Baptism without RCIA?

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Andrew2009

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Hello

I am sincerely and respectfully asking for advice here…

Without going into a lot of unnecessary background detail - last year I decided that I wanted to do the RCIA. I made some inquiries - first off, I had a bad experience with the person who runs the RCIA in a parish near where I live. I then called the Cathedral in my city and asked for some advice as to where I should do the RCIA - I was given a recommendation. I began doing this RCIA program in September - unfortunately it has been extremely disappointing. In fact it’s terrible, and I don’t want to go on with it anymore.

I have spent a lot of time, over several years now, reading and thinking about the Christian religion and the Catholic faith. I want to be baptised as a Catholic. I know what I’m signing up for and I’m committed. I genuinely want to join the Church. However I don’t want to waste my time or upset myself further with the RCIA, at least the version of the RCIA that I’m getting here.

My sincere question is: can I get baptised without completing the RCIA? If so, how do I find I Priest who will baptise me?

I live in Australia - I think most of you live in the USA so I’m not sure if the situation is different here.

Once again I ask this question very sincerely - I’m not looking for arguments and I’m not trying to be controversial. Any suggestions anyone may have will be gratefully received.

Many thanks

Andrew
 
Hello Andrew,
I am sorry you have had such a bad experience with your journey so far. I, like you, am longing to become Catholic and have done a lot of reading and soul-searching and know this is where I truly belong.
But being as new as I am to it I don’t have any sound advice about RCIA, but I can offer an idea based on my own experience. In my parish, the congregation is very small and widely spread out, so there is no RCIA for me to attend. The priest has told me he ‘prepares converts individually’.
Perhaps this may be a happy compromise, as I’m not sure you would be able to find a priest willing to baptise you without some form of instruction and assessment of your readiness. Is there a priest you can approach and ask him to prepare you on a one-to-one basis, depending on how ‘busy’ your parish is?
I hope this helps a little, and I shall pray for you, your journey to the Church should be a joyous one.
God bless, and do keep us posted:)
 
I’m not sure what the answer is. I don’t see why you would be barred from Baptism. Communion, yes, Baptism, no. After all, those born into Catholic families are usually Baptized as babies. I was Baptized as a baby and have nothing but photos to remember it by. 😛

If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest you buy a good Catholic Bible and go to church daily. You can also look at this website to read the daily readings and view commentary:
usccb.org/nab/index.shtml
The video reflections on the side menu are very good too. I go to this site often and it helps me as a returned Catholic.

I think we should all start a demand for better catechism and RCIA courses. I feel so sad when I see how many people feel discouraged from poor Bible education. It is a disservice to the Lord.

ETA: Actually, yes, you’re required to do RCIA. It’s the route you go through to get baptized as an adult. Perhaps just study on your own and ask questions at class?
 
Dymphna82 said:
I’m
I think we should all start a demand for better catechism and RCIA courses. I feel so sad when I see how many people feel discouraged from poor Bible education. It is a disservice to the Lord.
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particular the OP who reminds us RCIA is a marathon, not a sprint
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puzzleannie said:
Yes there are unusual circumstances where an adult may be prepared for baptism and the other sacraments individually by a priest. Quite frankly in many years of working with the Church I have not yet met a priest with the luxury of time for that. Most I know, even the retired ones, do what amounts to at least 2 full time jobs.

forgot to say “Welcome Home” and you might find the contributions in this thread helpful
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=499909
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For adults the Church prefers that they join through the RCIA program. Some parishes will occasionally offer instruction outside of RCIA, but from what I understand those are the exceptions.

Is your RCIA class truly that horrible? You may have more knowledge under your belt and the RCIA materials may be written at a Jr. High level, but it doesn’t mean you still can’t learn something there and that it can’t be rewarding.

