Extraordinary path for being received into the Church

[thequeen]

I wouldn’t worry about what other people say I had private instruction and as far as I know I am just as Catholic as any cradle Catholic.

 

[thequeen]

Better you than me. I probably would have said something to the effect that if she is so concerned about others following the rules of the Church, perhaps she should start paying attention to those rules in her own life.

Sometimes a quick poke in the ribs with a sharp stick only results in being told to quit poking.

I probably would have told her the same thing.

 

[KjetilK]

The cradle Catholic is making a statement and so he has the burden of proof.

I second this. I see more and more that people toss out accusations and claims, and expect that the recipient have the duty to disprove them. As if claims were true until proven wrong. I often just answer by quoting one of my favourite Latin sayings, Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur – “what is asserted without reason may be denied without reason.”

 

[Sariaru]

When there are 20-30 or in some cases up to a hundred people wanting to be received into the Church at any given parish, and only one or two priests working in the parish, it isn’t feasible for each and every one of them to do one-on-one instruction with a priest - it’s a far better use of time to instruct them as a group, and to have a systematic process for bringing them into the life and practice of the Church.

Understandable. Yet another reason to pray for more young men hearing the call to the priesthood!

Also, the one-on-one with a priest actually took longer than the current model of RCIA - typically, one year to be baptized and receive First Holy Communion, and then a second year to prepare for Confirmation, which was done as a group at the Cathedral with the Bishop, at his convenience (not at the demand of the convert), and then it was expected that the newly Confirmed adult would join a society for new converts, with weekly meetings for a third full year. There was nothing “quicker” about the one-on-one instruction with the priest - at least, not according to my reading. (The Parish Priest’s Guide to Inquiry Classes, Paulist Press, 1960)

Oh. I had no idea. I suppose that makes sense, however, and would mirror a “cradle Catholic’s” delving into the faith, although slightly condensed.

RCIA was the model used for the first five centuries of the Church, until most of Europe was Christianized (meaning, of course, Catholic). The one-on-one model was used from that time (to pick up the strays who’d missed the memo for whatever reason) until the early 1970s, when (possibly as a result of Vatican II) a lot more people became interested in becoming Catholic, and it was no longer a matter of one or two people about once every three years, but dozens of people, year after year.

Hm. Perhaps I’m based my observations just off of what I’ve heard about RCIA from others and my own experiences with it. I went through RCIA not too long ago (joined the Church on Easter 2013) and I found it… bland? Unhelpful? I spent most of my free time at home during my catechetical period reading Summa Theologica and the Confessions of St. Augustine and the CCC cover to cover, so I felt like I was getting very little out of the classes that I didn’t already know. It helped that my fiance was Catholic, and I could just ask him if something came up in my reading that I didn’t quite understand. But then, I’m a voracious reader. My sister is looking to join the Church also, and as she’s attending a very small, very traditional (FSSP) parish, she’s just having a few one-on-one meetings with the priest, as she already knows basically everything an RCIA course could possibly teach her. -shrug-

I understand it could possibly be helpful for some people, but self-study or personal tutelage under a priest or religious should be considered an equally acceptable way to catechize oneself. (Then again, this is coming from a mom-to-be that plans on homeschooling; RCIA smacks a little too much of “classroom education” for my taste.)

 

[jmcrae]

Understandable. Yet another reason to pray for more young men hearing the call to the priesthood!

Oh. I had no idea. I suppose that makes sense, however, and would mirror a “cradle Catholic’s” delving into the faith, although slightly condensed.

Hm. Perhaps I’m based my observations just off of what I’ve heard about RCIA from others and my own experiences with it. I went through RCIA not too long ago (joined the Church on Easter 2013) and I found it… bland? Unhelpful? I spent most of my free time at home during my catechetical period reading Summa Theologica and the Confessions of St. Augustine and the CCC cover to cover, so I felt like I was getting very little out of the classes that I didn’t already know. It helped that my fiance was Catholic, and I could just ask him if something came up in my reading that I didn’t quite understand. But then, I’m a voracious reader. My sister is looking to join the Church also, and as she’s attending a very small, very traditional (FSSP) parish, she’s just having a few one-on-one meetings with the priest, as she already knows basically everything an RCIA course could possibly teach her. -shrug-

I understand it could possibly be helpful for some people, but self-study or personal tutelage under a priest or religious should be considered an equally acceptable way to catechize oneself. (Then again, this is coming from a mom-to-be that plans on homeschooling; RCIA smacks a little too much of “classroom education” for my taste.)

People expect to be taught their Catechism, and it’s important to provide Catechism classes - if not while preparing to become Catholic, then when? But the main point of the RCI is the Exorcisms, the prayers, and the Rites - without those, no amount of Catechesis will do any good at all.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I understand it could possibly be helpful for some people, but self-study or personal tutelage under a priest or religious should be considered an equally acceptable way to catechize oneself. (Then again, this is coming from a mom-to-be that plans on homeschooling; RCIA smacks a little too much of “classroom education” for my taste.)

Please keep in mind that while catechesis is one part of RCIA, it is not what RCIA IS. A lot of people think RCIA and adult catechesis are synonyms. They are not!

Paragraph 75 of the Rite describes what is to be accomplished in RCIA; in other words, how you know that someone is ready to move on to the next step.

1. A suitable catechesis planned to be gradual and complete in its coverage, accommodated to the liturgical year, and solidly supported by celebrations of the word.
2. The catechumens learn to turn more readily to God in prayer, to bear witness to the faith, in all things to keep their hopes set on Christ, to follow supernatural inspiration in their deeds, and to practice love of neighbor, even at the cost of self-renunciation.
3. The Church, like a mother, helps the catechumens on their journey by means of suitable liturgical rites, which purify the catechumens little by little and strengthen them with God’s blessing. At Mass they may also take part with the faithful in the liturgy of the word, thus better preparing themselves for their eventual participation in the liturgy of the eucharist.
4. Catechumens should also learn how to work actively with others to spread the Gospel and build up the Church by the witness of their lives and by professing their faith.

Lots of emphasis is put on #1, but the others are equally important. The third and fourth criteria don’t particularly lend themselves to one-on-one time. Being a Catholic Christian means being part of a community both for worship and for apostolic activity.