Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
The first sentence of Pope Francis’s letter announcing the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is, “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy” (1). As catechists, this sentence is the key to understanding what the church means by “mercy.” For most people in the world, mercy is an optional act of leniency toward an offender. […]
What Pope Francis wants RCIA teams to teach about mercy
There is a story about a new school and the way the children of the school played during recess. The school yard was enclosed by a high fence and furnished with state-of-the-art playground equipment. Every day during recess many of the children would race to the edges of the school yard and clamor up the
Does being merciful mean letting people off the hook?
I wrote earlier about my image of God as I was growing up. Like many people today, I did not have a very complete understanding of who God is. I thought of God as distant and judgmental. Some people even think that God is wrathful and is specifically angry at, or at least disappointed with,
God of Mercy or God of Wrath? Lessons from the Bible
I’ve asked a lot of cradle Catholics about their image of God as they were growing up, and I get different answers. But there is one answer I get a lot, which resonates with my own experience: God was a judgmental father. My father died when I was four, so I had no living image
Teach your catechumens to gush with mercy
You know what one of the hardest parts of my ministry as an RCIA team member is? A catechumen hears something on the news about a poll that says, “X percent of Catholics no longer believe _____.” Or, “Some-huge-percent of Catholics disagree with the pope about _____.” Or “A big bunch of Catholics think it
Are you teaching the five foundations of Christian life?
Last year, Msgr. Edward Deliman of Saint Charles Borromeo in Bensalem, PA, found a note in the collection basket that said, “No more Spanish in the bulletin. Tell them to speak English.” That was the reaction of a non-Hispanic parishioner to the influx of Spanish-speakers from the recently merged Latino parish, Our Lady of Fatima.
How the RCIA teaches us to love the unlovable
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults says that a suitable catechesis… is gradual and complete in its coverage, is accommodated to the liturgical year, is solidly supported by celebrations of the word leads the catechumens to an appropriate acquaintance with dogmas and precepts leads the catechumens to a profound sense of the mystery of
How to provide a suitable RCIA catechesis
It may seem obvious that it is important to provide a suitable catechesis for seekers, but there is more to it than meets the eye. In order to grasp the importance of a suitable catechesis, we have to first ask who the catechesis is for and what it is for. Who RCIA catechesis is for In
Why is a suitable catechesis important for RCIA seekers?
We recently asked you what you struggle with most in RCIA ministry, and here are some of your replies: We wonder if the catechumens are “getting it all” in a year-round model. How do we keep from boring folks? We have trouble getting catechumens to come to Mass and breaking open the word. Our biggest
What RCIA teams struggle with most
If you want to move to a year-round catechumenate but you think it will be too much work or you don’t know where to start, start with baby steps. You don’t have to do everything all at once. For example, I was at Mass at a parish outside my diocese on a July Sunday. At
Your first small step toward a year-round RCIA process