When I went through RCIA I was pretty Catholic in my thoughts and beliefs and I’d been reading apologetic materials and the catechism for a few years by that this point. Was the material presented to me always new and exciting or intellectually rigorous? Certainly not. But there were weeks where I did learn a lot and new things were covered for me. But, most important from my experience was getting into parish life and that particular Catholic community and learning from the experiences and lessons of the RCIA team members. Many of them had wonderful stories about priests they knew in post-WWII America and the practices that they remember from then and their parents generation. Others were able to add things they’d heard from watching EWTN or retreats they’d gone on. Those were the types of things that made the classes worthwhile and enriching.

If your RCIA class is unorthodox I’m sorry for you, but I’d still suggest to grin and bear it. At the end of the day becoming Catholic is the important thing and you’ll be just as Catholic as the next guy when you’re confirmed. What good would it do you to believe all that the Church believes but still be separate from the sacraments for want of a good RCIA teacher? The answer is it would do you no good

If the RCIA class is also that horrible, do as puzzleannie suggests and get involved when you are finished. You might not be able to change everything overnight, but your presence could be a blessing in future classes.

ChadS
 
To the OP,
Since you called the cathedral re: the RCIA question, why not call them with this one as well. I have heard of situations where a priest, or maybe a DRE (Dir of Rel Ed) would quiz a candidate and if they seem knowledgable enough would allow them to skip RCIA…

However, my guess is that is going to be a rare case.

Can I ask, what is so “horrible” about the RCIA? Is it not orthodox? Is it too simple?
It may just be something you must “endure” to attain that which you seek.
Remember Christ could not rise until he first endured the cross.

Peace
James
 
The only thing I know about this topic is that when a person is extremely ill, especially at the point of death, he/she can be baptised without attending RCIA.

My Mom was baptised as a Catholic in the hospital where she lay on her deathbed (not that she died, which is fortunate for me as she was only nineteen and I probably wouldn’t be posting here if she had died then).

I think that if you had problems with a particular RCIA program you should report it to the appropriate diocesan agency. If you are having problems there are probably others who are unhappy and whoever handles these things in the diocese should be made aware of it.

One of my doctors began RCIA classes, taught by a priest, and was told he could no longer have relations with his wife because he had had a vasectomy years before. Instead of checking this out to see if it was really Church teaching, he and his wife angrily left and as far as I know he still is not a Catholic. That is a shame.

Please let the proper people know.
 
What is it about RCIA you don’t like? The method, the teacher, the classmates?
If so, maybe you could drive to the Catholic parish in the next town.
 
One of the problems with skipping RCIA is that it isn’t meant to just be classes. The point of RCIA is to grow in your relationship with God AND with the Church.

The RCIA process gives one a chance to get to know the Church and the people in it. You experience the liturgical cycle, with the guidance of knowledgeable Catholics as guides, you “meet” the Saints, you get to know people in your parish community, you discover ways you can be involved in you parish. These are HUGE parts of the RCIA process and have little to do with learning doctrine in class.

The various Rites along the way are also a huge part of the process. They give you a chance to express your desire to be Catholic and they give the community a chance to see you so we know who we are praying for and who to support and encourage along the way.

So even if you aren’t learning much in your class, try to focus on all of the other things that you can get out of this process! 👍
 
Thanks to everyone who has replied, I’m very glad that people seem to appreciate my situation.

Here are my problems with the RCIA – at least the way it’s run in my part of the world:

First off I made inquiries at a local Church. I went and spoke to the Sister there who runs the RCIA – she was nice and seemed quite helpful. But – the second time I went there, she said some disturbing things. The most disturbing was about Confession – she basically said that Catholics don’t take Confession too seriously these days, it’s mainly a symbolic way of “getting closer to God”, and it’s really only taken seriously in some countries and cultures (she implied they’re quite “backward”). She also said she can’t imagine who would really have committed sins that are so serious they would have to go to Confession! The basic idea was - “Hey it’s no big deal, Confession’s one of those old-fashioned Catholic things from the bad old days, don’t worry about it!”

