Where Are You?
Posted on October 20th, 2011
Here’s a window into the world of RCIABlog.com readers who are visiting from within the United States. These numbers reflect visitors from the past 365 days!
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How to Handle RCIA Inquiries at Any Time of the Year
Posted on August 23rd, 2011
R.C.I.A. Inquirer: “Hello, I’d like to learn more about becoming a Catholic.”
Parish Secretary: “Sorry sir, it’s only January. Please come back in September.”
This fictitious dialogue between a parish secretary and an inquirer is something we all want to avoid. We know that our parishes and the process by which individuals join them (i.e., RCIA) are to be keenly ready to welcome newcomers at all times. We also know that the Holy Spirit prompts individuals, and individuals respond to His prompting, at unpredictable times. Finally, many parishes begin a new RCIA cycle once a year in the fall; and that cycle is designed to incrementally and systematically introduce people to Jesus Christ and the Faith of the Catholic Church. Thus, to plug people in after weeks and months have passed may cause confusion, or at least provide them with a deficient grasp and experience of the whole of our Faith.
So, what can be done? Ideally, parishes would gradually work towards implementing what is commonly called a “year-round” RCIA process. Such a model typically consists of concurrently run groups populated by individuals who find themselves in different “stages” in the initiation process. For example, an inquiry group would meet during the same time period as a catechumenate group. This way, inquirers can always be incorporated immediately into an appropriate group.
Meanwhile, due to various limitations, many parishes are not in a position to offer such a sophisticated model in the near future, yet neither want to turn inquirers away nor plug them indiscriminately into sessions which began months ago. So, what can be done? Happily, there are a number of possible solutions. What follows, in no particular order, are some practical suggestions that could help a parish do 2 things simultaneously: (1) retain a “single-track” systematic RCIA process and (2) offer something, however modest, that meets the pastoral and catechetical needs of inquirers at any point of the year:
Option A) One–on-One
Pair up an inquirer with a trusted and available parishioner who could get to know him/her and discuss things about the Catholic Faith periodically until a formal inquiry opportunity comes available. Obviously, this person could be a priest or perhaps a catechist from your RCIA team or another person who might one day become the sponsor. Conversely, a married couple or another group of individuals could invite an inquirer to join them for dinner on a biweekly or monthly basis. [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: 9-Month vs. Year-Round
Filed under Inquiry and Precatechumenate, Pastoral Considerations | 1 Comment »
How to Develop Parish Sponsors
Posted on February 25th, 2011
People don’t always know a practicing Catholic when they come to faith. Finding and matching sponsors can be the slowest skill to develop in being an R.C.I.A. coordinator. Knowing “all the parishioners” is a tall order. Sometimes a new coordinator only knows a handful of parishioners. The 1st step is to have a meeting with other team members and brainstorm a list of “potential sponsors to approach” from your parishioners. The attributes to look for include:
- Someone who has an obvious prayer life (e.g., attends daily Mass or Adoration)
- Someone who is available for weekly sessions
- Someone who displays the virtue of friendship (a good listener, open to a new friendship)
- Someone who would see sharing their faith and the faith journey of another as a great thing
- Someone who can be open to the R.C.I.A. process (meaning they don’t have their own agenda and can work within what you are doing)
- A good practice is do same gender assignments (men are assigned to men, women are assigned to women). In our day and age, it is good to have someone with similar struggles to talk to.
The next step would be to start a database of current sponsors (name, contact information and a few helpful notations). As participants receive their sacraments, ask sponsors if they would like to become a “parish sponsor”. While the parish bulletin might seem an obvious place to “put out your nets”, some caution may be called for. Not all are called to this delicate ministry and turning someone away after you have asked for volunteers can lead to hurt feelings. When I am approached by a parishioner interested in becoming a sponsor (non-solicited), I meet with them and go over the “potential sponsor form,” which is included in the appendix of the R.C.I.A. Leader’s Manual. If you conduct sponsor trainings every 2-3 months, you can be adding to your list year-round. New sponsors can attend and then be assigned as needed. Part of the agreement should be that the parish sponsor may need to be re-assigned if it isn’t a good fit. Knowing this as part of the training helps when these situations arise.
Once the sponsor sees their role as important and fulfilling, they may ask to be assigned again and again. When making assignments, try to work with certain preferences (some may ask for a participant that is unbaptized, or others will only want to sponsor a participant that will have a shorter time in R.C.I.A.). Since everybody likes to be thanked, try to include a small token of appreciation at Christmas (e.g., a Nativity ornament) and Easter (e.g., a small thank you certificate at Pentecost). It need not be expensive, but gratitude is a virtue we all can practice.
