I am meeting my Priest to start my process

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Mrdrbeckwith

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Hi everyone,

I am very happy to find this board, and gain knowledge from people. I have been learning about the faith for off and on for about 2 years. I have recently started going to mass in channelview texas, and I have loved every minute of it. I am ready to make the plunge to accept the body and blood of christ. I talked to my priest yesterday and I have a meeting set up on the 27th to see if I will need to go through RCIA or fast tracked since I have been reading, studying, praying as a catholic for 2 years. I have been in the hospital for 3 weeks now, and I haven’t been able to attend Mass and it is killing me. 🙂 I have had many conversation with god and have been praying on my rosary everyday. I have really really built a bond with god and the church that I never knew I would have. I am so excited to start my new adventure because I feel that I have found my place and my religion. I just want to know what s the difference between fast track and regular RCIA. Like I said I already live my life as a catholic and I want to make it official in the eyes of the church and accept the Eucharist. Any guidance that I can receive will be wonderful. May god bless you all.
 
Praise God! And, prayers for your healing and recovery, according to God’s will. May your meeting be a fruitful one. One recommendation which I universally make is to obtain a copy of Catholicism for Dummies. It is a wonderful rersource that I think each and every Christian home should have. It can be both a learning and a teaching tool. Just out of curiosity, what is your faith history?
 
Congratulations. I would suggest that you pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you patience and be with you as you speak with the priest. Fast tracking could mean anything shorter than the RCIA process which could be people at various places along the road in their journey taking weekly classes or a few one-on-one sessions with the priest. Don’t be put off if you’re not told you’re ready to be received immediately. Just be yourself. You’re not taking a test to prove how smart you are, but that you are open and ready to give of yourself and learn more. The journey of a Catholic is life long. Now that Jesus has opened the door, He will come rushing to meet you. God bless.
 
po18guy said:
Praise God! And, prayers for your healing and recovery, according to God’s will. May your meeting be a fruitful one. One recommendation which I universally make is to obtain a copy of Catholicism for Dummies. It is a wonderful rersource that I think each and every Christian home should have. It can be both a learning and a teaching tool. Just out of curiosity, what is your faith history?
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Thank you for the response 🙂 . I am looking forward to the meeting. Actually catholicism for dummies was the first book the I started to read. I love it, it seems to be the best reference guide for me, and I would recommend it to anyone. I have also been ready my Douay-Rheims bible.

My faith history is very strange lol. I was baptized under the U.C.C. and I went to a church until I was 7. We left that church because all of the member seemed to be out for themselves, and no one was willing to help us in our time of need. I was then interested in the catholic faith. My parents wanted no part in Catholicism, or church after being burned by the last one. So I started to go to a catholic church when I was about 11 and really enjoyed it. I was never able to gain my parents acceptance that I wanted to be a part of the church so I was never able to attend CCE classes. I had to stop going when I was 13 because of life changes esc. I loved the faith so much that I went to a catholic hs for half a year until my brothers illness caused too much of a money burden. We all moved to texas. About 3 months ago, I mentions to our friends about wanted to get back to church and thinking on rejoining the catholic faith. Since then, I have loved going to every mass, I have been reading, and pray, and really accepting god into my life. I am at an age where am happy that I am able to make my first communion, and finally able to accept the body and blood of christ.
 
The Holy Spirit is calling you to the faith. It is wonderful that you are seeking the truth and moving forward in faith. Since you made such a great beginning, and have practiced and read up on the faith, this should be a smooth journey for you. I would suggest trying to obtain any record of your original baptism, so that it may be examined by the Church. If that record cannot be located, they will likely perform a “conditional Baptism”, which simply means “just in case” you were not actually baptized, or if, for some reason, the baptism which you did receive was not in the proper form. However, since the Church accepts nearly all trinitarian baptisms, it does not sound like a problem.

May Christ’s peace be with you.
 
Congratulations, Mrdrbeckwith! 🙂 I hope you have a much more enjoyable and easier time becoming Catholic than my wife and I are having. The chances are quite high that nobody’s going to care how much you know or how long you’ve been going to Mass already. My wife and I were Protestants and we’ve both been baptized, but we still haven’t been brought into the Church after months and months of trying (16 months for me, a year for her). We’ve had to bounce around parishes a bit too because of moves and, in one case, mistreatment. It’s a long, long process, but I’m told it’s worth it. Sigh Of course I can’t vouch for that myself, even though I’m sure it’s true - we’ve been kept from the Body and Blood of the Lord for quite a while now 😦

I know this is a depressing post on an otherwise joyous thread, but you should be warned not to get your hopes too high about RCIA. The Church is supposed to be welcoming, but RCIA has made us feel like outsiders of a highly-exclusive society.

