Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA)

Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, adults who wanted to join the Catholic Church went through six weeks of ‘convert instructions’ and were baptized quietly on a Sunday afternoon in a dark church with a few relatives present. A short time later, perhaps the following Sunday, the new converts received their First Communion, but probably with little attention to the fact that they were joining the community at the Table of the Lord. Confirmation was left until the next visit by the bishop.

Since 1972, that approach to adult Baptism has changed, due to the revised Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

Calendar for 2007-2008 RCIA:

We meet at the Newman Catholic Student Center Parish most Wednesday evenings, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the process by which adults who wish to become members of the Catholic Church are initiated into the teachings and traditions of the faith. If you have any questions about the RCIA process, please contact Brant and Sarah Hamel at 932-3480, or Ann Hamrick at 933-8707.

The RCIA is a process of conversion.

Flannery O’Connor, the American novelist and short story writer, said it well when she wrote a friend who was considering converting to Catholicism (from The Habit of Being: The Letters of Flannery O’Connor):

“I don’t think of conversion as being once and for all and that’s that. I think once the process has begun and continues that you are continually turning inward toward God and away from your own egocentricity and that you have to see this selfish side of yourself in order to turn away from it. I measure God by everything that I am not. I begin with that.”

The RCIA is first and foremost a process.

To see it as a static program would do injustice to the dynamic nature of the Rite. The RCIA is for and about people: people on the move, people being remade in the image of Christ, people being reborn in the Spirit, people on a journey toward faith—and people whose faith journey cannot be programmed because programs as such do not cause conversion; only God brings about conversion.

The RCIA is a community experience.

The initiation of adults is about the Christian community initiating new members into itself, and therefore it must take place in community.

The RCIA ministry is basically one of witness and hospitality.

The document is particularly strong in this respect when it says: “…the initiation of adults is the concern and business of all baptized”. (RCIA, #41)

The RCIA is ongoing and multi-dimensional.

Christians are made, not born. That means that there is nothing automatic or instantaneous in the initiation of adults. Conversion takes time.

While doctrinal instruction is a part of the process, the initiation of adults aims at changing the heart and transforming the spirit. The RCIA includes all aspects of parish life.

The RCIA is a step-by-step journey punctuated by corresponding rituals.

The process is divided into four basic steps. Between each of the steps, the community celebrates a special ritual which brings closure to the preceding period and moves the candidates into the next.

The RCIA restores the baptismal focus of Lent, and reinstates the Easter Vigil as the honored time for initiation.

The whole initiation process centers on the candidates’ gradual incorporation into the Paschal Mystery—the mystery of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.

A Walk Through the Process

Journeys have beginnings, middles and ends. They also have thresholds or signposts that signal the steps or stages along the way which helps us get from one point to another in our travels.

The first period: Evangelization and Precatechumenate.

During this period, individuals hear the preaching of the Gospel. In this period of a few weeks to many months, inquirers ask questions, share stories, hear the Good News and reflect on the place of God in their lives. They are not asked to make a commitment at this time.

The second period: Catechumenate.

During this period, candidates receive training in the Christian life. Candidates develop an understanding of Church teachings and the mystery of salvation. They participate in liturgical rites, especially the Liturgy of the Word. They learn the importance of prayer and sharing the Christian faith. Candidates become active in the faith community.

The third period: Purification and Enlightenment.

During this period (usually lasting through Lent), the elect reflect on religious experiences and faith.

The fourth period: Postbaptismal Catechesis (Mystagogy).

During this final period of initiation, the newly-initiated experience being part of the Christian community.