RCIA?

[Adam14]

I apologize if this isn’t the correct place for my question.

I’m very interested in attending RCIA. I’ve emailed one of the local Catholic churches here to ask for information, but haven’t heard anything back yet, but I should hear back soon.

Since I’m impatient , I thought I’d ask on here. I remember reading that at least one poster on here “taught” RCIA, if that’s the correct way to put it. And I’m pretty sure other Catholics on here attended RCIA. (I don’t remember exactly who it was, otherwise I’d send a message to them with my question)

My question is, is it more like a class with other RCIA attendants, that meets at the church prior to Mass on Sundays? Or is it more of a personal one on one with a represenative of the church? I did a simular process when I became Lutheran, and the “class” met weekly prior to the church service.

I’ve done a little research on the process, but the little bit I’ve checked into so far isn’t that specific. So my guess is that it varies depending on the parish?

I know the process doesn’t have a specific length of time tied to it, but I’m just hoping some here can give me some insight based of your experience.

I greatly appreciate any info you guys/gals can provide! Thanks

 

[SacredHeartFan]

I apologize if this isn’t the correct place for my question.

I’m very interested in attending RCIA. I’ve emailed one of the local Catholic churches here to ask for information, but haven’t heard anything back yet, but I should hear back soon.

Since I’m impatient , I thought I’d ask on here. I remember reading that at least one poster on here “taught” RCIA, if that’s the correct way to put it. And I’m pretty sure other Catholics on here attended RCIA. (I don’t remember exactly who it was, otherwise I’d send a message to them with my question)

My question is, is it more like a class with other RCIA attendants, that meets at the church prior to Mass on Sundays? Or is it more of a personal one on one with a represenative of the church? I did a simular process when I became Lutheran, and the “class” met weekly prior to the church service.

I’ve done a little research on the process, but the little bit I’ve checked into so far isn’t that specific. So my guess is that it varies depending on the parish?

I know the process doesn’t have a specific length of time tied to it, but I’m just hoping some here can give me some insight based of your experience.

I greatly appreciate any info you guys/gals can provide! Thanks

Buy a copy of the cathecism! Great source of Catholic information. It’s what they’ll be teaching you in RCIA.
Oh yea…

WELCOME HOME!!!
:clapping: :clapping: :extrahappy: :tiphat:

 

[PaulDupre]

I attended RCIA as a sponsor this past year with my adult son who came into the Church at Easter.

It is a class, taught by one or more teachers. In my parish, the class was on Thursday nights. Other parishes may have different schedules.

The class was quite large, so after the first few weeks they split the class into two separate classes - one for catechumens (those who have not yet been baptized) and one for candidates (those who have been baptized but have not yet been confirmed or received first communion).

It was a great experience, and we met lots of new friends, some of whom still sit with us at mass.

God bless you in your journey,
Paul

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

My question is, is it more like a class with other RCIA attendants, that meets at the church prior to Mass on Sundays? Or is it more of a personal one on one with a represenative of the church? I did a simular process when I became Lutheran, and the “class” met weekly prior to the church service.

You’ll want to talk with the people at your parish because each parish has its own way of doing things.

In my parish we come together twice a week. All of the RCIA folks attend the 9am Mass together (if at all possible). This is the Mass where we do dismissals of the catechumens and it’s the Mass where we have the various rites. Even though candidates aren’t dismissed, we encourage them to come to this Mass anyway as a way of building community. You’ll usually find a group of RCIA people gathered outside the doors after Mass or having coffee and donuts together.

One evening a week we have our catechetical sessions. They run about an hour and a half. We read and discuss the gospel for the upcoming Sunday then dive into our topic of the week. We cover a variety of topics relating to the Catholic faith so that people will have a foundation to build on in the future.

Our weekly sessions are made up of all the candidates and catechumens so it’s definitely not one-on-one, though, of course, we’re available to meet with people individually if they have questions or concerns.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

I’m part of the RCIA team at my parish. Each parish is different but typically you meet as a group once a week, after Sunday mass or on a weekday evening, for 1 to 2 hours depending on the parish. Although RCIA should really be for catechumens (those who haven’t been baptized) and the candidates (those already baptized) should have a separate formation program, this is not practical. So all the RCIA programs I know of are for both.

