RCIA- mandatory?

[kmaaj]

Do I have to go through RCIA to become a Catholic and receive the Sacraments?

Just getting to mass regularly is a battle when juggling a job with mandatory weekend work and an immediate family that resents any time spent at church as time away from them, and they will not go with me. To boot, I already have 8 months of catechism in an Antiochian Orthodox church, so a lot of RCIA would just be rehashing what I already know, albeit from a Latin perspective rather than Byzantine.

I listened to a convert apologist talk about when he converted, the priest simply heard his confession, splapped some oil on his forehead and declared him Catholic. The apologist talked like that was a bad thing, but oh how I wish I could find a priest who would do exactly this with me.

This was a major stumbling block to me in my Orthodox journey, the tug of war between family and church.

 

[1ke]

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) is the process established by the Church for the unbaptized to enter the Church.

RCIA and “weekly classes” have become synonymous, but they are not. The RCIA consists of Rites within the Church-- from the Rite of Welcoming, the Rite of Election, to the Scrutinies, presentation of the Creed and Lord’s Prayer, etc.-- that Catechumens should participate in culminating in Baptism at the Easter Vigil.

RCIA consists of more than just the Rites, however. It also includes catechesis and the liturgical component of living in community.

Most parishes set up some sort of catechetical model of a once-a-week meeting, with additional dismissal and “breaking open the word” on Sundays for catechumens. This turns into a “mandatory” one-size-fits-all situation, but there is nothing in Church law or the RCIA Rite Book that dictate that. A catechumen could receive instruction from a priest, through self-study, etc, and join the community for worship on Sunday, participate in the Rites, and be received into the Church.

Talk to your priest. It is unfortunate that many parishes view the catechesis portion of RCIA as so inflexible, it really shouldn’t be that way. There are many ways to receive catechesis and the parish should be able to accomodate you.

The conversion story you heard was likely a highly catechized and already baptized person. A person who is already baptized can be received into the Church at any time. Catechumens, outside emergency, would be received at Easter.

 

[Pug]

What will happen often depends on how your local priest evaluates your needs. If you are baptized already, it becomes more likely that you will not be asked to complete an entire year long program of classes. It depends on many factors, some of which do not depend on you, such as how many volunteers your parish has to assist with adults interested in the faith, and how your parish tends to administer the RCIA process.

Do you feel you have all the information you need to select the Latin rite? It sounds like you might be from an Eastern background. Some people don’t realize that the Catholic Church has more than the Latin rite. So I mention it just in case.

 

[kmaaj]

Thanks, I should aslo mention that I was baptized with a trinitarian formula at age 8 in the Disciples of Christ, when it was still a fairly traditional denom. The priest at the Antiochian parish refused to accept that baptism; another point of contention.

 

[jmcrae]

Do I have to go through RCIA to become a Catholic and receive the Sacraments?

Talk to your parish priest and discuss your situation with him. It may be that your Orthodox catechumenate “counts” for something - and he also has the option to make pastoral exceptions, if he sees that it’s warranted.

However, one red flag that will jump out at him as it did for me, is your family’s opposition to your conversion, including their opposition to your attendance at Mass.

My experience as another “only” in my family who converted without the rest of them, is that the priest in my case was very careful to ensure that my family was “on side” by the time I was received into the Church. If they had chosen to boycott my Confirmation, he might have asked me to wait, since the Church is not in the business of breaking up families, and does everything possible to keep marriages together.

If I had ended up divorced as a result of my Conversion, he would have considered it a failure of the process.

 

[scottm]

Talk to your priest. It is unfortunate that many parishes view the catechesis portion of RCIA as so inflexible, it really shouldn’t be that way. There are many ways to receive catechesis and the parish should be able to accomodate you.

The conversion story you heard was likely a highly catechized and already baptized person. A person who is already baptized can be received into the Church at any time. Catechumens, outside emergency, would be received at Easter.

To clarify – I think what you mean about being received at any time is that such a person does not have to wait for the once-a-year Easter mass. A person must still go through some manner of catechism, however, before being received.

