Dear readers: This article is longer than usual. It is an important summary of what Pope Francis is asking of us as catechists. If you can take a few extra minutes to read it, you will come away with a clear understanding of what the pope expects us to teach in the RCIA. Thanks for […]
The nine most important steps for making disciples
We wish you a blessed and prayerful Holy Week. Please enjoy these powerful reflections from Rita Ferrone. Spy Wednesday Holy Thursday Good Friday Holy Saturday The Easter Vigil
Free download: Some dos and dont’s in the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens
As Easter draws closer, we tend to get a flurry of questions at TeamRCIA. Many of the e-mails and voice mails have a tinge of panic about them. So the answer to every question is, don’t panic. Even if you’ve overlooked something huge, no one’s eternal salvation is at risk. No matter how big a
When Apple founder Steve Jobs and the team that developed the Macintosh computer completed the final design, they signed it. Inside every Macintosh that shipped in 1984 are the signatures of each of the 46 members of the team. As Jobs explained to them, “Real artists sign their work.” St. Augustine said something similar to
RCIA catechesis is performance art
In an earlier blog post, I wrote about how RCIA team members never seem to have enough time. Some of us are doing more than just RCIA, and juggling all the balls is more than a fulltime job. Days are blurs of activity that fly by. For busy people, there is a strong temptation to
Sleep your way to better RCIA ministry
Mary Birmingham and I just finished a TeamRCIA Catechist School. At the event, I asked the participants what their number-one roadblock to their ministry was. Overwhelmingly, they said they didn’t have enough time. Time is the one thing you cannot make more of. You can make more cookies or music or money, but you cannot
Do you have the time for RCIA ministry?
We just launched our online course on mercy, and I want to tell you about a lesson I learned that might help you with your RCIA ministry. Diana and I spent a weekend last September brainstorming about ways we could do a better job of supporting RCIA teams in the coming year. We thought a
Make your RCIA ministry bite size
I teach an eight-evening course on liturgy in my diocese every year. The students are parish volunteers who serve on liturgy planning committees or in music ministry or in some other pastoral role. They show up on the first night with their empty vessels, expecting me to fill them to the brim with liturgical knowledge.
Is your RCIA team just filling vessels?
Some time ago, I was giving a workshop on how parishes could improve their liturgy. A man in the back row stood up and told us all that we were wasting our time. As long as we had a validly ordained priest who was consecrating the Body and Blood of Jesus, that was all that
Four reasons Mass matters for your catechumens
