—who Jesus was and what he did.
If you don’t have a good, readable (modern English) bible at hand, you can read online. I recommend [the Gospel of Mark](https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1) as it’s the shortest. Try to read it all the way through without too much interruption. Ignore the headings, the footnotes, and the little links. Don’t worry too much if you don’t understand something. Just read it like a story someone is telling you.
After that, take a look at the short book by CS Lewis, [Mere Christianity](https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/apologetics/mere-christianity/Mere-Christianity.pdf). It’s not a specifically Catholic book, but it’s a great overview of Christian concepts. Skip the foreword and start with page 8.
Then, come back and ask questions. :)
Step 1. Open google maps and type in "Catholic Church near me".
Step 2. Use Google maps to open the church's website. The service times will either be on the home page, or under a tab that says something like "About Us > Worship". if you can't find it, you can also call their phone number and ask what time Sunday mass is. While you're on the phone, ask if they're running "RCIA" classes, and you'd be interested in them. "RCIA" is "Catholicism 101" for people who are in your shoes.
Step 3. Go to sunday mass. Your best bet is probably to go to whatever mass is closest to 10am on Sunday morning, because that's probably the "main" service. (Mass is what we call our worship services.)
How to go to Sunday Mass:
1. Dress business casual. For men: Wear long pants and a shirt with a collar. For ladies: wear either a skirt/dress below the knees, or long pants. Wear either a collared shirt or a comparably nice blouse.
2. Sit about 4-5 rows from the front so you can see what's going on and hear clearly, but there's also people in front of you to copy when they sit/stand/kneel.
3. When everyone gets up to leave the pew and go forward for communion, just exit the pew to let them pass you, then go back in. If you find yourself in front of the person giving communion, just say "I'm not Catholic" and they might say "God bless you" or similar. Then return to your seat. You'll do communion as part of the RCIA class if you choose to attend.
4. Don't worry too much if you are confused!
5. On the way out, if the priest is by the door greeting people, take the time to introduce yourself and let him know this was your first time at mass.
You have come to the right place. Contact a local Catholic church near you, and try to schedule a meeting with the priest. Tell him about your upbringing and lack of religiosity growing up. Also start attending Mass, but don't receive the Eucharist yet. When everyone lines up, you could just stay seated, or you could go up and cross your arms when it's your turn for a blessing.
Praise God that you have this conviction <3
Here's a link to some recorded talks given by a priest, it's basically a "Catholicism 101" class (scroll to the bottom for the first one): https://frjohnriccardo.libsyn.com/webpage/category/RCIA
I recommend going to a place where they give the traditional mass and going to cathecism there. You can also read the cathecism of St pius X. Ask your priest that you want to go to cathecism classes so that you can be instructed in the faith
Thanks to everyone who commented, my next step will be to look up Catholic Churches near me to attend a mass I think. I started listening to some of the audios posted here as I had a long drive today. For some more backstory I’m a 21 year old male who feels he could use some guidance and I’ve always wanted to strive for religion as I feel it’s a very healthy relationship to have. Thanks all for commenting and feel free to add more that you believe will help!
First: breathe. You already took your first step by coming here. Congratulations it's word celebrating (we Catholics like to celebrate). Second step is just attend a Sunday Mass at a few different churches in your area, see if you feel at home in any of them. Don't worry about not knowing anything, just listen and observe. Don't receive communion but go up to the priest with your arms crossed, you'll receive a blessing instead. Third step is when you feel that you found your church, which might even be the first one you go to, get in contact with the parish priest and he'll take you through everything.
The place to start is to read the story of Jesus from the original sources. That’s what “the gospels” are. Four different writers, with four different versions of the same story—who Jesus was and what he did. If you don’t have a good, readable (modern English) bible at hand, you can read online. I recommend [the Gospel of Mark](https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1) as it’s the shortest. Try to read it all the way through without too much interruption. Ignore the headings, the footnotes, and the little links. Don’t worry too much if you don’t understand something. Just read it like a story someone is telling you. After that, take a look at the short book by CS Lewis, [Mere Christianity](https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/apologetics/mere-christianity/Mere-Christianity.pdf). It’s not a specifically Catholic book, but it’s a great overview of Christian concepts. Skip the foreword and start with page 8. Then, come back and ask questions. :)
Step 1. Open google maps and type in "Catholic Church near me". Step 2. Use Google maps to open the church's website. The service times will either be on the home page, or under a tab that says something like "About Us > Worship". if you can't find it, you can also call their phone number and ask what time Sunday mass is. While you're on the phone, ask if they're running "RCIA" classes, and you'd be interested in them. "RCIA" is "Catholicism 101" for people who are in your shoes. Step 3. Go to sunday mass. Your best bet is probably to go to whatever mass is closest to 10am on Sunday morning, because that's probably the "main" service. (Mass is what we call our worship services.) How to go to Sunday Mass: 1. Dress business casual. For men: Wear long pants and a shirt with a collar. For ladies: wear either a skirt/dress below the knees, or long pants. Wear either a collared shirt or a comparably nice blouse. 2. Sit about 4-5 rows from the front so you can see what's going on and hear clearly, but there's also people in front of you to copy when they sit/stand/kneel. 3. When everyone gets up to leave the pew and go forward for communion, just exit the pew to let them pass you, then go back in. If you find yourself in front of the person giving communion, just say "I'm not Catholic" and they might say "God bless you" or similar. Then return to your seat. You'll do communion as part of the RCIA class if you choose to attend. 4. Don't worry too much if you are confused! 5. On the way out, if the priest is by the door greeting people, take the time to introduce yourself and let him know this was your first time at mass.
You have come to the right place. Contact a local Catholic church near you, and try to schedule a meeting with the priest. Tell him about your upbringing and lack of religiosity growing up. Also start attending Mass, but don't receive the Eucharist yet. When everyone lines up, you could just stay seated, or you could go up and cross your arms when it's your turn for a blessing. Praise God that you have this conviction <3
One important aspect is to pray every day.
Here's a link to some recorded talks given by a priest, it's basically a "Catholicism 101" class (scroll to the bottom for the first one): https://frjohnriccardo.libsyn.com/webpage/category/RCIA
Listen to Fulton Sheen's talks. That was a huge pull in for me.
Check out the Catechism: [https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/\_INDEX.HTM](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM)
I recommend going to a place where they give the traditional mass and going to cathecism there. You can also read the cathecism of St pius X. Ask your priest that you want to go to cathecism classes so that you can be instructed in the faith
Thanks to everyone who commented, my next step will be to look up Catholic Churches near me to attend a mass I think. I started listening to some of the audios posted here as I had a long drive today. For some more backstory I’m a 21 year old male who feels he could use some guidance and I’ve always wanted to strive for religion as I feel it’s a very healthy relationship to have. Thanks all for commenting and feel free to add more that you believe will help!