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Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process of prayer, reflection and study that teaches participants about the Roman Catholic faith possibly leading to full Christian initiation in the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Individual sponsors will assist us in training participants through the entire process.If you are someone who has never been baptized, been baptized in another faith tradition, or been baptized Catholic but have never received your First Communion or Confirmation and you would like to find out more about the Catholic Church then this is the process for you!
There will be no pressure to join the Church, but Catholic theology and spirituality will be taught. Join us at 7:30 PM on Tuesday evenings. We meet in the conference room.
There are four stages to the RCIA process.
The first stage is Inquiry. This stage is about getting familiar with the catholic faith and getting some of your basic questions answered. If after some time you think you are interested in becoming a member of the Catholic Church you would go through the Rite of Acceptance in which the church formally welcomes you as a member even though you have much to learn and are still growing in your faith.
This second stage is called the Catechumenate in which you learn more deeply the mysteries of the faith. The sessions take a close look at the fundamentals of our faith in One God, The Trinity, Scripture, Eucharist, Prayer, Communion of Saints and other such topics. Only when someone is ready to be baptized or be fully initiated into the faith do they then enter a time of purification and enlightenment. As both a Catechumen and an Elect those preparing to enter the church get dismissed from mass to feast more fully on the Word of God.
This third stage is marked out at the beginning of Lent with the Rite of the Elect which signifies that not only have you chosen God but more that God has chosen you. This is a time of great soul searching and preparation for the Rites at Easter Vigil. At the Easter Vigil those whose names were written in the Book of the Elect may enter fully in to the life of the church with Baptism as the gateway to the rest of the sacraments.
Following this moment the person has be come a Neophyte or a new plant. And so the care of that plant must be to enable it to grow and strengthen in faith. This fourth stage is called Mystagogia. It is a time to reflect on and study the full meaning of living with Christ and as Christ in the World. For some this means a great sacrifice others it is a time of deepening faith.
Each stage helps the person begin to live their faith in Christ more fully. Feel free to contact Fr. Peter Do or Deacon John Keyser if you would like more information. If you would like us to contact you, just fill out the form below and we'll take care of the rest:
St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Inquiry
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