RECOMMEND RCIA PROGRAM?

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Matt16_18 said:
Maggie
  • Could I answer honestly to Do I accept everything the Catholic Church teaches? absolutely!*
If our candidates and catechumens can say that, then I will consider our RCIA program to be a complete success.
  • I don’t know what program they used. I will find out.*
I would like to know if they purchased a program that was developed by someone outside your parish, or if members of your church created their own material for catechesis.

How did your RCIA class handle the topic of artificial contraception? Was it clear to the catechumens and candidates that they had to accept the church’s teaching that practicing artificial contraception is a mortal sin? That seems to be the biggest stumbling block that I am banging into. Did someone explain NFP? Was the Pope’s theology of the body ever mentioned?
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They covered that in Inquiry. Pretty much they told us that if we couldn’t accept the Church’s teaching on Abortion, Contraception, Divorce, the Pope, I don’t remember all of them (I knew them and wasn’t bothered by them, so I don’t remember all of them, and no one stopped coming as a result), but all of the controversial ones that there were plenty of other Christian denominations that we were welcome to look into but those were inherent Catholic doctrines and we should discuss them before starting RCIA. They do inquiry for about six months prior to RCIA, so it gives people plenty of time to ask the tough questions.
 
Maggie

How did your church present the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception to inquirers? Did the catechists just tell the inquirers that artificial contraception is a mortal sin and leave it at that?

Did you ever get exposed to the Pope’s theology of the body?
 
Our parish uses a program called “Foundations in Faith” but I am certain that there are better out there. This one is too wishy washy for me. Our priest doesn’t like us to use the Catechism too much he’s afraid that the candidates won’t be able to understand it and it may be scared away.
We are told not to preach and stay away from controversial issues. It appears that their faith is too weak to handle these things, I suppose we’ll tell them that they cannot take birth control pills 3-4 years after they become Catholic. :rolleyes:
Very frustrating.
 
Poisson

We are told not to preach and stay away from controversial issues.

Are you a catechist for your RCIA program? How do you endure this?
  • I suppose we’ll tell them that they cannot take birth control pills 3-4 years after they become Catholic.*
I have heard Catholics tell me that we should not deny the Eucharist to those who are practicing artificial contraception, because they might receive the grace that they need to change their minds by receiving Communion. I point out to these Catholics that Church also teaches that practicing artificial contraception is a mortal sin, and that those who are in a state of mortal sin should not receive the Eucharist. It doesn’t seem to faze them though. :rolleyes:
 
Matt16_18 said:
Poisson

We are told not to preach and stay away from controversial issues.

Are you a catechist for your RCIA program? How do you endure this?
  • I suppose we’ll tell them that they cannot take birth control pills 3-4 years after they become Catholic.*
I have heard Catholics tell me that we should not deny the Eucharist to those who are practicing artificial contraception, because they might receive the grace that they need to change their minds by receiving Communion. I point out to these Catholics that Church also teaches that practicing artificial contraception is a mortal sin, and that those who are in a state of mortal sin should not receive the Eucharist. It doesn’t seem to faze them though. :rolleyes:
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I guess you could say that I am a junior catechist since I am the youngest and have been around not nearly as long as the others and I endure it with the faith and hope that God will use me as an instrument in bringing about change. Believe me there were many times that I have felt like quitting.

On the communion thing I have to say that when I was first married (15yrs. ago) my wife and I were contracepting and if I had been denied communion I would have probably simply left the church and never came back. What got me to see the errors of my ways were gentle and loving Catholics who reminded me of the Church’s teachings. (It did take some time) :rolleyes:
 
Matt16_18 said:
Maggie

How did your church present the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception to inquirers? Did the catechists just tell the inquirers that artificial contraception is a mortal sin and leave it at that?

Did you ever get exposed to the Pope’s theology of the body?
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Yeah pretty much. We covered it more later in RCIA, but we covered it up front in Inquiry. When you put it that way, yeah we did that in part for the Sacraments, under reconciliation and matrimony, and later on under some other part when we were talking about other stuff. But we’d already gotten past the “hurdle” of birth control being a sin so it wasn’t the primary issue, the issues at that point were what was due to matrimony, and what had gone on during Vatican II.
 
For RCIA we use a spiral bound book called Making Disciples published by Our Sunday Visitor. It is partitioned into about 33 chapters that are summaries taken directly out of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). I use it as a guide and outline for the 90 min. classes I teach and it works pretty well.

To address contraception I try to explain the history or developement of the modern sexual revolution along with the introduction of the pill just prior to Vatican II. When Pope John XXIII commisioned a study in 1963 to investigate family life and birth rates, the liberal theologians had a five-year field day telling everyone the pill was OK as the Church would assuredly soon change Her stance on contraception. When Paul VI (guided by the Holy Spirit) wrote Humanae Vitae in 1968, he not only went against the majority of the commision, but against a majority of Catholic couples who had by now been contracepting for years following bad priestly advice. This original momentum was not unlike original sin as it has been handed on to us today. But the wisdom and truth of Humanae Vitae stands against the tide and, like the Church, will prevail against the gates of hell. Our job is to submit to the truth - the Church. Along with John Paul’s theology of the body, read some of Humanae Vitae to them.

