I'm converting how can I get the best out of RCIA?

[confusedgirl]

It’s been a while since I have started a thread but 5 years later on this forum and I have finally come home. I signed up for RCIA this week and I am so glad to be back at the church. My question is I have school and it is a big stress but I want my journey to be meaningful and I want to grow stronger in my faith. If there are any converts with a similar story have any advice they are willing to give?

I am so excited that I finally made the decision to become Catholic. If there is anyone going through RCIA let me know I would love to hear about your journey

 

[Magdalen2013]

I was received into the Church in 2014. One of the things I found most helpful was doing the Liturgy of the Hours every day. I had difficulty praying, and the Divine Office primed the pump for me.

 

[confusedgirl]

I was received into the Church in 2014. One of the things I found most helpful was doing the Liturgy of the Hours every day. I had difficulty praying, and the Divine Office primed the pump for me.

Congrats on your conversion! Thanks for the advice I want to get back into my prayer habits and get better at it

 

[ChadS]

Way back when I joined the Church I continued to do my extracurricular reading on Catholic history and theology. It was important to me to understand things that may not be covered in class.

Also, make friends with your team leaders. Many or most of them may be cradle Catholics and could have wonderful stories about growing up in the Church. Listen to them tell their stories. Attend Mass weekly and start to live like a Catholic. You don’t have to wait until you are accepted into the Church to pray the LOTH, the rosary, do novenas etc. If you have been baptized already you can receive ashes at Lent and of course as RCIA progresses you will be expected to do more of the things that make Catholics Catholic like fast and abstinence during Lent.

Good luck in your journey.

ChadS

 

[pianistclare]

Keep a notebook for questions that pop up.
Go to daily Mass if you can.
Read everything they give you. Twice. Make sure your sponsor is a well catechized Catholic who will meet with you on occasion to talk things over.
Best wishes!

 

[LiamQ]

I would recommend you go to the Catholic Answers Live archive and just dig in. The Q&A Open Forums are, I think, especially useful.

Another bit of help might be EWTN’s various radio programs, especially its Open Line and Called to Communion programs. You can search for those shows here: ewtn.com/multimedia/audio-library/index.asp.

During my own conversion, I found listening to questions and answers to be incredibly helpful as well as convenient. I think its an absolutely awesome supplement to the material you’ll be covering in RCIA.

 

[Reuben_J]

It’s been a while since I have started a thread but 5 years later on this forum and I have finally come home. I signed up for RCIA this week and I am so glad to be back at the church. My question is I have school and it is a big stress but I want my journey to be meaningful and I want to grow stronger in my faith. If there are any converts with a similar story have any advice they are willing to give?

I am so excited that I finally made the decision to become Catholic. If there is anyone going through RCIA let me know I would love to hear about your journey

Welcome home.

I am not a convert so I do not have that experience. You can consider yourself as Catholic - pray, read and go to mass whenever you can. You can join the church activities too. Go through the Catechism. New Catholics are often more updated that us in the knowledge of Catechism and that’s good.

God bless.

 

[EricF]

You have received much good advice. I would only add one thing. Please don’t view Easter Vigil as a graduation ceremony. We are called to a life of continued formation and conversion. When we think we have no more to learn, we become Pharisees. God bless, and welcome!

 

[mdgspencer]

Of course, make sure to go to mass.
You might consider getting a “Catechism of the Catholic Church” (at a local bookstore or from Amazon.com) to read up on questions that come to your mind.
Or you could even ask questions here at catholic answers forums.
I became a Catholic myself 60 years ago, and had a solid priest to instruct me, and such questions bring him to my mind again.

 

[jmcrae]

Attend all of the classes and participate in everything they offer. Keep a journal. Pray three times a day and go to Mass as often as possible, at least every Sunday.

Take on the attitude of a student rather than the attitude of a critic or connoisseur. And take on the attitude that you want to get the most out of the experience, rather than the attitude of what’s the least I can get away with.

Take this attitude with all of your education ; not just RCIA. it will change your life.

 

[otjm]

You have received much good advice. I would only add one thing. Please don’t view Easter Vigil as a graduation ceremony. We are called to a life of continued formation and conversion. When we think we have no more to learn, we become Pharisees. God bless, and welcome!

To which I would add, don’t expect that every last thing you may have questions about will be answered to the nth degree, or that every possible topic will be touched upon. There is a great effort made to inform you and answer your questions within the context of a class for however many people will be attending. Learning about the Faith should be (and is) a life long experience.

May God bless you on your journey!

 

[confusedgirl]

Way back when I joined the Church I continued to do my extracurricular reading on Catholic history and theology. It was important to me to understand things that may not be covered in class.

Also, make friends with your team leaders. Many or most of them may be cradle Catholics and could have wonderful stories about growing up in the Church. Listen to them tell their stories. Attend Mass weekly and start to live like a Catholic. You don’t have to wait until you are accepted into the Church to pray the LOTH, the rosary, do novenas etc. If you have been baptized already you can receive ashes at Lent and of course as RCIA progresses you will be expected to do more of the things that make Catholics Catholic like fast and abstinence during Lent.

