In a recent post, I pointed out that the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity from the Second Vatican Council instructs that we who are members of the royal priesthood should be especially focused on social action (see paragraph 7). I then drew the conclusion that if our RCIA processes are not … [Read more...]
What is your RCIA team’s objective for the catechumens?
Some years ago, business leaders were caught up in a trend called “Management by Objective” (MBO). MBO is a method of organizing and motivating employees to accomplish the objectives of the company. So if the objective of a company is to sell a million widgets, whatever any employee does to help the … [Read more...]
Your RCIA team’s number-one job
When your seekers look at the church, what do they see? I wonder if they see a pyramid — with the bishops and priests at the top, supported from below by the laity. Honestly, that’s the way I saw the church throughout my childhood and most of my teen years. It is the way the structure of the church … [Read more...]
RCIA formation is a call to holiness
Several years ago, I was helping lead a training institute for RCIA teams. One of the participants was quite young compared to the rest of us who were mostly well past 40. I asked her how she wound up serving on her parish’s RCIA team. She told me that when she was in college, she had read the … [Read more...]
Why be Catholic in the midst of scandal?
Recently, a candidate for reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church wrote an article for America magazine titled: “How can I think about becoming Catholic after the latest sex abuse reports?” I share the writer’s overwhelming grief, and I am completely dismayed and disheartened … [Read more...]