Lastly, but most importantly, pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit when making assignments. Sometimes, finding yourself awake during those quiet hours in the middle of the night can be put to good and holy use… pray that God will provide a good “match” for your R.C.I.A. participants. He is always faithful if we listen carefully, and with God’s grace, you will have an abundant group of parish sponsors.
Tags: Sponsors
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An Introduction to the RCIA [Video]
Posted on January 25th, 2011
This one hour presentation gives you an overall picture of the RCIA process focusing on the liturgical, catechetical and the pastoral aspects of the process. This presentation will also explore the five main reasons for failure within the process as uncovered from the US Bishops Survey on the RCIA.
Tags: Introduction to the RCIA
Filed under Catechumenate, Inquiry and Precatechumenate, Mystagogy, Purification and Enlightenment, RCIA Team, Resources | 4 Comments »
Dealing with Cohabitation in the RCIA
Posted on October 28th, 2010
There is an elephant in the room, and it may seem hard to move but it is best dealt with sooner rather than later. For one thing… it smells and there is no way to just sweep the mess under the carpet.
Cohabitation is so very common in our society that even good and holy family members are at a loss about what to say. However, in RCIA we must say something. Pope John Paul II said “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” We are there to help those that haven’t considered what they “ought” to do.
The Internet can easily give us many statistics on the damage cohabitation causes. One such example is that couples are far more likely to divorce if they cohabitate. For those coming to faith, this reason isn’t even part of the discussion. We must speak of chastity, holiness, the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, and then we must speak of sin. For the RCIA coordinator, it helps to begin with the Truth. Sex before marriage is a sin, plain and simple. Just because it is common does not make it less sinful. And we don’t get to decide which sins really count and which ones don’t. God was/is clear on this one: “thou shall not commit adultery” and sex outside of marriage is adultery.
Walking the path of faith with participants takes effort and we must run into the darkness with our light. Since no sin is really private, cohabitation affects not only the couple, but their family, friends, and even their future children. Conversely, changing this will bring grace to all. Their changed example will evangelize all they encounter. [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: Cohabitation
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Doing Discernments in the RCIA
Posted on October 12th, 2010
Discernments are the important road signs on the highway of RCIA.
They help the participant to reflect on where they started, where they see God calling them and where they want to be. Hopefully the answer to the last 2 points is… Heaven. These important meetings also give an opportunity for the Coordinator (usually the person conducting these) to re-visit any areas of concern that came up during the all-important intake appointment.
Those involved in the ministry of RCIA are not just there to present the materials. If that was the case, then we could just hand them a book and schedule a test at a future time. The Rite Book is always the best place to begin. In addressing the Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming, we see in RCIA 42:
“The prerequisite for making this step is that the beginnings of the spiritual life and the fundamentals of Christian teachings have taken root in the candidate. There must be evidence of the first faith…of an initial conversion and intention to change their lives and to enter into a relationship with God in Christ.”
RCIA 43 goes on to say:
“Before the Rite is celebrated, therefore, sufficient and necessary time… should be set aside to evaluate and, if necessary, to purify the candidates motives and dispositions.“
Reading on, we actually see in no uncertain terms that those involved “have the responsibility for judging the outward indications of such dispositions”. So, how do we – who live in a culture that tells us we shouldn’t “judge” – do what Holy Mother Church has asked?
Looking at the different stages of RCIA helps us to see why discernments are important and leads us in this task. [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: Discernment
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The 5 Foundational Truths of Revelation
Posted on August 12th, 2010
The Hierarchy of Truths
The Deposit of Faith – much like a house – exists according to a Hierarchy of Truths, wherein some truths are more foundational than other truths. The latter rest upon the former as the 2″ x 4″ studs constituting the frame of a home rest upon the concrete foundation and the plumbing. Before the frame is built, the concrete must be poured, and even before the pouring, the first pipes for the plumbing must be set in place. With regard to catechesis, the existence of a hierarchy of truths does not mean some truths are more true than others. Rather, it means that for an effective pedagogy (or, method of teaching), the catechist must lay the foundation first and teach the remainder of the deposit with the foundation always in mind, connecting the pieces.
