If you have been working in RCIA ministry for a number of years, you may have already noticed some shifts in the way you need to minister. These trends in the United States are upending our usual patterns and causing us to rethink our processes. Catholics are leaving the northeast Catholics are leaving the northeast […]
Surprising demographic trends that will change the way you do RCIA
In the Eastern rite churches, just before Eucharist begins, the deacon chants, “Kairos tou poiesai to Kyrio” (“It is time [kairos] for the Lord to act”); indicating that the time of the liturgy is an intersection with eternity. One icy fall away from eternity Have you ever been to a liturgy like that? Or have
Wow! Do you know the secret for creating real presence for RCIA participants?
One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is fear of the Lord (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1831). The other six all seem like gifts we would want to get, but who would want to open up a brightly wrapped box of fear on Christmas Day or your birthday? Do your RCIA candidates
Wow! Give your RCIA participants the gift of fear
This is the fifth in a series of articles on the places, postures, and gestures in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. One of the exciting things about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is it’s exhortation that we should “make full and intelligent use of the freedom given” to prudently accommodate the rite
RCIA Rite of Welcome: Make smart adaptations
This is the second in a series of articles on the places, postures, and gestures in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. In the year 756, Justus and Johanna brought their newborn son, Primus, to the cathedral in Avignon, France, to present him for baptism. The acolyte wrote down the name of their son and
RCIA Rite of Welcome: Should we bypass the Bible?
When we set out to teach inquirers and catechumens about faith, we sometimes get caught in a worry-trap that we may not be giving them enough doctrine. When you think about how Jesus taught, you’ll notice that he delivered a lot of “doctrine,” but he didn’t worry about it too much. What he focused on
Wow! Build anticipation in your RCIA process—without walking on water
This is the third in a series of articles on the places, postures, and gestures in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. The signing of the candidates with the cross is one of the most visually dramatic elements of the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates (RCIA nos. 421-423; Canada nos. 474-475). Even though they are
RCIA Rite of Welcome: Signing the Candidates
Michael Hyatt, chairman of Thomas Nelson Books, has written a lot about creating “wow” experiences. I think we can learn some things from him and apply his “wow” principles to our RCIA processes. The first step, as I wrote about here, is to identify the wow experiences in our own lives. Then, Hyatt says, we
Wow! The importance of “surprise” in the RCIA
This is the fourth in a series of articles on the places, postures, and gestures in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. The first placement of the candidates in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates is at the Greeting (RCIA no. 417; Canada no. 408). The presider invites the candidates and their sponsors to step
RCIA Rite of Welcome: Greeting the Candidates
When unbaptized inquirers take the first formal step on their initiation journey, we celebrate the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens with them. The celebration of that rite changes their status within the community. When baptized inquirers are ready to make a formal beginning, we have the option of celebrating the Rite of
Places, postures, and gestures in the RCIA Rite of Welcome
