Question about RCIA for converts

[TomH1]

Unfortunately knowing my Augustine doesn’t necessarily translate to understanding Church liturgy and practice.

That may be so; however, as a high Anglican you have a better idea than a lot. I do not think one of us is a complete expert in liturgy and Church practice.

As I said previously I do believe this has to be your call. Even once you are confirmed and a member of the Catholic Church you will still have a lot to learn. I am a ‘cradle’ Catholic, past my half-century and am still learning. So, I do not think you should seek or expect expertise prior to your confirmation whenever you receive it.

 

[ReluctantOptimist]

Firstly, thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply and for the encouragement. It’s reassuring to see such warmth in the Church and to find a few others that are similarly swimming the Tiber.

The consensus seems to be that it’s better to prioritise communion with Christ and not delay. As several posters have pointed out, fellowship with others can come later.

So I’ve decided to pursue individual instruction and to ask my priest if I can join the RCIA later as an observer. It was helpful to see that the RCIA experience can differ depending on the parish and the level of knowledge of the candidate, so maybe I shouldn’t expect too much. Perhaps my priest can recommend other ways to get involved in the life of the Church, even as a candidate.

Once again, many thanks to everyone for their advice. I look forward to joining you all!

 

[Casilda]

After trying seven parishes in one diocese I gave up looking for an effective program. They always recommend your home parish, but when your life has been on hold for two years waiting for that parish to be assigned a priest, you look elsewhere. That’s okay. The Roman Catholic church was closed to us but God opened an Eastern window.

 

[Marie16]

Individually. Why wait if you think you are ready? Also I know RCIA varies everywhere but personally going through it as a group I didn’t learn very much. I did enjoy getting to see the same people every week and it was very interesting seeing it through the eyes of those who were previously stronger in another faith and those “aha” moments for them, but if you’re already pretty familiar with Catholicism it may not be of great benefit to you. It was very basic and I didn’t have any religious background going into it except attending mass about 4 months and doing a lot of research on my own in that time. In a way maybe that’s why I didn’t learn very much because I wasn’t “unlearning”’ other beliefs.

 

[otjm]

You might want to explore Anglicanism a bit; it covers all the way from a low or minimalliturgical evangelical end to a “high church” very liturgical end, and as to exactly what is accepted as doctrinally correct will in large part depend on where on that spectrum one’s experience is. Some parts accept women’s ordination, including postions as bishops, and some accept pastors who are in a homosexual relationship; other parts reject some or all of that; and that just scratches the surface.

 

[sj1611]

You might want to explore Anglicanism a bit; it covers all the way from a low or minimalliturgical evangelical end to a “high church” very liturgical end, and as to exactly what is accepted as doctrinally correct will in large part depend on where on that spectrum one’s experience is. Some parts accept women’s ordination, including postions as bishops, and some accept pastors who are in a homosexual relationship; other parts reject some or all of that; and that just scratches the surface.

This is one of my main problems with Anglicanism (and one of the reasons for my conversion to the Catholic faith).

Anglicanism means almost nothing, which is to say that the broad inclusiveness of Anglicanism, which admits of almost any theological position on the spectrum of Christian belief (including denying the resurrection of Christ, the virgin birth, the resurrection of the body , etc) results in a pallid and anaemic faith in which the creeds become meaningless and the liturgy hollow ritual. I think that is what Chesterton meant when he said of Catholicism that “It is the only thing that talks as if it were the truth; as if it were a real messenger refusing to tamper with a real message”, and in that respect I believe he was precisely right.

 

[AlbertDerGrosse]

RCIA programs run the whole gamut, so what you can and will get out of them will depend on many variables including the orthodoxy of your parish, the theological prowess of your classmates, your own knowledge of the Faith going into it, among other things. I went through RCIA three times before finally converting. The first round was, I’ll be frank here, a total joke and utter waste of time. I felt like I was in a grown up’s kindergarten class. I tolerated four meetings before bailing. The second time the course was more intellectually stimulating but it became readily apparent that the instructor was teaching contrary to the Magisterium, and the pastor didn’t mind that this was happening and in fact grew defensive when I brought it to his attention privately. This actually scandalized me and made me reconsider my scheduled baptism two weeks before Easter. The third time was much better. The curriculum was theologically sound, it was engaging, I got to know my classmates and we bonded. Nevertheless, I can’t say I actually learned anything new. I had spent the prior 6 years studying Catholicism on my own before coming to the decision that I’d convert and if anything RCIA just felt like a set of bureaucratic hoops I needed to jump through. Honestly if I had had the option to meet with a priest privately and receive the Sacraments of Initiation whenever he felt I was ready I would’ve done that instead.