Starting RCIA

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Jotobo

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Hello,

This is my first post after looking here for a few days.

Anyhow, I am looking to get some response on what I am about to write. Any insights, recommendations, or really just any thoughts you have will be appreciated.

This will be a bit long so I hope you are willing to bear with me.

I was never raised to know who Jesus or God was. I had no idea. I heard people talk about it but it went in one ear and out the other. It had no meaning to me. Fast forward 20 years and I see the movie The Passion (Mel Gibson), with my daughters mother (at the time we were still together). It made me really curious to really find out who this Jesus guy was. So, I began to ask around.

Oddly enough I was met with more sarcasm and clueless answers than I would have imagined. Most people just said, “I dont know, its how I was raised”, but could not tell me who he was or why this happened to him. Others seemed upset that I was ignorant to His life.

Years go by. I am living a life very contrary to God. Drugs, women, alchohol, you name it, I was doing it. And then one night a good friend dies of a drug overdose. The week before he was insisting I attend church. I blew him off. After my previous “attempt” to learn more yielded no results I wasnt to excited about it.

Now here I am. My life is going nowhere fast and I know it. A co worker recommends I move into a Christian half way house. I did. I was introduced to who Jesus is and what he wants for us, what he did for us.

The hole in my heart was God sized and now it was filled.

So now, I go to church. I later learn it is a “Charismatic” church. I buy a bible. I quickly learn that they are teaching some bad, bad theology. I was baptized there and felt unsure of its validity. I later learned I was baptized as a baby at a Presbyterian church. Anyhow, I run for the hills far away from this church.

Since then I have essentially stumbled around from church to church never really finding that church “home”.

I came to the conclusion that Protestant churches were very divisive. All believe in the core values but the differ on so many other things. They all think to a certain level that they have it figured out and others dont. Baptism, end times, prayer, gifts of the Spirit…they all disagree on everything.

So, I decided to check out the Catholic churches in the area. My daughters mother was raised Catholic and so was my now girlfriend.

I found one and asked to meet the Priest and he welcomed it. I told him much of what I am saying here. He didnt judge me based on my past. He understood my situation with my daughter and so forth. He gave me a Catechism and said I should come to a Mass. And so I did. I read the Catechism and was shocked at its depth. It made more sense to me than any other Bible commentary or study bible ever before it.

So, after about a month of learning and prayer and talking with my girlfriend, I decide to check out the RCIA. I will start next Thursday. I dont know all of what to expect. I guess I will skip over some parts due to being baptized already.

So that is that.

Thoughts?
 
Welcome home! I hope you will be richly blessed on your journey into the Church.

If you have questions as you go along feel free to ask them. A lot of people here will do their best to answer.
 
As Suscipe said, welcome home!

However, I’ve only heard horror stories about very bad theology being taught at these RCIA courses, I don’t know how it’ll be at your church but be wary. I would advise you to find a traditional Catholic Church: FSSP, ICK, SSPX &c., if you have them about, you can be certain to find good teaching there.
 
I am in RCIA and absolutely love it…today was my first day. I was supposed to start in the fall but my children were sick, actually one of them ended up in the hospital due to pneumonia. And of course I got pneumonia as well since I did teach them to share.:eek:

The group that I am in is very good. I attend a Roman Catholic parish. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! And it’s all making sense now. Everything about religion is finally coming together. I have always believed in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit but never REALLY understood how it all came together.

Congrats to you and Good luck on your journey.

I will keep you in my prayers!!:crossrc:
 
AlanF said:
As Suscipe said, welcome home!

However, I’ve only heard horror stories about very bad theology being taught at these RCIA courses, I don’t know how it’ll be at your church but be wary. I would advise you to find a traditional Catholic Church: FSSP, ICK, SSPX &c., if you have them about, you can be certain to find good teaching there.
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In English, lol
 
Jotobo said:
Hello,

This is my first post after looking here for a few days.

Anyhow, I am looking to get some response on what I am about to write. Any insights, recommendations, or really just any thoughts you have will be appreciated.

This will be a bit long so I hope you are willing to bear with me.

I was never raised to know who Jesus or God was. I had no idea. I heard people talk about it but it went in one ear and out the other. It had no meaning to me. Fast forward 20 years and I see the movie The Passion (Mel Gibson), with my daughters mother (at the time we were still together). It made me really curious to really find out who this Jesus guy was. So, I began to ask around.

Oddly enough I was met with more sarcasm and clueless answers than I would have imagined. Most people just said, “I dont know, its how I was raised”, but could not tell me who he was or why this happened to him. Others seemed upset that I was ignorant to His life.