In the parish of a friend in Florida the class was taught by the deacon and was rather dry I thought.

In my parish it is taught by a team of four. We are the deacon, myself(unmarried), a married woman with a grown son, and a young married man with four children. I think this is helpful since we each have different strengths and experiences. Two of us present the topics each week. We encourage questions (there are no dumb questions) and sharing. The other candidates often have much to share and may have extensive knowledge of the bible, as well as their life experiences and faith journeys.

In many places the process begins in September, those who are ready come into the church at Easter, and the group continues meeting until early June. In some parishes, the process is ongoing and people can come into the inquiry part of the process at any time of the year. Those you are ready can be accepted into the church at times other than the Easter season but Easter and Pentecost are particularly appropriate times.

I say ‘those who are ready’ come into the church. Sometimes a person decides to stop RCIA and perhaps attend another time or in another parish. That’s OK. Or a person may want to continue another year before making the commitment or may just decide not to become Catholic. Some people have marriage issues that need to be addressed and they may may be accepted into the church as soon as they are resolved without going through RCIA a second time.

Some priests will arrange for private instruction depending on your circumstances but RCIA, or the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, is the usual route for entrance into the church. I hope your journey is a happy one.

 

[Adam14]

Thanks for all the good info everyone!

I assume that even though I’m baptised (Lutheran), I’d be considered not baptised, and a catechumen?

And my wife said that she would go with me. She was raised Catholic, baptised, confirmed, etc…but we both became Lutheran shortly after getting married. She would be considered a candidate?

Am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again for all the information!

 

[dhgray]

Thanks for all the good info everyone!

I assume that even though I’m baptised (Lutheran), I’d be considered not baptised, and a catechumen?

NO! The Catholic Church believes once baptised always baptised as long as the bpatism is performed in the trident format (father-son-holy spirit),

And my wife said that she would go with me. She was raised Catholic, baptised, confirmed, etc…but we both became Lutheran shortly after getting married. She would be considered a candidate?

YES your wife should go with you … if nothing else than to reconnect with her faith. She is what we would call a revert as you would be a convert.

Am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again for all the information!

you are definately asking the right questions.

if you have any other questions, please ask.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

Thanks for all the good info everyone!

I assume that even though I’m baptised (Lutheran), I’d be considered not baptised, and a catechumen?

And my wife said that she would go with me. She was raised Catholic, baptised, confirmed, etc…but we both became Lutheran shortly after getting married. She would be considered a candidate?

Am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again for all the information!

You are validly baptized so you would be a candidate.

Your wife is considered Catholic. For her to come back into the church, she would just have to go to confession in order to receive Communion. You two would also have to renew your marriage vows before a priest if you were not originally married in the Catholic church. Then she is good to go! She should see a priest ASAP about this.

It would be a good idea for her to attend the RCIA classes with you because she would probably learn a lot and she would be with you on your journey into the church.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Thanks for all the good info everyone!

I assume that even though I’m baptised (Lutheran), I’d be considered not baptised, and a catechumen?

And my wife said that she would go with me. She was raised Catholic, baptised, confirmed, etc…but we both became Lutheran shortly after getting married. She would be considered a candidate?

Am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again for all the information!

Not exactly.

People who are baptized are baptized. We don’t baptize a second time. So no, you would be a candidate (for reception into the Church) not a catechumen. We recognize and honor your status as someone who is already baptized.

Your wife, on the other hand, is already Catholic, so she wouldn’t be a catechumen or a candidate. She’s certainly welcome to attend the classes with you – and it would probably be good for both of you to be able to discuss things you learn. But since she’s already Catholic she wouldn’t go through any of the rites. The only thing she needs to do is go to confession.

Also, if you were married in the Lutheran church you’ll need to have your marriage convalidated. Since she was Catholic she needed to be married by Catholic clergy or get a dispensation. If neither of you was married previously this should be very simple.

 

[Adam14]

SuscipeMeDomine and Claire from DE,

Again, many thanks for the information.

Curveball time!

