Are you considering becoming Catholic?

Are you a Catholic who needs First Communion or Confirmation?

Ask yourself these questions to see if now is the right time to start attending inquiry sessions:

Un-baptized: Have you felt a stirring or sense of something special moving your life?  Have you wondered about the joy or peace you’ve witnessed in friends or family who practice their Christian faith?  Are you tired of the mixed information that well-meaning people give about who Jesus is, and you want to know for yourself?  Do you desire for yourself a life of mission, blessing, and joy?

Baptized-only Catholic: Have you felt a calling to begin living your faith more deeply?  Is the desire to really know your faith and have your life changed by it becoming more persistent?  Are you longing to experience the joy of the sacraments, Mass, and belonging to a Catholic community of faith?

Baptized non-Catholic Christian: Have you had an experience with the Catholic Church, either through a person or event that has touched you?  Are you interested in learning what Catholics believe and how they live out their faith in everyday life?  Are you attracted to Catholic worship or teaching and desire to become part of this Church?  Have you been attending Catholic Mass for some time, but just have never been invited to become Catholic?

If  you answered yes to these questions, then the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is for you!

 For more information on becoming Catholic, or returning to an active practice of the Catholic Christian faith, please visit www.CatholicsComeHome.org

                       Find Your Home in the Catholic Church

                                 We Are the Catholic Church

The RCIA process has several distinct stages.:

Inquiry: the initial period before you decide to enter the Catholic Church. You’re asking questions and checking it out, but aren’t yet ready to commit.  At this stage, an individual comes to some knowledge of Jesus Christ, considers his or her relationship with Jesus Christ and is usually attracted in some way to the Catholic Church.  For some, this process involves a long period of searching; for others, a shorter time. Often, contact with people of faith and a personal faith experience lead people to inquire about the Catholic Church. After a conversation with a priest, or RCIA director, the person, known as an “inquirer,” may seek acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, through the Rite of Acceptance. During this Rite, the inquirer stands amidst the parish community and states that he or she wants to become a baptized member of the Catholic Church. The parish assembly affirms this desire and the inquirer becomes a “catechumen.”

Catechumenate: those who decide to enter the Church and are being trained for a life in Christ are called catechumens, an ancient name from the early Church. In this stage, you’re developing your faith and are being “catechized” — learning catechism, or the basic points about Catholic faith and life.  The period of the catechumenate can last for as long as several years or for a shorter time. It depends on how the person is growing in faith, what questions they encounter along the way, and how God leads them on this journey. During this time, the catechumens consider what God is saying to them in the Scriptures, what changes in their life they need to make to respond to God’s inspiration, and what Baptism in the Catholic Church means. When a catechumen and the priest and the parish team working with him or her believes the person is ready to make a faith commitment to Jesus in the Catholic Church, the next step is the request for baptism and the celebration of the Rite of Election. Even before the catechumens are baptized, they have a special relationship to the Church.

Purification and preparation: The Church will help you focus and intensify your faith as you prepare you to commit your life to Christ and be received into the Church at Easter. If you’re following the RCIA process, you’ll go through a beautiful series of Gospel-based meditations during Lent, which is the time frame of this period.  The Rite of Election includes the enrollment of names of all those seeking baptism at the coming Easter Vigil. Typically, on the first Sunday of Lent, the catechumens, their sponsors and families gather at the cathedral church. The catechumens publicly express their desire for baptism to the diocesan bishop. Their names are recorded in a book and they are called “the elect.”  The days of Lent are the final period of purification and enlightenment leading up to the Easter Vigil. Lent is a period of preparation marked by prayer, study, and spiritual direction for the elect, and prayers for them by the parish communities.

Initiation itself, the culmination of the whole process! You’re received into the Church during the Easter Vigil Mass, where you’ll receive the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. (If you’ve already been baptized, you won’t be baptized again.)

Mystagogy:  After the person is initiated, formation and education continue in the period of the post baptismal catechesis, which is called “mystagogy.” This period continues at least until Pentecost. During the period the newly baptized members reflect on their experiences at the Easter Vigil and continue to learn more about the Scriptures, the Sacraments, and the teachings of the Catholic Church. In addition they reflect on how they will serve Christ and help in the Church’s mission and outreach activities.