I pray you have much better fortune than us, though. And again, congratulations! 🙂
 
suissemissed said:
Congratulations, Mrdrbeckwith! 🙂 I hope you have a much more enjoyable and easier time becoming Catholic than my wife and I are having. The chances are quite high that nobody’s going to care how much you know or how long you’ve been going to Mass already. My wife and I were Protestants and we’ve both been baptized, but we still haven’t been brought into the Church after months and months of trying (16 months for me, a year for her). We’ve had to bounce around parishes a bit too because of moves and, in one case, mistreatment. It’s a long, long process, but I’m told it’s worth it. Sigh Of course I can’t vouch for that myself, even though I’m sure it’s true - we’ve been kept from the Body and Blood of the Lord for quite a while now 😦

I know this is a depressing post on an otherwise joyous thread, but you should be warned not to get your hopes too high about RCIA. The Church is supposed to be welcoming, but RCIA has made us feel like outsiders of a highly-exclusive society.

I pray you have much better fortune than us, though. And again, congratulations! 🙂
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Here is an article form This Rock magazine in 2007 that will be of some comfort…

catholic.com/thisrock/2007/0707dr.asp
 
Mrdrbeckwith said:
Hi everyone,

I am very happy to find this board, and gain knowledge from people. I have been learning about the faith for off and on for about 2 years. I have recently started going to mass in channelview texas, and I have loved every minute of it. I am ready to make the plunge to accept the body and blood of christ. I talked to my priest yesterday and I have a meeting set up on the 27th to see if I will need to go through RCIA or fast tracked since I have been reading, studying, praying as a catholic for 2 years. I have been in the hospital for 3 weeks now, and I haven’t been able to attend Mass and it is killing me. 🙂 I have had many conversation with god and have been praying on my rosary everyday. I have really really built a bond with god and the church that I never knew I would have. I am so excited to start my new adventure because I feel that I have found my place and my religion. I just want to know what s the difference between fast track and regular RCIA. Like I said I already live my life as a catholic and I want to make it official in the eyes of the church and accept the Eucharist. Any guidance that I can receive will be wonderful. May god bless you all.
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Discovering the Catholic Church for the first time is so exciting! This will be a wonderful year for you. If you get to fast-track, then better still. In my parish, they didn’t have a fast-track option; everyone had to go through RCIA. I was a little upset about that at first, since I had already been studying the Catholic faith for a year and a half and had been a Chrisian for most of my life. But RCIA can still be good, even if you already know the faith well and are living as a Catholic. I learned some new things in the RCIA classes, took the opportunity to ask questions, and got to know other people on the same journey. It would be great if they let you “test out” of some of the classes; but if not, RCIA is still worthwhile (at least in my experience).
 
EnglishTeacher said:
Discovering the Catholic Church for the first time is so exciting! This will be a wonderful year for you. If you get to fast-track, then better still. In my parish, they didn’t have a fast-track option; everyone had to go through RCIA. I was a little upset about that at first, since I had already been studying the Catholic faith for a year and a half and had been a Chrisian for most of my life. But RCIA can still be good, even if you already know the faith well and are living as a Catholic. I learned some new things in the RCIA classes, took the opportunity to ask questions, and got to know other people on the same journey. It would be great if they let you “test out” of some of the classes; but if not, RCIA is still worthwhile (at least in my experience).
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Amen to all of this, and welcome home to the OP! :extrahappy: My wife and I also studied our way into the Church for 2 years prior to starting RCIA, but it was definitely still a good experience. Not only did we learn a few things we hadn’t stumbled upon during our studies and our many hours of listening to Catholic Answers Live, but we also really began to make friends in the Church. We met wonderful people who were entering with us, and we met wonderful people who were leading us into the Church they were already members of. But, even more than that, through RCIA we were given time to really search for and meet our Patron Saints.

Take the time to cherish this courtship of the Body of Christ. Our family is so much larger than any of us can see, and there are so many brothers and sisters to meet along the journey. The longer I spend talking to my Patron and meditating on his charism, the more I realize he’s been watching over and praying for me for my entire life. (For the story of how I met him, check out this post.) No matter how long it takes to get in the doors of the Church, no matter how hard it seems to wait to receive Our Blessed Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, I swear to you that it truly is worth it!
 
Tiberius1701 said:
Amen to all of this, and welcome home to the OP! :extrahappy: My wife and I also studied our way into the Church for 2 years prior to starting RCIA, but it was definitely still a good experience. Not only did we learn a few things we hadn’t stumbled upon during our studies and our many hours of listening to Catholic Answers Live, but we also really began to make friends in the Church. We met wonderful people who were entering with us, and we met wonderful people who were leading us into the Church they were already members of. But, even more than that, through RCIA we were given time to really search for and meet our Patron Saints.

