Traditional RCIA

[FromTheAshes777]

Greetings all,

I have been studying the Catholic Faith as well as Eastern Orthodoxy and pre-reformation Christian history.

I am considering entering into the Catholic Church (Latin Rite) and I feel very drawn through my studies twoards the TLM.

There is a Latin Mass society in my area that is under the supervision of the Bishop of our diocese. I have heard very good things about the Priest that celebrates these Masses from those who attend regularly (very orthodox in his preaching and celebrates the TLM very reverently).

I was wondering if there is some sort of RCIA that one could enter and attend the TLM through the Latin Mass society. I have no problems or issues with the Ordinary Form of the Mass, I just simply feel much more spiritually nourished by the TLM, and of course desire a very orthodox priest to learn from and recieve the sacraments from.

Has anyone here gone through a more traditional RCIA process and come into the church attending the TLM and recieving the initial Sacraments through the older Latin rite (forgive my poor terminology here). Thank you all for your answers and I definitely covet your prayers on my continuing journey.

~Josh

 

[Sir_Anthony]

well, just go to the priest, don’t be afraid and ask. Now RCIA is the new way of bringing people into the Church if I am not mistaken. Before VII it was mostly through priests and religious who did the actual instruction, these days we have laypeople doing the work with the priest as an observer most of the time. RCIA is hit and miss in most cases, some are very good, many are quite poor in catechsis and you come out Diet Catholic.

 

[weepixie71]

my husband was baptized in the traditional church just last year. the priest worked with him one on one. he was very thorough and left no stone unturned for my husband. i hope and pray you will get the same attention .

 

[FromTheAshes777]

I would definitely praise the Lord for the opportunity to be instructed one on one by a Priest who celebrates the TLM or from any solidly orthodox Priest or Deacon for that matter.

That would be a great blessing, at the same time I don’t want to come off as a squeeky wheel so to speak, don’t want to seem selfish or overly needy if there isn’t a Priest available to do this. I know they have very busy schedules.

I have attended Mass in OF at multiple parishes but have not been to an EF yet in person. I have watched videos online though and have read different articles about the differences between the two forms. As I said in my previous post, I have heard from several Catholic friends very good things about the Priest that celebrates the EF in our diocese. Nothing against the other priests in the diocese, I just feel much more spiritually nourished in a more traditional setting, and feel very drawn to the older forms of the sacraments.

Could anyone recommend a good book to read to further my knowledge of the TLM? Always reading anything new that I can get my hands on.

I guess a big attraction too to the more traditional side of things is that I hear that more traditional Priests, tend to be much more conservative.

 

[weepixie71]

I would definitely praise the Lord for the opportunity to be instructed one on one by a Priest who celebrates the TLM or from any solidly orthodox Priest or Deacon for that matter.

That would be a great blessing, at the same time I don’t want to come off as a squeeky wheel so to speak, don’t want to seem selfish or overly needy if there isn’t a Priest available to do this. I know they have very busy schedules.

I have attended Mass in OF at multiple parishes but have not been to an EF yet in person. I have watched videos online though and have read different articles about the differences between the two forms. As I said in my previous post, I have heard from several Catholic friends very good things about the Priest that celebrates the EF in our diocese. Nothing against the other priests in the diocese, I just feel much more spiritually nourished in a more traditional setting, and feel very drawn to the older forms of the sacraments.

Could anyone recommend a good book to read to further my knowledge of the TLM? Always reading anything new that I can get my hands on.

I guess a big attraction too to the more traditional side of things is that I hear that more traditional Priests, tend to be much more conservative.

honestly, all i did was mention to this priest that my husband attended an RCIA class but it only left him more confused so he never got baptized. after the tlm, father looked like a black cloud charging towards my husband in his cassock and told my husband he would like to teach him. so i believe a good priest will make the time. there is nothing wrong with asking for tutoring for the most important class of your life.

 

[ericka1701]

Let me put it this way: The week after I attended my first EF last November at St. Therese in Clinton, I purchased a 1962 Missal, and I go to pray the EF as often as I can. Yesterday was the first of a series classes on the EF, at 12:45, with Mass following at 1:30. It isn’t taught by Fr. Orr (he is hearing confessions at this time), but the gentleman who does teach them is very knowledgable, and I trust that if Fr. has chosen this person to teach the class, then he knows what he is teaching.

As Fr. Orr is extremely busy (he also does a few Spanish language Masses as well as daily Mass at St. Therese during the week), it might be very difficult to have one-on-one training, but it would not hurt to ask. I know Fr. Orr teaches RCIA some of the parishes around here. I’m not sure exactly which ones, but you could call the Parish office and ask, and maybe attend RCIA at one of those parishes with the permission of your parish priest.

I could sing the praises of Fr. Orr all day, but I won’t. Besides, I am certain your friends have done that quite a bit by now… I will just say that he is certaintly a blessing for this parish, the diocese, and for all of the priesthood.

Ericka

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

The RCIA is bound up with the Novus Ordo - it is the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults - so in that sense there is no traditional RCIA and, indeed, a traditional priest bringing someone into the Church would proceed through individual instruction. You needn’t feel as if this is requesting special treatment, though, because 1) if you are already baptized there is no requirement that you go through RCIA to begin with (most parishes run everyone through the same “program,” but canonically all you need is for a priest to assess your readiness and accept you) and 2) if unbaptized, well, a traditional priest will be used to doing things through individual instruction anyway.

 

[Genesis315]

At some point in history the catechumenate was suppressed. The Second Vatican Council called for its restoration–RCIA is that result. As has been pointed out, technically only catechumens are required to go through it, but candidates usually do to.
Sacrosanctum Concilium:

1. The catechumenate for adults, comprising several distinct steps, is to be restored and to be taken into use at the discretion of the local ordinary. By this, means the time of the catechumenate, which is intended as a period of suitable instruction, may be sanctified by sacred rites to be celebrated at successive intervals of time.

 

[Yours_Truly]

Has anyone here gone through a more traditional RCIA process and come into the church attending the TLM and recieving the initial Sacraments through the older Latin rite (forgive my poor terminology here). Thank you all for your answers and I definitely covet your prayers on my continuing journey.

~Josh

Hello Josh,

That’s the way I entered the Church. I found a Traditional Priest who gave me instructions one-on-one. I was conditionally rebaptized after about 3 months of instructions, and confirmed a few months later (by non other than Bishop Williamson).

I would highly recommend being instructed one on one by a Traditional Priest.