Years go by. I am living a life very contrary to God. Drugs, women, alchohol, you name it, I was doing it. And then one night a good friend dies of a drug overdose. The week before he was insisting I attend church. I blew him off. After my previous “attempt” to learn more yielded no results I wasnt to excited about it.

Now here I am. My life is going nowhere fast and I know it. A co worker recommends I move into a Christian half way house. I did. I was introduced to who Jesus is and what he wants for us, what he did for us.

The hole in my heart was God sized and now it was filled.

So now, I go to church. I later learn it is a “Charismatic” church. I buy a bible. I quickly learn that they are teaching some bad, bad theology. I was baptized there and felt unsure of its validity. I later learned I was baptized as a baby at a Presbyterian church. Anyhow, I run for the hills far away from this church.

Since then I have essentially stumbled around from church to church never really finding that church “home”.

I came to the conclusion that Protestant churches were very divisive. All believe in the core values but the differ on so many other things. They all think to a certain level that they have it figured out and others dont. Baptism, end times, prayer, gifts of the Spirit…they all disagree on everything.

So, I decided to check out the Catholic churches in the area. My daughters mother was raised Catholic and so was my now girlfriend.

I found one and asked to meet the Priest and he welcomed it. I told him much of what I am saying here. He didnt judge me based on my past. He understood my situation with my daughter and so forth. He gave me a Catechism and said I should come to a Mass. And so I did. I read the Catechism and was shocked at its depth. It made more sense to me than any other Bible commentary or study bible ever before it.

So, after about a month of learning and prayer and talking with my girlfriend, I decide to check out the RCIA. I will start next Thursday. I dont know all of what to expect. I guess I will skip over some parts due to being baptized already.

So that is that.

Thoughts?
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I think you will be an AWESOME Catholic!! Welcome Home. 😃
 
I’ve been through some of RCIA before…I’m sure you’ll love it. I work nights seasonally so I could never really complete RCIA even if I wanted to go the full nine and become Catholic. I’ve been baptized as well just like you but as an adult. Great story there and if you’re willing to put the time and effort into going for 6-9 months or so, I say go for it! I would if I had the time. God bless.
 
Hail and well met!

I just had interview last week for RCIA and attended my 1st mass as an interested potential Catholic. I hope to start RCIA this week as well! Glad to hear your stories, our paths are somewhat similar, however I have not been baptized as of yet (hope to soon!).

God bless you in your voyage! I will pray for all of us new comers tonight!
 
WElcome Home!
go with the flow and allow the RCIA process to work and to open you up further to the action of the Holy Spirit in your life. That is what was happening in all your other encounters, each experience planted another seed and watered and nourished what you already had because of your baptism. You will probably want and need at least a year of instruction in the doctrine, but most of all, every part of this process is designed to introduce you to Jesus and foster your growing relationship with him. Trust. Trust in the wisdom of the Church in giving us the RCIA, trust in your pastor and catechists, and trust in the rites themselves, because like all liturgical prayer of the Church, they do exactly what the words say. Don’t try to rush the process or the experience, Your growing hunger and thirst for Christ is a most necessary part of this. Keep reading that bible. If you want to turbo-charge your conversion process ask for a rosary and instruction on how to pray with Mary.

ooooh I love my job.
 
curtishouse30 said:
I’ve been through some of RCIA before…I’m sure you’ll love it. I work nights seasonally so I could never really complete RCIA even if I wanted to go the full nine and become Catholic. I’ve been baptized as well just like you but as an adult. Great story there and if you’re willing to put the time and effort into going for 6-9 months or so, I say go for it! I would if I had the time. God bless.
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JL: Just wanted to let you know you can also request private insturctions.
 
Jotobo said:
So, I decided to check out the Catholic churches in the area. My daughters mother was raised Catholic and so was my now girlfriend.

I found one and asked to meet the Priest and he welcomed it. I told him much of what I am saying here. He didnt judge me based on my past. He understood my situation with my daughter and so forth. He gave me a Catechism and said I should come to a Mass. And so I did. I read the Catechism and was shocked at its depth. It made more sense to me than any other Bible commentary or study bible ever before it.

So, after about a month of learning and prayer and talking with my girlfriend, I decide to check out the RCIA. I will start next Thursday. I dont know all of what to expect. I guess I will skip over some parts due to being baptized already.

So that is that.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the post I really enjopyed it. I will pray for you.
 
Jotobo said:
In English, lol
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lol, Which part was confusing?

If it was the abbreviations, here’s what they stand for:

FSSP = Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
ICK (or ICKSP) = Institute of Christ the King, Soveriegn Priest
SSPX = Society of St. Pius X

They’re societies of traditional priests who only offer the traditional Mass and are very much dedicated to the traditional Catholic Faith, there’ll be absolutely no risk of being taught any error there.
 
