On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
How do I know which one is supposed to be my parish? What if I don’t like it there?
One way to find out is to call the diocesan office or a Catholic church near your home and ask if people living at your address (or the address next door or across the street, if you’re more comfortable with that) are within the parish boundaries.
Another way to get started is to go to Masstimes.org or a similar Web site and enter your ZIP code or city to find the parish nearest you. A word of caution: When I enter my ZIP code, three other parishes come up the parish where the diocese wants me to 
worship. The distance between my parish and my home is overstated by at least a third. The second-closest church to my home shows up sixth, again with the distance overstated by a third and after a parish that is much farther away.
As for parish shopping, it’s not something to be done lightly; all too often, those who do it find they’re not satisfied anywhere, that every parish they try falls short in some way. No surprise; this is a Church full of imperfect people, including those of us in the pews and lay ministers and priests and bishops and cardinals and yes, even the pope. It’s also full of people doing the best they can to serve God and each other.
If you’re not fulfilled at a specific Mass at your parish, try a different one. Try a different celebrant (keeping in mind that the homily is only one part of Mass and is not the centerpoint of the celebration; that place belongs to the Eucharist). If something still is lacking, try another parish to see if it feeds you better.
Parishes are different because people are different. Priests are different. We are all part of the Body of Christ, bringing a variety of gifts to the altar. But those gifts and the way in which we are nourished vary greatly. That doesn’t mean one is better or worse; it just means they’re different.
For example, my former parish prepares around seventy full Thanksgiving dinners for needy families and distributes them the day before Thanksgiving. The parish up the road where I am now a member collects cans at the Thanksgiving Mass and distributes them to needy families in another part of the state the following weekend. My current parish has a perpetual adoration chapel, which means the Eucharist is exposed 24/7/365, and someone always must be present to pray to and be with Jesus. My former parish struggles to have adoration a few hours per year after the Good Friday service.
However, Masses at these two parishes—or at any other parish in the world—are basically indistinguishable. In the local language or in Latin, we begin with the introductory rites. We move to the Liturgy of the Word—Biblical readings, homily, Nicene Creed, and intercessions—and then on to the Liturgy of the Eucharist—preparation, Eucharistic Prayer, and the Communion Rite—and then are sent forth to spread the Good News through the Concluding Rite. We believe in the Catholic Church’s teachings. We simply do God’s work in different ways.
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