Every once in a while, I meet an inquirer who is a Type A, goal-driven personality. He or she wants to know how many meetings we will have, how long they will last, and what book he should read. More often, however, it is the RCIA team that is goal-driven. We meet to create a […]
Learn what the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults means by “a suitable catechesis… accommodated to the liturgical year.” Learn more from our series on paragraph 75 of the RCIA:
A suitable catechesis: RCIA 75.1
Why is it so difficult to know what to teach in the RCIA? Paragraph 75 of the rite gives us a clue. Watch this short video to find out. Learn more from our series on paragraph 75 of the RCIA:
What to teach in the RCIA: Use paragraph 75 as your guide
The primary aim of catechesis is huge—communion and intimacy with Christ. Fortunately, there are six doable actions that will guarantee folks in our RCIA groups achieve that intimacy. For each of these actions, it is important to remember the three levels of catechesis (initial proclamation, initiatory catechesis, ongoing catechesis). We’re going to offer these six
Six RCIA actions that guarantee intimacy with Christ
In our RCIA groups, we often have people at very different levels of faith. The General Directory for Catechesis identifies three levels. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is really concerned only about the first two levels: initial proclamation and initiatory catechesis. However, we often have very many people in our RCIA groups who
The RCIA challenge of developing intimacy with Jesus—and my billion best friends
I recently saw a docent at the Art Institute in Chicago patiently explaining Georges Seurat’s masterpiece, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, to a grade school class. She obviously had a firm grasp of the facts about the painting—size, date painted, number of figures in the painting, number of years to complete—but
Can an art docent help RCIA teams learn to catechize better?
When we engage in the art of catechesis, we can group people into three broad categories. First, there are those who know little or nothing about Jesus. Then there are those who recognize Jesus as the source of true peace and joy, but they do not know much more than that. Finally, there are those
Six “best practices” for every RCIA catechist
Years ago, an RCIA team I was on encountered a woman who did not know that Jesus was the Son of God. And she had no understanding at all of the Holy Spirit. Not all that unusual, is it? That same year, however, a Methodist man asked us about becoming Catholic. He was a good
Is your RCIA team catechizing at all the levels the church expects?
If you are feeling overwhelmed—or even just “whelmed”—with your responsibilities on the RCIA team, you may not be asking enough of the RCIA sponsors. The sponsors have a significant, three-part role to play in the formation of the catechumens. Among their responsibilities is to assist the catechumens on their faith journey. The RCIA is silent
A simple plan for involving RCIA sponsors in providing a suitable catechesis
Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Confucius, Cicero, and Jesus all have two things in common. They were all great teachers. And they didn’t teach children. Even so, as ancient as society’s emphasis on adult education has been, there is surprising little research on how to effectively educate adults. The first academic studies began to emerge in the
What research says about teaching adults in the RCIA
