Go - No Go for RCIA?

[ricmat]

I’d say go for it, if for no other reason than most RCIA programs start “right about now”.

On papal infallibility - the Pope doesn’t whip up ex-cathedra doctrines on his own. He gets a little help from the magesterium, and from God BTW if the Pope makes a statement like “I think it will rain next Wednesday.” or “I think the Cowboys will win the next super bowl.” then he’s not speaking ex-cathedra.

Just a note on doctrines in general. Usually doctrines get defined only after an anti-doctrine pops up and needs to have a formal response. For example, if a theory that Jesus actually had 3 legs popped up and started making significant inroads, it might be necessary to formally declare that Jesus indeed had only 2 legs. Of course, then you’d have the critics saying that “only recently did the Catholic Church believe that Jesus had 2 legs.”

Good luck with your decision and God bless you on your journey.

LATE EDIT: Your RCIA class, should you decide to accept, will probably consist of a lot of folks at different levels of both knowledge and spirituality. You will know more about Catholicism than most of them, I suspect.

 

[Guyonthestreet]

Just thought I’d update this.

Thanks to a post by JRKH in the apologetics section, on a thread I was reading but not posting on, the penny finally dropped, allowing me to take that very first step past my objections to the papacy, bishops and authority and enroll in RCIA.

I’m a long way from base - we’ll see what happens - but at least I can take the very first tentative steps.

It shows the power of words I guess and God working through people when they dont even know it.

Thanks to all here who have helped me get this far, and JHRK for having his heart in the right place to make that post that finally made the penny fall for me, even though he was adressing someone else, but it was the combined effort of all of you in one way and another.

 

[KarenElissa]

Glad to hear you are one small step closer. Many prayers for you as you continue this journey.

 

[JRKH]

Mary - I am not really intested in her titles other than she is the Mother of God. I cannot see myself every owning statues of her, leaving flowers at grottos to her, carrying medals with her on it, and so on.

Her perpetual virginity - I dont think about it and probably never will.

Her assumption into heaven - again, something I dont see myself ever thinking about very much, so I would neither agree nor disagree about it with the dogma.

The rosary - at present I dont ever see myself owning a rosary or praying the rosary.

Immaculate Conception - I dont ever see myself ever wondering about this in any great detail so I would neither agree nor disagree with the dogma.

I will always pray the hail Mary with respect and reverence. Any service I am at that has other prayers, I would always pray with respect and reference.

Eucharist - I truely believe this is the real Presence

Confession - I truely believe God gave the apostles the power to lose and retain therefor I need to confess my sins to a priest and seek forgiveness and make penance. I also equally believe God can forgive my sins without recourse to a priest.

Infallibility - I do not believe the pope is infallible when he speaks by himslef - I do believe what he pronounces could be infallible if he speaks as the head of the council of bishops after proper consultation with the council.

Bishops and priests - I may never be able to completely lose my distrust of them as individuals and respect their office as would be expected of me. I would always be a questioning, confrontational individual - thats who I am.

Trinity - no issues.

Praying to saints - no issues.

Is the catholic church the only church founded with apostolic succession and therefor the only true church - absolutely not.

Is the catholic church the only way to get to heaven - absolutely not.

Given where Im at right now, if I approached a priest to talk to him about inquiring about joining an RCIA program - would he be likely to say Go or No Go??

Coming late here, but my 2c.
I think a priest would say GO ahead.
And So do I.

I reverted to the Church about 3 years ago after many years away. I too had issues, and in some cases still do. However the more I have studied, prayed and communed here at CAF, the greater becomes my understanding and the happier I am in The Faith.

Peace
James

 

[NHInsider]

That’s to everyone for their contribution.

Im fluxing between wanting more answers before starting an formal inquiry - maybe I mean wanting to be more sure in myself - and just plunging in !!!

We’ll see what happens later in the year.

For now, I just want to say thanks to all for their words, prayers and encouragement.

And you will continue to have those prayers.

I wanted to share - my mother tells me that when I was 6 years old I came to her, very distraught, to tell her that I COULD NOT start first grade the next day. After some period of yelling, crying and cajoling, the truth came out - I was quite sure I couldn’t go to school because I didn’t know how to read. For all the effort my folks had put into psyching me up for school, I had completely missed the point.

RCIA isn’t for people who’ve already completed the journey and are ready to commit. It’s for people who begin at many stages along the way, and each year, they’re given the opportunity to step into the pool. Some may be ready from day one, but others are ready after six months, while some stop attending before they get there. Some are in RCIA for more than a year before they are ready to decide.

So by all means - go and explore!

My other observation, as a convert, is that it isn’t necessary to understand every single point of doctrine to become (or remain) a Catholic. What the Lord asks of us is to accept His authority, which He has given to His Church - so that for most of us there are some points on which we say “I don’t get it, but I accept that it is so, because Jesus promised the Apostles that the Holy Spirit would tell them what they needed to know.”

