How to return to RCIA

[MikaAkim]

I am hoping someone here will be able to answer some of my concerns and problems or just give me some guidance.

Firstly I am not baptized into any denomination but I grew up in England, so I would usually claim allegiance to the Church of England as did and still do support the British monarch. But I don’t think you can’t be catholic if you support the British monarch…can you?

So I moved to Canada 4 years ago to be with my wife. We both decided we wanted to try the Catholic Church and was invited to join inquiry, which you go to before joining RCIA. We both went through inquiry with our instructors and were asked to join RCIA, but I was asked to have a meeting with the priest as there were issues I had they felt only he could answer and deal with.

I dropped out of RCIA after two classes for a few reasons. Firstly I do not wish to sit in a class and speak about my faith or thoughts openly to a bunch of strangers. I am very private person and do not wish to open my heart out to people I do not no. I also found it hypocritical having laymen come and speak to us and tell us how to be good Catholics/Christians as if they are perfect people who are without sin. But here is my BIGGEST ISSUE!!! I don’t want to be taught by a faith advisor. I want to learn from the Priest, I want HIM to guide me as he is supposed to be the Sheppard of the congregation. It seems there is no relationship between the priest and the newcomers, he baptizes them at the end and that’s it. I want a relationship with my priest in the sense that he knows my name and know my problems, issues and concerns and not see me as “just another one.” But this RCIA class system seems to make it that way. When I have a question I don’t want to know what a volunteer laymen thinks…I want to know what our Priest thinks. My wife has nearly completed RCIA and she tells me she still hasn’t met the priest. Only once has he come in and checked on everyone, and he doesn’t even d “dismissal” with them. Is this normal?? AM I ASKING T MUCH?

I want to return…and complete RCIA…but not in this system…

Help…anyone?

 

[kentuckyliz]

I am not aware of any prohibitions on any Catholic supporting the monarch. My parents were English and Catholic and supported the monarchy.

Re insisting on the priest himself instructing you. You’re showing a lot of clericalism, and contempt for the other members of the Body of Christ.

The priest is busy. Would you want him to skip a hospital visitation to a dying person to keep his appointment with you?

There are catechist martyrs in the Church. The faith in Africa is booming because of deploying trained catechists–if it depended on waiting for another priest to be available to send, well, Africa would be barely Christian at all.

RCIA is the way the priest is instructing you! Part of what you will learn is better esteem for the other members of the Body of Christ who are making their way, with you. It really is a good process.

Who knows, someday, as a result of going through this process, and learning and growing along the way, you might end up on the RCIA team helping others learn about the faith.

 

[kentuckyliz]

I don’t know why you think RCIA teachers should be sinless, or assume that the priest is sinless?

We are all sinners. You too. It is not hypocritical to teach the faith while being a sinner. If that were a bad idea, NO ONE would have ever learned anything after Jesus left us.

 

[jmcrae]

I am hoping someone here will be able to answer some of my concerns and problems or just give me some guidance.

Firstly I am not baptized into any denomination but I grew up in England, so I would usually claim allegiance to the Church of England as did and still do support the British monarch. But I don’t think you can’t be catholic if you support the British monarch…can you?

I don’t think you can support her as head of the English Church, but as a head of state, I don’t see why not.

So I moved to Canada 4 years ago to be with my wife. We both decided we wanted to try the Catholic Church and was invited to join inquiry, which you go to before joining RCIA. We both went through inquiry with our instructors and were asked to join RCIA, but I was asked to have a meeting with the priest as there were issues I had they felt only he could answer and deal with.

And, did you make an appointment and meet with him?

The priest doesn’t normally teach the RCIA classes - he is extremely busy with the day to day operations of the parish. It is also very good for you to get to know the other people of the parish, since they are the ones who will be there for as long as you are there - the priest will be moved when his term is up (3-5 years) so it is a bad idea to become attached to any particular priest - they move around so much.

But if you want to meet with the priest, you can make an appointment through his secretary, and talk with him about anything you want - I have often had long rambling conversations with priests in their offices, and it’s good for a person to do this every once in a while, I think.

 

[MikaAkim]

I can’t help but find it hypocritical when a person with sin, tried teaching me how not to be a sinner…

Just confused is all

 

[Young_Thinker]

I cannot really speak to this situation, for my own R.C.I.A. class is not like that. The priest and deacon take turns teaching with various laymen. I am also often able to chit-chat with Father after Mass (I wish that all priests were as friendly as he is). However, while attending the class, I never feel uncomfortable when asking a question from one of the laity. Also, I want to emphasize that you can be a faithful subject of the Crown as well as a devout Catholic. You just cannot follow the spiritual authority of the Queen as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England or of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

 

[jmcrae]

I can’t help but find it hypocritical when a person with sin, tried teaching me how not to be a sinner…

Priests are also not without sin; they aren’t necessarily more holy than lay people - no human being alive on the earth today is without sin - but I hope that the people leading your RCIA are at least in good standing with the Church, which means that they haven’t done anything very bad, recently.

We all need instruction in how to recognize and avoid sin, though - being a sinner doesn’t disqualify you from teaching these things; otherwise, what parents could teach their children?

 

[Catholic90]

I can’t help but find it hypocritical when a person with sin, tried teaching me how not to be a sinner…

Just confused is all

The priest is also a sinner; you are aware of that, correct? There is not a priest alive who is not a sinner…even the Pope himself is a sinner!

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I can’t help but find it hypocritical when a person with sin, tried teaching me how not to be a sinner…

Just confused is all

I’m afraid that if you’re looking for perfection, you’re not going to find it.

Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them (that), “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mark 2:16-17).

 

[kentuckyliz]

If sinners can’t teach others, Christian faith would have died out within one generation of Christ’s death. Or Mary’s.

 

[MikaAkim]

Thanks all, I appreciate your help on this. I understand that all people are sinners even the priest.

All i want is more involvement from our priest. Am I wrong to wanting a degree of involvement from our priest. I don’t like the feeling that if I need something I have to go to the RCIA teachers.

I hate…hate to say it but the small time i was there…it just seems like the priest has no interest in the new comers

I suppose I should really set up a meeting with the priest…

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Thanks all, I appreciate your help on this. I understand that all people are sinners even the priest.

All i want is more involvement from our priest. Am I wrong to wanting a degree of involvement from our priest. I don’t like the feeling that if I need something I have to go to the RCIA teachers.

I hate…hate to say it but the small time i was there…it just seems like the priest has no interest in the new comers

I suppose I should really set up a meeting with the priest…

You probably should set up a meeting with the priest.

Expecting your pastor to run the RCIA program is not reasonable. Parishes used to have multiple priests on the staff so that it wasn’t unusual to have priests in charge of the different ministries. These days parishes often have one priest or may even have to share their priest with another parish or two. Lay people have picked up much of the slack.

Don’t assume that the lay people don’t know anything. They are often very knowledgeable and have both academic credentials and practical experience. Whether they are paid staff or volunteers, they carry out an important role. Without them, there would probably be no RCIA, no children’s religious education, no choir, etc.

 

[newyorkcatholic]

-Entrust yourself to the laypeople. Learn from what good they can offer (which may be quite a lot). It is their job not to teach you their own ideas, but to teach you what they have learned of the Church’s own teachings.

-If you want to know your priest, don’t wait for it to happen. Make an appointment, introduce yourself. Volunteer in the parish, get involved.

-the primary responsibility for education in the faith falls to you. Read the Catechism, read the Scriptures, go to Mass.