Finally Going To Do It (RCIA)

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GameSetMatch606

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Hi everyone. I have been interested in the Catholic Church ever since attending my first Mass with a college friend six years ago. I am 26, married, and have a four year old daughter. I have attended several masses in various parishes since then but have never had the courage to start RCIA and the process of joining the Church. My wife and I both were raised Protestant. She has been supportive of my journey but doesn’t have a connection like I have felt in the Mass. The imagery, the rituals, the Eucharist, it is all so different, unique, and interesting than what we grew up with and I just enjoy it. I just wish she was a part of the journey with me. I also don’t have any other Catholic members of my family and all the Catholic co-workers I know - don’t really go to church often or anything. Tonight is the first night of RCIA in a local parish and I have gotten the courage to go. I am not the most sociable or outspoken person so hopefully I do alright. I am nervous!
 
GameSetMatch606 said:
Hi everyone. I have been interested in the Catholic Church ever since attending my first Mass with a college friend six years ago. I am 26, married, and have a four year old daughter. I have attended several masses in various parishes since then but have never had the courage to start RCIA and the process of joining the Church. My wife and I both were raised Protestant. She has been supportive of my journey but doesn’t have a connection like I have felt in the Mass. The imagery, the rituals, the Eucharist, it is all so different, unique, and interesting than what we grew up with and I just enjoy it. I just wish she was a part of the journey with me. I also don’t have any other Catholic members of my family and all the Catholic co-workers I know - don’t really go to church often or anything. Tonight is the first night of RCIA in a local parish and I have gotten the courage to go. I am not the most sociable or outspoken person so hopefully I do alright. I am nervous!
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Welcome and may God bless you and your family richly in this process! :highprayer: You have nothing to be nervous about as you DO have a large Catholic family supporting you.

Peace!!!
 
Welcome!! The hardest part about RCIA is walking in the door that first time! That takes some courage. After that, you should find a welcoming team of people ready to teach you about the faith and answer all of your questions. I’m a leader in Inquirer’s Class, which is a class for those interested in the faith and, in my parish, it is the first part of RCIA! We also have RCIA tonight, and the people in my class will pray for you and all of those in your class who are answering the call of God and walking into RCIA for the first time tonight. My prayers will continue to be with you as you continue this journey and grow ever closer to God.
 
Don’t be nervous, everyone will be pleased to see you. You won’t be expected to stand up and give a speech, or anything like that.

I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it and will find yourself looking forward with eagerness to the next class. It’s good to be part of a group of people who are all seeking the same thing. 🙂
 
Welcome! 👋

I will say a prayer for you and your family. Once you get through the introductions, it won’t be as nerve-wracking. Hopefully you’ll discover that the others at RCIA are all normal people, too. 🙂
 
Yes, the hardest meeting is the first one. Remember all the others attending are nervous too and I’ll bet some of the RCIA team has been through RCIA too so they know what you are going through! We have RCIA tonight and I look forward to it every week now!
 
I have worked with RCIA for 8 years (after going through it myself), and I love to see the change in people over the course of a year. People that would hardly say a word; who open up over time. There is no commitment in attending RCIA, the first part is a period of inquiry, people are free to say ‘no thanks’ and stop attending. So no pressure, enjoy!
 
I don’t think it went so well. I was one of about 7 or 8 people in the class. Besides two of the others who were already Catholics getting a refresher course, I was the only one who did not already have a sponsor so I was alone. I didn’t realize that in the first week everyone would have a sponsor already. They did say that they had sponsors for those who don’t already have one but it still made me feel left out since their sponsors sat with them. The priest was in charge of the lesson and talked about creation and sin. I am thinking about calling some smaller parishes to see about RCIA. Some might be able to do 1-on-1 I hope since they are smaller. Most around here are parishes that are quite large.
 
I am meeting with a priest tonight at a smaller parish. He said that there have only been a few RCIA classes so far (Mondays). I believe it is a much smaller group 🙂
 
GameSetMatch606 said:
I don’t think it went so well. I was one of about 7 or 8 people in the class. Besides two of the others who were already Catholics getting a refresher course, I was the only one who did not already have a sponsor so I was alone. I didn’t realize that in the first week everyone would have a sponsor already. They did say that they had sponsors for those who don’t already have one but it still made me feel left out since their sponsors sat with them. The priest was in charge of the lesson and talked about creation and sin. I am thinking about calling some smaller parishes to see about RCIA. Some might be able to do 1-on-1 I hope since they are smaller. Most around here are parishes that are quite large.
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I am sorry you felt left out. 😦 Please don’t, though! Some people come to RCIA already knowing a lot about the process and already having their sponsor in tow. Others don’t. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is still way early in the process. The first phase is the inquiry phase. There’s no obligation to even become Catholic from the outset let alone to have all the pieces in place.

I’m on the RCIA team for my parish and someone else was in a similar boat to you. Most of the attendees already had their sponsor (which, quite frankly, surprised me that they would have them picked out already), but one candidate did not. She still doesn’t (and we’ve been meeting for over a month already). Being that this is the inquiry phase and that people are coming from all different places, I personally think it’s more unusual to have a sponsor already than not.

I see you have found a smaller parish to inquire with. I will pray it goes well for you. God bless!
 
GameSetMatch606 said:
I am meeting with a priest tonight at a smaller parish. He said that there have only been a few RCIA classes so far (Mondays). I believe it is a much smaller group 🙂
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I entered the Church this year at the Easter Vigil. My RCIA group did not get their sponsors until November and we’d been meeting as a group starting in September.

Our inquiry sessions began last August, so it took about three months for the RCIA team to get sponsors for all of us. We had twelve people in our group.
 