You both mentioned us needing our marriage convalidated if we were’nt married before a priest in a Catholic church…

I was baptist, she was Catholic when we got married. We were going to get married in the Catholic church she grew up in, but the priest really gave us problems. Long story short, he started questioning her dad on his attendance and tithe. He family has 2 homes, and splits time between 2 parishes. The priest said that for a certain dollar amount (significant amount IMO), we could be married in that church. Separate issue - I went with her family to the Christmas mass at this particular parish, and this same priest devoted the entire “sermon” to tithing, not once did he mention Christ’s birth, or anything related! I really feel that this particular priest was wrong, and that NOT ALL priests would have done the same…anyway, I guess that’s a seperate discussion.

Her dad was willing to do it, so his daughter can be married where she grew up. I was furious, and my wife wasn’t happy about it either.

Long story short, we were married in a Baptist church, by a Baptist minister, AND a Catholic priest(her sister’s priest at a totally different parish).

It’s rather confusing, but my guess is that the church would still make us validate our marriage.

 

[dhgray]

First of all, yes your marriage is valid. The Catholic Church recoginizes marraiges outside of the Chruch. However, to make it truly a “sacramental” marraige, it needs to be blessed by a priest. Since there was a priest present, it may already be blessed. Your local parish priest should be able to help you straighten this all out.

Second. Not all priests are like the first priest your in-laws encountered and not all priests will focus the Christmas Homily on tithing. However, the serman may not have been ment for you…maybe the Lord need that message to go out to someone else.

Finally, Pleaes pay close attention to the difference between the Chatolic Church and the Baptist Church. I say this because twice you have stated that a sacrament may not be valid…this is a Baptist teaching. Must be Baptised in their church or married in their chruch, etc. You will find the Catholics are close to the Truth.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

If the priest was there as the official church witness and the marriage was registered in a Catholic parish, then it was valid. The priest would have had to ask for a dispensation for the ceremony to take place in the Baptist church. You should call the priest and/or his parish to see if it was registered. The pastor of your father-in-law’s parish sounds like a crazy person or under a lot of stress.

If you find out a convalidation is needed, talk to the pastor of the church you plan to attend. You should register in the parish as well. Are you already going to mass there? You should start attending mass regularly if you aren’t already doing so. Your wife is Catholic so you would not have to begin RCIA before having your marriage blessed in the Church. Hopefully it could be done very soon.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

First of all, yes your marriage is valid. The Catholic Church recoginizes marraiges outside of the Chruch. However, to make it truly a “sacramental” marraige, it needs to be blessed by a priest. Since there was a priest present, it may already be blessed. Your local parish priest should be able to help you straighten this all out.

The Catholic church might recognize the marriage as legal but maybe not valid. Since one of the parties was Catholic, it may not be valid (which means a sacrament).

The church recognizes marriage between two baptized protestants as valid. But if one of the people is a Catholic, the marriage has to take place according to Church law for it to be valid. We don’t have enough information to know if that happened.

If neither person had a prior marriage, it should not be at all difficult to set the situation right so the Catholic partner could begin to receive the Eucharist very soon.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Long story short, we were married in a Baptist church, by a Baptist minister, AND a Catholic priest(her sister’s priest at a totally different parish).

First of all I’m very sorry about the priest you encountered when you wanted to get married. He’s not typical as I hope you’ve since found out.

Probably what you’ll want to do is get your wife’s sacramental record (at the church where she was baptized) to make sure that your marriage was recorded and that the priest got the proper dispensation for you. If so, then everything is good. If not, it will be easy to take care of.

It’s rather confusing, but my guess is that the church would still make us validate our marriage.

Only if things weren’t done right. Hopefully the priest who witnessed your marriage took care of all the paperwork for you. The only reason I even question it is because you describe him as your sister-in-law’s priest. If he had done your marriage preparation then I assume you’d refer to him as “my wife’s priest” or “our priest.”

 

[Claire_from_DE]

First of all I’m very sorry about the priest you encountered when you wanted to get married. He’s not typical as I hope you’ve since found out.

Probably what you’ll want to do is get your wife’s sacramental record (at the church where she was baptized) to make sure that your marriage was recorded and that the priest got the proper dispensation for you. If so, then everything is good. If not, it will be easy to take care of.

Interesting. Are records of first Communion, Confirmation, and Matrimony always sent to the parish where the person was baptized? Are they also recorded in the parish where they took place?

 

[Adam14]

I’ll have to do some checking to see if it was registered with the Catholic church. Either way, I’m not above having our marriage blessed by a priest again, as I can certainly see no harm coming from it.