Jesus, I trust in you
 
At the mini-team meeting last night I was reminded of the book list. This might be of help to some here. This is given out to each person.

**Must have books: For both Catechumenate and Candidate processes.

**@ Catechism of the Catholic Church

@ Handbook for Today’s Catholic

Bible (they are given this in the Rite of Welcome or Acceptance)

$ Catholic Almanac or a Catholic dictionary or a Catholic Encyclopedia

We will have these “@ “available at the Tuesday night meetings.

These “$“ they can order from us or purchase from B&N

**Helpful additional books:

**Why Do Catholics Do That? by Kevin Orlin Johnson,

The Catholic Way -Faith for Living Today by Bishop Donald Wuerl,

One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic by Kenneth Whitehead, Ignatius

The Catechism Handbook by Oscar Lukefahr, C.M., Liguori

The Privilege of Being Catholic by Oscar Lukefahr, C.M., Liguori,

“We Believe…” by Oscar Lukefahr, C.M., Liguori

A Catholic Guide to the Bible by Oscar Lukefahr, C.M., Liguori

Catholic Customs and Traditions by Greg Dues, XXIII

A Catechumens Lectionary by Robert Hamma, Paulist

Catholics and The Eucharist by Stephen Clark, Charis

On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard, Ignatius

Scriptural Roots of Catholic Teaching by Chantal Epie, Sophia Institute

Voices of The Saints by Bert Ghezzi, Image

Teachings of the Church Fathers by John Willis, Ignatius

Understanding the Mass by Maynard Kolodziej, Catholic Book Publishing

Br. Rich, SFO
 
We use Christ Our Life series throughout our diocese published by Loyola Press . Strongly recommend.
 
Sorry. Got confused. We use Christ Our Life for Public School of Religion classes,not for RCIA.
 
Making Disciples by Our Sunday Visitor (already recommended) has outline of everything you must teach. It has several suggested study plans for one or two year programs. Family Catechism (for adults) and Teen Catechism are used to present individual lessons and as study guides, pretty much follow the table of contents of MD. They are by Fr. McBride and also from OSV. They have just come out with a guide that links the Sunday lectionary readings to the Catechism, which is perfect for Breaking Open the Word, so you tie the gospel to what you are teaching, or could be used if your parish demands a lectionary based approach.

MD is the catechist guide, not the student book. Strongly recommend the catechist spend an hour in preparation for each hour of teaching and go over the Catechism references.

Each candidate also has a 3 ring binder for handouts and take homes. We use Journey of Faith by Liguori because it comes in versions for adults, teens, kids, English and Spanish. These are for home study, mostly looking things up in Bible and catechism. The catechist guide correlates the lessons with the lectionary and provides content for Breaking open the Word. I also use some handouts from St. Anthony Messenger called Catholic Update on selected topics. Read each one carefully and check out the author before you use it. They are about 85% okay, but watch that other 15%.

Ritual Edition of RCIA from Liturgical Training Publications helps you plan for and prepare the candidates for the Rites. I have just succeeded (by what can only be direct intervention of the Holy Spirit) in having a deacon join our team.

Every participant gets a NAB (or Catholic Children’s Picture Bible for kids, Student Bible for teens), Handbook of the Catholic Faith (Liguori, adults/kids, English/Spanish) when they first sign up to help with inquiry, and a Catechism later in the course. Also Outlines of the Catholic Faith from Leaflet Missallette to help answer questions, has prayers etc. practices, doctrine easily summarized.

We are just starting Introduction to Catholicism as the basic high school text for CCD, including RCIA and Confirmation, from Didache Press, distributed by Midwest Theological Forum. I will have these available for classroom use for adults in RCIA as well.
 
I know the frustration!

We follow the Rite of Christian Initiation. Study it & follow it to guide people through this PROCESS. RCIA is a process, not a program & it involves not only study but also metanoia & apostolic action & incorporation into the community.

Over the past few years, a team has come together & we have devised lessons based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church that are done in modules. We are fortunate to have several associate team members who come in to teach just one or two modules (2 or 3 lessons.) This way the catechumens & candidates are exposed to many models of living faith during the process. The modules are “plugged” into the liturgical year so that they go along with the readings or season, etc.

We also use the book, “Teaching of Christ” edited by bishop Wuerl & Ronald Lawler (4th edition) to base many of our lessons, but we choose not to give this to the catechumens. It is excellent for developing lessons that are very scriptural, Christ-based, & faithful to Church teaching.

This is a good web-link: www.acmrcia.org It is the Association for Catechumenal Ministry.

Also, good sponsors are essential, as is including the families of those entering the Church, when possible.