Met with the priest one-on-one last night. I feel so much better. He is over 80 years old but so wise and knowledgeable and took the time to answer every single question I had. I mentioned finding a sponsor since I don’t know any practicing Catholics. He said he knows a lady that could do it but that it’s usually hard to find someone due to work and commitment, etc. Hopefully I can find one. RCIA class is Monday and it is just me and a younger lady so far.
 
I just wanted to tag onto this thread and say hello. I also just started RCIA classes. Tomorrow is the 3rd meeting and my husband came along with me last week (along with our two young kids, since we don’t have other childcare; thankfully, they said that was ok to bring them). I also grew up Protestant but have been considering Catholicism for a couple years but finally got up the courage to attend RCIA. Actually, I did attend one RCIA class last year, but I was pregnant and due right around Easter and I wasn’t impressed with that one RCIA class anyway, so I decided to drop out.

Almost all of the others in my RCIA class seem to have come from a Catholic background too. There was a guy the first week who came from a Protestant background too, but wasn’t there the next week, so I don’t know if he’s coming back. I’m kind of nervous about this process and also wish that I could just meet with someone 1 on 1 instead.

Is there a “support thread” here on CAF for those of us going through RCIA right now? If not, there should be. Maybe we can start one. 🙂
 
Oh and I also don’t have any Catholic family or friends (well, I have one Catholic friend, but she lives several states away), and I don’t have a sponsor either. And, while my husband had agreed to attend these RCIA classes with me, he has not felt the same calling to the Catholic church as I, nor has he done any individual research into it, so I do kind feel alone in it too.
 
rjg99a said:
I just wanted to tag onto this thread and say hello. I also just started RCIA classes. Tomorrow is the 3rd meeting and my husband came along with me last week (along with our two young kids, since we don’t have other childcare; thankfully, they said that was ok to bring them). I also grew up Protestant but have been considering Catholicism for a couple years but finally got up the courage to attend RCIA. Actually, I did attend one RCIA class last year, but I was pregnant and due right around Easter and I wasn’t impressed with that one RCIA class anyway, so I decided to drop out.

Almost all of the others in my RCIA class seem to have come from a Catholic background too. There was a guy the first week who came from a Protestant background too, but wasn’t there the next week, so I don’t know if he’s coming back. I’m kind of nervous about this process and also wish that I could just meet with someone 1 on 1 instead.

Is there a “support thread” here on CAF for those of us going through RCIA right now? If not, there should be. Maybe we can start one. 🙂
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Hi rjg99a. Welcome to CAF. I pray God eases your nervousness and your journey becomes one of great joy. Feel free to begin a thread on any topic or you can think of CAF as one big thread of support for your RCIA journey. Also don’t be afraid to ask if you could meet 1on1 with someone if those resources are available. There is always that possibility.

May the love and peace of Christ always be with you and your beautiful family! :crossrc:
 
rjg99a said:
I just wanted to tag onto this thread and say hello. I also just started RCIA classes. Tomorrow is the 3rd meeting and my husband came along with me last week (along with our two young kids, since we don’t have other childcare; thankfully, they said that was ok to bring them). I also grew up Protestant but have been considering Catholicism for a couple years but finally got up the courage to attend RCIA. Actually, I did attend one RCIA class last year, but I was pregnant and due right around Easter and I wasn’t impressed with that one RCIA class anyway, so I decided to drop out.

Almost all of the others in my RCIA class seem to have come from a Catholic background too. There was a guy the first week who came from a Protestant background too, but wasn’t there the next week, so I don’t know if he’s coming back. I’m kind of nervous about this process and also wish that I could just meet with someone 1 on 1 instead.

Is there a “support thread” here on CAF for those of us going through RCIA right now? If not, there should be. Maybe we can start one. 🙂
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RJG,

Your situation seems almost identical to mine. My wife and 4-year-old attended Mass with me this morning and I introduced them to the priest who is leading our RCIA program. The first RCIA class is tomorrow night and supposedly there will be maybe a couple others but possibly just me and the priest - like it was when just us met last Thursday. Like you, in the other parish I attended for one RCIA class, I sort of felt alone in my journey due to everyone else already either Catholic already and/or already having a sponsor. I looked that up and it is sort of unusual for everyone to have a sponsor already. Don’t be discouraged. We can do this together! I have been wanting this for 6 years and have always either been too “chicken” to complete the process of becoming Catholic or trying the other multitude of Protestant denominations with my family to find the right “fit” even though the Catholic Church is where I want to be.
 
I forgot to mention to you, RJG, that I chose this parish and for the RCIA program because it is a smaller one (I think 200 registered families or so) and I knew that the RCIA class either would be very small or one-on-one. I contacted some other smaller parishes as well and it is the same way. I will take small over large classes anyway due to my anxiety LOL
 
One other issue I have noticed is friendliness. In the 5 or 6 parishes I have visited ,It seems like everyone just comes to Mass then just leaves. I know its not supposed to be a social event and the focus should be on the Mass and God but no one really says hi besides the peace. i did as the priest about parish organizations and he told me they have a mens group that meets monthly for fellowship and cards and stuff. I guess organizations within the parish isthe way to meet people.
 
GameSetMatch606 said:
One other issue I have noticed is friendliness. In the 5 or 6 parishes I have visited ,It seems like everyone just comes to Mass then just leaves. I know its not supposed to be a social event and the focus should be on the Mass and God but no one really says hi besides the peace. i did as the priest about parish organizations and he told me they have a mens group that meets monthly for fellowship and cards and stuff. I guess organizations within the parish isthe way to meet people.
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General friendliness is a trait that some parishes are only slowly learning. It’s a process. :o
 
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