RCIA: Excited but nervous

  • Thread starter Thread starter ElizabethD
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

ElizabethD

Guest
In September I’ll start RCIA at my local parish. I’ve been attending the Catholic church for over a year now and I’m very confident in my decision to learn more about the faith. However, I’m 17 and a senior high school and I’m nervous about managing my time properly. It’s possible that for the first few weeks of classes I’ll be late because I have marching band rehearsal after school that will almost overlap with RCIA. Basically, I am just looking for support in my journey and I have a few questions.
I was baptized in the Baptist church when I was a child. Would I be baptized again in the Catholic church?
What’s the difference between an RCIA sponsor and a confirmation sponsor? Could my boyfriend be my confirmation sponsor but not my RCIA sponsor?

I’m just nervous, but I can’t wait to start classes 😃
 
First of all congrats!

yea im sure you can be late if you have a valid excuse, as long as you keep going

my wife is in RCIA and I go with her, if your bf knows a lot about the faith and can actually help you it can be a good thing

a baptism sponsor is someone who can answer questions for you and guide you - so sometimes its nice to have a person you don’t have a relationship with so you can ask any questions you want without worrying about offending anyone

**you will not be baptized again in the Catholic church - we recognize one baptism for the forgiveness of sins

so in the Baptist church you were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the Catholic church will recognize that, they may ask for a certificate of baptism
**
 
Once baptized always baptized, that means that if your baptism in the Baptist church was done properly it is recognized by the Catholic Church. RCIA sponsor is not a canonical role and it is someone that supports you in your faith Journey up to your confirmation, the confirmation sponsor has a canonical role and is someone that assumes the responsibility of helping you grow in the faith for the rest of your lives. I think that it is a very bad idea to have a boyfriend to be your confirmation sponsor.
 
also in MOST RCIA programs

your spouse is not aloud to be your sponsor - they can attend with you but your sponsor no…

and its for many reasons

if you don’t know someone , friend or family who can do this, they will assign you one, and they have great people there - super friendly and they help sponsor people because they want to help.

so I wouldn’t have your bf be your sponsor - I wont be my wife’s sponsor, but I attend with her for support
 
Congratulations to you! Looks like your questions have already been answered…but I just wanted to let you know that you have lots of support on this site!!
 
I’m so happy and excited for you! RCIA was such an awesome faith journey for me and I pray that it will be for you as well! I’d be happy to be here for moral support any time you need it! Keeping you in prayer! 😃
 
Congrats on starting RCIA 🙂 I too am starting RCIA in September and feel pretty much the same as you 🙂
 
Congratulations! May God bless you with the energy to do all you need to do through your senior year and the RCIA. Welcome.
 
Hey there,
I’m so happy for you. You received some very good answers!! I just want to give you some reasons why it’s not a good idea for your bf to be your sponsor…what if for some reason you break up sometime during the RCIA process?, not good. You may be crazy about each other right now, but you just never know.
Going through RCIA is not a private thing, it involves the whole parish, one of the (many) functions of the sponsor is to help introduce you to the community aspect of the church…in a special way you get to know your parish family in ways you wouldn’t ensconced with ie your family or your bf’s family.
Regarding band practice, be up front with your catechist about band. If you are out of town, make sure they know if you will be away from class so you can set up time for a make up class.
One more piece of advice, if you are really serious about this, make sure you set up quality time with God every day (aka prayer)…the only way to get to really know someone is to spend time with them.
God Bless you in your journey,
Virginia
 
Thanks everyone for your support! I called and talked to my catechist and let her know about band and she said it’s fine since I’ll only be about 10 to 15 minutes late for the first few weeks 👍

Another question: I know that my NIV Bible doesn’t have as many books as the Bible used in Catholic teachings… do you think that using the Bible I have now would be acceptable until I can afford to purchase a different one? I don’t want to look silly if we start discussing something not in my Bible :confused:
 
Congratulations Elizabeth. I also, am starting RCIA, now 2 weeks into it. Very, very exciting. Welcome!
 
Ah I must confess to being a bit jealous at all the RCIA posts - we don’t start in my parish till mid September!

Elizabeth, if you want a cheap copy of the Bible with the Deuterocanonical books (the missing ones;)) check out a half price books if there is one in your area. Your Parish may also have a library where you can borrow one.

Maybe someone can recommend a translation for RCIA candidates? I think I read somewhere the readings in mass come from a variation of the NAB (New American Bible). I have a copy of the NAB (New Testament Only) and I’m not a huge fan of the language, its not what I hear in mass. F

For example, in my version of the NAB “Blessed are thou Peter” becomes “Good for you Peter!”.:ehh: I’ll stick with the NIV until I find something better…
 
I’ll be starting RCIA myself. I’m really looking forward to it, but at the same time i’m a little nervous myself.
 
I am on the RCIA team at my parish and I would suggest you hold off purchasing a Bible until they tell you otherwise. We always give one to all our candidates and catachumens, usually around them time of the Rite of Acceptance.

-Kirsten
 
DavidtheGnome said:
Maybe someone can recommend a translation for RCIA candidates? I think I read somewhere the readings in mass come from a variation of the NAB (New American Bible). I have a copy of the NAB (New Testament Only) and I’m not a huge fan of the language, its not what I hear in mass. F

For example, in my version of the NAB “Blessed are thou Peter” becomes “Good for you Peter!”.:ehh: I’ll stick with the NIV until I find something better…
Click to expand...
If you like the “older” language and phrasing then you can look at the Douay-Rheims bible (online at drbo.org/). This is closer to the language used in the King James bible (i.e. “thee”, “thou”, “art”) and is a more literal translation. You can also look at the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (aka RSV-CE or the Ignatius Bible). I would stay away from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV-CE) primarily because if modifies the language to be gender neutral (i.e. it uses “brothers and sisters” rather than “brothers” or “man” is converted to “people”). It just goes against my grain to make the Bible politically correct.

ElizabethD, I wouldn’t worry about purchasing a bible yet. Most parishes in the US give RCIA students a copy of the New American Bible (NAB or NABRE) or RSV-CE. Outside of the missing books, the NIV does not use translations that is in accordance with Catholic teaching. Some of the phases are slightly modified to deny catholic teachings or reinforce protestant concepts. It should still work, but the phasing and hence the meaning might be slightly different. I remember when I started RCIA I was asked if I had a Catholic Bible and was offered a study edition of the NAB.
 
I’m also quite jealous of everyone who has already started RCIA! My first class is September 11. Now just to find my baptismal certificate :bigyikes:

Also I may be able to find my King James Version Bible… would that be better?🤷
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top