September 4, 2012 7:18 AM
Curious about Catholicism? RCIA begins now
Each year at the Easter Vigil, Catholic parishes across the world welcome thousands of new Catholics into the faith - in the beautiful ceremony marking for each individual the culmination of a journey begun when they decided to take their questions and assumptions about Catholicism to the source - the Catholic Church.
Some are agnostics or atheists or people who'd never given God much thought. Some are Jews, Muslims, Protestants or evangelicals. Some are spouses who've watched their Catholic husband or wife faithfully attend Mass each week for years - or decades - when they suddenly wanted to know more.
As all things in Catholicism, the patterns of the early church are the template around which our discipleship and rites are organized. And so each fall, in parishes everywhere, RCIA classes - the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults - are offered for those who have questions about the Catholic faith. These begin as a gathering of people with questions - because in today's atmosphere of prejudice and misunderstanding, people tend to have a lot of questions about the Catholic Church: Is it true we don't read the Bible? (We do.) Why do we worship Mary? (We don't.) Why are we not born again? (We are, but we don't use evangelical jargon.) And so on.
At some point some people decide they would like to proceed on the journey to becoming Catholic, and they become Catechumenates committed to learning more about the faith and developing a spiritual life.
Along the way, some discover that they will pay a heavy cost - including misunderstanding, recriminations and even shunning - from family and friends. Their perseverance is testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit and their own obedience. Catholic converts have included ordained ministers from virtually all denominations - and many nonCatholic seminary students who arrived at the conviction of the one, true church simply through their studies of scripture. Some have been evangelical speakers and authors who faced professional collapse because of their embrace of Catholicism.
But perhaps I shouldn't be going there :) After all, this is intended for those who may be curious or feeling a call to learn more about the Catholic Church - simply because around the world (and that's one thing I love: the universality of Catholicism) RCIA classes are starting now.
If you are feeling led to find out more, you will need to find your local parish. Unlike Protestants and evangelicals who can select the perfect church to match their needs and/or theology from hundreds nearby, Catholics abide by a system in which they attend the parish in which they live. That means we cannot self-select to place ourselves in a group of what evangelicals call "like-minded" people. So while this means that you may be surrounded each Sunday at Mass by people of levels of understanding that you may have judged harshly before, in a Catholic Church you learn to love and accept our Father's wisdom in not wanting us to self-select (see the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares - Matthew 13: 24-30)
If you are curious, then, the starting point would be to find your parish, then contact them to find out when the RCIA classes begin. No need for apprehension - you will find no pressure in the Catholic Church to "win souls for Christ" and we stand ready to be friends and answer questions for anyone, but we also respect free will. Not to mention the power of God to accomplish His will independent of our efforts. You will be under no commitment to attend even more than one class.
I was an evangelical for 30 years - "born-again" on March 21, 1987. I was very prejudiced against the Catholic Church, yet four years ago found myself drawn to attend Mass, where I experienced a sudden illumination of the Church Universal - kind of a second born-again experience. In the four years since, I have found in the Catholic Church complete fulfillment of all I had learned as an evangelical. And I have found that contrary to what I was taught - that the Church and its sacraments and rituals were a distraction from a relationship with God, that they have indeed strengthened and deepened my relationship and helped me live a more authentically Christian life.
I know that there are people who leave the Catholic Church, claiming to find the relationship with Jesus they did not find there - but that is not the fault of the Church, as the teaching is true. I can't explain why for them the dots never connected. But I do know that each year many return, grateful that through their evangelical experience they were somehow able to find the relationship they missed. Among them is my friend Martha Sears (wife and coauthor of Dr. William Sears), who left the church for evangelicalism for 30 years, who was indignant when I announced my conversion, and then who - surprise! - found herself called back six months later. While we hear a lot from vocal ex-Catholics, we need to understand that there are quiet, grateful people like Martha out there too.
If this message resonates with you, please email me so I can add you to a special prayer list of people I will be praying for each day until Easter - people who are ready to begin discerning whether God is calling them to the Catholic Church.
Later today I will be running other resources.
In the meantime, if you are curious about my own journey - and the resulting uproar it caused - scroll to the bottom of Evangelical to Catholic and read forward, including comments.
