Is this your first year in catechumenate ministry? Or are you a long-time veteran that is beginning to feel a little burned out? Serving as a leader within your parish’s catechumenate process can feel like an incredibly daunting responsibility. Accompanying seekers on their journey of faith can be taxing. While this is a spiritually fulfilling […]
Rethinking “success” in catechumenate ministry
I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been there too—discouraged, overwhelmed, burnt out. You pour your heart into this ministry, work countless extra hours trying to get everything done, and still feel like you’re drowning. The responsibilities seem endless, new challenges arise daily, and despite your best efforts, things still slip through the cracks. You
Feeling overwhelmed as a catechumenate leader? Empower the assembly as your team
In a previous article, we explored the importance of contemplative prayer for personal spiritual growth and how to introduce it to seekers and catechumens. In this article, we will explore how to involve the entire parish in the practice of contemplative prayer as a means of seeking and discerning God’s will for the catechumens and
Discerning God’s will through contemplative prayer within the parish community
As catechumenate ministers, our role is not only to guide others on their faith journey but also to nurture our own spiritual growth. In the midst of this busy ministry, finding moments of stillness, silence, and deep connection with God through contemplative prayer can be a transformative practice. In this article, I’m going to describe
Nurturing contemplative prayer: A guide for catechumenate ministers
Every week at the bottom of the TeamRCIA newsletter, there is a question for you to answer. One of our readers, Joana, recently replied to this prompt: “Describe a specific encounter or conversation where you felt called to share your faith. How did you respond?” One of our priests had referred a young man to
Why catechumenate ministers must always share their faith
Lent is a time of anticipation for everyone involved in the initiation process. Our elect are on the final forty days of their journey toward baptism, and we’re all hard at work making sure all the rites and activities go as planned. It’s a time where those going through the process have a certain excitement
Is your RCIA open all year-round? How do you greet seekers?
Wow, you folks are AMAZING! 330 of you responded to our Newsletter Audience Survey. The reason we launched the survey in the first place is that over the last year, we’ve been developing a ground-up renovation of the TeamRCIA website (which 72% of you said you found easy to navigate. Yay!). Now that we have
Survey results from hundreds of catechumenate team members
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
What makes a catechumenate team leader?
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?
What to do if you are a catechumenate “team of one”
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
Catechumenate team goals for the New Year
