Being Received Into The Church....

[jimcav]

Upon completion of RCIA, the new Catholic convert is usually brought up to the altar and recieved into the Church in a public way in front of the whole congregation, the priest and sometimes even the Bishop is present.

Can one complete RCIA, but then be recieved into the Church privately with just the priest and sponsor present?

 

[twopekinguys]

Upon completion of RCIA, the new Catholic convert is usually brought up to the altar and recieved into the Church in a public way in front of the whole congregation, the priest and sometimes even the Bishop is present.

Can one complete RCIA, but then be recieved into the Church privately with just the priest and sponsor present?

Yes, it can be done privately, although the preferred way is in front of a congregation.

Periodically, we have a candidate who cannot attend the Easter Vigil due to work scheduling, family emergencies, etc., so they have been received into the Church privately.

In our parish, there needs to be a compelling reason for the individual to be brought in privately as opposed to being brought in at Mass with the rest of their class. Assuming of course there is more than one person in the class.

If it is a matter of shyness, I would have to wonder how the person makes it through the various Rites that are required. (Acceptance, Election, Scrutinies

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Upon completion of RCIA, the new Catholic convert is usually brought up to the altar and recieved into the Church in a public way in front of the whole congregation, the priest and sometimes even the Bishop is present.

Can one complete RCIA, but then be recieved into the Church privately with just the priest and sponsor present?

Depending on whether or not the person is already baptized, they’ll be receiving the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist. The normal way of doing that is in within a Mass. Having a Mass for just the catechumen/candidate and sponsor would be unusual.

Do you have in mind that the person would do all the rites individually? Rite of Acceptance or Welcoming, Scrutinies, and Rite of Election/Call to Continuing Conversion. Since the Rite of Election is done with the bishop it wold definitely be tricky to leave out the rest of the congregation.

Part of becoming Catholic is joining a parish community – Catholicism is not a “Jesus and me” religion, it’s a “Jesus and us” religion. What would be the person’s reason for wanting to eliminate the rest of their parish from the sacraments?

 

[jmcrae]

Upon completion of RCIA, the new Catholic convert is usually brought up to the altar and recieved into the Church in a public way in front of the whole congregation, the priest and sometimes even the Bishop is present.

Can one complete RCIA, but then be recieved into the Church privately with just the priest and sponsor present?

The congregation has the right to know who the new Catholics are, so that they can fulfill their duty to help and support them in their journey of faith.

It is also a witness to them, that their faith is worth the sacrifices that are being made by the new converts - it helps them to appreciate the great gifts that they have taken for granted all their lives.

If there were an overriding, compelling reason to do it privately (ie: death threats against a convert from Islam) they would consider it, but normally, these are public events.

 

[pinctor]

They didn’t have RCIA in my day - I was received “privately” 57 years ago. So were all converts AFAIK.
All blessings, anyway!

 

[snowman10]

I am currently in the process of being received into the Church and will do so outside of RCIA. If interested, the thread is in this forum FYI.

Anywho, I am not a fan of public displays. This is coming from a former theatre actor with numerous plays and musicals under his belt. I never minded performing but when it comes to being myself in front of a large group, I just don’t enjoy it. But I understand that the Church is a family, even if dysfunctional, and we celebrate as one.

That being said, I am hoping that my parish priest will agree to do it privately. If not, I will deal. The greatest gains require the greatest sacrifices.

Of course, my sacrifice is nothing compared to that of Jesus. Glass half-full in this instance.

DU

 

[jimcav]

Thanks for your responses.

I think I need to elaborate on this story. The woman that I am asking this question for has been going to our parish for a long time now. Everyone thought she was Catholic. She is very devout, respectful and comfortable with Mass. She even says the rosary. When she came to me about conversion and RCIA, I was surprised, but certainly willing to help. Now the hard part - she has recieved Communion at Mass. Not always, but sometimes. She takes Communion in the right frame of mind, that it is the true body and blood of Christ. Still, I talked to her about this and told her why she needs to refrain.

Now, obviously our priest does not know about this. How will he handle this situation when he is told? Nobody wants this to cause a scandal, because this woman is so well liked and we certainly don’t want to chase her away, we want to make it right.

PS - Please be gentle with your answers and try not to judge…

 

[snowman10]

Still needs to be addressed regardless of her intentions and being well-meaning.

Perhaps talk with her one-on-one and mention it to her. If not, talk to your priest. I would certainly try to talk with her first if you’re comfortable with it.

