Question about RCIA for converts

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whatistrue said:
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TomH1:
Unfortunately, my brain is not co-operating right now and I cannot recall the correct word instead of convert.
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Candidate.
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Candidate is from the Latin candidus, which means white. It is a reference to the white garment given to the baptized.

It can also refer to a catechumen in some circumstances, given common usages of the word. Originally though, it meant baptized.
 
If you were to be recieved into the Church via the Ordinariate you may not have to attend RCIA. As previously mentioned this would depend on which part of the Anglican church you are coming from and personal circumstances.
 
I am in RCIA now (I am also an Anglican swimming the Tiber). I haven’t got that much out of being in a group to be honest, nice as it is to meet new people. My cohort (quite small) have a much lower level of engagement and I feel that I would benefit more if the “classes” were pitched at a higher level. A solo program would have suited me better.

In any case, as someone anxious for the Eucharist (I haven’t taken communion since I stopped attending my old church, and I yearn for it), my inclination would be to prioritise fellowship with Christ through the Eucharist over fellowship with your fellow RCIA candidates.
 
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I went through RCIA three years ago and I was the only one. I have to say that I really appreciated the individual approach. We covered everything we needed to, but were able to address my specific questions. I am now a catechist and see the benefits of RCIA as a community, but also see the vast difference in the two approaches. For me, I preferred my “alone” time. The catechists were my community and remain so today. Blessings.
 
OP, is it common that your parish has many in class?

I don’t think my wife’s parish has had a convert in two years, and I think the one they did have was a loner…I’m pretty sure if I ever converted I’d be a loner too.
 
Former Anglican here, went through RCIA 35 years ago, then was a sponsor for the next several years. It was OK, but I’d take the individual route.
 
I was a highly catechized Episcopalian with a Catholic mother. By the time I approached the church I was 100% ready. I had to wait 10 months, January to October. They had year round RCIA at that parish so I was able to slide in and be received. It wouldn’t have bothered me to do private instructions because I was R-E-A-D-Y and the 10 months was a really long time for me.

I’d probably do the solo instruction if it were me. But I’m a super extravert so finding my place in the community was not difficult.

And I didn’t participate in any of the rites, due to travel for work.
 
@ReluctantOptimist - I was baptised and confirmed in the Episcopal church and became Anglican shortly before I joined the Catholic church in my 50’s. I had studied about the Catholic faith for over a year on my own and when I entered the office of the nearest parish it was almost Easter and I didn’t know anything about the process of RCIA or about the Easter vigil. Anyhow,
the woman who taught RCIA offered to work with me one on one after Easter was over. We started in May and met once a week. She gave me material to read and then the following week we would discuss it. I was received into the church July 15th
so we met about 8 or 9 weeks because she was gone one week. I liked it. It will still take awhile to switch to the Catholic way of thinking. I thought Episcopalian/Anglican
was almost the same, but once you become Catholic, the differences are quite
apparent.
After I was received into the Church, I did set in on some of the RCIA classes in the fall. One is always learning.
I know what you mean about going so long without “being fed”. That is why I would recommend doing it alone, but sitting in on RCIAcclasses in the fall. Yes, you will miss out being with a group, but I adapted quite easily because of the similarties in the liturgies.
Congratulations on your decision to join the Catholic church and God bless.
 
I’m surprised that he would exclude you from the group and the other rites if you choose to go through it now. I only had six weeks of RCIA, and I was allowed to join the group. I think the fuller experience you can have the better, but if you’re properly prepared, why wait? You could always consider helping out with next year’s classes to further your own understanding as well.
 
I am not a convert, but will give my two cents regardless. It sounds as if the OP has been baptized, so RCIA is it no means necessary. I would not wait.
 
Do both!

Talk to your pastor about it.

I was a LCMS member and went to my local parish to enroll in RCIA the week before Thanksgiving (8 years ago)…The Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the RCIA staff and pastor allowed me to enter into full communion.

I continued to attend and participate in RCIA, and attended the Easter Vigil with my class, although I was already confirmed and had received my first communion.
 
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I’d choose option 2. In fact I did when I converted in college. My wife converted in a rcia group. We both loved the way it happened for each of us.
 
I think it really depends on the dynamic at your parish and the RCIA team and catechumens. I had a great team of teachers and a great class. I became friends with another candidate and am friendly with many others from our group of six. The fellowship really helped for me because I had a difficult reaction to my conversion from many friends. The support was needed. I looked forward to our meetings and participating in the rites together. I am now close with one of the teachers, who served as my sponsor, and her husband who led our class. I feel I had a high quality experience all around that it sounds like many others missed out on at their parish.

I can also see the benefit of solo guided study. There are times I wish we had more time to go in depth on topics. I did meet with my sponsor one-on-one several times for counsel and did my own reading to enhance our lessons. Each candidate was assigned a teacher to be their mentor. It worked perfectly as there were an equal number of students and instructors. Our curriculum provided further resources on each topic including further readings from the bible and the Catechism. I think the experience was what you wanted to make of it with all the resources provided to go deeper if you wanted.

I don’t know if that helps, but I am happy with my experience.
 
I have read all the replies. One thing no one has mentioned is that rcia is just an organized chaos. I was a reverting cradle who tried a handful of rcia classes and each parish runs their own version. It was crazy. We opted for the one on one with the priest, tailored instruction, no frills and your good to go. Godspeed.
 
I came into the Church having self-catechized. RCIA was good for my being introduced to parishioners and others coming into the Church around the same time, but for the most part I skipped over RCIA. I took my first class at the beginning of November 2015, and was confirmed prior to Easter in March of the next year.

Here’s what RCIA is for, in my opinion: For those who are not already committed to open themselves completely to profess what the Church commands us to believe, RCIA is a time to air doctrinal grievances before one’s full membership in the Church would discourage those sentiments. If you’re still not on board with papal infallibility, for example, wait it out. Be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. RCIA is a time of questioning and investigation. But if God has given you the grace of love for his Church, then that’s that, as far as I’m concerned.

You come from an Anglican background, so tradition and liturgy is not a totally foreign concept to you. I came in from non-denominational, Baptist-derived evangelicalism. The holy Roman Church was an alien life-form to my entire previous experience with Christianity. But grace made me love it, and God sped me along to Rome, warts and all, and I haven’t looked back. I am truly at home.

Everybody’s different.
 
TC3033 said:
OP, is it common that your parish has many in class?
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The priest told me that there are 10 in the current cohort. The numbers are very variable and apparently he rarely knows whether there will be an annual RCIA group until not long before it begins.

Note that this is a parish in a major city with a relatively young congregation.
 
As I understand it on basis of what the priest has told me and some reading, essentially there are two paths within the RCIA, which makes sense seeing as the unbaptised receive two sacraments, while the candidates will receive one. Instruction is given to both paths in the same group because of the significant overlap, although the baptised are basically observers in relation to the baptismal instruction. I guess it depends on the size of the cohort and the parish’s resources though.
 
TomH1 said:
To answer your question is a challenge. A starting point would be to know what kind of Anglican you are. If you are very low church almost like an Evangelical I think the entire RCIA process would be a good thing for you to go through to develop a thorough understanding of the Catholic Faith. But, if you are a high church Anglo-Catholic you probably do not need RCIA and you could go through the alternative route the priest has offered you.
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Thanks, very good question. My background is high church Anglican although I’ve spent much of my adult life in a state of unproductive atheism. Luckily I did spend two years completing a Masters in theology under a Jesuit school. So I’m relatively well catechised on doctrinal matters. Unfortunately knowing my Augustine doesn’t necessarily translate to understanding Church liturgy and practice.
 
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