The value of the RCIA program

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The_Reginator

The_Reginator

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I am curious about peoples’ RCIA opinions and experiences.
I quite often read here at CA of people considering the RCIA in order to enter the Church.
When I converted to the Church there was no RCIA program at my parish.
When I approached my priest his reply actually sent me away, and I found myself at an FSSP parish.
I was taught by a priest and encouraged by a friend who had attended a seminary in his younger days.
I don’t really have an opinion of the RCIA program except for being a little leery of it since (as far as I know) it is led by laymen and not priests. (I’m sure the material is approved, but still…)
My question (finally):
What have you experienced? Is it a good way to learn the true teachings of the Church? What are your opinions (what’s good, what’s not so good)?
 
I loved RCIA.

An ex-priest taught the class. The Priest was there most sundays. We had nuns visit our class and the Bishop even came for our retreat day.

I was lucky.

It was the best decision I ever made.
 
RCIA probably can be done well, but often is not. Of course we hear the horror stories.

RCIA is supposed to be for catechumens (the unbaptized) but many pastors just stick everybody in there, as if they all have the same pastoral needs.

The man in charge of RCIA at my former parish once ran down his list of RCIA participants, “Two Methodists, three Episcopalians, one Greek Orthodox…”

Orthodox? In RCIA? Seems like one or two meetings with a good pastor,and he could have made his profession of faith and gotten on with it…
 
crm114 said:
RCIA probably can be done well, but often is not. Of course we hear the horror stories.

RCIA is supposed to be for catechumens (the unbaptized) but many pastors just stick everybody in there, as if they all have the same pastoral needs.

The man in charge of RCIA at my former parish once ran down his list of RCIA participants, “Two Methodists, three Episcopalians, one Greek Orthodox…”

Orthodox? In RCIA? Seems like one or two meetings with a good pastor,and he could have made his profession of faith and gotten on with it…
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I was baptised as a baby Catholic but as an adult… I am glad I went through RCIA to complete. I learned alot and it was fun.
 
I sat in on a few sessions when a friend was going through RCIA. There wasn’t much to love or hate, from what I saw. We had an Orthodox deacon in our group. I don’t know whether he learned anything from the program, but he seemed good-natured and never complained about having to be there.
crm114 said:
RCIA probably can be done well, but often is not. Of course we hear the horror stories.

RCIA is supposed to be for catechumens (the unbaptized) but many pastors just stick everybody in there, as if they all have the same pastoral needs.

The man in charge of RCIA at my former parish once ran down his list of RCIA participants, “Two Methodists, three Episcopalians, one Greek Orthodox…”

Orthodox? In RCIA? Seems like one or two meetings with a good pastor,and he could have made his profession of faith and gotten on with it…
Click to expand...
 
The_Reginator said:
I don’t really have an opinion of the RCIA program except for being a little leery of it since (as far as I know) it is led by laymen and not priests. (I’m sure the material is approved, but still…)
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RCIA is a rite of the Church, just like the various sacraments and liturgies. The rites are conducted by priests and bishops.

Catechesis may be done by clergy or laypeople, just like catechesis for children may be done by clergy or laypeople. It depends on the resources of the parish and the interest of everyone involved.

One thing that’s important to understand is that RCIA is not merely a series of classes where you go for a certain length of time and then “graduate” by becoming Catholic. It’s a process of inner conversion for the participants so that by the end they think like and live like Catholics. It forms the foundation for the rest of their lives.
 
I am on an 1-on-1 RCIA experience, and although that may not be “Vatican II” enough for some, my experience with an individualized experience and personal connection with Christ and the Catholic Church is awesome. I feel blessed to experience Christ, Mass, and develop my own questions, concerns, visit other parishes, and explore my relationship with Christ on my own terms as a non-Christian. As my representative said, he’s a little weary about a “class” that “teaches” one a Christian relationship with Christ.

I appreciate this thinking. Although there are times when I feel the need to share with other non-Christians on this journey, it is me alone that will understand this for myself, yet to connect with others is something that I will not deny is interesting theologically and socially. I don’t think a “class” could “teach” me about my personal relationship with God and Christ. Bible study, a sponsor, a social group, would all be welcome to me now however.

Then again, perhaps for returning Christians, or Catholics, this experience may, and more likely is totally different.

I will be exploring a RCIA “class” this week with an interview. However, I find it strange that this RCIA for new Christians can only be started from Sept. to Easter. Am I supposed to wait an entire year because Christ called me in November? That seems a little strange to me…
 
I experienced both good and bad. My first RCIA experience was very minimal, taught by a priest, my second experience was taught by a sister religious and was very immersive.
 
The_Reginator said:
I I don’t really have an opinion of the RCIA program except for being a little leery of it since (as far as I know) it is led by laymen and not priests. (I’m sure the material is approved, but still…)
)?
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a priest is supposed to be the head of every RCIA team. Yes the classes may be taught by lay catechists, who have had a role in the Church for 2000 years so there is plenty of precedent for us. Yes we are required to teach from materials approved by our bishops. The quality of the teaching, as in all such situations, depends as much on the attitude of the student as on the competence of the teacher. The best instructional materials are weak in the hands of a catechist, lay or cleric, who has a weak faith, and the most inadquate materials can be the springboard for excellent teaching by a catechist who is on fire with the Faith. I have not met a priest in 20 years of this ministry who has spare time to teach a class, although most make an extreme effort to participate at key times, nor to coordinate all that is necessary to make RCIA “happen”. They have the liturgical role which is demanding enough. In any case the action of the Holy Spirit is the driving force in RCIA and the pastor, catechist, coordinator and candidate who submit to the Holy Spirit throughout this process will experience joy and grace beyond description.