Like I said before, my wife and I are both members of the Lutheran church. Going to church together(the same church) is a really big deal for us. Her being Catholic and I was at the time Baptist, after attending different types of churches, we felt that the Lutheran church was a place we both were happy to go to, together.

Up to and during the time of our marriage, I knew next to nothing about the Catholic church and was totally baffled about why this was such a big deal. Now that I’m leaning towards converting to Catholicism, I wish I had started feeling this way before we got married, so that both of us would be Catholic and attending mass together now, of course hindsight is always 20/20. Now I think my wife prefers the Lutheran church, but has nothing against the Catholic church. I think that as I convert, she will go back to her roots. So I agree that RCIA will probably benefit her as well.

Please excuse my selfish request, but please pray that this works out so that BOTH of us do what God calls us to do.

 

[puzzleannie]

howdy and welcome to the forums
and Welcome Home!
you will find the past threads on RCIA with comments from teachers, team members, participants, catechumens and so forth on the Evangelization sub-forum, so browsing there may provide some answers for you

questions on the sacraments themselves are on the liturgy and sacraments forum

I would not wait for an answer to email but make appointment with the pastor for a personal interview to discuss your questions, needs and concerns. He will put you in touch with the right people in your parish. Bear in mind this time of year many are on vacation, so programs may not gear up again until August or September.

for instance I will respond to email and phone while I am gone next month, and all my candidates have those contacts, but wont have meetings and classes until august–we go year 'round except July because down here almost everybody is gone that month. yes I “teach” RCIA, really I coordinate all religious education programs, including preparation for sacraments, and for reception into the Catholic Church, for children, youth and adults of the parish. I am part of a team not a lone wolf. We have classes in English and Spanish.

My main job besides setting up the programs and the resources for classes and other processes to meet the varied needs of all these people, is to recruit and train catechists and other volunteers.

for instance this year we will have 7 classes of children ranging from grades 3-12 who will be making first communion, 68 teens for confirmation, about 5 adults and 20 children who will be received into the Church at Easter through RCIA. Plus about 600 children and teens in regular religious education and bible study classes. Somebody else handles classes, bible studies, prayer groups etc for adult Catholics, and infant baptism classes (for the parents and godparents, not the infants). We are required to provide 3 (2-hr) classes for parents and sponsors for every sacrament the children receive as well.

we have 8 people on the RCIA team, and if someone needs a sponsor–the person who is already Catholic who walks with them on their faith journey–we can provide one.

typically if you have never been baptized you can expect to spend a period of inquiry–where you ask questions, get answers, here the initial proclamation of the gospel and who Jesus us and what He has done for us. when you, and your team leaders, feel you are ready to move on and begin the process of becoming Catholic, you will enter the catechumenate, the longest period of prayer, study and preparation, which lasts no less than one year. The period of Lent before the Easter in which you will be baptized is intense preparation spiritually and when conversion is tested and supported through the prayers of the entire Church. At EAster you are baptized, confirmed and make first communion. the final period, a minimum of 50 days after Easter, ideally at least once a month meetings for a year, is mystagogy, and is very important, If you skip it, you risk losing what you fought so hard to gain. It is when you reflect on what happened at Easter and begin, with support of the parish, your new life in Christ.

Each of these periods has a period of transition which is marked by certain rites (sacred celebrations) of the Church intended to strengthen and support you. These rites will be explained as the arise, so as not to overwhelm you.

You can expect, during your journey, to spend some time with your teachers, sponsor and other candidates reflecting on the Sunday readings, especially the Gospels, learning about the beliefs and practices of the Catholic church, and most especially undergoing conversion with the help and support of the Church

again, Welcome Home. start a thread on Evangelization for specific questions. one expert here on RCIA is BroSFO

If you are already baptized, your special status will be recognized and honored. you will probably find yourself in a class with others like yourself, but also unbaptized persons, and adult Catholics who have never learned their faith and need confirmation. You may study together since you need to learn essentially the same things, and pray and hear the gospel together, but the transitions, periods and rites will be different for each group. You will support each other in the process as well.

How long will all this take? as long as it takes for you.

 

[dhgray]

First of all, yes your marriage is valid. The Catholic Church recoginizes marraiges outside of the Chruch.

