This session is an in-depth look at pairing your catechumens with specific types of parish peer companions.Another way to bring together children in RCIA with their baptized Catholic peers is to link children preparing for sacraments. After all, kids in RCIA, confirmation preparation, and Eucharist preparation are all preparing for the celebration of sacraments of […]

Where do you find peer companions for your catechumens? In his session, you’ll explore multiple options.The RCIA tells us that companions are baptized children from the catechetical group (no. 254.1; Canada 244.1). Let’s get more specific and describe who these companion children are. I will highlight four possibilities for companion children and give an example

After their parents, children are most influenced by other children. In this session, you will discover how to use that influence to benefit your catechumens.On Thursday morning of the first week of middle school, my youngest daughter came downstairs proudly adorned in a new back-to-school outfit. However, her beautiful blue eyes were completely ringed in

The “paschal mystery” is at the heart of the initiation process. But sometimes the full meaning of the paschal mystery can be difficult to explain. In this session, you will learn how to make the theology of the paschal mystery meaningful to children.As we begin the journey with children in the RCIA, let’s be sure

The sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist are amazing gifts. In this session, you will discover how to help the neophytes (new Christians) make the most of their gifts.I recently returned from a “50th Birthday Girlfriend Trip” to Lake Michigan. A gift to myself. A group of us, who went to Catholic grade school and high

This session covers the final preparation period before initiation and shows you exactly how to make this a time of “intense spiritual preparation” in a way that is suited to children.The final period of preparation for the sacraments of initiation is a time of “intense spiritual preparation.” So, what does “intense spiritual preparation” look like

How to Read the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a ritual book, like the Rite of Confirmation, the Rite of Marriage, or the Rite of Penance. A “rite” is a liturgy. So the RCIA is a liturgy. Actually, it is several liturgies that all together

BonusFaith Formation Plan WorksheetSeek the Living God: Five RCIA Inquiry Questions for Making Disciples by Nick WagnerYour Parish Is the Curriculum: RCIA in the Midst of the Community by Diana MacalintalI know. You’ve already spent a good portion of your RCIA budget on a whole set of videos or textbooks and lessons plans arranged by topic and

Bonus Discernment: What Does the Rite Say?Discernment: Bulletin InsertRocio, our unbaptized, uncatechized person at the first level of catechesis, is the ideal candidate for the process outlined in the first part of the RCIA. Her ritual and catechetical paths are clear, and we know exactly where to put her on each path—right at the beginning.But

BonusThe Ritual and Catechetical Paths diagramWelcome to the final module of “RCIA in the Midst of the Community: Your Parish Curriculum for Making Disciple.” In this module we’re going to take a look at how to customize the catechesis for the variety of people that we encounter in the RCIA.Most of the people we work