In this post, I’m going to share with you the secret to a powerful period of mystagogy. If you’ve been struggling with what to do during this final period of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, keep reading. However, I have to warn you that, while the solution is simple, implementing it in your […]
Effectively using your most potent catechetical resource
Many RCIA teams know that the time for formal catechesis for the elect ends on Ash Wednesday. (If you don’t know that, see “Don’t catechize in Lent.”) But if you don’t catechize, what do we do? Of all the moments in the RCIA process in which we rely on the involvement of the parishioners, Lent
Do your parishioners dread or love the Lenten RCIA rites?
A common struggle for RCIA teams is how to handle discernment issues. How do we know for sure that a person is ready for initiation? We have written other posts that focus on discernment, and I am not going to go too deeply into the “how” in this article. However, I do want to point
What Everybody Ought to Know About Discernment
In most of our RCIA processes, the majority of seekers we get are baptized catechized candidates. In this video, learn why these kinds of people are different than your catechumens and your baptized uncatechized candidates and how to help them in their unique formation process. Free gift for you! Here’s your free download mentioned in
VIDEO: How the initiation process is different for baptized catechized candidates
A question that keeps popping up for RCIA teams is how to get more parishioners involved in the initiation process. The best answer to this is the liturgy. If you think of where most of the parish gathers most often, it is the Sunday liturgy. So it makes sense that would be the place to
How to use the power of the liturgy to involve your parishioners in the RCIA
When I was in my junior year in high school, I had an awakening of faith. It wasn’t spectacular or miraculous — unless you’re me. That is to say, it was somewhat private, and there was no dramatic “before” and “after” that anyone around me recognized. But I felt completely different. I was energized and
Four ways to help your parishioners live their apostolic vocation
The first time I was “in charge” of a catechumenate ministry, I had three team members — myself and two brand new volunteers with no knowledge of the RCIA. The parish was a large community with over 10,000 parishioners. A lot of my focus in my first year was getting more team members. And that
The biggest mistake I made when trying to recruit an RCIA team
When I first got involved in parish ministry, I was pretty excited. I had lots of ideas, and I would usually rush headlong into some new project without much planning. More importantly, I’d start creating new schemes without much help. I would ask for volunteers from the parish, but usually folks would tell me they
Here’s the number-one rule for building an RCIA team
The most recent events in Las Vegas involving gun violence have put the spotlight on not only lawmakers but also on people of goodwill who genuinely want to offer prayers and thoughts for those affected by such overwhelming tragedy. As Christians, we indeed are called to pray for those affected and for change in our
Three ways Catholics can respond to gun violence – infographic
Most of the pastors I meet are either participants in our live training events, or they are participants on our TeamRCIA website. So they are clearly already deeply involved in the RCIA process in their parishes. However, not every parish is blessed with a pastor who is so deeply connected with the initiation ministry of
Six ways to involve your pastor in your RCIA process