 

[jimcav]

Still needs to be addressed regardless of her intentions and being well-meaning.

Perhaps talk with her one-on-one and mention it to her. If not, talk to your priest. I would certainly try to talk with her first if you’re comfortable with it.

I have spoken to her and she is willing to refrain from receiving until she completes RCIA. And we will go to our parish priest together and talk to him when she is ready.

I guess the biggest fear is how our pastor will react…

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Your priest isn’t going to fall on the floor in shock. He’s encountered the situation before where a non-Catholic has received communion. I’ve had times when I’ve spoken to inquirers and one of their questions is along the lines of “can I still receive communion when I’m in RCIA?” Well…no…you shouldn’t have been receiving it in the first place. But people don’t always know that.

 

[jmcrae]

Thanks for your responses.

I think I need to elaborate on this story. The woman that I am asking this question for has been going to our parish for a long time now. Everyone thought she was Catholic. She is very devout, respectful and comfortable with Mass. She even says the rosary. When she came to me about conversion and RCIA, I was surprised, but certainly willing to help. Now the hard part - she has recieved Communion at Mass. Not always, but sometimes. She takes Communion in the right frame of mind, that it is the true body and blood of Christ. Still, I talked to her about this and told her why she needs to refrain.

Now, obviously our priest does not know about this. How will he handle this situation when he is told? Nobody wants this to cause a scandal, because this woman is so well liked and we certainly don’t want to chase her away, we want to make it right.

PS - Please be gentle with your answers and try not to judge…

This situation is very common. If your priest is not fresh out of Seminary, he has dealt with similar situations in the past.

I was one such. People at one of the parishes I was visiting thought I was Catholic, and there were circumstances that made me feel that it was best not to enlighten them. I wasn’t hiding, but at the same time, I had become involved with a group of friends there, and it seemed best to me to leave them under the impression that I was Catholic. (I never received Holy Communion there, but no one ever noticed that.) Over the course of time we became involved in various activities that, while not absolutely forbidden to non-Catholics, would have caused eye-brows to rise.

When I made the move to actually become Catholic, they became aware of my RCIA journey - and they were my staunchest supporters. Far from turning away shocked or disappointed, they walked with me the whole way, bought me good books, furnished my home Altar, and taught me to say my prayers. Indeed, they supplied me with a kind of Catholic childhood and parented me into the Church in a way that no RCIA is capable of doing - they were my true godparents.

I used to think I was the only one, and then I became aware of a great many others. The stranger you sit near at Mass may well be a non-Catholic visitor who is wondering how to “out” himself or herself.

 

[jmcrae]

I guess the biggest fear is how our pastor will react…

Take it from me - he’s going to be thrilled.

Please don’t worry.

 

[jimcav]

Thank you all for the good answers. You have made me feel more comfortable helping this woman move forward. I don’t know why I wouldn’t trust that the pastor would understand or have seen a similar situation. I must do better in putting all of my trust in Him!

This situation is very common. If your priest is not fresh out of Seminary, he has dealt with similar situations in the past.

I was one such. People at one of the parishes I was visiting thought I was Catholic, and there were circumstances that made me feel that it was best not to enlighten them. I wasn’t hiding, but at the same time, I had become involved with a group of friends there, and it seemed best to me to leave them under the impression that I was Catholic. (I never received Holy Communion there, but no one ever noticed that.) Over the course of time we became involved in various activities that, while not absolutely forbidden to non-Catholics, would have caused eye-brows to rise.

When I made the move to actually become Catholic, they became aware of my RCIA journey - and they were my staunchest supporters. Far from turning away shocked or disappointed, they walked with me the whole way, bought me good books, furnished my home Altar, and taught me to say my prayers. Indeed, they supplied me with a kind of Catholic childhood and parented me into the Church in a way that no RCIA is capable of doing - they were my true godparents.

I used to think I was the only one, and then I became aware of a great many others. The stranger you sit near at Mass may well be a non-Catholic visitor who is wondering how to “out” himself or herself.

I think this story matches up to the way this woman came to us. :thumbsup:Thanks for sharing that!

 

[thequeen]

They didn’t have RCIA in my day - I was received “privately” 57 years ago. So were all converts AFAIK.
All blessings, anyway!

Hi Pinctor I was also received privately after a year of private instruction fronm a very good priest who who taught me the faith very well I also had to be baptised conditionally be cause there was some question as to whether my one before was valid but i did sit through an rcia class about three years later just for the experience