5 Foundational Truths
In order for RCIA participants to get a solid hold on the Deposit of Faith, it is critical to show them how all of the truths are grounded in several foundational truths. These truths are contained in one significant paragraph within the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.” (CCC, #1)
These five foundational truths of revelation are invoked throughout the Catechism and provide a framework in which all doctrine finds its proper context. They are:
- The Blessed Trinity: God is an eternal loving communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: Hierarchy of Truths, Systematic Catechesis, The Gospel
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Balance Your Approach
Posted on August 3rd, 2010
RCIA Is a Liturgical Process
The Christian initiation process is intended to be fundamentally liturgical. Participants need and have a right to the grace that flows from the font of the Church’s liturgy as it is made available to them as catechumens and candidates prior to full communion. This grace is an indispensable aid to conversion, and the means by which they enter into intimate union with Christ and his Church.
RCIA Is a Catechetical Process
Catechesis is the process of passing on divine revelation – the deposit of faith delivered through the Apostles and maintained by the Magisterium – to obtain the two-fold goal of understanding and change. [Click here to read the rest of this entry… » ]
Tags: Liturgical Rites, normative guidelines, Overview Chart, Preparation, RCIA Leader
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Question and Answer About Meeting During Lent
Posted on April 15th, 2010
Q. This year, our pastor has announced that the RCIA will not meet during Lent. Is this something new? Have we been doing something wrong in the past?
A. Pastors are given authority over the Christian initiation process for the people he shepherds in a given parish. However, that authority exists within the context of higher authorities, that of his bishop and the Magisterium.
Regarding the Magisterium, its main voice in regard to Christian initiation is the Rite of Christian Initiation itself, and its accompanying guidelines. In those authoritative guidelines (see paragraphs 138-139), which were mandated for the United States as normative in 1988, there is a clear assumption that gatherings of those preparing for initiation are still ongoing during Lent (termed the Period of Purification and Enlightenment in the text). These guidelines specify that the formation of elect and candidates in this period takes on a more spiritual than catechetical bent. This is expressive of the fact that, as the guidelines state, “the catechumenal formation of the elect is completed” (paragraph 147), in terms of them having received the total necessary instruction on the Deposit of Faith, and therefore is about “more intense spiritual preparation, consisting more in interior reflection than in catechetical instruction” (paragraph 139).
The delivery of the full doctrine of the Church is indeed supposed to be completed before Lent, hence allowing them to make a decision to enter the Church, which is expressed and confirmed at the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion. During Lent, the Church is clearly still forming them spiritually and in readiness for the sacraments. The possibility of gatherings for reflection and formation are also assumed in the option ‘B’ forms of the dismissals at the end of each of the Presentation Rites in Lent and at the end of the Scrutiny Rites (see paragraphs 155, 162, 169, 183).
Confirming this are the directives added by our U.S. bishops, normally published in the third appendix of the Vatican’s RCIA text. It states: “…beginning at acceptance into the order of catechumens and including both the catechumenate proper and the period of purification and enlightenment after election or enrollment of names should extend for at least one year of formation, instruction, and probation.” (National Statutes, paragraph 6).
Finally, you may wish to ask your diocesan office for a copy of its sacramental norms for the Christian initiation process, which may provide further support for your understanding of the Rite.
There has been no recent change that would modify these normative guidelines, and although the form of the gatherings certainly should be different from the doctrinal catechesis that precedes Lent, there is nothing to in any way prohibit or discourage gathering the RCIA group during the weeks of that period.
Tags: normative guidelines
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What Should Sponsors Avoid?
Posted on April 5th, 2010
Q. What are some things the RCIA leader should encourage sponsors and godparents to avoid doing?
A. Here are a few suggestions, based on the common experiences of those in parish ministry:
Referring to the person you are serving as a “non-Catholic”
Overwhelming him/her with chatter, advice, and knowledge of Catholic doctrine and practice
Prying or insisting on knowing information or sinful behavior that he/she wishes to keep private
Sharing your interior life and struggles in a form of spiritual “one-upmanship”
Assuming he/she will necessarily become a Catholic or become a Catholic this Easter
Making guesses as to the Correct answer to a question, or beginning or discuss a Church teaching with “I’ve never understood why…”
Allowing discouragement or difficulties to shake your trust in God’s providence and loving care of the person you are serving
Speaking of or treating Catholic beliefs or practices with disrespect
Trying to make the person you are serving a Catholic in your image
Using the RCIA sessions to get your own questions answered or to express your frustrations with the Church
Commenting on who does (or does not) attend parish-sponsored devotions
Expressing overly opinionated preferences in hymns, liturgical traditions, or why you think one cultural or ethnic expression of spirituality is better than another.
Giving extravagant gifts or gifts beyond your means
Assuming that the nature of your relationship during the RCIA process will always be the basis of your relationship with your new Catholic and that it will not change and evolve
Tags: Godparents, Sponsors
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