Good luck in your journey.

ChadS

RCIA classes are after Tuesday Mass and we are encouraged to come out on Sundays as well so I will have a lot of opportunity to come out and learn more.

Keep a notebook for questions that pop up.
Go to daily Mass if you can.
Read everything they give you. Twice. Make sure your sponsor is a well catechized Catholic who will meet with you on occasion to talk things over.
Best wishes!

I don’t really have anyone I know at the parish who can be my sponsor. I am a little worried about that but I am sure the church will pick a sponsor who is a good match for my needs.

Welcome home.

I am not a convert so I do not have that experience. You can consider yourself as Catholic - pray, read and go to mass whenever you can. You can join the church activities too. Go through the Catechism. New Catholics are often more updated that us in the knowledge of Catechism and that’s good.

God bless.

I am really excited about getting to know the people in the parish, I have always felt like more of a spectator than anything and nobody really knows me so that is one perk that I love about RCIA. I was actually looking on Amazon for the Catechism so I will be sure to continue to keep an eye out.

 

[confusedgirl]

Attend all of the classes and participate in everything they offer. Keep a journal. Pray three times a day and go to Mass as often as possible, at least every Sunday.

Take on the attitude of a student rather than the attitude of a critic or connoisseur. And take on the attitude that you want to get the most out of the experience, rather than the attitude of what’s the least I can get away with.

Take this attitude with all of your education ; not just RCIA. it will change your life.

Well I guess one benefit is that I am a student too at the same time. One of my goals is to grow stronger in faith and understanding. I am currently taking full-time studies but RCIA is very important to me and I am trying to get the most out of it.

You have received much good advice. I would only add one thing. Please don’t view Easter Vigil as a graduation ceremony. We are called to a life of continued formation and conversion. When we think we have no more to learn, we become Pharisees.

I actually was talking to the coordinator about this and I couldn’t agree more. Learning is a life process not a thing in the moment. My inquiry started many years ago as a young child and only in high school did I even consider conversion. I am so happy that I made this decision this year because while I may have gone to catholic school and I know somethings but this is my chance to know even more before I join the Church.

To which I would add, don’t expect that every last thing you may have questions about will be answered to the nth degree, or that every possible topic will be touched upon. There is a great effort made to inform you and answer your questions within the context of a class for however many people will be attending. Learning about the Faith should be (and is) a life long experience.

May God bless you on your journey!

I realize that there are going to be questions I may not get answered but I am still going to try my best! Thank you so much

 

[Lenten_ashes]

RCIA classes are after Tuesday Mass and we are encouraged to come out on Sundays as well so I will have a lot of opportunity to come out and learn more.

I don’t really have anyone I know at the parish who can be my sponsor. I am a little worried about that but I am sure the church will pick a sponsor who is a good match for my needs.

I am really excited about getting to know the people in the parish, I have always felt like more of a spectator than anything and nobody really knows me so that is one perk that I love about RCIA. I was actually looking on Amazon for the Catechism so I will be sure to continue to keep an eye out.

I went through RCIA last year.

We were told it was our responsibility to pick our own sponsor. Either a practicing Catholic in good standing with the church that we knew, or one of the team members. I picked the team member who was a former protestant because I knew he would have understanding of my situation.

You can p/u a hard copy of the Catechism for 5 bucks at a used book store. I carried my copy in a book bag to RCIA, along with all their material and of course a bible.

RCIA is great and you get to know people’s stories and hear their struggles. Very meaningful.

Congrats and God bless you on your journey.

 

[Penitent_Son]

I’m going through RCIA, too.

The thing that helps me the most is going to daily Mass. It keeps me feeling like I’m “connected”. The second thing is setting aside time everyday for prayer and to read. I will read the daily readings then look them up in the Bible to read the verses before and after to get more context. I reread our RCIA lesson and the specific parts of the Catechism it references.

I’m also getting involved in my parish, attending events and fundraisers, and I’ve joined the choir.

Consider looking at things going on not just in your parish but in your diocese. I found several upcoming lectures on our diocese website that I’m going to attend.

Someone else mentioned writing down any questions you may have. I do this on my phone, but that’s just what is easiest for me.

 

[confusedgirl]

I’m going through RCIA, too.

The thing that helps me the most is going to daily Mass. It keeps me feeling like I’m “connected”. The second thing is setting aside time everyday for prayer and to read. I will read the daily readings then look them up in the Bible to read the verses before and after to get more context. I reread our RCIA lesson and the specific parts of the Catechism it references.

I’m also getting involved in my parish, attending events and fundraisers, and I’ve joined the choir.

Consider looking at things going on not just in your parish but in your diocese. I found several upcoming lectures on our diocese website that I’m going to attend.

Someone else mentioned writing down any questions you may have. I do this on my phone, but that’s just what is easiest for me.

I’m glad to see there are other people in RCIA on here! Congratulations on deciding to convert. I hope that by coming to church more often I can get involved with more parish activities and get to know the people better. My school has a Catholic Student Association and they meet up every few weeks or so an I am going to see how to get involved. I hope your journey goes well