Years ago, I sat in on an “RCIA class” to learn how catechumens and candidates got catechized. There were four team members, me, and two candidates. Three of the team members took turns reading from PowerPoint slides that seemed to have been taken from a chapter of a textbook on salvation history. Every few slides,
Making room for the Holy Spirit to teach
You’ve celebrated the rites well and your parishioners have gotten to know your catechumens and candidates. Everyone’s happy. But deep in your gut, you know something is still missing. Your parishioners haven’t yet felt the same fire that you have about these rites. They haven’t got it yet that these rites matter and make a difference, not just
The one thing that will make your parishioners evangelists
Imagine this scenario. It is late May, and an e-mail pops up from a seeker asking how to become Catholic. You’re exhausted from a very full “OCIA class” that just wrapped up on Pentecost Sunday. You dash off a quick reply letting them know you’ll be back in touch sometime in the fall when the
What if Jesus said, “Come back later”?
In many parishes, initiation runs on a school-year schedule, kicking off in September or October and ending at the Easter Vigil or Pentecost. But seekers come to us throughout the year. So what happens when someone shows up in July and hears, “Come back in the fall”? In this short video, we explain why an
Why is an ongoing initiation process important?
Here we are in September of 2026, and many catechumenate teams still haven’t recovered from the shutdown caused by COVID in 2020. Nobody is getting sick, but everybody is still exhausted. I joined a new parish four years ago and discovered the catechumenate team had disbanded. I volunteered to help rebuild it. It took a
Once September begins, so do lots of school classes and parish activities. And so, it’s a natural time to resume faith formation gatherings after a summertime break. Many catechumenate teams have worked hard to move from a school-year model of faith formation to an ongoing journey of faith and conversion for seekers. But there’s one remnant of
Why we need to get rid of “registration deadlines”
You can reflect questions for every Sunday of the year by clicking here. The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Background: Jesus continues his sermon on what life in the Church means. How has Jesus already abundantly forgiven you? When do you find yourself being hardhearted towards others? Where do you see hardheartedness in the Church […]
Reflection questions for seekers: The 24th through the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Yesterday I got an e-mail from someone who said she is interested in becoming Catholic. In many parishes, the inquirer might get a reply that gives the date when catechumenate classes start. But that kind of reply deeply misunderstands the purpose of the first stage of the process — the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate.
The next team member you need to recruit: Ambassador of Welcome
Are you feeling overwhelmed, trying to do everything yourself? Are you having trouble recruiting team members to help you share the load of catechumenate ministry? It can be tiring and dispiriting trying to do everything solo. In this video, we address the real-life struggles with recruiting volunteers. Watch and discover three practical, relief-focused strategies designed
What to do when you don’t have a team
While traveling recently, I went to Mass at two different parishes. Both liturgies were celebrated by the book. Both had a few genuinely uplifting moments. And yet, taken as a whole, they both felt flat. I spent some time reflecting on why, if nothing was done wrong, the liturgies were uninspiring. The presiding was competent.
Intentional liturgy: Teaching catechumens to fill in the blanks
