Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
On the Third Sunday of Advent, I went to a church where a friend of mine is the pastor. I arrived a few minutes late, and I was surprised the liturgy hadn’t started yet. The Mass was being celebrated in the church basement because the church itself was being renovated. And the renovation was four
Why conversion is so important in the Rite (Order) of Christian Initiation of Adults
We all know the saying about not being able to fit square pegs into round holes. When we accompany others on the journey of faith, we are almost always in the business of getting squares to fit into rounds. In some sense, that is what we mean be conversion. People are living “square” lives and
How to fit in square pegs when our formation process is a round hole
When the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is retranslated, the new title of the rite will be Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. We’ve already seen some people referring to the new translation as “OCIA.” This is probably fine if you are referring to the written text of the document, “Order of Christian Initiation
When I was in college in the late 1970s, I read the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy for the first time. I remember highlighting and underlining so many phrases from that document. It was like someone had given me the key to a treasure chest. Some key passages include the teaching that Christ is present
What are celebrations of the word? How to give your RCIA seekers a foretaste of heaven
I discovered how to be a catechist for seekers almost by accident. When I was in my 20s, I learned all about liturgy, and I worked in a parish that had a vibrant catechumenate ministry. My role in that ministry was to plan and facilitate the rites for the seekers. When I was in my
Uncover the hidden gem of RCIA formation—celebrations of the word
Antonia is the catechumenate coordinator in her parish. She recently went to a diocesan workshop that encouraged parishes to accompany seekers all year long — not just October to April. She got very excited about implementing some of what she learned. But the pastor likes the current school model and refuses to change. Theo had
46 ways to accompany seekers even if you’re not in charge of the RCIA process
Every day when I was a kid, I put on my white, short-sleeve shirt, clipped on my Catholic-plaid tie, and went to school. The sisters marched us single file into church for Mass, and we knelt in silent prayer until the priest rang the sanctuary bell and began the liturgy. The Mass was in English,
How your catechumenate team can build the future of the church
In previous posts, we’ve looked at the upcoming dreaming together process that Pope Francis has called for. But what exactly is the process? Officially the process is called a synod, which literally means walking together or dreaming together. They church has always had “synods,” even if they weren’t called by that name. The first synodal
What is Pope Francis’s plan for dreaming together about the future?
In a previous post, we talked about the worldwide process Pope Francis has inaugurated to dream about the future of the church. I think all catechumenate teams should take this seriously. The church that we are initiating the seekers into today will not be what the church looks like in the future. The pope and
Why dreaming together about the future is important for RCIA teams
Pope Francis wants to know what your dreams are for the church of the future. Seriously. He wants to know what you, personally, have to say. He has put into motion all the energy of the Vatican and called upon the worldwide bishops to set up listening sessions to hear from the People of God.
Dreaming together about the church of the future