 

[Guyonthestreet]

Quick Update - RCIA is go

 

[JRKH]

Quick Update - RCIA is go

:extrahappy::extrahappy::clapping::

Peace
James

 

[PJM]

=Guyonthestreet;5602732]Mary - I am not really intested in her titles other than she is the Mother of God. I cannot see myself every owning statues of her, leaving flowers at grottos to her, carrying medals with her on it, and so on.

Her perpetual virginity - I dont think about it and probably never will.

Her assumption into heaven - again, something I dont see myself ever thinking about very much, so I would neither agree nor disagree about it with the dogma.

The rosary - at present I dont ever see myself owning a rosary or praying the rosary.

Immaculate Conception - I dont ever see myself ever wondering about this in any great detail so I would neither agree nor disagree with the dogma.

I will always pray the hail Mary with respect and reverence. Any service I am at that has other prayers, I would always pray with respect and reference.

Eucharist - I truely believe this is the real Presence

Confession - I truely believe God gave the apostles the power to lose and retain therefor I need to confess my sins to a priest and seek forgiveness and make penance. I also equally believe God can forgive my sins without recourse to a priest.

Infallibility - I do not believe the pope is infallible when he speaks by himslef - I do believe what he pronounces could be infallible if he speaks as the head of the council of bishops after proper consultation with the council.

Bishops and priests - I may never be able to completely lose my distrust of them as individuals and respect their office as would be expected of me. I would always be a questioning, confrontational individual - thats who I am.

Trinity - no issues.

Praying to saints - no issues.

Is the catholic church the only church founded with apostolic succession and therefor the only true church - absolutely not.

Is the catholic church the only way to get to heaven - absolutely not.

Given where Im at right now, if I approached a priest to talk to him about inquiring about joining an RCIA program - would he be likely to say Go or No Go??

Go with the grace of God:thumbsup:

Saying “no” is easy and can be at any point, but it seems senseles to say NO! before you even have a fair understanding of what you’d be saying no to.

So by all means Go for it. They’ll love to have you!

Love and prayers, Pat

I taught RCIA for three wondeful years!

 

[Genesius]

I’m a late poster, too. Sorry. Like everyone in here I say go for it. I am a convert and am with you on most of what you shared. I’m still growing in my Catholic faith but don’t get into all the practices and although I understand most all the doctrines, some which are less binding I vasilate on. I’m 100% with you on Mary, except I have no problem with her perpetual virginity, nor with her immaculate conception. I do, however, believe there are some Catholics that probably put her on a higher pedestal than she needs to be on. I spoke with a Jesuit once about that before converting. He said, “I’m with you. You know what I say to them? When was the last time you ever saw Mary on a crucifix?”

The issue I have is with Catholics who seem to base their faith on every word that proceeds from her mouth (apparitions), even things that she obviously would not say as they would draw attention to her above her son. I take comfort in knowing that the Church teaches that her role is to point us toward Christ…not toward herself.

I also have no problem with people asking intercession of the saints, and I have no problem praying to them in a liturgical setting, but it is kind of awkward for me to do it in my devotional life since I still carry around some of the Protestant baggage. But then again, although the Church encourages us to do those things, it’s not a requirement, and since it goes against my conscience to do so, I choose not to. Another cultural issue that disturbs my conscience (for myself, not others) is how visual we Catholics are. I think that there are many beautiful works of art in the Church to remind us of our faith, however, I would not be able to, in good conscience, bow down to a statue myself.

Having said all that, I choose to resolve (if I ever will) these issues from WITHIN the Church that Christ founded because she is my teacher and that is the way my Lord set things in motion. For me converting wasn’t a matter of my comfort zone, it was a matter of what I discovered the historical facts to be and the truth of what Christ intended. I realized it was not the Church that needed to change, but me. However, I personally do not believe EVERYONE needs to convert to Catholicism. In fact, I believe it would be a sin to jump into the Church without having a good conscience about it. Yes, I believe we will all be unified in heaven, and it would be great if everyone suddenly realized the truth of Christ’s Church and came home. At the same time I know many non-Catholic Christians who are doing the wonderful works for the Lord and don’t even think twice about labels.

So, if you are asking my advice, I say if you are not all the way there, don’t worry. Like another poster said RCIA does not automatically commit one. If you decide to come home to Rome…welcome! If not, I’m sure you will continue following Jesus to the best of your ability. That’s the bottom line to me, so there’s my 2 cents worth…:twocents:

 

[JacktheCatholic]

Quick Update - RCIA is go

I became Catholic 10 years ago. I highly recommend buying a Catechism of the Catholic Church to answer your many questions. I wish I had one when i was in the RCIA and especially afterwards.

 

[JRKH]

I’m a late poster, too. Sorry. Like everyone in here I say go for it. I am a convert and am with you on most of what you shared. I’m still growing in my Catholic faith but don’t get into all the practices and although I understand most all the doctrines, some which are less binding I vasilate on. I’m 100% with you on Mary, except I have no problem with her perpetual virginity, nor with her immaculate conception. I do, however, believe there are some Catholics that probably put her on a higher pedestal than she needs to be on. I spoke with a Jesuit once about that before converting. He said, “I’m with you. You know what I say to them? When was the last time you ever saw Mary on a crucifix?”

