Is it possible to "re-do" RCIA?

[jadore89]

I was baptized when I was young, but after we moved to another country, my mother stopped going to mass, so I did not attend as well. I experimented with baptist church in high school, but after going off to college, found the Catholic student group to be very welcoming/helpful, and during my college years, I took RCIA and received confirmation.

After a couple years, I went back to my old habits and completely abandoned thoughts of church, God, and anything having to do with religion. Several years have passed, and for the last few months, I have been attending mass but have not worked up the courage to go to confession yet. I was thinking about confession this week and had to literally write a list of what I would say, and I had this thought that I slacked off in RCIA. I don’t really remember much from my RCIA classes, I missed a few classes, and I skipped readings for the classes. I was young, in college, and didn’t think much about it.

But now, I feel like I didn’t deserve to receive confirmation and want to do something about it but I’m not sure what my options are. I have been reading the bible and catechism from the very beginning as a way to 1) make up for the readings I have missed and 2) learn more about the faith. Is there any way to retake RCIA or somehow make up for my slacking off?

 

[mikecash]

In my parish, 1/3 of the class members are Catholics who are just looking for a refresher course! I’d talk to the RCIA director ASAP. Most RCIAs are meeting right now.

 

[Nicea325]

I was baptized when I was young, but after we moved to another country, my mother stopped going to mass, so I did not attend as well. I experimented with baptist church in high school, but after going off to college, found the Catholic student group to be very welcoming/helpful, and during my college years, I took RCIA and received confirmation.

After a couple years, I went back to my old habits and completely abandoned thoughts of church, God, and anything having to do with religion. Several years have passed, and for the last few months, I have been attending mass but have not worked up the courage to go to confession yet. I was thinking about confession this week and had to literally write a list of what I would say, and I had this thought that I slacked off in RCIA. I don’t really remember much from my RCIA classes, I missed a few classes, and I skipped readings for the classes. I was young, in college, and didn’t think much about it.

But now, I feel like I didn’t deserve to receive confirmation and want to do something about it but I’m not sure what my options are. I have been reading the bible and catechism from the very beginning as a way to 1) make up for the readings I have missed and 2) learn more about the faith. Is there any way to retake RCIA or somehow make up for my slacking off?

You may attend RCIA classes,but you will not be baptized or confirmed again.

 

[Sleepy1]

Of course you can retake it. Take it as many times as you need.

 

[tawny]

You are free to retake the RCIA classes, especially if you feel you may need a refresher. I know of people who have been baptized and confirmed, who attend just to increase their knowledge of the faith.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

Before “re-doing” RCIA, why not make an appointment to see one of your Parishes’ Priests?
Discuss your problem with him - with, or without Confession. You might go on line and look up “examination of conscience”, and do so before you go.
Most likely after you have made a good Confession, everything you learned in RCIA will come back to you in a great rush. That’s what happened to me, and I was away from the Church for over 50 years. Everything I learned in Parochial School came back to me.
By the way, RCIA as it exists today, did not exist in most Dioceses prior to V II. There was religious instructions for potential Catholic Converts- taught by a priest- but no RCIA. There were no lay instructors, Religious instruction in Parochial Schools was always done by a Priest, Brother or a Nun, never a lay teacher.

 

[adf417]

I’m all for making it a requirement!

I do think many Catholics need it over again, but then again, this would imply they had it once before. So what I mean to say is I do think many Catholics need to go through the process assuming the process is more than what they received prior.

Peace!!!

 

[quiet52]

If there are children’s religious education classes at your parish on Sunday mornings, ask your pastor if there can be an adult religous education class at the same time.

But yes, attend the RCIA sessions – you cannot “re-do” RCIA, but we are called to constantly improve our knowledge and understanding of our faith throughout our lives, and the RCIA sessions are a good opportunity in faith formation for any adult. Just remember that attention is given to the needs of the RCIA participants, and not necessarily to the needs of others sitting in on the sessions.