Like most people, I am terrible at keeping New Year’s resolutions. But several years ago, I found a way to become better. Now, I make 90-day resolutions. At the end of 90 days, I check in with myself to see how I’m doing. Then I either recommit to my resolutions, or I trade them in for new resolutions.

Also, I keep my resolutions to a manageable number — usually three and no more than five.

Choose your RCIA resolutions from this list or create your own. Mark on your calendar your 90-day check-in points, and come back to comment here about how you are doing.

1. “Give up” looking for sponsors (click)
If finding sponsors is hard for you, my advice is stop looking and do this instead.

2. Memorize the three discernment questions your bishop is going to ask of the godparents (click)
These questions give us the criteria for discerning the readiness of the catechumens for initiation. Our job is to prepare the catechumens so well that the godparents will be able to reply truthfully and enthusiastically to the bishop’s questions.

3. Don’t let the scrutinies scare your catechumens (click)
How do we explain the scrutinies to the catechumens without scaring them?

4. Rekindle your “desire for the infinite” in ministry (click)
When our desire is small, our answer to the seeker who wants to become Catholic is small.

5. Throw out your syllabus (click)
The RCIA is not a series of “classes” one takes in order to “graduate” as a Catholic. Rather, it is a process of conversion to the Christian life.

6. Do more to involve parishioners in the RCIA process (click)
If we want our parishioners to become involved in the catechumenate process, we have to use every opportunity available to us to catechize them about primary importance of this ministry.

When our desire is small, our answer to the seeker who wants to become Catholic is small.

7. Spend some time as a team discussing why you do mystagogy (click)
Do the reasons you do mystagogy match those the church gives us?

8. Learn the core principles for initiating children (click)
As we encounter children and their families who are seeking a deeper relationship with Christ, we will give them the wrong impression of who Jesus is if we treat our formation processes as rules to be skirted and procedures to be avoided.

9. Become better at these three catechetical competencies (click)
Pope Francis says we have to do these things if we want to call ourselves catechists.

10. Try to be less busy (click)
A brain surgeon, in the midst of an operation, is busy. A single mom who has to work three jobs to be able to feed her children is busy. The rest of us — not so much. Our artificial busy-ness is deadly. It leads to broken families, poor health, and fatal mistakes.

11. Be more flexible with seekers who don’t fit your schedule (click)
When we encounter a seeker who cannot fit into our formation plan, we’re often flummoxed. Learn how to become more creative.

12. Stimulate your sacramental imagination (click)
Is imagination-training a core component of our catechumenate formation processes?

13. Claim your baptismal priesthood (click)
Our special charism is ordered toward making Jesus known in the world, not inside the church.

More resolutions
Some people think 13 is an unlucky number, so here are a few more resolutions (click) to consider.

Your Turn

What resolutions are you committing to for this year’s RCIA at your parish? If you’ve made similar resolutions before, what will you try differently this time? Share your thoughts in the comments below.