Also:
e-Catholic: The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults: The RCIA Process
Beginning Catholic: A Strong Start in the Faith: Catholic RCIA Stages
Some are agnostics or atheists or people who'd never given God much thought. Some are Jews, Muslims, Protestants or evangelicals. Some are spouses who've watched their Catholic husband or wife faithfully attend Mass each week for years - or decades - when they suddenly wanted to know more.
As all things in Catholicism, the patterns of the early church are the template around which our discipleship and rites are organized. And so each fall, in parishes everywhere, RCIA classes - the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults - are offered for those who have questions about the Catholic faith. These begin as a gathering of people with questions - because in today's atmosphere of prejudice and misunderstanding, people tend to have a lot of questions about the Catholic Church: Is it true we don't read the Bible? (We do.) Why do we worship Mary? (We don't.) Why are we not born again? (We are, but we don't use evangelical jargon.) And so on.
At some point some people decide they would like to proceed on the journey to becoming Catholic, and they become Catechumenates committed to learning more about the faith and developing a spiritual life. Along the way, some discover that they will pay a heavy cost - including misunderstanding, recriminations and even shunning - from family and friends. Their perseverance is testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit and their own obedience. Catholic converts have included ordained ministers from virtually all denominations - and many nonCatholic seminary students who arrived at the conviction of the one, true church simply through their studies of scripture. Some have been evangelical speakers and authors who faced professional collapse because of their embrace of Catholicism.
But perhaps I shouldn't be going there :) After all, this is intended for those who may be curious or feeling a call to learn more about the Catholic Church - simply because around the world (and that's one thing I love: the universality of Catholicism) RCIA classes are starting now.
If you are feeling led to find out more, you will need to find your local parish. Unlike Protestants and evangelicals who can select the perfect church to match their needs and/or theology from hundreds nearby, Catholics abide by a system in which they attend the parish in which they live. That means we cannot self-select to place ourselves in a group of what evangelicals call "like-minded" people. So while this means that you may be surrounded each Sunday at Mass by people of levels of understanding that you may have judged harshly before, in a Catholic Church you learn to love and accept our Father's wisdom in not wanting us to self-select (see the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares - Matthew 13: 24-30)
If you are curious, then, the starting point would be to find your parish, then contact them to find out when the RCIA classes begin. No need for apprehension - you will find no pressure in the Catholic Church to "win souls for Christ" and we stand ready to be friends and answer questions for anyone, but we also respect free will. Not to mention the power of God to accomplish His will independent of our efforts. You will be under no commitment to attend even more than one class.
I was an evangelical for 30 years - "born-again" on March 21, 1987. I was very prejudiced against the Catholic Church, yet four years ago found myself drawn to attend Mass, where I experienced a sudden illumination of the Church Universal - kind of a second born-again experience. In the four years since, I have found in the Catholic Church complete fulfillment of all I had learned as an evangelical. And I have found that contrary to what I was taught - that the Church and its sacraments and rituals were a distraction from a relationship with God, that they have indeed strengthened and deepened my relationship and helped me live a more authentically Christian life.
I know that there are people who leave the Catholic Church, claiming to find the relationship with Jesus they did not find there - but that is not the fault of the Church, as the teaching is true. I can't explain why for them the dots never connected. But I do know that each year many return, grateful that through their evangelical experience they were somehow able to find the relationship they missed. Among them is my friend Martha Sears (wife and coauthor of Dr. William Sears), who left the church for evangelicalism for 30 years, who was indignant when I announced my conversion, and then who - surprise! - found herself called back six months later. While we hear a lot from vocal ex-Catholics, we need to understand that there are quiet, grateful people like Martha out there too.
If this message resonates with you, please email me so I can add you to a special prayer list of people I will be praying for each day until Easter - people who are ready to begin discerning whether God is calling them to the Catholic Church.
Later today I will be running other resources.
In the meantime, if you are curious about my own journey - and the resulting uproar it caused - scroll to the bottom of Evangelical to Catholic and read forward, including comments.
Also:
e-Catholic: The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults: The RCIA Process
Beginning Catholic: A Strong Start in the Faith: Catholic RCIA Stages
Love,
Posted in Catholic Converts, Catholicism | Permalink