However, to make it truly a “sacramental” marraige, it needs to be blessed by a priest. Since there was a priest present, it may already be blessed. Your local parish priest should be able to help you straighten this all out.

The Catholic church might recognize the marriage as legal but maybe not valid. Since one of the parties was Catholic, it may not be valid (which means a sacrament).

The church recognizes marriage between two baptized protestants as valid. But if one of the people is a Catholic, the marriage has to take place according to Church law for it to be valid. We don’t have enough information to know if that happened.

If neither person had a prior marriage, it should not be at all difficult to set the situation right so the Catholic partner could begin to receive the Eucharist very soon.
appreciate your clarification

 

[puzzleannie]

no one here is competent to make any statement about the validity of your marriage, since your wife is or was Catholic. For that you both need to meet with the pastor and tell him about your personal circumstances. At the most, presuming neither of you has been married before, a simple rite of convalidation of the marriage will be performed sometime before your reception of the other sacraments.

 

[Adam14]

howdy and welcome to the forums
and Welcome Home!
you will find the past threads on RCIA with comments from teachers, team members, participants, catechumens and so forth on the Evangelization sub-forum, so browsing there may provide some answers for you

questions on the sacraments themselves are on the liturgy and sacraments forum

I would not wait for an answer to email but make appointment with the pastor for a personal interview to discuss your questions, needs and concerns. He will put you in touch with the right people in your parish. Bear in mind this time of year many are on vacation, so programs may not gear up again until August or September.

for instance I will respond to email and phone while I am gone next month, and all my candidates have those contacts, but wont have meetings and classes until august–we go year 'round except July because down here almost everybody is gone that month. yes I “teach” RCIA, really I coordinate all religious education programs, including preparation for sacraments, and for reception into the Catholic Church, for children, youth and adults of the parish. I am part of a team not a lone wolf. We have classes in English and Spanish.

My main job besides setting up the programs and the resources for classes and other processes to meet the varied needs of all these people, is to recruit and train catechists and other volunteers.

for instance this year we will have 7 classes of children ranging from grades 3-12 who will be making first communion, 68 teens for confirmation, about 5 adults and 20 children who will be received into the Church at Easter through RCIA. Plus about 600 children and teens in regular religious education and bible study classes. Somebody else handles classes, bible studies, prayer groups etc for adult Catholics, and infant baptism classes (for the parents and godparents, not the infants). We are required to provide 3 (2-hr) classes for parents and sponsors for every sacrament the children receive as well.

we have 8 people on the RCIA team, and if someone needs a sponsor–the person who is already Catholic who walks with them on their faith journey–we can provide one.

typically if you have never been baptized you can expect to spend a period of inquiry–where you ask questions, get answers, here the initial proclamation of the gospel and who Jesus us and what He has done for us. when you, and your team leaders, feel you are ready to move on and begin the process of becoming Catholic, you will enter the catechumenate, the longest period of prayer, study and preparation, which lasts no less than one year. The period of Lent before the Easter in which you will be baptized is intense preparation spiritually and when conversion is tested and supported through the prayers of the entire Church. At EAster you are baptized, confirmed and make first communion. the final period, a minimum of 50 days after Easter, ideally at least once a month meetings for a year, is mystagogy, and is very important, If you skip it, you risk losing what you fought so hard to gain. It is when you reflect on what happened at Easter and begin, with support of the parish, your new life in Christ.

Each of these periods has a period of transition which is marked by certain rites (sacred celebrations) of the Church intended to strengthen and support you. These rites will be explained as the arise, so as not to overwhelm you.

You can expect, during your journey, to spend some time with your teachers, sponsor and other candidates reflecting on the Sunday readings, especially the Gospels, learning about the beliefs and practices of the Catholic church, and most especially undergoing conversion with the help and support of the Church

again, Welcome Home. start a thread on Evangelization for specific questions. one expert here on RCIA is BroSFO

If you are already baptized, your special status will be recognized and honored. you will probably find yourself in a class with others like yourself, but also unbaptized persons, and adult Catholics who have never learned their faith and need confirmation. You may study together since you need to learn essentially the same things, and pray and hear the gospel together, but the transitions, periods and rites will be different for each group. You will support each other in the process as well.

How long will all this take? as long as it takes for you.

Sounds like you have your hands full! Thanks for all of your help