Dr. D’Ambrosio has excellent RCIA materials. See www.crossroadsinitiative.com for many resources. You can’t miss with Dr. D. He is orthodox, personable, & really smart! J (he was one of my professors, so I have first-hand knowledge)

I’m not sure how we can get in touch with each other through this forum (I’m new here), but I’d be happy to share what I have.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
If anyone is interested I have a three part (3 day) Team training Power Point presentation on the 1.) Rite, 2.) The Process, 3.)The Implementation. As well as a Team Formation one and a Sponsor formation one. I will send to anyone interested. Request via Email.
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I am very interested in your presentation. I just started as RCIA Coordinator at Our Lady Of Nazareth Church in Roanoke,Va. I need all the help I can get.
Thanks, James1630
 
Our parish runs an ALPHA Program (English & Spanish) which is suceeded by Touching Jesus Through the Church (English only, the recommended supplement to Alpha for Catholics; director has programs with similar content in Spanish). The unbaptized and those with little knowledge of basic Christian doctrine are urged to begin here. We also hold inquiry sessions on Monday evening for informatl Q&A, run by DRE or Deacon.

Baptized adults, Catholic or not, who need full communion with the Catholic Church, first communion and/or confirmation, start with Touching Jesus, then start formal classes.

The RCIA class is for “graduates” of all these programs, they study together because of available manpower to staff classes and time and space constraints, also because their needs for catechesis are similar. We start after an early Mass, because many need to attend the entire Mass with families, so we don’t do the dismissal, but we do begin with Breaking Open the Word for 30 minutes. We use the guide for readings of each cycle from Liguori as the catechist reference.

Then we have a break for coffee and donuts. There is CCD for deaf teens going on at the same time so we come together for the break, sometimes a little music.

The actual class is one hour, finishes in time for the next Mass, follows lesson plan in Making Disciples from Our Sunday Visitor. We use Catechism as a reference, not a text. The revised Family Catechism also from Our Sunday Visitor is the basic student text, and pretty much follows Making Disciples. It is written by Fr. Alfred McBride. His Teen Catechism is used in our high school CCD program and for teens in RCIA.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
I find it strange that a parish would seek out a “Program” for RCIA when RCIA is a catechetical and Liturgical process. We developed our process using the Catechism, The Scriptures and some of the Fathers. I developed a list of 50 catechetical topics 1-25 for Catechumens and 25-50 for Candidates many with PowerPoint presentations. Handouts from scratch for each with references to additional CCC#s and Scripture passages. We use some videos and hands on objects. The sessions vary in format from catechist to catechist…
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In other words, you have a program. You simply developed it yourselves.
 
The material for the Association for Catechumenal Ministry looks very good. I ordered that today. I looked at some of the other suggested materials and one of them (I can’t remember which one right now) had a sample which did not look very accurate as far as teaching the faith.
 
Poisson said:
Our parish uses a program called “Foundations in Faith” but I am certain that there are better out there. This one is too wishy washy for me. Our priest doesn’t like us to use the Catechism too much he’s afraid that the candidates won’t be able to understand it and it may be scared away.
We are told not to preach and stay away from controversial issues. It appears that their faith is too weak to handle these things, I suppose we’ll tell them that they cannot take birth control pills 3-4 years after they become Catholic. :rolleyes:
Very frustrating.
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I think “Foundations in Faith” is the one I looked at and found problematic in several respects. We are lucky to have a very orthodox pastor who allows us to teach the fullness of the teachings of the Church. He goes on a prolife prayer vigil every Friday morning in front of a PP clinic (not many priests do that these days).
 
gsaman said:
The material for the Association for Catechumenal Ministry looks very good. I ordered that today. I looked at some of the other suggested materials and one of them (I can’t remember which one right now) had a sample which did not look very accurate as far as teaching the faith.
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These ACM materials are indeed good – they’re based on Scripture and the Catechism. I ordered all three of the ACM resources last year:
  • RCIA Leader’s Manual - extremely helpful in explaining the RCIA process, addresses leadership formation, provides forms which can be adapted, bulletin announcements, many helpful suggestions.
  • RCIA Catechist’s Manual - suggested lession plans, easily adaptable. Each lesson plan has one page to help the catechist prepare (catechism and scripture references), and one page suggesting how to structure each session (although I combined a few).
  • RCIA Participant’s Book - this isn’t really a book, but a huge selection of topical handouts from which the leader can choose to make copies of for the participants. It’s expensive, but saves money in the long run. When the parish purchases it, the parish is given permission to make copies for any parish purpose (bulletin inserts, parish groups, etc. - not just for RCIA).
With the Catechism and Bible, these are my main resources, although I use others (especially re: modern morality issues). There are a sample pages you can look at online:
acmrcia.org/index2.html
 
as this old thread started before the ACM materials became available, those interested should search on other threads about RCIA with more recent discussion and recommendations, because IMO they are the gold standard for RCIA materials.
 
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