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 […]

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

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

Bonus Faith 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 Macalintal I 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

Bonus Discernment: What Does the Rite Say?Discernment: Bulletin Insert Rocio, 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

Bonus The Ritual and Catechetical Paths diagram Welcome 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

Remember how we said in Module 1 that the RCIA is first and foremost a liturgical rite? This gives us a context then for understanding the role of the sponsor and godparent. These are primarily liturgical roles. They are the principle witnesses in the rites of the RCIA for those preparing to celebrate the sacraments.

In his apostolic exhortation Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis reminds us of the essential authority and responsibility that each member of the faithful has:  In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or

Something that we often forget about the RCIA is that it is a rite. That is, it is first and foremost a ritual process. The text itself is a liturgical text, not a catechetical document. This doesn’t mean that the RCIA doesn’t include catechesis. Of course it does! But it reminds us that the catechesis we

I have a friend who pays $20 a month to belong to a gym. And he doesn’t go to the gym. Ever. My friend’s gym has about 6,500 members. If just a fourth of them showed up to exercise, there would be no room. Imagine if they all showed up. My friend’s gym knew when