RCIA suggestions?

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I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help teach RCIA this year. It’s under new management, and the lady who’s heading it up is very intensely focused on making this the best catechesis it can possibly be.

Any suggestions? Things you would have chaned when you went through the program? Things that do and do not work?

Obviously our goal is to be 100% faithful to the Magisterium. These people need to know what they’re getting into, after all. Sweeping one Catholic belief or another under the rug just doesn’t cut it.
 
Understand that it is an ongoing process of conversion, not a program. 🙂 During the inquiry phase, dont give them much as far as catechism, you really want to be witnesses of the faith.
Hope all goes well.
 
consumedconvert said:
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help teach RCIA this year. It’s under new management, and the lady who’s heading it up is very intensely focused on making this the best catechesis it can possibly be.

Any suggestions? Things you would have chaned when you went through the program? Things that do and do not work?

Obviously our goal is to be 100% faithful to the Magisterium. These people need to know what they’re getting into, after all. Sweeping one Catholic belief or another under the rug just doesn’t cut it.
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Well the first thing you need to know is what the DRE and Pastor and Diocese prescribe as far as what teaching is contained in the course. Some Dioceses are very strict others very loose. Often the Pastor makes the call while equally often the DRE makes the final call. It all depends on the situation.

Your program should ideally be broken up into a number of sessions that while adhering to the prescribed teaching has some room for expansion. We found that early in the program, often in the inquiry stage, scheduling a church tour is very well received… tell the candidates about the physical church, why it is designed the way it is, the names of the parts of the Church, brief history, the names of the various articles used, chasuble, chalice etc.point out the altar sanctuary, tabernacle etc and give a brief explanation. Stress the importance and holiness of these places. Believe it or not just doing that simple thing in one session can really set the tone for the rest of the program because if done correctly, the candidates come away with a respect and understanding for the physical aspect of the church and how it relates to the overall sense of worship they might not otherwise ever have.

Phone list for all involved.

Each week have someone responsible for setting up a small altar in the room where the sessions are held. That will re-enforce the idea that something special and holy is going on. Don’t allow your candidates to clump up in pairs or groups, require them to sit next to someone else at every session and have them collaborate. This fosters a sense of community. It is awkward at first but believe me it works wonders.👍

Phone list for all involved!

Start each session off with a prayer and have one of the candidates deliver it. This also fosters the sense of community and helps those who may be nervous to get over it.

Phone list for all involved

At least several times during the course have a kind of pot luck and have everyone bring a small dish to eat. This will also help with the communal atmosphere and break down barriers.

Phone list for all involved

Deliver the lessons as professionally as possible. Don’t fumble and stumble around or allow the sessions to become big bull sessions, which can happen a lot when sharing. Consider visual aids, charts, film clips, music etc as appropriate.

Phone list for all involved

Stress and re stress the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Over and over and over

Phone list for all involved

Schedule if possible some outside speakers, Priests, Deacons Sisters, or anyone actively involved in faith ministry. Yes that includes extraordinary ministers, music director etc.

Phone list for all involved .

Consider at least one session on Church History and preferably two.

Phone list for all involved

For the sacraments try to get either the Pastor,another Priest or a Deacon to give the lessons. They really have a deeper understanding of the Sacraments than do most lay people. That is just a fact…

Phone list for all involved.

Keep your sessions at about 1 1/2 to 2 hours long and have several breaks thrown in.

Phone list for all involved

Use the Catechism as a tool, a guide and for illustrations not as an end to itself…

Phone list for all involved

End the sessions with a prayer and have someone other than the one who started the session give it. If you do these things and make sure your instructing is up to speed and as professional as possible I will guarantee that you will have a successful program.

Did I mention make sure that there is a phone and contact list for everyone???
 
consumedconvert said:
Any suggestions? Things you would have chaned when you went through the program? Things that do and do not work?
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We meet for an hour before Mass, join the congregation until after the creed, then dismiss for more discussion until Mass is over. Overall it works very well. Our priest believes in having teams of parishoners running the various parish ministries, so our sessions are lead by a team of laity. The deacons take turns leading sessions also. The priest stops by every week. (Since we meet in the rectory living room, it’s easy to catch him.)

Be prepared to say, “Great question. I want to give you a proper answer. Can we return to that next week? (or We’re planning to discuss that in a few weeks.)” Then come straight back here and post the question; we’ll help you through it.

Have a good Catholic study bible handy. A concordance is useful too. Jim Burnham’s Catholic Verse Finder (“Bible Cheat Sheet”) is a great tool for showing how Catholic doctrine is all scripture-based, and his Beginning Apologetics series has a terrific overview of doctrine. catholicapologetics.com/

And by all means refer to or read aloud from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on a frequent basis. Use the big volume; it’s easier to handle and has more extensive appendices.

Whenever we have brand-newbies who don’t know much about Catholicism we have a special pre-inquiry remedial group running for a few weeks. This gives them the chance to ask all the basic questions on stuff that the regular group already knows. We include fallen-away Catholics in this group because typically their religious education stopped right after First Communion, if it even got that far.

