Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of TeamRCIA.com.
There is a famous Van Gogh painting titled Irises. The frame is dominated by dozens of beautiful blue irises. And off to the left, almost as if it is being pushed out of the picture, is a single white iris. Some might say the white iris doesn’t fit, yet somehow it does. If you are …
Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by all there is to do in initiation ministry. At times, I’ve been the only person on the catechumenate “team.” Even parishes blessed with larger teams can feel like there is always more to do than people to help. How in the world are we going to manage it all? …
We’ve all seen images of sailboats racing through the water, tipped way over to one side, looking like they are about to capsize. I don’t know how the sailors keep their boats afloat like that. To me, it looks like magic. But I do know how to tip liturgies into the wind. Just as a …
Three principles for adapting the rites of the catechumenate
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle may be the father of the New Year’s resolution. Legend has it that he made a resolution to become more virtuous and then kept a daily journal to track his progress. The legend doesn’t say if he reached his goal, but we do know that it is difficult for most …
Adaptation is an important concept in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Paulist priest and liturgist, Ricky Manalo, says liturgical adaptation is like Thanksgiving dinner. Preparations usually do not begin with decisions about appetizers or salads, but with the main course, turkey. The next decisions probably concern stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy, then vegetables …
What does the Rite (Order) of Christian Initiation of Adults say about adaptation?
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, which was the first teaching issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1963, established the goal of adaptation in the very first paragraph: The sacred Council has set out to impart an ever-increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful; to adapt more closely to the needs of …
You may be starting out in catechumenate ministry or you may have been doing this a long time, and maybe you think you don’t have enough. Maybe you don’t have: enough resources enough volunteers enough seekers enough confidence Here at TeamRCIA, the number one thing that we try to do for people like you is …
On weekend evenings in downtown San Jose, there will often be a bearded man on top of a two-step stool shouting at passersby about being cast into hell if they don’t repent. Occasionally, a group of college students exiting from one of the nearby bars will shout back at him, and they enter into a …
“Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior?” I did not immediately realize the young man on the sidewalk was talking to me. “If you died today, do you know for sure you would go to heaven?” he asked as I was about to pass by. He mistook my confusion for interest …
We have all heard that Catholics don’t evangelize. Some think that is because we worry we don’t know enough about the faith or we are afraid of rejection or conflict or we don’t want to seem like we’re judging someone else’s choices. But none of those reasons account for our weak evangelization efforts. A 2013 …
