Diana and I just returned from the Diocese of Erie where we had an amazing institute with 100 RCIA leaders from a half-dozen dioceses. Our host, Sr. Nancy Fischer who has been serving the diocese for 29 years(!), told us she was planning for 80 participants and praying for 100. Sr. Nancy is a passionate […]
Eastern and Midwest RCIA leaders learn how to involve the whole parish
Ninety enthusiastic RCIA leaders gathered recently in Edmonton, Alberta, to explore the deep structure of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and how we can use that to make disciples. We began on Friday evening and discussed the underlying principles of the RCIA. These six principles can be used to guide any formation process,
RCIA is flourishing in Western Canada
1. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Why is this book important? The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the authoritative teaching of the church on the purpose and process of initiation. It is the Vatican II vision of the initiation process that answers the mandate of Jesus Christ to go and baptize. What
Top five RCIA resource materials for your team
Diana Macalintal and I spent two days in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan recently, where the temperature dipped to minus-20 degrees Farenheit! But while the temperature was frigid outside, the hospitality and enthusiasm were warm inside. We were there to meet with faith formation leaders from across the diocese to discuss ways to inspire active, committed, lifelong faith
Nick Wagner and I just landed back at TeamRCIA’s home base in San Jose, California, after spending five full days with 70 RCIA leaders from all over North America. We are exhausted yet energized by what we’ve experienced this past week. The Diocese of Saginaw in Michigan sponsors an annual leadership training for its parish
TeamRCIA goes “international” in Saginaw with 70 RCIA leaders and evangelists
Louise, the RCIA coordinator, was leading a reflection on the third scrutiny with the elect after they had been dismissed. John, one of the elect, began to tear up. Haltingly, he spoke about how Lazarus coming out of the tomb was like when he fell in love with Linda, his wife. “My divorce,” said John,
Annulment do’s and don’ts in the RCIA
In the last few posts, we have been exploring running as a metaphor for living the Christian life. We have been looking at the three levels of training that are necessary to “run” as a Christian: The General Directory for Catechesis identifies these levels as: In this post, we’re going to take a quick look
Six examples of catechesis that happen after RCIA is over
An old African proverb says: Every morning, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or gazelle — when
Do your RCIA catechumens wake up running?
The RCIA is a training process. If we look at other training processes, we begin to see how the RCIA is perfectly designed to train seekers in the Christian life (see RCIA 75 and Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, 14). Three levels of training Let’s take running for example. If you are a running
RCIA training level one: evangelization
