Another rcia question

[cccw2009]

All year i have been looking forward to rcia but it seems like now i may not be able to. The parish of my choice says that there needs to be at least 3 people to have classes and i am the only one that wants to join so they will not have classes. My question is, is this right? Why can’t there be just one person. It seems sort of unfair. Im really bummed out about this. I really like my parish and feel at home there but if i need to go to another parish, i will.

 

[crazzeto]

This is certainly a parish rule, posters here have had classes of a single convert or less. There’s nothing really stopping them, if I were you I would get in touch with the Pastor and Priests about this situation. Emphatically demonstrate your desire to join, pray as well. In the end, you won’t be denied.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

In my opinion your parish should accommodate you even if you are the only one involved.

Your other option would be to talk with other nearby parishes to see if you can participate in RCIA elsewhere. The problem with this is that RCIA should be a way of bringing you into your parish as well as into the Church. But if it’s the only option available then it’s the only option available.

 

[ConstantineTG]

All year i have been looking forward to rcia but it seems like now i may not be able to. The parish of my choice says that there needs to be at least 3 people to have classes and i am the only one that wants to join so they will not have classes. My question is, is this right? Why can’t there be just one person. It seems sort of unfair. Im really bummed out about this. I really like my parish and feel at home there but if i need to go to another parish, i will.

Go parish hopping then and find one that either has a class, or a priest willing to accomodate you.

 

[Cathryn]

This rule kind flies in the face of the very Catholic belief in the value of each and every individual. I would make an appointment with the Pastor and tell him your problem. If there is not an RCIA program for you, he could provide individual instruction. In any case, you are as important as any magic number of people they can pick to make it worthwhile to them. I think the pastor would agree. I also believe he would be horrified to know that someone was turned away with no other option provided.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

We have run RCIA for small numbers. One year we gave special instruction to one octogenarian lady in a nursing home since she wasn’t up to coming to the Church. The priest gave her her sacraments at the nursing home. She died peacefully a few months later.

I find a class of 5-15 best. If your parish doesn’t have enough, is there a nearby parish you could combine with? That’s what we do for the Adult Confirmation classes where we only have one or two in each parish. Of course in Southern California our parishes are very close together. There are five or six within five miles.

 

[Singing_Praise]

Sometimes instruction can be accommodated for “just the one”. It might not be the same as a typical RCIA, but certainly Pastors are familiar with this situation. My choir director was not a Catholic when he started, but he was one about 9 months later, with no RCIA involvement. Obviously, he was accommodated another way.

I would seek out information with the Pastor of your parish.

 

[malcido]

Have you talked to your parish priest about this? He may even be able to meet with you one on one instead of doing the RCIA program. My understanding is that RCIA is one way to enter the church, but not the only way.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

I would suggest that your parish does not have the resources to provide RCIA for one person. It would not be economical. This is not appropriate where the salvation of souls is concerned but unfortunately it is a practicality that parishes have to face.

Your profile says that you are “Roman Catholic”. I understand and appreciate your thinking. If you are a Roman Catholic, why do you need RCIA? If you are technically a non-Catholic Christian you are a candidate for reception into full communion with the Catholic Church and will be received into the Catholic Church by a liturgy called the “Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians into full communion with the Catholic Church”. This involves either receiving the sacrament of Confirmation or a short rite of reception, depending on your circumstances. If you are a non-Catholic Christian you do not need RCIA but some form of instruction. If you approach your parish priest and discuss this with him then I do not see why he couldn’t arrange for you to receive instruction.*

If you are currently a non-Christian then you are a “convert” (neo-conversus) and you will need RCIA. So, speak again to your parish priest about this. If he still persists in refusing you will need to find somewhere that offers RCIA so that you can eventually receive the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) to become a Catholic-Christian.

Welcome home!

You are in my prayers.

God bless!

*This pre-supposes that your Baptism is regarded as valid by the Church.

 

[Phemie]

People in parishes seem to have a really bad understanding of RCIA. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults dictates the rituals involved but does not dictate how the catechumen & candidates are prepared.

Particularly if the OP is a Catholic adult wanting to prepare for Confirmation, there is no reason that a catechist couldn’t work one on one with her. Nobody should be denied this sacrament because “you’re the only one wanting this.” I know that in our parish we had one parent who had not been confirmed and our catechist worked one on one preparing her and she was confirmed, along with the children, at our parish’s regular confirmation celebration.

