Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
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Mary
Ann
was a beautiful and enthusiastic young woman of twenty-four, who had
just one year before she married George, a life-long Catholic.
Never a member of any church, she had received no formal religious
training. Yet her family had
always prayed together, and she deeply believed in God.
She yearned to share her faith with others, and especially with her
husband George. Her longing led Mary Ann to the local Catholic parish where
she asked to be baptized and confirmed, and to be welcomed to the
Eucharistic table.
Rick
had just graduated
from a Midwestern college and moved to a new city in the East to begin his
first job. As an infant, Rick
was baptized in his father’s Catholic faith.
Rick’s parents were divorced, when he was very young.
He lived with his mother until he left for college.
Because his mother was not active in any church, Rick was never
catechized in the faith, and never received any of the other sacraments.
As he began a new life in a new city, he was eager to find some
guidance for his life and to enjoy the support of a community of Christians
who shared his values.
Patricia, a twenty-nine year old single woman, grew up in a strongly Lutheran family. She was baptized as an infant, attended Sunday school, and received confirmation and communion in her parents’ Lutheran church. However, during her college years she began to drift away from God and from the Church. Although she had very little interest in religion as a college student, many of her friends were Catholics, and occasionally she attended Sunday Mass with them.
After eight years as a social worker, she began to feel the need to be
part of a Church community where she could once again nurture, celebrate and
share her faith in God.
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) provides a process for people like Mary Ann, Rick and Patricia, people who are searching, people who wish, consciously and freely, to seek the living God in the person and messages of Jesus as lived out in the Catholic Church.
The reasons why people are initially attracted to the Catholic Church
are as varied as the inquirers themselves, and yet all those who enter the
RCIA process share a desire to come to a living
Faith in God as members of the Catholic Community.
The initiation of adults is a gradual
process that takes place within the community of the
faithful. In fact there are
four periods in the initiation process, each of which corresponds to a
person’s growth in the faith and entry into life of the Catholic
Community.
The
Journey.....
Evangelization
and Precatechumenate:
The purpose
of this period is to guide inquirers into an initial conversion or
deeper conversion to Christ, through information sessions and fellowship.
Catechumenate: The purpose of this period is to deepen conversion by embracing the community's way of life, by participation in the Sunday Liturgy of the Word and by catechesis (teaching and sharing the faith).
Purification and Enlightenment:
This is immediate
and intensive preparation for the celebration of the sacraments of
initiation (Baptism and / or Confirmation and Eucharist).
This period coincides with the season of Lent, whereby the
participants join the whole community in focusing on the transformation of
the whole person to the way of Christ, a life based on the Gospel.
Mystagogy: After the celebration of the sacraments of initiation at Easter the newly initiated savor the experience of these sacraments and reflect on their lives and enter into the works of the Gospel through the ministries of the parish community.
The Catholic Communities of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint George
Mission wish to offer you this special invitation to walk with us on a
journey of inquiry and exploration of the Catholic Faith. If you would like someone from our RCIA team to contact you or
would simply like additional information, please complete the short form
below and click on submit. You may print the form and mail to
the church or drop in a collection basket at any of the masses.
Additionally, you are invited to e-mail Fr. Bill at wmr12846@msn.com
A journey with
a friend is much better than one who walks alone.
Thank- You!
Msgr. William Richardson, Pastor