Now, I’m not a Catholic (obviously), but even I know enough to realise that this is NOT orthodox Catholicism. She said other things that rang alarm bells as well, but this was the worst. Anyway this was quite discouraging to say the least, so I called the “Head Office” where I live and they recommended the program I’m going through now. But this has its own problems…

First of all, the RCIA program I’m doing now is officially run by one of the Priests at the Cathedral, but in reality he’s not really involved at all. He usually doesn’t turn up to classes, and on the rare occasions when he does, he normally just says “Hi”, hangs around for 5 minutes, and then he disappears. This bothers me – shouldn’t he be more involved? Shouldn’t he be running the show? Shouldn’t he be presenting the classes?
In reality, the classes are run by a Nun, whose approach I really don’t like. She hasn’t actually said anything “unorthodox” as far as I can tell, but I don’t like the way she does things. Basically, it’s all about giving us HER personal take on things, and Catholicism according to HER view of the world. So far, there has been no real discussion of basic Catholic beliefs and doctrines. Instead we get endless lectures on how God loves us, we are beautiful and wonderful in the eyes of God, we must strive for social justice and care for the environment etc, etc. Meanwhile, basic concepts such as the Trinity, Sin or Grace (just to pick a few at random) are unexplained! The whole thing is banal, trivial, wishy-washy and dumbed-down (in my opinion). It’s also really uninspiring and BORING! I feel like I’m not learning anything!!

The whole thing is basically the “Sister X lecture series” (I don’t want to give her name). It’s also completely unstructured and rambling – there’s an official “program”, but this went out the window many weeks ago. And Sister X doesn’t welcome questions - when I have politely raised a few points I’ve been shot down in flames. With all due respect to Sister X, I’m not really that interested in her view of the world. I don’t really want to hear about her take on Christianity and the Church. I want to hear what THE CHURCH teaches on the fundamental doctrines and dogmas – however this is exactly what we are NOT getting!!

Anyway – I could go on and on for pages about this, but this post is too long already. Suffice it to say I’m feeling very discouraged and quite depressed about the whole thing. But maybe I should just grit my teeth and carry on, as a couple of people here have suggested…I’m really not sure what to do.

I was thinking maybe I could find a Priest who would baptise me privately – but now I get the feeling this isn’t really possible. Or maybe I can just be some kind of unbaptised, unofficial Catholic – read my Bible and the CCC, Pray, go to Mass but not receive Communion, and hope for the best! At least that way I can avoid this horrible, depressing RCIA nonsense……(I remember reading somewhere about “Baptism of the Heart”, I think it’s called)….

PS – I think RCIA is a great idea in principle, and I was really looking forward to doing it, it’s just that it’s turned out to be so disappointing, for me….

PPS – there are only 5 other people in my RCIA class – they’re all doing it for marriage or other family reasons. I’m the only real “convert” there. The people in my class are all very nice, but because of the circumstances I don’t find any support there, which is also a real shame……
 
Please don’t despair Andrew…ring around and make a nuisance of yourself if necessary…or just try to go along with it - after all it’s getting there that really counts and when you are Baptised you can forget all about the RCIA…and I don’t mean that to sound disrespectful or flippant, but the important thing here is that you get ‘home’.
God bless you…I wish you all the best!🙂
 
puzzleannie said:
I agree, so strongly that I follow my own recommendation, I was unhappy with the quality of RCIA in my former parish so I got involved. With respect, those Catholics who feel strongly about proper RCIA and catechesis in their parish but who do not themselves contribute really don’t seem sincere to me. I will add to that the other side of the story, the level of pastoral involvement in any given parish program directly correlates to its success and quality.
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ClairUK said:
Please don’t despair Andrew…ring around and make a nuisance of yourself if necessary…or just try to go along with it - after all it’s getting there that really counts and when you are Baptised you can forget all about the RCIA…and I don’t mean that to sound disrespectful or flippant, but the important thing here is that you get ‘home’.
God bless you…I wish you all the best!🙂
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Thankyou Clair…I think maybe that’s good advice…the part about putting up with it and getting “home”, I mean. You’re probably right. I don’t think ringing around will achieve anything tho, because of the peculiar dynamics of the place I live in, but that’s another story…