The issue I have is with Catholics who seem to base their faith on every word that proceeds from her mouth (apparitions), even things that she obviously would not say as they would draw attention to her above her son. I take comfort in knowing that the Church teaches that her role is to point us toward Christ…not toward herself.

I also have no problem with people asking intercession of the saints, and I have no problem praying to them in a liturgical setting, but it is kind of awkward for me to do it in my devotional life since I still carry around some of the Protestant baggage. But then again, although the Church encourages us to do those things, it’s not a requirement, and since it goes against my conscience to do so, I choose not to. Another cultural issue that disturbs my conscience (for myself, not others) is how visual we Catholics are. I think that there are many beautiful works of art in the Church to remind us of our faith, however, I would not be able to, in good conscience, bow down to a statue myself.

Having said all that, I choose to resolve (if I ever will) these issues from WITHIN the Church that Christ founded because she is my teacher and that is the way my Lord set things in motion. For me converting wasn’t a matter of my comfort zone, it was a matter of what I discovered the historical facts to be and the truth of what Christ intended. I realized it was not the Church that needed to change, but me. However, I personally do not believe EVERYONE needs to convert to Catholicism. In fact, I believe it would be a sin to jump into the Church without having a good conscience about it. Yes, I believe we will all be unified in heaven, and it would be great if everyone suddenly realized the truth of Christ’s Church and came home. At the same time I know many non-Catholic Christians who are doing the wonderful works for the Lord and don’t even think twice about labels.

So, if you are asking my advice, I say if you are not all the way there, don’t worry. Like another poster said RCIA does not automatically commit one. If you decide to come home to Rome…welcome! If not, I’m sure you will continue following Jesus to the best of your ability. That’s the bottom line to me, so there’s my 2 cents worth…:twocents:

Genesius,
What a wonderful testimony. I think that many of us catholics could learn from this.
That as wonderful as the various forms of private devotion are, many are just that private devotions.
Surely we need to defend and explain the truth of the communion of saints etc, but where our NCC brothers are uncomfortable we should take the tack that says, “Hey if you can accept the idea in principle, then your good to go.”
I was raised catholic, but after being away for many years I too have developed the habit of going straight to “Dad”. In general I feel less than comfortable with intercessory prayer, though I do utilize it.

Anyway just wanted to say thanks for the post.

Peace
James

 

[Genesius]

CORRECTION

I wrote: “I take comfort in knowing that the Church teaches that her role is to point us toward Christ…not toward herself.”

A better phrasing would be that the Church teaches her role is to point us toward Christ ABOVE herself vs. TOWARD herself.

Sorry, my mistake *.

3 Latin terms for ‘worship’:

Latria - Highest form of worship reserved for God alone.

Hyperdulia - Next lowest form. Highest form of honor given uniquely to Mary for her unique role as the mother of God, though she is not divine.

Dulia - Lowest form. High honor, nonetheless, given to all other canonized saints (and I think some people here on earth as well).

There is another term that I heard given specifically in reference to Joseph, but I don’t remember what it was. I’m sure it would fall in between Mary and the rest of the saints.

The other issue you had problems with was the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. When my convert friend explained it to me in Protestant terms I understood it more fully and now have no problem with it.

Basically, he told me that in addition to her unique role as the mother of God, which you don’t seem to have a problem with, her immaculate conception just means that she reached that point of glorification that we all will achieve someday in heaven. She just got there before the fact because God chose her for her unique role to be the perfect “Ark of the New Covenant”. Okay, no problem.

Some Protestant groups will use verses like “There is none righteous, no not one” or “For all have sinned…” to argue that Mary certainly was part of ‘none’ and ‘all’. What they fail to understand is that this is a literary device…an exaggeration of sorts. One could hardly agree that Jesus fit into that category, and yet there is an exception to the rule. If there is one, regardless of the reason, there can be others.

Hope that helps some, Guyon. If not, I will give you permission to disagree…*

 

[Genesius]

Genesius,
What a wonderful testimony. I think that many of us catholics could learn from this.
That as wonderful as the various forms of private devotion are, many are just that private devotions.
Surely we need to defend and explain the truth of the communion of saints etc, but where our NCC brothers are uncomfortable we should take the tack that says, “Hey if you can accept the idea in principle, then your good to go.”
I was raised catholic, but after being away for many years I too have developed the habit of going straight to “Dad”. In general I feel less than comfortable with intercessory prayer, though I do utilize it.

Anyway just wanted to say thanks for the post.

Peace
James

Thank you, James. I am also a survivor of Leukemia. While I was in the hospital a Jesuit came and offered me absolution (although at the time I was still Protestant, I was about 90% Catholic at heart). Anyway, point is my convert friend told me he had an international prayer chain praying for me. I don’t doubt that the saints in heaven were also interceding on my behalf…but I didn’t necessarily need to ask them. Yes…the Communion of Saints is a wonderful thing!

Peace to you as well.