RCIA: sponsors? RITES?

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justawhisper

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i have started RCIA in September. i have been told by other Catholics about this process, all the things that will happen, etc.

i was told i’d have a sponsor. no word at ALL about this yet. havent even touched on this subject so far… why?

for a good few years i have researched about the processes of RCIA and have seen that there are 3 steps and a bunch of rites. i have hard absolutely no mention of this either.

im really confused. i plan on calling tomorrow and ask the RCIA director about all of these things. my husband and i (we are going together) talked about it the other day. we just figured it would happen when it happened, we’d learn when we learned. etc. but never really THOUGHT about the fact that nothing has been mentioned so far.

i am kinda confused about whats going on… im going to the classes, but i thought there was a little more to this than there is. or so i was told. any (name removed by moderator)ut/info would be greatly appreciated. thank you!
 
justawhisper said:
i have started RCIA in September. i have been told by other Catholics about this process, all the things that will happen, etc.

i was told i’d have a sponsor. no word at ALL about this yet. havent even touched on this subject so far… why?

for a good few years i have researched about the processes of RCIA and have seen that there are 3 steps and a bunch of rites. i have hard absolutely no mention of this either.

im really confused. i plan on calling tomorrow and ask the RCIA director about all of these things. my husband and i (we are going together) talked about it the other day. we just figured it would happen when it happened, we’d learn when we learned. etc. but never really THOUGHT about the fact that nothing has been mentioned so far.

i am kinda confused about whats going on… im going to the classes, but i thought there was a little more to this than there is. or so i was told. any (name removed by moderator)ut/info would be greatly appreciated. thank you!
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There should have been some things explained during your interview process. Just before the Inquiry phase.
 
justawhisper said:
i have started RCIA in September. i have been told by other Catholics about this process, all the things that will happen, etc.

i was told i’d have a sponsor. no word at ALL about this yet. havent even touched on this subject so far… why?

for a good few years i have researched about the processes of RCIA and have seen that there are 3 steps and a bunch of rites. i have hard absolutely no mention of this either.

im really confused. i plan on calling tomorrow and ask the RCIA director about all of these things. my husband and i (we are going together) talked about it the other day. we just figured it would happen when it happened, we’d learn when we learned. etc. but never really THOUGHT about the fact that nothing has been mentioned so far.

i am kinda confused about whats going on… im going to the classes, but i thought there was a little more to this than there is. or so i was told. any (name removed by moderator)ut/info would be greatly appreciated. thank you!
Click to expand...
You are correct in all that you have studied in regard to RCIA and the process. Please do call the program director and if you do not get answers to your questions, go to the parish priest.
 
I remember being in your shoes. Who thought it would be so hard to become catholic. We bugged our director for months only to be told that the parish wasn’t going to do RCIA that year so we moved to a different parish in the valley. No mention of sponsors until the last second. We ended up with people we didn’t know but at that point I just wanted to be baptised already. My RCIA process was a bit bumpy but now I get to be a sponsor for a friend so I am both getting to catch everything I missed, provide support for my friend and make sure her road is a bit smoother.
 
Your RCIA dorector or priest will be able to tell you what the process is in your church. Some places RCIA is 8 about months (September to Easter), other places it is a full year or more. Some people prefer to get ask their own sponsor from among Catholic family or friends, others don’t know anyone to ask and are paired up with volunteers from the parish.

The director may have talked about these issues at a meeting you were not able to attend, or they are on a paper somewhere that you didn’t get for some reason. A quick phone call or question at the next RCIA meeting should clear it up.
 
I give an overview of the process in the 2nd or third interview, with a pamphlet that gives a brief explanation of RCIA process, and a schedule of classes for their group.

I give roughly 4 times a year a more complete entire class on RCIA, the process, the rites, the periods, conversion, the sacraments of initiation etc.

