I ran across an article recently titled “Seven Differences Between Spirituality and Religion.” From what I can tell from a Google search, the author is a young man who has survived a difficult life. I don’t want to criticize whatever strategies he’s used to hang onto a healthy, peaceful life. But I do want to […]
Seven ways to be both spiritual and religious
Free download: Some dos and dont’s in the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens
“Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy.” That’s the first sentence in Pope Francis’s letter announcing the Year of Mercy. If Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy, it is then also true that the church is the face of Jesus’s mercy. As a church, our job, as the Body of Christ,
Is your RCIA team a face of mercy?
I’ve asked a lot of cradle Catholics about their image of God as they were growing up, and I get different answers. But there is one answer I get a lot, which resonates with my own experience: God was a judgmental father. My father died when I was four, so I had no living image
Teach your catechumens to gush with mercy
Last year, Msgr. Edward Deliman of Saint Charles Borromeo in Bensalem, PA, found a note in the collection basket that said, “No more Spanish in the bulletin. Tell them to speak English.” That was the reaction of a non-Hispanic parishioner to the influx of Spanish-speakers from the recently merged Latino parish, Our Lady of Fatima.
How the RCIA teaches us to love the unlovable
If you want to move to a year-round catechumenate but you think it will be too much work or you don’t know where to start, start with baby steps. You don’t have to do everything all at once. For example, I was at Mass at a parish outside my diocese on a July Sunday. At
Your first small step toward a year-round RCIA process
Last week, I was interrupted by a knock on the door while I was working on a module for TeamRCIA’s new Catechist School. I don’t get a lot of casual visitors, so a knock is probably from the UPS guy. I don’t usually answer, and he leaves the box on the step. This knocker was
The courage to evangelize: An RCIA challenge
Recently someone asked me if we had a program for RCIA. I told them the parish is the program. That might sound evasive or nonresponsive, but I really believe that. Let’s look at how this might work. In the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, we are told that before an inquirer can celebrate the
What is the program for conversion in the RCIA?
During the Christmas season, many of us will gather with family members who have stopped practicing the faith. We might feel powerless and wonder what we can do to light a spark within the one who has checked out. “What does God want me to do?” Sometimes our previous attempts have fallen on deaf ears.
Seven ways to evangelize those we love during Christmas
Imagine this. Someone who is lonely or anxious or victimized or broken has come to the end of her rope. She is exhausted and disheartened. She has no idea what to do next. She doesn’t like going out at this time of year, because everyone is full of “holiday spirit.” The stores are filled with
Is your catechumenate team ready for seekers this Christmas?
