Archive for the ‘RCIA’ Category

You know who they are. They’re the ones who keep coming back week after week long after the Easter Vigil and Pentecost are over. They light up anytime someone mentions the RCIA or the catechumenate or becoming Catholic. They want to be sponsors even before they’ve gotten the Chrism smell off their pillow case. They’re [...]

QHow do I lead an ongoing catechumenate in a campus ministry setting when we only have the catechumens from September to April? ASome of the general adaptations you’ll need to make for RCIA in a campus ministry setting depends a bit on the type of campus you’ll be working at. Is it a commuter campus [...]

The ideal sponsor is someone fully immersed in their Catholic faith, and it’s wonderful when you have sponsors like this. In my experience, however, sponsors are sometimes not much more catechized than the catechumens. When that is the case, the sponsor coordinator is really a sponsor to the sponsors. If you find yourself working with [...]

The Concord Pastor reminds us on this feast day about the implications of Pentecost. He cites Economic Justice for All, which bears reading for all of us who are trying to be faithful to RCIA 75:4: ((Since the church’s life is apostolic, catechumens should also learn how to work actively with others to spread the [...]

QWe have a catechumen who would have been initiated at the Easter Vigil last month, except her husband’s annulment had not come through in time. Now it has come through. She has been in the catechumenate for almost two years now. Can we celebrate initiation outside of the Easter Vigil? What about the Rite of [...]

QWe have two people in the catechumenate process this year. One person is unbaptized. The other was baptized as a Catholic but has had no religious formation whatsoever. We have been dismissing both of them each week to break open the word. However, my pastor is telling me the second person should not dismissed because [...]

I’m working on the editorial plan for Today’s Parish Minister for next year, and the theme for the March issue is the catechumenate. I need to come up with four feature articles that explore that theme. Here’s what I’ve thought of so far. If you have any comments or other suggestions, I’d love to hear [...]

I’m headed south for the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress on Thursday. If you’ve never been, it is an experience like no other. The Congress draws more than 40,000 participants who come to hear speakers from all over the world. Despite the name, the Congress is not limited to religious education themes. There are many [...]

What do I wear?! That’s a question I get often when I’m planning liturgies. Whether it’s the confirmation candidate, the newly-ordained, or even the bishop, himself, we have a natural concern over what to wear. The baptismal rite in the RCIA gives us at least one answer: Put on Christ. Therefore we physically clothe the [...]

I need your help. I’m currently writing a comprehensive guide to the catechumenate for parish RCIA teams. And I’m stuck trying to think of a name for it. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. Do any of the titles strike you? Or do you have another suggestion? I’d love to know what you [...]