Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to lose five pounds. I am not that hopeful. I’ve been trying to lose five pounds for about ten years now. I have an ideal weight in mind. I know I’d feel better and look better if I was at that weight. What is stopping me? Well, I […]
Do you have competing values in your RCIA process?
Follow this daily visual guide for an Advent examination of conscience.
Advent examination of conscience for catechumenate groups
As an RCIA team member, you probably realize that you are a model for the catechumens. What you may not realize is that you are also a model for the rest of the catechists in the parish. The General Directory for Catechesis says that the baptismal catechumenate is the model for all catechesis (see #59).
Is your RCIA team a good model for the rest of the parish catechists?
Imagine this. Someone who is lonely or anxious or victimized or broken has come to the end of her rope. She is exhausted and disheartened. She has no idea what to do next. She doesn’t like going out at this time of year, because everyone is full of “holiday spirit.” The stores are filled with
Is your catechumenate team ready for seekers this Christmas?
Years ago, I read an article by a chef and food writer for the New York Times. His article was about how shocked people are when they see his kitchen. He lives in a tiny New York apartment, and the kitchen is barely big enough for one person to work in. People always assume he
The recipe for becoming a great RCIA catechist
American Pickers is a reality show on the History Channel that follows two antique dealers around the country as they discover “rusty gold” that they can make a profit on. A usual segment shows them arriving at someone’s house or barn that is filled to the rafters with everything you can imagine. The dealers zero in
On the evening before the opening of the Synod on the Family, Pope Francis said this: The evening falls on our assembly. It is the hour in which one willingly returns home to the same meal, in the thick of affections, of the good that has been done and received, of the encounters which warm
Why the Synod on the Family is important for RCIA leaders
Diana and I recently attended the 2014 Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, and we heard a presentation by Fr. Paul Turner on the current status of the implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in the United States. Fr. Turner was commenting on a report by the Center for Applied Research in the
How to know what we can (and should) adapt in the RCIA rites
Billy Wilder is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He was nominated for 21 Academy Awards, 12 of them for writing. I’m sure he had no idea what Christian catechesis was, but his storytelling tips for screenwriters can take your RCIA process to a powerful new level of formation. 1. The audience is
A Jewish screenwriter’s tips for RCIA catechesis
TeamRCIA’s most recent institute was held at the Vallombrosa Retreat Center in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. We started on Friday night with a focus on the six principles of the RCIA (click here to learn more about the six principles). The participants created posters representing each principle and then spent some time reflecting on
San Francisco focuses on the six principles of the RCIA
