When parishes that use an academic, school calendar model for evangelizing and catechizing seekers, it can be difficult to imagine any other way of doing things. Some common objections for expanding to an ongoing process include: We have limited resources The rest of the world is organized around a school-year schedule It’s just easier The …
We have said many times before that mystagogy takes place throughout the entire catechumenate. If that’s so, why is there a particular period of the catechumenate specifically named “mystagogy”? To understand that, we have to understand how liturgy relates to catechesis. The church teaches that the liturgy is “the privileged place for catechizing the People …
Why the RCIA period of mystagogy is crucial for your neophytes
There are two dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first is the danger of serious physical illness. And the second is the danger of convenience. We will eventually overcome the physical danger. But the danger of convenience may linger. Many pastoral leaders are already worried about what will happen to their Sunday gatherings when …
Q: What would you do with someone coming from a tradition that baptizes adults and older teens and so was catechized but never baptized? We don’t have an unbaptized, catechized, category. A:This is a great question, and it is actually a fairly common one. In the United States and in some parts of Canada and …
Q&A: Does the RCIA have a category for unbaptized, catechized seekers?
Every January, I resolve to lose weight. And every December, I weigh about what I weighed in January. Sometimes, it is just too difficult to follow through on the commitments we make to ourselves. But more often, we don’t follow through on our resolutions because we don’t have a clear, compelling reason why we should …
Originally from Montreal but now in Alberta for 25 years, Bonnie Kirk is an Oblate Missionary of Mary Immaculate, She completed her Master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry (1980) at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa. Bonnie has been in active ministry since 1977, enjoying the RCIA adventure for close to 30 years. She currently serves as …
When we have baptized candidates in the RCIA, we run into a lot of complications. Ironically, training unbaptized catechumens who have little or no Christian formation can seem simpler and easier. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are three things we can do to simplify the formation process for baptized candidates. The …
Everybody into the pool — sorting the baptized candidates in the RCIA
Rosie Rundell has been a Pastoral Associate for Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Manhattan, Kansas, for 21 years. She has been involved with RCIA ministry for over 30 years in four different parishes. She received her undergraduate degree from Benedictine University, Atchison, Kansas; a Masters degree in Pastoral Ministry and a certificate in Spiritual Direction …
A year-round, apprenticeship model for RCIA gives me confidence that we are forming disciples
Evangelization and outreach Host a weekly or monthly online chat on “What Catholics Think about _______.” Fill in the blank with common questions about Catholics or else whatever is in the news right now. For example: What Catholics Think about the Bible What Catholics Think about Saints What Catholics Think about Climate Change What Catholics …
Don Roberts has been the RCIA Team Leader for the Parish Community of St. Joseph in Belmont, NH, since 2012. In the 1980s, he and his late wife Pat introduced the process to their suburban Albany, NY, parish. After a 15-year stay in Virginia, they returned to RCIA in their retirement in New Hampshire. Don …
