When a person asks about becoming Catholic, our reflex kicks in to refer them to the RCIA process in a parish. What happens when an inquirer happens to be incarcerated? It is likely that the typical response has been to use the rite of baptism intended for infants. The thinking is probably that RCIA is […]
RCIA with incarcerated seekers
Q: For the first time we have only Candidates and no Catechumens preparing for the sacraments at the Easter Vigil. Can we/do we celebrate the Scutinies as prescribed, and do we use the Year A readings for RCIA even if we have no Catechumens? A: It is a little confusing as to where to find
Q&A: Can you celebrate the Scrutinies with baptized candidates if you have no catechumens?
Recently, a candidate for reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church wrote an article for America magazine titled: “How can I think about becoming Catholic after the latest sex abuse reports?” I share the writer’s overwhelming grief, and I am completely dismayed and disheartened about the abuse scandals. I suspect many of you
Why be Catholic in the midst of scandal?
In most of our RCIA processes, the majority of seekers we get are baptized catechized candidates. In this video, learn why these kinds of people are different than your catechumens and your baptized uncatechized candidates and how to help them in their unique formation process. Free gift for you! Here’s your free download mentioned in
VIDEO: How the initiation process is different for baptized catechized candidates
This is the last in a series of posts on the RCIA’s six keys to making lifelong disciples. If you missed the last post in this series, click here to read it. As a reminder, the six keys are: As you read through these six keys and as you read over what we said about
Six Keys to Catechesis for Baptized Candidates
If I said that through baptism, a person is made one with Christ, we would all agree to that. If I said that a person who is baptized outside of the Catholic Church is made one with Christ, there might be some resistance. We would want to know who baptized the person, how the baptism
Does your RCIA teach one baptism — in both words and actions?
In a previous post (“How long does RCIA take?”), I wrote about the initial discernment process and said: “If you find out you are dealing with a biblical scholar who has been living as a faithful Lutheran for 40 years, the training process can be very brief.” That prompted a reader to e-mail me with
Should we stop calling ourselves “RCIA” teams?
Sometimes, when we are pressured to provide a religion of absolutes straight out of the Catechism; sometimes, when candor, actual experience, and the importance of involving ordinary people in the RCIA is pooh-poohed; sometimes, when the community is not taken seriously as the most basic agent of evangelization; sometimes, when the catechumenate is seen as
It’s the community that initiates
This is the fifth in a series of articles on the places, postures, and gestures in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. One of the exciting things about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is it’s exhortation that we should “make full and intelligent use of the freedom given” to prudently accommodate the rite
RCIA Rite of Welcome: Make smart adaptations
This is the second in a series of articles on the places, postures, and gestures in the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates. In the year 756, Justus and Johanna brought their newborn son, Primus, to the cathedral in Avignon, France, to present him for baptism. The acolyte wrote down the name of their son and
RCIA Rite of Welcome: Should we bypass the Bible?