Take the time to cherish this courtship of the Body of Christ. Our family is so much larger than any of us can see, and there are so many brothers and sisters to meet along the journey. The longer I spend talking to my Patron and meditating on his charism, the more I realize he’s been watching over and praying for me for my entire life. (For the story of how I met him, check out this post.) No matter how long it takes to get in the doors of the Church, no matter how hard it seems to wait to receive Our Blessed Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, I swear to you that it truly is worth it!
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What an encouraging post!

By the time I enter the church, it will be at a minimum Easter of 2012.

Oh yes, I am very impatient.

It’s great that you are meeting members. Maybe I should join a bible study or something.
 
Congratulations, Mrdrbeckwith, on your decision to enter into full communion with the Church! I’m sure that the process will be a great experience for you - regular or fast tracked. You mentioned that you have been in the hospital for 3 weeks. I hope you’re OK. I’ll say a prayer for you.

To the posters who commented about their entries into the Church being delayed, I understand. I was also a life long, practicing Christian when I decided to enter the Church. During the early days of RCIA, I often felt that I wasn’t getting any credit for already being a Christian or for what I already knew. I now appreciate God’s timing in the matter. He had experiences and learnings planned for me, which intensified my conversion experience. RCIA allows you time to continue to learn and grow in your faith. So, just take advantage of it. Also, RCIA classes are a blend of people who are in different phases in their spiritual journies. If you are blessed to be further along, then you can be a help and inspiration to others in the class.
 
novusCatholic said:
Congratulations, Mrdrbeckwith, on your decision to enter into full communion with the Church! I’m sure that the process will be a great experience for you - regular or fast tracked. You mentioned that you have been in the hospital for 3 weeks. I hope you’re OK. I’ll say a prayer for you.

To the posters who commented about their entries into the Church being delayed, I understand. I was also a life long, practicing Christian when I decided to enter the Church. During the early days of RCIA, I often felt that I wasn’t getting any credit for already being a Christian or for what I already knew. I now appreciate God’s timing in the matter. He had experiences and learnings planned for me, which intensified my conversion experience. RCIA allows you time to continue to learn and grow in your faith. So, just take advantage of it. Also, RCIA classes are a blend of people who are in different phases in their spiritual journies. If you are blessed to be further along, then you can be a help and inspiration to others in the class.
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Mrdrbeckwith, I’m going to Adoration tonight, so I’ll say a few prayers for you there too. I’m also planning to pray for everyone who’s making their way across the Tiber right now, so if you’re still working your way into the Church, you’re in my prayers! God bless and keep you all.
 
Congratulations in your journey toward the church! I know how exciting that is!

I started my process about 2 1/2 years ago, and this past Easter was received into the Church. It’s still a shock in some ways, as for those 2 1/2 years, it was such a journey for me, that it’s hard to believe it finally happened!

I think talking to your priest is a good start! It seems like at my parish, there were many who started the RCIA process when I did, in October, and some who joined a bit later. My parish seemed very welcoming of letting people in. I don’t think anybody was denied becoming Catholic this past Easter, though I do know a couple decided to wait to go through RCIA the following year, but it was their choice. I also know there were many who received sacraments (only people who were previously baptised) earlier this year.

I loved RCIA, and part of the process for me wasn’t so much learning, but the connection with people. I learned more on my OWN, quite honestly. Not that I didn’t learn in RCIA, but it wasn’t hurried, therefore small things to learn at a time (usually one topic per class). Being impatient, I spent a lot of time on this site, and like others, found a Catholic radio station, and started listening (I LOVE Catholic Answers, of course). Plus I have done my own reading and studying.

2 years ago when I finally walked into a parish I knew of to talk to somebody about the process, I got to sit down for more than an hour with the Deacon in charge of the program. I told him I had been starting to read the CCC, so he gave me a giant notebook full of tracts…I think these were supposed to be the topics for RCIA, though it was rare to follow anything in them. But I sat and pored through that one week around a year ago. Plus various books, and other websites.

I suppose the process is rather personal and different for every individual! I hope that RCIA is a good experience for you. I know many (including here) are having a hard time with it. That’s too bad, I wish I had answers for why there is such variance. My thoughts is that RCIA is more for the connection, the rituals and rites, than actual instruction. As I said, of course you get instruction, but in my experience, I was self motivated to do my own research. Also, I spent time in Adoration when I could (my parish has Perpetual Adoration). Consider it part of your process. It’s important, but don’t be afraid to keep doing your own studies, and being proactive! It will make you even more excited, and not to mention full of Grace. 🙂

I plan on volunteering to be a team member in RCIA next year. I figure while I had many joys, I had MANY struggles as well. I figure I can be there to be a support for anybody else, particularly those who have struggled during the process for a variety of reasons.

Best of luck, may God Bless your journey!
 
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