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palmas85

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My good friend and co-worker after several years of thinking has decided to enter the Catholic Church. He has enrolled in the local parish RCIA program. I have posted once before on the books they were told to use. He has now attended three meetings and has faithfully reported to me what is hapening at them. So I thought I would share his experiences with the readers. With his permission of course.

The first meeting lasted about an hour, introductions were made, handshakes extended all around and everyone told their life story and why they were considering the church. Their books were given out as well as a homework assignment. Then they had a group Our Father, holding hands of course, and then cake, cookies and punch.

The second meeting: lasted about 45 minutes. No mention made as to the homwork assignment, or as to any of the assigned readings. Two hymns were sung accomppanied by guitar and a slide show of the beach with footprints on it and a discussion of whether or not God loves us and cares. A group Our Father, holding Hands, and then cake, cookies, ice cream and punch.

The third meeting: Only two of the RCIA staff showed up for this one, everyone was told the tearful story of how one of them came into the Church because of the great love they felt from the community. After that everyone explained again why they wanted to come into the church. The meeting concluded with a group Our Father, holding hands, and a group hug. They then had the requisite cake, cookies and punch. This meeting lasted a little more than a half hour.

I thought the whole purpose of RCIA was to instruct new people in the faith. Well, when does it start? My friend is getting discouraged and he asked me pointedly just why he has to go through this process if all they are going to do is talk about how much Jesus loves us and not instruct them in anything? Good point. I didn’t have an answer for him. Maybe someone on this forum who does RCIA can explain just what is going on. Is this parish in line with RCIA guidelines? Does the RCIA program give any instruction at all in the faith or is it all just some feel good about each other thing. This guy really wants to be Catholic but he is getting really disillusioned about the whole process. He says the whole thing seems more like a coffee klatch then any kind of learning activity.

Please help!
 
It gets me upset to hear about things like that going on in the RCIA program. At my parish I was told that one of the RCIA instructors told the whole class that they really didn’t need to be Catholic to get to heaven and being Catholic was just one of many different ways to get there. He went on to say that you could be Buddhist (sp?) if that worked for you and brought you closer to God.
 
When I went through RCIA about 5 years ago, we had an agenda with what would be covered each night. Our meetings were scheduled to be two hours long, but sometimes would last three because there was so much to cover. Maybe your friend could ask to see the agenda. If they don’t plan on gettin serious quickly, he should check with another parish.
 
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palmas85:
My good friend and co-worker after several years of thinking has decided to enter the Catholic Church. He has enrolled in the local parish RCIA program. I have posted once before on the books they were told to use. He has now attended three meetings and has faithfully reported to me what is hapening at them. So I thought I would share his experiences with the readers. With his permission of course.

The first meeting lasted about an hour, introductions were made, handshakes extended all around and everyone told their life story and why they were considering the church. Their books were given out as well as a homework assignment. Then they had a group Our Father, holding hands of course, and then cake, cookies and punch.

The second meeting: lasted about 45 minutes. No mention made as to the homwork assignment, or as to any of the assigned readings. Two hymns were sung accomppanied by guitar and a slide show of the beach with footprints on it and a discussion of whether or not God loves us and cares. A group Our Father, holding Hands, and then cake, cookies, ice cream and punch.

The third meeting: Only two of the RCIA staff showed up for this one, everyone was told the tearful story of how one of them came into the Church because of the great love they felt from the community. After that everyone explained again why they wanted to come into the church. The meeting concluded with a group Our Father, holding hands, and a group hug. They then had the requisite cake, cookies and punch. This meeting lasted a little more than a half hour.

I thought the whole purpose of RCIA was to instruct new people in the faith. Well, when does it start? My friend is getting discouraged and he asked me pointedly just why he has to go through this process if all they are going to do is talk about how much Jesus loves us and not instruct them in anything? Good point. I didn’t have an answer for him. Maybe someone on this forum who does RCIA can explain just what is going on. Is this parish in line with RCIA guidelines? Does the RCIA program give any instruction at all in the faith or is it all just some feel good about each other thing. This guy really wants to be Catholic but he is getting really disillusioned about the whole process. He says the whole thing seems more like a coffee klatch then any kind of learning activity.