We use lectionary-based catechesis, usually taking our cue from the weekly scripture readings but diverging from the lectionary as necessary to discuss key doctrinal issues.

God bless you and welcome to this wonderful ministry.
 
Try and teach them ‘how’ to be Catholic. I went through RCIA, and if I had not taught myself Catholic doctrine and practice before starting, I would probably have left.

Though it is the least important of things you teach, in terms of salvation, teaching them how to fit in to Catholic culture and be a ‘good’ Catholic does a LOT for getting people engaged and serious about their faith.

Tell them that when you are in mortal sin, you should go to Confession before receiving communion. That you should strike your breast during the Confiteor. That you can put a holy water font in your house and bless yourself as you leave and enter.

Things like that make people feel like they are at home, like they fit, and like they have something special that they can hold on to. Try and mix it in with the substantive stuff. =]
 
consumedconvert said:
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help teach RCIA this year. It’s under new management, and the lady who’s heading it up is very intensely focused on making this the best catechesis it can possibly be.

Any suggestions? … Obviously our goal is to be 100% faithful to the Magisterium. These people need to know what they’re getting into, after all. Sweeping one Catholic belief or another under the rug just doesn’t cut it.
Click to expand...
I have two suggestions: 1.) Begin each class with at least one decade of the Rosary. That will open up the glood gates of grace. 2.) Use the old Baltimore Catechism. The question and answer format is much better in teaching them the basics of the faith. The Baltimore Catechism I leaned with was great. It had the question and answer format, followed by Bible verses to back up each doctrine, and then questions and scenrios that could be presented to the class at the end.
 
first, suggest change of forum, to evangelization, where you will find many helpful threads, including several discussions on resources to use, and what worked and did not work as judged by many participants. since RCIA was instituted after V2 is not really a ‘traditional’ forum topic. in any case, do browse there, you may find a lot of help and support.

only one suggestion to make, since your new director probably has already chosen resources and will make sure to have good ones.

I suggest your own prep time should be devoted to reading and meditating (lectio divina style if you are used to that) with the CCC and scripture passages referenced for each lesson. Refresher for you, but also essential to internalize and pray with the message contained.

one essential in most groups is to refer to Catholic teaching on marriage not once but many times, and to make sure your director and pastor are up to speed on the marital status of participants and there needs in that area. You don’t necessarily need to know the backstory on every candidate, but they do, and it is tragic when someone gets to the beginning of Lent only to find they still need annulment or convalidation.
 
First off, Puzzle Annie is right on that the first thing once the group starts to meet or even earlier is for the person in charge, or more preferably the parish priest to briefly interview each candidate or catechumen as to their marriage situation and history. That way the priest can start working on strightening out any problems before the last hour.

In our parish RCIA is not a series of Apologetics sessions. It is a process that involves more than just teaching Catholic dogma and facts. Being a smallish parish we have had classes that ranged from about a dozen to as few as one. Our resources are such that the un-baptized (catechumens) and the baptized (candidates) are lumped all together. In the first couple of sessions each newbie is paired up with a sponsor who will be expected to attend all the meetings as well as the Sunday Mass with their newbie. The first few meetings we have a surplus of sponsors in attendance and by the end of the first couple of weeks the newbie is expected to have chosen a sponsor suitable to them. On occasion a candidate or catechumen will have someone already picked out when they come for the first meeting.We sit as a group in the front of the Church. Because the groups are small and sponsors are expected to attend Mass we do not dismiss the catechumens after the liturgy of the word. The newbies are told not to receive communion but to remain in the pew. After the blessing and before the dismissal we as a group are dismissed and process out and down to our meeting room to Break Open the Word (a forty-five minute session on that Sunday’s readings). After a five minute break we get into the lesson which usually takes about an hour and a half. The various rituals involved in RCIA take place during the Mass at the appropriate times over the course of the approximately 10 months of Fall, Winter, and Spring. Starts in early September and goes at least to Pentecost and sometimes beyond depending on when Easter happens to occur.

Topics covered this past year were as follows, one each meeting:

Introduction to the idea of a Faith Journey and getting acquainted; The Bible and How Catholics Interpret it; The Mass; The Saints and Mary; Places in the Church Building, Vestments, Vessels, etc.; Catholics and Prayer; Catholic Practices and Devotions; The Jewish People and the Early Church; Church History from Constantine to the Present.

Introduction to the Sacraments; Baptism; Confirmation; Reconciliation; Holy Eucharist; Anointing of the Sick;, Matrimony: and Holy Orders. Each Sacrament is taught about and one or more people who have received that Sacrament may share how it has impacted their lives.

Morality and Moral Decision Making (includes proper formation of Conscience material); Social Justice ( Labor Encyclicals, Just Wages, option for the Poor, etc.); Dignity of Life Issues (abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, etc.) The Catholic teaching on birth control, what is acceptable and what is not is covered under Sacrament of Matrimony and further in Morality.)

