Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
Q: We have the people, support, space, everything needed to make a continuous initiation process happen. But exactly how do we proceed with the actual logistics of having people at different places, and how you speak to them individually but also as a group? How do you integrate new people without repeating yourself over and […]
Q&A: Multiple seekers on the journey of faith—how to start a year-round RCIA
Q: How do we handle the reception of baptized candidates into full communion once the quarantine is lifted? A: Baptized candidates present us with a conundrum. In the United States, Canada, and most parts of Australia, the majority of those in our formation processes are baptized Christians. And the majority of the ritual text, the
Q&A: What is the right rite for baptized candidates in the RCIA?
Q: Could you give us examples of how the whole parish acts as the minister to welcome the candidates/catechumens and share the faith with them? What does it look like? How can we help the whole parish understand this mission? A: When we want to welcome a seeker into our parish family, it looks a
Q&A: How do we help the whole parish understand their RCIA mission?
Most parishes in the United States, Canada, and Australia will be celebrating the sacraments of initiation with the elect in the coming weeks or months. Since this celebration is happening outside of the Easter Vigil, there is some confusion as to what ritual to use for initiation. The normative rite to use would be the
What is the correct RCIA rite to use for baptizing the elect outside the Easter Vigil?
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults envisions the initiation process as a journey of faith (see RCIA 1). As soon as a seeker takes the first step on that journey, the reality of time changes. This shift in time, however, is not always obvious to either the seeker or the parish initiation team. Often,
Two kinds of time in an ongoing (year-round) initiation process
At our recent Community Chat on moving to a year-round initiation process, it seemed there were two types of comments. On the one hand, lots of folks were excited about moving to a continuous initiation process and couldn’t wait to get started. On the other hand, while also excited, other folks were a bit stumped
Rethinking the core Catholic content as we move to ongoing initiation (year-round RCIA)
During a recent TeamRCIA Community Chat, several questions came up about celebrating the scrutinies outside the usual times. Let’s take a look at some issues that parishes may be experiencing. First, let’s recall the purpose of the scrutinies. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal, all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the
Celebrating the RCIA scrutinies outside the usual times
I’ve seen a lot of pictures lately of priests standing in front of homes blessing the members of the household as they gather on the front porch or steps. I think that’s great! But we don’t have to wait for the pastor to come by to celebrate blessings. Blessings come in many, many forms. A
RCIA blessings in the time of coronavirus
Many of us who guide and form spiritual seekers are hoping for a return to normal as soon as the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. But normal probably won’t look like what we are used to. The effects of the pandemic have permanently ruptured “the way we’ve always done it.” For the most part, that is
RCIA will never be the same again
Fr. John Farley, a priest in the San Diego diocese, commented on our video, “RCIA, the Triduum, and Coronavirus.” Based on the guidelines in the Ceremonial of Bishops and in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, he proposed a possible schedule for celebrating the rites of initiation at a time later this year. In
An RCIA calendar for celebrating the initiation rites outside the usual times