Please help!
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This is basically what the Inquiry phase of RCIA is. However there should also be some informal question and answer time. A Sponsor should be assigned at the beginning of Inquiry if the person has no one of preference. Catechesis (teaching) begins after the Rites of Acceptance into the order of Catechumens and after the Rite of Welcome as Candidates. Inquiry is about six to eight weeks in length.
 
I sponsored a friend when I lived in Gallup, New Mexico. The RCIA leader was a Native American lady, initially very nice. Some solid instruction about Catholicism, initially, combined with, I believe rightly, an emphasis on what it means to follow Christ. She started, however, to inject some Native American “spirituality” into the mix, however, and it got very odd. One retreat, we were supposed to stand facing the four cardinal directions and greet the wind of that direction. I refused to do so, didn’t make a big stink (which I should have), simply refused to comply. She latter told my friend that I had a “white male pre-Vatican II mindset.”
 
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JKirkLVNV:
I sponsored a friend when I lived in Gallup, New Mexico. The RCIA leader was a Native American lady, initially very nice. Some solid instruction about Catholicism, initially, combined with, I believe rightly, an emphasis on what it means to follow Christ. She started, however, to inject some Native American “spirituality” into the mix, however, and it got very odd. One retreat, we were supposed to stand facing the four cardinal directions and greet the wind of that direction. I refused to do so, didn’t make a big stink (which I should have), simply refused to comply. She latter told my friend that I had a “white male pre-Vatican II mindset.”
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Although not at RCIA but in CCD we had a catechist in our parish teaching all the children in her class that the Eucharist was merely a symbol and Christ was not really present.
 
Like dulcissima said, ours was around two hours long and each class had an agenda. Each class was meticulously planned, it had to be since there’s so much to cover in a short time (granted the RCIA process lasts about 7 months, but when one thinks about all there is to Catholicism its a very short time).

I understand why the first class went the way it did, RE: the introductions, getting to know one another, etc. (that’s how it was my first class) but after that it should be time to get down to business.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
This is basically what the Inquiry phase of RCIA is. However there should also be some informal question and answer time. A Sponsor should be assigned at the beginning of Inquiry if the person has no one of preference. Catechesis (teaching) begins after the Rites of Acceptance into the order of Catechumens and after the Rite of Welcome as Candidates. Inquiry is about six to eight weeks in length.
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Thanks for that answer, it does seem to make sense. I will let my friend know that the process should get more meaningful shortly. Again thanks.
 
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JKirkLVNV:
I sponsored a friend when I lived in Gallup, New Mexico. The RCIA leader was a Native American lady, initially very nice. Some solid instruction about Catholicism, initially, combined with, I believe rightly, an emphasis on what it means to follow Christ. She started, however, to inject some Native American “spirituality” into the mix, however, and it got very odd. One retreat, we were supposed to stand facing the four cardinal directions and greet the wind of that direction. I refused to do so, didn’t make a big stink (which I should have), simply refused to comply. She latter told my friend that I had a “white male pre-Vatican II mindset.”
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I never would have thought you had a white male pre-Vatican II mindset. Maybe you and I have more in common than we thought. 😃
 
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palmas85:
I never would have thought you had a white male pre-Vatican II mindset. Maybe you and I have more in common than we thought. 😃
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I hope I’m orthodox. I think it’s MY duty to comply with the Church, not the Church’s duty to comply with me.