Kmaaj – I totally hear you. That was my situation too. I actually dropped out of RCIA because of it. The following year I shopped around for alternatives. As 1ke says priests are supposed to be flexible. The bishop of Los Angeles even said so. (That’s where I live.) Unfortunately out here most parish priests were inflexible. I did find one priest who, only that year, was starting a parallel RCIA track for people in our (yours and mine) situation. The program was for highly-catechized people, and would consist of fewer meetings. And some of those meetings would be arranged one-on-one with the priest, and therefore were very flexible as to time.

I did not opt for that option. Instead I joined an Eastern Rite Catholic church, because they’re even more flexible. You should consider this, what with your Antiochian background. The entire program was one-on-one with the priest, scheduled according to our individual constraints. And that’s the norm. That’s how it always is, at least for my flavor of Byzantine Christianity. The following year the priest did the same thing with my children: personal visits scheduled around our calendar.

masstimes.org can give you a list of churches. Then call them on the phone one-by-one and ask about your options.

 

[jmcrae]

Thanks, I should aslo mention that I was baptized with a trinitarian formula at age 8 in the Disciples of Christ, when it was still a fairly traditional denom. The priest at the Antiochian parish refused to accept that baptism; another point of contention.

If you have documentation of your baptism, it should shorten the process considerably.

 

[StevenFrancis]

Do I have to go through RCIA to become a Catholic and receive the Sacraments?

Just getting to mass regularly is a battle when juggling a job with mandatory weekend work and an immediate family that resents any time spent at church as time away from them, and they will not go with me. To boot, I already have 8 months of catechism in an Antiochian Orthodox church, so a lot of RCIA would just be rehashing what I already know, albeit from a Latin perspective rather than Byzantine.

I listened to a convert apologist talk about when he converted, the priest simply heard his confession, splapped some oil on his forehead and declared him Catholic. The apologist talked like that was a bad thing, but oh how I wish I could find a priest who would do exactly this with me.

This was a major stumbling block to me in my Orthodox journey, the tug of war between family and church.

For an adult undergoing conversion of the heart, (which is a lifelong process), RCIA is the ordinary means. There are other means, and you would need to discuss this with your parish priest, or Bishop. I felt the same way, for what it’s worth. Turns out, first of all, I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did , and my journey was enriched in ways I can’t even begin to explain. After I was confirmed, I stayed with the ministry for an additional 3 years, out of love and gratitude, and to see others go through their transformations. To see their faces change over time. To see their struggles with work, illness, family and work commitment end up being secondary, or resulting in some cases in their family ending up coming with them. I promise you, RCIA attendance isn’t “convenient” for anybody at first, and we’re all jugglers in this life.

Anyway, at our parish, it’s usually 2 years, and you observe one set of candidates and catechumens being baptised, confirmed and receiving Holy Eucharist before entering the Church yourself. We had regular meetings with the RCIA ministers on where we were in the process. I ended up coming in just before an advent season, and being confirmed on the first Easter vigil after beginning. There were some whose work schedules didn’t work out, and we didn’t see much because they were meeting with RCIA people in other ways, and working with Father. There were some who didn’t wait for vigil because they had to go to Iraq, and arrangements were made. It’s an individual thing. But unless you’re in imminent danger of death, I can’t recommend enough doing whatever process is right for you through RCIA. It’s an indescribably beautiful process at our parish. And I’ve heard people from parishes all around the country say the same of theirs. You won’t notice the time much.

God bless you,

Steven

 

[scottm]

Thanks, I should aslo mention that I was baptized with a trinitarian formula at age 8 in the Disciples of Christ, when it was still a fairly traditional denom. The priest at the Antiochian parish refused to accept that baptism; another point of contention.