AlanF said:
lol, Which part was confusing?

If it was the abbreviations, here’s what they stand for:

FSSP = Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
ICK (or ICKSP) = Institute of Christ the King, Soveriegn Priest
SSPX = Society of St. Pius X

They’re societies of traditional priests who only offer the traditional Mass and are very much dedicated to the traditional Catholic Faith, there’ll be absolutely no risk of being taught any error there.
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No risk of being taught error? By priests who are not in union with the bishops and who have no faculties in dioceses?

I don’t want to turn this into yet another SSPX thread, but the original poster should be aware that the Society of St. Pius X has at best an irregular status. Their priests are not in union with the bishops appointed by the Pope. Their own bishops have recently had their excommunications lifted, but they have no official role in the Church as yet.

Should you be drawn to the Latin Mass take a look at parishes staffed by FSSP or ICK priests. Or – if you prefer the Mass in English, what is called the Ordinary Form of the Mass – simply go to your closest parish and inquire about RCIA there.

Be aware that no catechist is perfect, but the vast majority of us do our best to teach with the mind and heart of the Church.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
No risk of being taught error? By priests who are not in union with the bishops and who have no faculties in dioceses?

I don’t want to turn this into yet another SSPX thread, but the original poster should be aware that the Society of St. Pius X has at best an irregular status. Their priests are not in union with the bishops appointed by the Pope. Their own bishops have recently had their excommunications lifted, but they have no official role in the Church as yet.

Should you be drawn to the Latin Mass take a look at parishes staffed by FSSP or ICK priests. Or – if you prefer the Mass in English, what is called the Ordinary Form of the Mass – simply go to your closest parish and inquire about RCIA there.

Be aware that no catechist is perfect, but the vast majority of us do our best to teach with the mind and heart of the Church.
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Well, Ecclesia Dei has said we can go there and it fulfills our Sunday Obligation etc. but never mind. I listed FSSP and ICK also, you’ll find no doctrinal error at any of these places.
 
Thank you all so very much.

Sorry AlanF, I didnt have a clue what those intials were, haha…

I will just stick to the Catholic Church Ive been attending. Its called St. Bonaventure in Bloomington, MN.

I havent been this excited since I found out who Jesus was in the first place!!!

I will ask about the Rosary.

Thank you again everybody!!!
 
I am a convert as well. I have never felt as “at home” as I do in the Catholic Church.

I didn’t really do a formal RCIA class; I am in a very, very small parish, and I can’t ever remember us having an official RCIA. I was lucky to learn from a very educated priest and continue my faith journey.

Remember, if the devil ever tries to get you down, it is not what is behind you that is important; it is what is in front of you.

Welcome to the Church!
 
I have been attending RCIA session since August and it has been a wonderful experience. I was also raised without any religion or a real understanding of God or Jesus. I always admired and longed for the faith that many of my friends had and tried a few different churches but never felt at home. The first time I went to a Catholic mass with my fiancee (it was the Christmas mass last year), I knew I had to learn more about the church. Once I did start to learn more about the Catholic faith I knew I had finally found the “home” I was looking for.

I feel blessed that my RCIA program has been so wonderful. They teach using the bible and the Catechism only, they have not taught anything contrary to Catholic beliefs.
 
puzzleannie said:
WElcome Home!
go with the flow and allow the RCIA process to work and to open you up further to the action of the Holy Spirit in your life. That is what was happening in all your other encounters, each experience planted another seed and watered and nourished what you already had because of your baptism. You will probably want and need at least a year of instruction in the doctrine, but most of all, every part of this process is designed to introduce you to Jesus and foster your growing relationship with him. Trust. Trust in the wisdom of the Church in giving us the RCIA, trust in your pastor and catechists, and trust in the rites themselves, because like all liturgical prayer of the Church, they do exactly what the words say. Don’t try to rush the process or the experience, Your growing hunger and thirst for Christ is a most necessary part of this. Keep reading that bible. If you want to turbo-charge your conversion process ask for a rosary and instruction on how to pray with Mary.

ooooh I love my job.
Click to expand...
Thank you puzzleannie, funny thing(and this is happening ALL the time now) that you recommended the rosary. Somehow, in prayer the other night at my 2nd Mass, that exact thought came to me, it was the Vigil for the Immaculate Conception Mass. I will ask about the rosary. Thank you!
 
I for one, feel like I need to say something about these abbreviations, particularly where this thread began, and is about us just coming to the Church for the first time.

This is a complicated, personal matter, and these statements can be confusing.

Sorry, but just my $0.02.
 
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