There is an evening session for discernment of readiness for entry into the Church as well as a half day mini-retreat with an opportunity for receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There are also several meetings after the Easter Vigil and finally a “Sending Forth’ with a celebration open to the whole parish.

We have had a School Sister of St Francis in charge for the last fifteen years along with three lay instructors. All four take turns leading BOW and in leading the weeks lesson.

The only issue that seems to come up is the role of Mary and the Saints. In all of twenty years as one of the instructors there has been only one candidate that just could not accept that teaching. Her grandfather had been a Lutheran Minister and she felt becoming Catholic would be a betrayal of him.
 
In the early 90’s I converted to Catholicism through RCIA. Our ‘program’ was a very basic history of the church. We did tour the church. I did get a sponsor, but only saw that sponsor during our 1 1/2 hour long class each week. I have only seen this sponsor one other time (at an after hours get together with friends) since. Very little about Catholic practice or belief was covered. Needless to say, I fell away from the church shortly after Advent following my conversion.

I am back now, in a different parish. I went to my priest to ask help in finding a spiritual director. He told me to consider helping with RCIA because we learn best by teaching.

I say all that to get to this: Be sure to give a chance for catechumens to be exposed to the different devotions. Go over how to use the missal to follow along in Mass. Cover the major prayers. Give them an experience of what Adoration is like.

RCIA should be an immersion in catholic belief and practice, especially for those who are new to the church, IMO.
 
My RCIA program was one of the most frustrating, disappointing, and painful experiences of my life - and it all could have been avoided with a little organization, communication, and compassion. If I hadn’t already been determined to join the Church (thanks to EWTN I already had a good grasp on the Catholic faith), I would have left after my second session. I think it’s of UTMOST importance to make the students feel comfortable and free to ask anything they need to - even if it has to be outside of the classroom. My class was all about the catechist - not the investigators. The biggest complain any of us had was that we never knew what was going to happen - at the time or later. For example, all we learned about the sacrament of confession was that it was required only if a person comitted a mortal sin (whatever “mortal sin” meant). We practically begged to know how to approach the confessional and what to say, but all the instructor would tell us was to “follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.” We wanted to know what would happen at the Cathedral for the “Rite of Election” but were told to “just go with the flow.” Instead of being properly prepared, we were just scared and dreading it.
Please, please don’t hesitate to stand up for what the Catholic faith really is - don’t water it down (“everyone commits a mortal sin at some time, so don’t worry about it too much”), and don’t sugar-coat the standards and regulations prayerfully put into place by the Vatican (“most Catholics believe that abortion is murder, but you have to follow the dictates of your own conscience”). If we’re gonna’ be bashed, then let’s be bashed for what we really are.
 
I agree with the above poster. Don’t water things down! Non-Catholics like hearing gentle desciptions of things, but us converts need to hear the truth. Making things serious and important works.
 
This first one has already been mentioned, but I wholeheartedly believe that the RCIA process shouldn’t just cover history and “the rules,” but also the practical aspects of the faith. My (rather poor!) RCIA instructors never mentioned something so basic as genuflecting!

I also think that an RCIA process should strive to fit and meet the needs of its participants. There were only 4 other people in my class, but we received very little individual instruction. No one-on-one meetings to check in or address any questions people didn’t want to bring up in the group.

Depending on the ages and life positions of the individuals in the program, it might be a good idea for certain topics to be addressed in very concrete terms. We discussed Catholic morality and following one’s conscience, but the idea of Catholic morality was never explicitly defined! I completed my sacraments on a college campus, and I felt that there were some issues particular to twentysomethings that should’ve been discussed in a frank manner; instead, they were never brought up at all!

But the simple fact that you’re asking for suggestions on this forum tells me that any RCIA program you instruct/influence will be much holier and more informative than the watered-down version I participated in.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and please, keep it up!

We had our first leadership team meeting, and I’m greatly encouraged.

You’ll be glad to know that we’re dedicating almost an entire session to “Catholic Etiquette,” including, of course, genuflecting. 😃

We are trying to include “practical aspects.” Along that line, we’re having our local certified NFP teaching-couple in to discuss contraception, and perhaps the leader of our local Birthright branch in to discuss abortion.

And while seeking to avoid politics, we aim to discuss, briefly, the USCCB’s Voter’s Guide–namely, that you cannot vote for a candidate who supports a grave moral evil unless you are choosing between the lesser of two evils; that all issues are not of equal weight, and life issues top them all; and that “the way a person votes may affect his salvation.” Outside of that, we’re going to try to leave politics alone, since politics have a way of taking over, although we may have to give more thought to how much we’re going to cover “social justice.” In my mind, a very basic outline will do. The problem with discussions on social justice is not that they are unnecessary, but that they tend to take over, particularly in more “open group” type sessions.

Please, continue to relate your experiences and suggestions.

And to whoever said it: you’re absolutely right, it’s not a “program.” 🙂
 
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