I give a more detailed explanation of each rite 2-3 weeks before it occurs, and with it an explanation of the transition to the next period which this rite signifies. When we prepare for the rite of acceptance–which includes personal interviews with candidates, sponsors and parents of children to discern if the person is ready to enter the catechumenate–the interview includes making sure this person understands what is involved and what their commitment is at this time. At this time we also explain the whole calendar leading up to Lent and Easter and mystagogy

It has been my experience that at least 1/3 of the candidates, parents and sponsors are missing from any particular session, so yes, some don’t get the memo.
 
I started RCIA the first week of September, and it ends at Easter. We haven’t had any of the Rites yet, been assigned a sponsor, or been allowed to pick our patron Saints yet, either, so I’m in the same boat as you justawhisper.
 
Hi,I am in RCIA. Last week our RCIA director said that she has almost found a sponsor for everyone, but is still working on it. She is holding a meeting for sponsors this week, so I’m thinking she’ll have them all found by then. Or I am sure she hopes she does.

For people that don’t have sponsors, they are volunteers from the parish. Maybe it is difficult to find enough volunteers at times. Especially if a lot of sponsors are needed.

Our RCIA started in September and goes until Pentecost (mid-May 2008). Our first Rite (of Acceptance) is on January 13th. We received a “syllabus” at the beginning of RCIA that shows we’ll be talking about this Rite on January 10th.

Perhaps something similar is going on with your RCIA program, but it just isn’t communicated. It doesn’t hurt to ask. 🙂
 
thanks for the feedback, everyone.

to clear a few things up, i never went through the inquiry phase. thats starting to sound like a not so good thing now. when i spoke briefly to the rcia director, she asked a few questions and i had told her i had been going to church for a few years and i was sure this is what i wanted to do. there as no other mention to the phase, i just came in to the rcia classes when they started. i know there are quite a few elders there that come from mass and sit through the classes. maybe they are the volunteers?
there has been so mention of anything.
maybe in time i will find out.
im really enjoying the classes though. i love it.
 
Yes, it sounds like you entered the program at a different time and probably missed a lot of the basic introductory information. I’m pleased you are enjoying the meetings! Certainly, just ask the director. I’m sure you’ll be up to speed in not time! 🙂 Peace be with you!
 
justawhisper said:
thanks for the feedback, everyone. to clear a few things up…
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A baptized Christian attending RCIA would attend the Rite of Welcoming, Retreat (a Saturday class), a trip to the Bishop. At the Saturday Vigil (night before Easter Sunday) they would be received in to the Church with the Sacraments of Eucharist (communion) and Confirmation. The Sponsor should be present with you at all these events, plus class, plus befriend you during this process. Whether the friendship continues is somewhat up to the two of you.

Additionally, tradition is to have a Godparent at your confirmation, however, if you have a current Godparent you can identify that person in the paperwork and have a segregate (as your sponsor) standing in at the ceremony.

Hope that helps

FYI since being Catholic is a life long endevour you should be at the church anyway so relax
 
justawhisper said:
thanks for the feedback, everyone.

to clear a few things up, i never went through the inquiry phase. thats starting to sound like a not so good thing now. when i spoke briefly to the rcia director, she asked a few questions and i had told her i had been going to church for a few years and i was sure this is what i wanted to do. it.
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this is a problem
the inquiry phase is exactly when we try to address all the issues, answer all these types of questions, get to know you so we can assign good sponsors, and cover what is involved in the RCIA process, and uncover things that have come up for you personally that might present challenges or obstacles or doubts down the road.

If you decided on your own to skip this phase, is it really fair to blame someone else because you did not get all the answers, when you decided to skip the part where you are invited to ask all your questions?

the RCIA is not self directed, it is a process, in which a lot of time, research and wise experience has been invested. It is also not a cookie cutter or a class or a program. The more time you give us to get to know you, the better your experience will be, and the more we can help you. The candidates who present the most problems are those content to simply attend class, without much participation or interaction, and don’t want to work with us.

believe me your director and catechist are doing their best to give you what you need, but it is hard when we miss that initial period of getting to know you better.
 
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