“When do your classes start?” If you’re an RCIA coordinator you probably hear this question on a regular basis. Most times you hear it from seekers, but I’ve also heard it from our own parish staff. I have two problems with this question. First is the use of the word “classes.” Second is with the […]
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Watch your language
We often hear from RCIA coordinators that they encounter seekers who are too busy to participate in very much of the formation process the parish has designed for them. In a previous post, I suggested that often the seeker is not necessarily too busy but is instead not making formation a priority. However, exceptions prove
On a recent trip for a TeamRCIA institute, Diana and I took time to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. As I stood contemplating a 19th century Impressionist work, two young women dashed in front of me, snapped a picture of the paining, and hurried away as quickly as they’d arrived.
Teach RCIA seekers to imagine salvation
A while back I was talking with a group of RCIA catechists from another parish (something I highly encourage on a regular basis). I was learning about their process and they were asking me about ours (not an unusual conversation among RCIA catechists). During this dialogue one of the catechists asked me how often we
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Ditching the videos and PowerPoints
An RCIA leader recently wrote this response to one of our blog posts: “Many of our inquirers are on a ‘fast track’ and we are lucky to get them to attend a session let alone extra parish functions. We know what should be done but the realities of the fast paced life of many of
The truth about busy-ness for RCIA seekers
Over the course of this series we’ve given you a lot of ideas and advice on moving your RCIA process to a year-round model… but none of those efforts can bear fruit without recognizing that the RCIA, by its very nature, is an individual journey. For this reason we need to focus on forming the
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Making it an individual journey
If you go to any parish website in North America, you will get the very strong impression that children’s faith is formed in a classroom. Parish websites list expectations describing what children are to have learned by the time they reach each grade level. If you were to actually visit one of these parishes, you
Why children in the RCIA need a community, not a classroom
I once overheard a pastoral minister say that she was working with a family who wanted to have their child baptized. The child was six-and-a-half years old. “We got her in just under the wire,” the pastoral worker said — meaning the child was under seven years old and therefore baptized as an infant. She
Pastoral principles for children in the RCIA
If you’ve been following this series, you know that we recommend throwing out your syllabus and using the liturgical seasons of the Church as your guide to catechesis. So… what might that actually look like? Here are some practical ideas: Don’t plan your schedule in a bubble A big part of becoming Catholic is becoming
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Let the liturgical seasons be your guide, part 2
I’ve heard many RCIA team members confess to me that they failed because a catechumen just never “got it.” I’ve felt this too with catechumens who didn’t turn out to be as committed to discipleship as I hoped. I’ve shared war stories with pastors and RCIA directors about the “post-Easter drop-off,” when many newly initiated
Have we actually tried the RCIA?
