Miriam Malone, SNJM, holds a Doctor of Ministry degree and a certificate in pastoral counseling. She served as Director of Christian Initiation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles prior to spending two years as an itinerant mission sister in Alaska. Miriam is a sought-after consultant and speaker on Christian Initiation for parish and diocesan events. She is a specialist in Christian initiation and liturgical catechesis with experience in parish, diocesan, and university formation and education programs, and was a team member for the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. Miriam authored ENTER THE ROSE: Unfolding the Mysteries of Faith, a resource for Christian Initiation and retreats and writes for liturgical and catechetical publications.
With Lent come the long narratives of the passion and death of Jesus. The Passion story is meant to be a story of hope and transformation, a story of the restoration of humanity to right relationship with the Loving God who created us all to be in God’s image. The ugly secret is that too
How will you catechize your RCIA group about anti-Semitism?
A homily for the third Sunday of Lent Today, through our ancestors in faith, Moses and the Unnamed Woman of Samaria, the Church’s liturgy calls us to reflect on water—living water. But all week everything in me has resisted—a lot! NO, NOT NOW! The images in my mind are of too much water. Too much
How dare we reflect on living water today?
In the past few weeks I have had two very discouraging experiences. First, I learned that a diocesan catechetical director refused to include in an adult formation program a guided tour of the cathedral, led by a liturgist. The reason? It would take away from the time allotted for catechesis. Second, I learned that a
Reimagining catechesis for RCIA
In the past month, the Office of Communications of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) published a document on social media guidelines. The publication of the guidelines coincided with a recent conversation among the team members of TeamRCIA—Diana, Nick, Rita, Miriam, and Rita—during which we discussed our desire to grow our Web site
What is the church’s position on baptizing adults that are traveling often and do not have time for a formal RCIA program? They are aware of all Catholic precepts but lack the formal baptism and confirmation but faithfully seek these sacraments. Any help would be appreciated. This is a great question that sends us back
How to catechize a frequent flier catechumen
Nick’s “daymare,” shared in the TeamRCIA newsletter, is more truth than fiction, I fear. Our parishes are filled with kind and faithful people of good will, and many of them are ready and even anxious to respond to volunteer opportunities. Relying on the Spirit to guide them, they pour themselves wholeheartedly into “whatever you need
Nine tips for recruiting RCIA ministers
Summer is over. Well, not officially, but Labor Day has passed and school is in full swing for the new academic year. Many “RCIA programs” have begun “again.” Perhaps this is true for your parish. You’ve been working hard to get ready by having team meetings and going over your plans for the next few
Six steps toward a richer RCIA process
Yesterday, as I celebrated Eucharist with the members of my religious community as well as friends and neighbors who regularly join us, I noticed a beautiful new family of five in the assembly. They were, I learned later, relatives of one of our sisters. The two “big sisters” were about five and eight years old
Last week, I met with a group of RCIA team members from parishes around the country at the Convocation of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate to discuss the question, “Whose ministry is it, anyway?” Aware that in so many situations, the RCIA process is “run” by a team of willing volunteers, we examined
Add 5,000 families to your RCIA team
The Roman Catholic Church in the US has a long history of catechetical instruction focused on teaching doctrine. However, two key documents of the church, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and the General Directory for Catechesis call for a process of formation that leads to conversion and participation in the Paschal Mystery through
