Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
I have a friend who, for 35 years, successfully resisted all attempts to promote her to a management position in her company. She loves her work, but she did not relish the idea of supervising other people. A couple of years ago, her boss finally convinced her to move up the ladder. And last week, […]
Should you ever fire a catechumen?
With catechumens, there are two kinds of discernment. There is an ongoing discernment that begins the moment the seekers become catechumens. And there is at least one formal discernment to determine if the catechumen is ready to celebrate the Rite of Election. Ongoing discernment Honestly, I don’t use the word discernment all that much when
Are your catechumens ready for the Rite of Election?
I’m writing a guidebook for catechumens and candidates. My hope is to give them some ideas about how to look at the world through Catholic eyes. The book is not intended to be a “catechism” that gives them an outline of the faith. I figure you’re already doing that in your catechetical sessions with them.
Even though I don’t live in your parish, I know this is the week you need to do some discerning about your catechumens and candidates. How do I know that? Because discernment is an ongoing process. It never stops. Every week is discernment week. What are you discerning? There are two general kinds of discernment—annual
What is your RCIA discernment plan this week?
This is the All Saints altar at the parish I was in on All Souls Day. The marigolds are supposed to provide an attractive scent so loved ones who have passed away will want to come and visit the altar. The altar is filled with favorite foods and drinks of the loved ones. There are
On this All Saints Day, I have a proposal. Let’s not rename the catechumens with saint names. Many of them come to us with saint names already, but not all of them do. As I said in The Way of Faith, I once had a child catechumen named “Pebbles.” Let’s just say the topic of
Do you need to have a saint’s name for baptism or confirmation?
In the Fall 2009 issue of the Forum Newsletter, children’s initiation expert, Fr. Tim Piaseki, says that the task of RCIA teams is to help children become friends with Jesus. How do people become friends? They spend time together. They have conversations with each other. They do things together. Little by little they come to
Help children in the RCIA to befriend Jesus
Marketing guru Seth Godin goes a bit over the top in a rant about the ineffectiveness of nonprofits to cause change in the world. But one question he asks struck me as particularly apt for parish leaders: When was the last time you had an interaction with a non-profit (there’s that word again) that
Is your parish blowing anyone away?
I know. There are supposed to be seven deadly sins. I did think of seven, but one of them isn’t deadly. So this will be the six deadly and one not-so-deadly sins committed during the Rite of Acceptance. These are not based on the standard seven that you’ll find in the Catechism. Rather, these come
The six deadly sins committed during the Rite of Acceptance
Donna Steffen, SC, a team member with the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, writes about the first time she was confronted with the idea that she would have to discern the readiness of candidates for initiation: “I was horrified. How can I judge another person?” In the July 2009 issue of Catechumenate (“Discernment in
Discernment in the RCIA process