Welcome Home! to all!
 
lufty said:
I I will be exploring a RCIA “class” this week with an interview. However, I find it strange that this RCIA for new Christians can only be started from Sept. to Easter. Am I supposed to wait an entire year because Christ called me in November? That seems a little strange to me…
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it is strange and should not be the norm, new candidates and catechumens should be welcome year-round, and if they stop at Easter they are not “doing the rites right” because mystagogy, what happens after reception of the sacraments is the true heart of RCIA and quality participation in mystagogy is, also in my 20 yrs experience and shared experience of my colleagues, the #1 determination of who sticks with their conversion.
 
I am always saddened when I see a post on here regarding RCIA.

Mostly because I had such a great experience.

I found when I was recieved into the church, my appetite for as much info on my faith increased.

I dont think any RCIA program can tell you every thing you need to know but I would hope it would have you yearning to find out all you can beyond RCIA.
 
I am currently a sponsor in our RCIA program and I have learned a lot. We have twenty in the class, some baptized in other faiths, some baptized Catholics who have not been confirmed and others who have not been baptized. It is a group with a physician, a lawyer, two college professors, two nurses and a collection of students (college) and business people. I have learned much from our program. The pastor of my parish is the head of the program and there are five members of the RCIA team that do most of the in-structional sessions. Our pastor comes to some of the sessions and sometimes another priest comes. But I have found the classes very instructional.

People do join the program after September and it depends on how far along they are spiritually as to how they progress into full communion with the church. Some are more ready than others.

We make our classes fun. We take turns bringing refreshments and for Christmas we provided gifts for eight children given to us by the Dept. of Children and families. We met and wrapped the gifts at our Christmas party. As far as I am concerned, I think our program is working well. Could it be improved, of course it could. But I have observed many coming out of the program to be more conscientious Catholics than many of our cradle Catholics.
 
I have to envy others’ RCIA experiences.

I think I still have some post-traumatic stress from my RCIA experiences. It was a very difficult and argumentative group. Just about every time we met the room erupted in tension between two members (no, I wasn’t one of them - ha ha) and our teacher.

Additonally, I didn’t agree with how it was taught, what was emphasized, and the whole dismissal thing. I dropped out in the end of January and felt so much better. I was working seven days a week at that time and it was nice to have to have the extra time to work (and sleep and care for my family) as I had only one Sunday Mass to pray with, rather than two each week. Plus it was a relief not to have to attend a tense, hostile class every week. I had enough tension at work.

There had been discussion about my entering the church in Setpmeber of that year, a month or so after RCIA started in August, but there was the annulment situation that had to be addressed and that caused a delay.

I’m sad that my RCIA experience wasn’t the joy of my life, but that’s what happens sometimes. Instructors are human, participants are human, some situations can be overwhelming, and we all have our failings. Each class is different, each person’s journey is unique.

All’s well that ends well, and I’m Catholic now! 😃
 
Horrible horrible… better off reading CCC front to back.
 
My experience was horrible. It was taught by laypeople who pushed information that went against the Catechism. Luckily, we moved to an FSSP parish and we are now being taught by the priest. This has been amazing. Thank God for FSSP.
 
I am currently in RCIA and so far my experience has been wonderful. We are taught by one of our deacons. We have covered a wide range of biblical and catholic topics and so far from the outside research I have done we have not been taught anything that goes against Catholic teachings. We use the the Catholic Bible and the CCC as the basis for our classes. We have catechumens like myself, canidates and just recently we have had a few unconfirmed Catholics join our classes in preperation to be confirmed (we don’t have an adult confirmation class). Here are the classes we have had already:
The Journey
Conversion
Salvation history
Perseverance in Prayer
Command to Love God and Neighbor
Who is Jesus
Trinity
Sacred Scripture/The Liturgical Year
Mary - Feast Days
Rosary (this is when we where presented with our Rosaries and taught how to say the Rosary)
Communion of Saints
Heaven and Hell
Purgator
Advent
10th Commandment & 7 Deadly Sins
Incarnation - Word Made Flesh
Grace & Sacraments.

These are the upcoming class topics:
Holy Orders
Baptism
Confirmation
Marriage
Anointing of the Sick
Ash Wednesday
Eucharist (2 classes)
Confession
Confession Continued/Our Father
Easter Liturgy
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Authority of the Church
Role of the laity
Pentecost
 
RCIA can be invaluable if the people who run it are teaching the true Catholic faith.This is not always the case. The pastor needs to ultimately have people in place who know their faith.
 
crm114 said:
RCIA probably can be done well, but often is not. Of course we hear the horror stories.
Click to expand...
I experienced the horror. In two different programs. I finally just had to grit my teeth and suffer it. Fortunately, most of my friends who’ve gone through RCIA had much, much better experiences. 🙂
 
My RCIA experience was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself! And I’m still on fire to learn more about our faith. My mom is going through RCIA this year at a different parrish, and its a little like night and day as far as programs go but the people have their hearts in the right place. I think sometimes you get out of RCIA what you put in.
 
I converted before RCIA, so had 1-on-1 teaching for a year with a priest. It was excellent for me. Now my dh & I teach RCIA classes with another couple. It’s been quite a few years since we had a priest who was involved. We’ve heard wonderful things about our new priest who will be arriving in February, so we hope that he will be involved.

My dh is a laicized priest who is very orthodox, so no nasty surprises in our classes. We did have a parishioner who attended for a while who had to be kicked out. We still allow parishioners to attend & it is working out okay.

We let people join the class at any time, but the later they come, the less apt we are to suggest baptism. But that is the priest’s decision, not ours.

Most the people have said good things about the process. But I guess they wouldn’t complain to us! 🙂
 
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