Adults who are interested in exploring Catholic belief and practice
are invited to participate in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults). This is a process of prayer, reflection and study spread
over several months, during which the inquirer participates in
Catholic life and worship. The focus of the process is Christian
conversion – a change of heart in which the individual turns toward
God and away from whatever is in the way of living a full Christian
life.
Once one has decided to become a baptized Christian, the next
question becomes, ‘Is the Catholic Church the faith tradition within
which I can best live out my Christian life?’ The Christian faith is
lived out in community, and so one must be part of a community of
believers. There’s no such thing as a “generic Christian.” And so,
Catholic belief and practice are explained, both in terms of what
Catholics believe and the implications of accepting that belief.
(For example, if a person accepts the teaching that all creation
comes from God and all humanity is created in the image and likeness
of God, then the implication of that belief is that one must
reverence every life and afford every human being dignity and
respect.)
The RCIA invites participants to journey through a process in which
movement is marked by rites (the “R” in RCIA.), leading to reception
of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist at the
Easter Vigil. These are called the “sacraments of initiation”.
Through them, a person initiates (begins) a new way of life in
Christ. (There’s the “I” in RCIA).
The process begins with a period of Inquiry. Stories are shared,
questions are asked, and the basics of Christianity are explored.
The inquirer is invited to get to know the community and, hopefully,
to see in that community an example of the Christian life. Each
inquirer has a sponsor, a person from the parish who serves as a
companion, a guide, an advocate. At the end of the inquiry period,
the first Rite (there’s the R again!) takes place. In the Rite of
Welcome, participants ask to be formally enrolled into the
Catechumenate. (We Catholics love ancient terms, and this is another
one. The word comes from a Greek term meaning to teach by word of
mouth. Hence, it suggests instruction in the faith.)
During the Catechumenate phase, candidates for the sacraments attend
Mass regularly with the community, share discussion on the Sunday
scriptures and continue to learn and reflect on Catholic belief.
They participate in the parish’s ministry and its social life.
On the first Sunday of lent, the Catechumenate ends, and the Rite of
Election is celebrated. No, we don’t vote on the worthiness of
candidates! Election refers to choice and call. When we elect
someone to office, we choose that person and call him or her to
service of the community. Similarly, the Church calls the members of
the Catechumenate to the Easter sacraments, affirming that God has
called them to a deeper relationship which they will live out as
Catholic Christians.
Lent, the forty days before Easter, is a special time in the
Catholic Church. It focuses on nurturing our spirituality, our
relationship with God and the community. We are called to examine
our lives to see what is standing in the way of living a full
Christian life. The Catholic tradition regards conversion as a
lifetime process which begins at baptism and ends with death. Lent
is a time for recommitting ourselves to conversion.
During the period of Lent, the candidates, now called the Elect, are
led into a deeper prayer life and come to understand and experience
the living out of the faith. A retreat, a time apart for prayer and
reflection, is part of the shared experience. On the second, third
and fourth Sundays of Lent, the Elect participate in rites called “Scrutinies”.
Just as the Rite of Election isn’t a vote, so the Scrutinies are not
a public examination of worthiness. Rather, the community prays for
and with the candidates, asking that they honestly examine their
lives, to determine where they are still in need of God’s saving
power. The already-baptized members of the community commit
themselves anew to their own ongoing conversion.
Finally, at the Easter Vigil, the Church invites new members to
enter the waters of baptism, from which they emerge as new
creations, sharing the life of the Risen Christ. Confirmation
empowers them in the Spirit, and they are nourished at the Table of
the Lord as they take communion for the first time. Their new way of
life has begun!
Post-Easter gatherings are held until Pentecost, fifty days after
Easter. (“Pente” is a Greek root word for the number five.) The
newly initiated reflect on the sacramental experience and discern
their ministry in the parish community. The journey of the RCIA is
now complete; the Christian journey of life is just beginning!
Contact the church office for more information and
scheduling at
(817) 860-0130
Source for this article:
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Copyright © 2005 St. Matthew Catholic Church. All rights reserved