And pray for me…a lovely young lady with whom I teach has asked me to be her sponsor through RCIA this coming year. She and her fiance have determined that they wish to have a Catholic marriage and rear a Catholic family. This is particularly wonderful inasmuch as she was baptized a Mormon during her teenaged years…but her parish lists itself as a “Catholic Community” (we have 2 of those in the diocese). I hear a bell ringing somewhere in my mind.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
This is basically what the Inquiry phase of RCIA is. However there should also be some informal question and answer time. A Sponsor should be assigned at the beginning of Inquiry if the person has no one of preference. Catechesis (teaching) begins after the Rites of Acceptance into the order of Catechumens and after the Rite of Welcome as Candidates. Inquiry is about six to eight weeks in length.
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I guess my entire RCIA experience was a long series of inquiry sessions. No food, soda, coffe or beer during lent of course.
 
I am so thankful to God that my Dad entered the Church while he was in the Marines many years ago and raised all of us kids as Catholics. If I had to go thru an RCIA program, I woulda been outta there the first time a stranger grabbed my hand and held on. That’s “bad touch” in my vocabulary. :nope:

And I almost went into diabetic shock just reading about the cookies, cake, ice cream and punch??? What, none of those little tasty mints they serve at weddings?? You go expecting to receive the meat of Church teaching and you end up with a touchy-feely Willy Winky’s candy shop.

Oh, and then there’s the public dunking in the sacred swimming pool to look forward to. Wow. I’m surprised they aren’t stampeding our parishes just to experience that alone. :rolleyes:
 
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JKirkLVNV:
I sponsored a friend when I lived in Gallup, New Mexico. The RCIA leader was a Native American lady, initially very nice. Some solid instruction about Catholicism, initially, combined with, I believe rightly, an emphasis on what it means to follow Christ. She started, however, to inject some Native American “spirituality” into the mix, however, and it got very odd. One retreat, we were supposed to stand facing the four cardinal directions and greet the wind of that direction. I refused to do so, didn’t make a big stink (which I should have), simply refused to comply. She latter told my friend that I had a “white male pre-Vatican II mindset.”
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This, and other similar stories make me sick. I think this is what happens when the Church lets something as important as catechesis be taken off of a priest’s list of dutries, where it rightfully belongs, and instead fall into the laps of lay people. I don’t think RCIA, as it is currently constructed, is a good thing.

In my own experience, I had a nun (I could only tell she was a nun because she presented herself that way; otherwise she just looked like a hip grandma) tell our class that the Church needs to “reconsider the roles of women” and “rethink its rules on celibacy.” This is not the kind of thing new converts should be exposed to.

At the end of the program, I lamented the fact that we hadn’t been taught how to pray the rosary. Another guy said he was upset because we hadn’t gone over the Creed and he was getting frustrated in Church that he couldn’t recite it. Of course when Confirmation came around, we heard nothing about the practice of taking a Saint’s name. When I asked the priest, he said it was just an old tradition, and when I asked how many Catholics still actually do this, he said “it’s 50/50.” One guy ended up taking the confirmation name of “Wayne” because he liked John Wayne. Seriously. The sad thing is that some of the parish sponsors heard him say this, and nobody said a word to him about it. Thanks to the RCIA experience, “50/50” exactly my describes impression of the standard, Novus Ordo parish.

I would urge anyone considering conversion to find the closest Traditional Latin Mass parish (God knows they are pitifully scarce at the moment!) and ask one of the priests to serve as a spiritual advisor. That priest can then gauge the candidate’s readiness and receive him into the Church when the time is right.
 
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JKirkLVNV:
I hope I’m orthodox. I think it’s MY duty to comply with the Church, not the Church’s duty to comply with me.

And pray for me…a lovely young lady with whom I teach has asked me to be her sponsor through RCIA this coming year. She and her fiance have determined that they wish to have a Catholic marriage and rear a Catholic family. This is particularly wonderful inasmuch as she was baptized a Mormon during her teenaged years…but her parish lists itself as a “Catholic Community” (we have 2 of those in the diocese). I hear a bell ringing somewhere in my mind.
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Thank God! As an orthodox Catholic, you know it’s your duty to see that this woman is properly catechized. This is how it starts, one soul at a time.
 
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