5 ways to lead your RCIA participants from the North Pole to Jesus Christ this Christmas

5 thoughts on “5 ways to lead your RCIA participants from the North Pole to Jesus Christ this Christmas”

  1. I agree with most of your statement about keeping our focus on Christ instead of St. Nick except for keeping him out of the liturgy. My husband played Santa for many families over the years (and never accepted any payment). At one point he worried about taking away from the focus on Christ at Christmas and decided to ask our pastor if he could make a visit to church as Santa before the Children’s Mass at 5 pm. He wanted the children and parents to understand that even Santa comes to give praise to Jesus in the Nativity scene before he goes out to deliver gifts to all the children. He knelt before the creche for a few minutes then stood and invited everyone to sing Silent Night with him before he left shaking his bells as the priest began the procession to start Mass. He did this for 11 years before he died and it meant a lot to the families of our parish.

  2. Sandra Gallegos

    We spend time teaching them a little about the religious symbolism behind many of the Christmas decorations and traditions. Christmas lights represent the light of Christ coming into our homes. The Christmas tree may have begun as a pagan symbol, but was “Christianized” by the Germans. The star or angel on top of the tree can be traced back to scripture and the birth of Christ. So when they are out shopping, etc., if they have the true meaning in their minds and hearts, it makes the season a little less stressful, a little more patient and generous, and more joyful.

  3. I work with the young children and make up a Christmas/Birthday card for Jesus which they can take to church on Christmas. Inside they list their ‘gift’ to Jesus – something special they did during advent for Him.

  4. Several year ago one of our “CCD” students invited a friend to attend our parish Advent event for kids. (3rd Graders at the time.) They made crafts etc. As we wove the stories, Scriptures and traditions into the day this child’s eyes got as big as donuts. She couldn’t wait to go home to tell her parents about these new stories she had never heard. Mom started to return as a Catholic. The Dad and kids were brought into the Church about 11/2 years later in RCIA. We can sometimes underestimate the power of our stories to evangelize. The Advent and Xmas seasons are time of creating sacred remembrance. Isn’t that what we do every Eucharist?

  5. At each catechetical session during Advent we light the Advent wreathe on our sacred table. To know when Advent starts and ends I show them an Advent calendar where a window opens each day to tell the Christmas story. I encourage the setting up of a Nativity scene (without the infant Jesus) and pray there during Advent. I ask them to participate with the parish in the “Giving Tree”, providing a gift for a needy child. I give each of them a little stocking with the legend of the candy cane and the poinsettia, telling the story of St. Nicholas around December 6. If the group is large enough we choose names and be Advent Angels, doing little kindnesses and bring little gifts for the other during the season. Advent is a bountiful time to practice those virtues of a Catholic disciple.

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