Even if she’s a baptized non-Catholic, there is no reason to make her wait until there are more people. Heck, even if she were a non-baptized there’s no reason to make her wait for more people. In our parish a lone catechumen was prepared by one catechist over the course of more than a year. All the rites were celebrated for this one person and it was no more trouble for one than it would have been for 3, 10 or 20. I think this parish needs to look at its priorities.

 

[At_Trent]

Your profile says that you are “Roman Catholic”.

I know you mean well, and your post is a good one, but there is nothing wrong with styling oneself a Roman Catholic after the decision is made to convert !

Deo gratias

 

[Matthew_Holford]

I know you mean well, and your post is a good one, but there is nothing wrong with styling oneself a Roman Catholic after the decision is made to convert !

Deo gratias

I did not criticise the OP for styling themselves Roman Catholic. If you read my post correctly you would have realised that I was trying to discover the OP’s position. The OP does not make their current position clear.

If the OP is “Roman Catholic” then the OP certainly does not require RCIA. If the OP is a non-Catholic Christian the OP needs instruction as a candidate for reception in to full communion with the Catholic Church. If the OP is an adherent of a non-Christian religion, an agnostic, or an atheist the OP needs RCIA.

Unless the OP clarifies this we don’t know her/his status.

 

[mackk]

All year i have been looking forward to rcia but it seems like now i may not be able to. The parish of my choice says that there needs to be at least 3 people to have classes and i am the only one that wants to join so they will not have classes. My question is, is this right? Why can’t there be just one person. It seems sort of unfair. Im really bummed out about this. I really like my parish and feel at home there but if i need to go to another parish, i will.

I found a number of sites that say a person can request private meetings with their churches priest in order to prepare for becoming catholic if for some reason the RCIA isn’t appropriate for them. IF I were you I would ask my priest what subjects are covered in their RCIA class. I would research on my own that information and then ask to see the priest again explain what you have learned an ask for direction as to what to learn next. after a few meetings if you are diligent you should have no issues converting. The most important is to open a dialog with your priest as I am SURE that if you really want to convert he will help you find a way to do so. Church hopping seems a bit vulgar to me …

1. because you should develop a bit of loyalty to YOUR church as they are your family. if *cooked horribly you would be devastated if your spouse or children moved out and into another house even if it was temporary. just because your church can’t do what you want, in the way you want, and in the time you want does not excuse you to go gallivanting off for a temporary fix else where.
2. because being trained in a class in another parish might lead to some confusion. just go to the ask forum and you see a never ending list of posts that all start with “I was visiting a parish and saw the priest do …”

you could consider this as a chance to make an impact in your parish … raise funds for the RCIA class or try finding others who would be interested int the classes.
//mackk

 

[5Loaves]

All year i have been looking forward to rcia but it seems like now i may not be able to. The parish of my choice says that there needs to be at least 3 people to have classes and i am the only one that wants to join so they will not have classes. My question is, is this right? Why can’t there be just one person. It seems sort of unfair. Im really bummed out about this. I really like my parish and feel at home there but if i need to go to another parish, i will.

There are advantages to both individual instruction and to being part of a group. The pastor in another parish in our deanery asked if one of his faithful could join our Inquiry since there was no one currently in Inquiry or the catechumenate in his parish. This person currently is with our Inquiry, the pre- catechumenate, but our catechumens break open the word on Sunday and have catechesis sessions during the week, so if and when he chooses to become a catechumen he could continue to attend Mass in his home parish on Sundays and participate in the formation and guidance with any other catechumens in our parish during the week.

We currently have one catechumen (and a number of inquirers, separate groups). We have year round RCIA as recommended. Many parishes lack sufficient team members to have the year round process. Until this spring there were only two of us on the team, so what constitues enough team members to have the year round process is determined by the individual parish. I don’t know of a time when we haven’t had at least one Elect when the time for Easter comes.

If your pastor and Director of Religious Education are not willing or able to provide for you at this time, you can look for a nearby parish and contact them about joining them. We are called to evangelize and when we do and succeed in persons seeking to be baptized surely we want to meet that need.

(Anyone going through the Rite of Acceptance now would be looking at baptism, confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter vigil of 2012. The catechumenate is meant to involve least one full liturgical year of formation.)

 

[diggerdomer]

All year i have been looking forward to rcia but it seems like now i may not be able to. The parish of my choice says that there needs to be at least 3 people to have classes and i am the only one that wants to join so they will not have classes. My question is, is this right? Why can’t there be just one person. It seems sort of unfair. Im really bummed out about this. I really like my parish and feel at home there but if i need to go to another parish, i will.

No, this is not right. A parish has no right to do this. If you can’t find a satisfactory resolution with the parish, contact someone in the diocese.