PS - something I forgot to mention before - there’s a huge amount of relativism going on in my RCIA course. We hear a lot about what our Muslim brothers and sisters believe, and what the Buddhists and Hindus do, etc. OK that’s fine, but I really want to find out more about what the CATHOLICS think, believe and do - that’s why I’m there in the first place! It’s very frustrating…
 
Andrew2009 said:
Thankyou Clair…I think maybe that’s good advice…the part about putting up with it and getting “home”, I mean. You’re probably right. I don’t think ringing around will achieve anything tho, because of the peculiar dynamics of the place I live in, but that’s another story…

PS - something I forgot to mention before - there’s a huge amount of relativism going on in my RCIA course. We hear a lot about what our Muslim brothers and sisters believe, and what the Buddhists and Hindus do, etc. OK that’s fine, but I really want to find out more about what the CATHOLICS think, believe and do - that’s why I’m there in the first place! It’s very frustrating…
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I will offer this…

Stick it out and “get home” into the Church. But don’t forget what you have gone through. As soon as you can after being received intot he Church, volunteer to help out with your local RCIA program.
It sounds as though you live in a fairly liberal and unfocused diocese and it’s a given that if you do you’ll have to put up with a lot of garbage, but the more orthodox people who get involved in these matters the better.

Peace
James
 
I didn’t go through RCIA when I was baptized a few years ago. I had one on one lessons with one of the Sisters from my grade school. I’m now taking RCIA at my parish and love it. I’m in a different point in my life than at the time of my baptism so I’m getting a lot out of it. Perhaps you can get some one on one sessions with someone who knows there faith.
 
Andrew2009 said:
Thankyou Clair…I think maybe that’s good advice…the part about putting up with it and getting “home”, I mean. You’re probably right. I don’t think ringing around will achieve anything tho, because of the peculiar dynamics of the place I live in, but that’s another story…

PS - something I forgot to mention before - there’s a huge amount of relativism going on in my RCIA course. We hear a lot about what our Muslim brothers and sisters believe, and what the Buddhists and Hindus do, etc. OK that’s fine, but I really want to find out more about what the CATHOLICS think, believe and do - that’s why I’m there in the first place! It’s very frustrating…
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Andrew, stick with RCIA, you’ll be glad you did so in the end. At this point you’re probably about half done with it. I know Easter seems a long way off, but it’s less than five months away.

To be honest I’m not really surprised the priest doesn’t do much with RCIA. When I went through my parish’s RCIA program the priest taught maybe two or three of the lessons plus the one-on-one interview we did right before Easter. They are extremely busy people as we all know and they entrust this program with their DRE. Also, if you truly have a problem with something in the program do not run straight to the diocese, all they will do is contact your priest and tell him to fix the program. You should try to raise the concerns first with the RCIA director and then the pastor – skipping over their heads won’t do anybody any good. Why? Because if something is said to them they can rightfully say “Hey nobody said one word to me about this” and that’s just an excuse to ignore you.

If you feel you can’t talk or ask questions during class speak with your sponsor. They are supposed to be there to guide you through the program and you should be able to trust them. They should also be able to answer your questions more in detail than you’re getting in class.

I hope this helps, but anyhow good luck and stick with it.

ChadS
 
Hi Andrew

Are you talking about Sister Gay… If you are I can relate to you and I feel for you… I just hope you hanged in there and finished the program 🙂

Cheers

Aaron
 
I am so sorry that you have to put up with this! This is the state of the Church in some areas however, and God probably wants you to see it!

If you had some proper RCIA teaching, you would not even think about not getting baptised. Go to the classes and study the faith on your own at the same time. After a few years, help out with the teaching your self. We need good teachers!

I will say a few Our Fathers for you!

Your friend in Christ,
Nils
 
Since I started this thread over 4 years ago I feel I should come back now and update it…

I was baptised and received into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church on Sunday 24th of November 2013, the Feast of Christ the King.

So my journey in search of Christ has ended, while my journey walking with Christ has now truly begun. Thanks be to God.
 
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