That is something weird. I visited an Antiochian Orthodox church out here a couple times, and talked briefly with the priest about the membership process. He said I’d need my baptismal certificate. I said I was baptized twice. The first time I was as an infant at an Episcopal church, and I’ve never seen my certificate, and probably my mother doesn’t have it either. The second time was as an adult at a Baptist church, and they don’t write certificates. He said call the Episcopals because that’s the only one that counts. I said the church is in Delaware (I live in California) and that was 37 years ago, and I’m not sure my mother even remebers the name. He said Episcopals keep good records.

I was all " " and " " and “Whatever. We’re not talking about this anymore.” In contrast the Roman priests at two different parishes were totally fine with my oral statement that I was already baptized, and so was my Byzantine Catholic priest. All three of them also accepted my oral statement that I was “confirmed” in a Protestant church as a teenager.

I like the Catholic attitude so much better than the Orthodox attitude on this issue.

 

[1ke]

Thanks, I should aslo mention that I was baptized with a trinitarian formula at age 8 in the Disciples of Christ, when it was still a fairly traditional denom. The priest at the Antiochian parish refused to accept that baptism; another point of contention.

Then you are not a catechumen. You are a candidate.

A candidate can be brought into full communion and confirmed at any time by the priest when he deems a person ready. The priest can evaluate your knowledge and readiness for reception and then decide the timeline and requirements.

Talk to a priest. Hopefully he will be flexible and he or a designee will be able to meet with you however many times he thinks necessary and then proceed with bringing you into the Church.

Bottom line, talk to the priest.

 

[kmaaj]

That is something weird.

I have good reason to believe this particular Orthodox priest is a renegade. EVERY convert I witnessed being received into that parish got a baptism. Several people there have been baptized 3 or more times. I joked they should start a club, and they took me serious, thinking it was a great idea! An email buddy of mine is cradle Antiochian; when I shared my experiences with him, he did every thing short of waving red flags suggesting I get outta there. apparantly it is official policy of the Antiochians to receive all baptized protestants via chrismation. I even asked this priest to check with his bishop, that got brushed off.

 

[scottm]

Apparently it is official policy of the Antiochians to receive all baptized protestants via chrismation.

That sounds much better! Whew!

That’s how my Byzantine priest did it with me. My Protestant confirmation counted as a chrismation, so I entered on an affirmation of faith. (I read the Nicene Creed in front of the congregation and affirmed it.) My children were already baptized as Protestants but not confirmed, so the priest chrismated them and then my oldest read and affirmed the Creed.

 

[kmaaj]

Proof that God often answers prayer in the way we least expect it…

I have resisted the parish in my boundaries because it is large (3000 familes, 1500 capacity, 5 masses for Sunday obligation), modern, and very minimal in statues and icons, I wanted my church to be “old, stoney, and musty” with hundreds of statues and a dozen or so parishioners.

The priest of that parish took it upon himself to email me, letting me know that he is always there to help me with my journey. I figured since he took it upon himself to make the effort, I ought to at least give him a phone call.

I told him where I had been in my journey, and after about 15 minutes of me talking, he stopped me and said, “You’ve been through enough. You do not have to go through RCIA. Visit the parish, and if it is where you want to be, come talk to me”

So I went there for the 8am Sunday mass. It was full. It was also everything I was NOT looking for in a Catholic church, yet God made it plain and clear to me that there is where I am to be.

So I met with the priest, after a very few words he said that I could go straight to confirmation. I then informed him of my 2 divorces from 25 years ago, and he pulled out the paperwork for the annulment process, told me to fill it out, and he would be my advocate. He said the tribunal would very likely recognize that those 1st 2 marriages, neither in a Catholic setting, were indiscretions of my younger years and that my current marriage of 20 years with a full family would be recognized as my one true marriage.

So I am starting the paperwork now. After that, I will wait. I have heard these tribunals can be very slow. I have not kept in contact with either of my 2 ex’s, as there were no children. So I suspect that when they receive the questionaire, they will either ignore it or choose not to contest the annulments.

Your prayers are welcome.

 

[Pug]

It does sound like you found your parish, as unlikely as its modern appearance makes it. Praying for you. Try going to their daily mass once or twice, too! Maybe you’ll meet some nice people.