My friend, musician and composer John Angotti, recently led a retreat for a grade school near me. He asked the children if anyone wanted to sing. Liliah, a little second-grader, raised her hand and stepped forward. But then she got crippling stage fright and began to tear up. John picked her up, told her everything […]
This little light of mine — how to let it shine
A small dark-skinned boy, about nine years old, stood in front of the bishop along with his godmother and a dozen or so other catechumens from his parish. He wore a black suit and a blue shirt with a black necktie. He had an American flag pinned to his lapel. His smile lit up the
The tremendous and fascinating Rite of Election
If you have noticed a decline in the number of inquirers you have had in recent years, there is a very clear reason. From the inception of the modern catechumenate in the 1970s, the number-one source of new Catholics has been people who marry into the faith. However, while the Catholic population in the United
The simple truth about getting more RCIA inquirers
Diana and I have just returned from the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, which is a four-day event sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles but actually held at the Anaheim Convention Center, right next to Disneyland. The RE Congress regularly attracts upwards of 40,000 people from all over the world. The participants represent multiple
This post was written by Jan Petroni Brown. She has led the RCIA Ministry at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Houston, Texas, for the past three years. She is an author and college English instructor. In the small, ethnically diverse inner-city parish in one of the nation’s largest cities, the RCIA ministry my husband
The RCIA Journey: Looking back paves the way for moving forward
Many RCIA teams and many more catechumens seem to not quite clearly grasp the reason that a Rite of Election is included in the initiation process. Many believe the purpose of the rite is to introduce the catechumens to the bishop. Or, as an extension of that, to show the catechumens that they are joining
What are we doing at the Rite of Election?
As we approach the Rite of Election, let’s explore more deeply the biblical notion of choice. Those of us from first-world countries are fanatical about choice. We believe choice is a birthright. We choose our forms of government, our careers, our friends, and our breakfast cereals. The ability to have so much choice is both
This is the time of year when we make resolutions for the future. The problem is, we are often full of good intentions and low on resolve. Lots of people say that the way to make sure we stick to our resolutions is to keep them small and simple. I’m not so sure about that.
New Year’s resolutions for RCIA teams
When I was kid, Christmas morning was amazing. My brothers and I would race down the stairs to see what was waiting for us under the tree. After furiously ripping through the packaging, our faces would light with joy over each toy. And more often than not, after an hour or so of playing with
At every training institute we lead, Diana and I almost always hear from folks that what they love most about the event is the chance to hear great ideas from other RCIA teams. That’s always great to hear. But it causes me to wonder about a couple of things. The first thing I wonder is,
The power of ten — how to generate great ideas for RCIA
