RCIA Home Study - HELP!

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Hi everyone,

I’m new to the group and very grateful to have this on-line community to turn to. Here’s my situation:

I was baptised as an infant and am currently enrolled in RCIA in an effort to receive my First Communion and Confirmation. My church insists on a one-year commitment, so I’ve been attending classes since May.

Unfortunately, I work two jobs and am finding it harder and harder to keep up with all the obligations that keep surfacing at my particular Parish (attending Mass at the same time as the rest of the group, extra study sessions, mandatory retreats, etc. etc.)

I’ve heard it rumored that some Parishes allow adults to prepare for the Sacraments via self-guided home study. Does anyone know of a church in the San Francisco Bay Area that offers this? (I live in San Jose.)

Thanks in advance for you (name removed by moderator)ut. As you can probably tell, I’m desperate at this point.
 
exhausted,

Your situation sounds similar to mine (baptized as an infant, going to RCIA),. I would suggest talking to your RCIA director and pastor about your situation. I’m sure they could accomodate you given the circumstances.
 
Hi Nebula!

Thanks for the fast reply. 🙂

Unfortunately, the RCIA director is a big part of the problem.
 
Exhausted,

Oh no. That does make this more complex. What if you bypass the director and go to the pastor? Or, if that doesn’t work… I would just start asking other parishes what they would do for your situation. That’s ridiculous if you ask me.
 
Exhausted;

In general, you have to be received into the Church in the parish in which you actually have residence. That’s not an absolute, and there are legitimate ways around this, but keep that in mind before you look to other parishes.

Talk directly to the pastor. Tell him your situation and ask him what you should or can do. The pastor has the ability to work with you on this, and probably will find some way to accomodate your unique situation.
 
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut, Father.

Actually, I have spoken with the priest who leads our classes. He seems to understand where I’m coming from, but at the same time I don’t think he’s willing to go against the grain.
 
Exhausted said:
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut, Father.

Actually, I have spoken with the priest who leads our classes. He seems to understand where I’m coming from, but at the same time I don’t think he’s willing to go against the grain.
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Try asking him why he isn’t willing. In other words, ask him what you need to do, and what you can do. Ask what his concerns are exactly. Once you know that, perhaps you can work together to satisfy those concerns.
 
Exhausted said:
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut, Father.

Actually, I have spoken with the priest who leads our classes. He seems to understand where I’m coming from, but at the same time I don’t think he’s willing to go against the grain.
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I think it’s tricky to know what you can let one person get away with, without other people also deciding that they too are too busy to attend, until finally, there is no group left at all; just a scattering of lone rangers, all trying to book-learn their way into the Church.

I would say, do the best you can, let them know ahead of time when you have to be away, and, be there as much as possible to be part of the process. Keep in mind, you’re there not only for yourself, but also to support the others who are also going through the same process of faith and community building.
 
Thanks for piping in JM. I’ll keep your comments in mind, however, my situation goes deeper than what I’m willing to get into on this forum.

Let’s just say that what I was hoping would be a positive, uplifting experience has turned out to be a negative, controlling one. I don’t know how much longer I can “hang in there” and pretend nothing’s wrong.
 
Exhausted said:
Thanks for piping in JM. I’ll keep your comments in mind, however, my situation goes deeper than what I’m willing to get into on this forum.

Let’s just say that what I was hoping would be a positive, uplifting experience has turned out to be a negative, controlling one. I don’t know how much longer I can “hang in there” and pretend nothing’s wrong.
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Have you spoken to your sponsor about your concerns? I would start there, if not.
 
I belong to a RCIA group on Tuesday nights. I think your church is asking too much of you. You should be free to attend church at any hour you want on Sundays.

San Jose is a large city… I am positive you can find a better church that will meet your needs.
 
“Have you spoken to your sponsor about your concerns? I would start there, if not.”

Yes, I have. She seems to think this program is all about sacrafice and I should just tough it out.
 
Exhausted said:
“Have you spoken to your sponsor about your concerns? I would start there, if not.”

Yes, I have. She seems to think this program is all about sacrafice and I should just tough it out.
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exhausted,

Don’t let one bad rcia program ruin your desire to return to the Catholic church. If the pastor won’t help you out, I’d definitely move on from there because where you are at isn’t willing to help out in a reasonable way but don’t let it get you down. It sounds like one person is being unreasonable.
 
Thanks, Nebula.

I’m sure there’s something more reasonable being offered out there somewhere. I guess I’ll just have to research it on my own.
 
LaLucia said:
I belong to a RCIA group on Tuesday nights. I think your church is asking too much of you. You should be free to attend church at any hour you want on Sundays.

San Jose is a large city… I am positive you can find a better church that will meet your needs.
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Actually, it sounds like a very good RCIA program, to me. Sunday Mass, and retreats? I would have loved to have a program like that. 🙂

Ours was extremely minimalistic - the least possible to get away with, rather than a full experience of conversion. But, maybe that’s what you’re looking for?

I can see how it would be hard to schedule everything in, but I still think it would be good to take advantage of as much of it as possible - you only pass this way once. There isn’t going to be anything like this available (at least, not for free), once you actually join the Church.
 
Exhausted said:
Thanks, Nebula.

I’m sure there’s something more reasonable being offered out there somewhere. I guess I’ll just have to research it on my own.
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Please talk to the pastor about it again before looking somewhere else. Not the RCIA coordinator, not your sponsor, talk to the pastor. It’s not the sponsor’s decision to make.

Looking for a different parish can open up a whole other set of possible problems. Don’t do that to yourself before speaking with the pastor and working with him. I don’t know the specifics and it’s not my business to know. It’s entirely possible that he might be able to make some kind of accomodation if you ask the right questions and have a true dialogue. I’m not saying that he will or that he even can, I’m just asking you to give him one more chance to work with you.
 
“I can see how it would be hard to schedule everything in, but I still think it would be good to take advantage of as much of it as possible - you only pass this way once.”

I totally understand your point, JM, and I have considered it (more than once in fact), but at this point I just want to receive the Sacraments and move on with my life.
 
Exhausted said:
“I can see how it would be hard to schedule everything in, but I still think it would be good to take advantage of as much of it as possible - you only pass this way once.”

I totally understand your point, JM, and I have considered it (more than once in fact), but at this point I just want to receive the Sacraments and move on with my life.
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Do you not expect the Sacraments to radically change your life? Personally encountering Christ in the Sacraments has a way of changing absolutely everything and flipping your whole world upside down, which is why the RCIA exists in the first place - as a gradual acclimatization to the Sacramental life, and a group of people who are experiencing the same things, to support you and be there for you.

I agree with Father David - you need to have a talk with your pastor about what your goals are with RCIA.
 
Exhausted said:
Hi everyone,

I’m new to the group and very grateful to have this on-line community to turn to. Here’s my situation:

I was baptised as an infant and am currently enrolled in RCIA in an effort to receive my First Communion and Confirmation. My church insists on a one-year commitment, so I’ve been attending classes since May.

Unfortunately, I work two jobs and am finding it harder and harder to keep up with all the obligations that keep surfacing at my particular Parish (attending Mass at the same time as the rest of the group, extra study sessions, mandatory retreats, etc. etc.)

I’ve heard it rumored that some Parishes allow adults to prepare for the Sacraments via self-guided home study. Does anyone know of a church in the San Francisco Bay Area that offers this? (I live in San Jose.)

Thanks in advance for you (name removed by moderator)ut. As you can probably tell, I’m desperate at this point.
Click to expand...
 
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