Simple Questions about RCIA program for adults.

[ProScribe]

Are there any Catholics who have completed the RCIA program?

What is like? and what are your specific thoughts about it . . . ?

 

[Ave Maria]

Are there any Catholics who have completed the RCIA program?

What is like? and what are your specific thoughts about it . . . ?

I am a Catholic and I went through the RCIA program in order to be confirmed in the Catholic Church as a convert. It was great! I learned a ton and we even went on outings to places like St. Meinrad's Arch Abbey, one of only two arch abbeys in the United States!

 

[ProScribe]

I am a Catholic and I went through the RCIA program in order to be confirmed in the Catholic Church as a convert. It was great! I learned a ton and we even went on outings to places like St. Meinrad's Arch Abbey, one of only two arch abbeys in the United States!

How long does it take to complete the adult RCIA program?

. . .

 

[G-Com]

Are there any Catholics who have completed the RCIA program?

What is like? and what are your specific thoughts about it . . . ?

I completed RCIA and was baptized this past Easter.

I noticed your emphasis was on Catholics. Are you asking if someone who was already Catholic and could receive the Eucharist went through the RCIA program to gain a deeper understanding of the faith?

How long does it take to complete the adult RCIA program?

. . .

Seven to eight months in our parish.

 

[Ave Maria]

How long does it take to complete the adult RCIA program?

. . .

I was in RCIA from September of 04 to Easter vigil of 08.

 

[Foundthelight]

I went through it when I converted. It normally runs from September to Easter Vigil. The quality of the program varies from parish to parish. Mine was quite good, with much discussion of theology and historical background. It really should be based on the Catechism.

In all it was a very rewarding experience. I am now an RCIA instructor myself.

 

[aussieprincess]

I grew up Catholic and have been through RCIA a few times as a supporter.

I agree with the comment that how good the programme is depends on the people leading it.

But on the whole it's been great, and I'd encourage anybody that's interested to get involved.

However, for "older" Catholics, I'd recommend the Catholic Adult Faith Education (CAFE) series. We've done a few of the programmes in our church and they've been fantastic. It's been great to see people talking about and coming to deeper understandings of their faith.

 

[BAFRIEND]

I spent 4yrs on RCIA team and everytime someone asks about the program I give this as the first piece of advice:

Parish shop.

How long does it take ? Six months to three years or longer, like I said, parish shop.

Alot of people do not understand the purpose or nature of RCIA- it is a discernment process, not largely a learning process- and the individual is the one being discerned. I find most people going through the process expected a classroom environment shake and bake program- some parishes offer that- but alot of people are left feeling that something is left out of the experience. I personally have no respect for the program.

 

[coastalwanderer]

Thanks, BAFRIEND, that's more helpful than you know. I am intending to start RCIA in the autumn; part of the (ridiculously lengthy) delay has been because of past parish-shopping, both when I lived in London and now where I live by the sea. Where I moved 18 months ago I seem to have really got lucky; the church a five-minute walk away from my flat is lively and thriving, with a great priest (and, erm, my neighbour upstairs is the organist); and (most unusually for England) the very town has quite a well, effusive Catholic culture - parades, things like a renactment of the Via Dolorosa on the cliffs on Good Friday, and so on); last autumn I was still trying out the parish the other way along the coast, which also has much to commend it (the parish I lived in in London....I won't even try to describe, however: there was something seriously wrong there).

As I am kind of ideologically opposed to the very notion of "parish shopping" (it sounds a bit exessively individualistic, and, well, protestant, even though, in London at least a lot of my Catholic friends have done it), I spose I should be greatly thankful that the parish I live in seems right.

 

[BillH]

I'd say that the typical program lasts about nine months, though there is some variation in that. Most will start in September, culminate in the Easter Vigil when people are formally received into the Church, and then meet for a few times after that.

I'd second what BAFriend said, though. It's primary purpose is to help you discern whether or not you want to join the church. Some of the program that I went through was educational, some of it was not, but the most important thing that it did was make me comfortable with the idea that I actually did want to become a Catholic.

 

[BAFRIEND]

Thanks, BAFRIEND, that's more helpful than you know. I am intending to start RCIA in the autumn; part of the (ridiculously lengthy) delay has been because of past parish-shopping, both when I lived in London and now where I live by the sea. Where I moved 18 months ago I seem to have really got lucky; the church a five-minute walk away from my flat is lively and thriving, with a great priest (and, erm, my neighbour upstairs is the organist); and (most unusually for England) the very town has quite a well, effusive Catholic culture - parades, things like a renactment of the Via Dolorosa on the cliffs on Good Friday, and so on); last autumn I was still trying out the parish the other way along the coast, which also has much to commend it (the parish I lived in in London....I won't even try to describe, however: there was something seriously wrong there).

As I am kind of ideologically opposed to the very notion of "parish shopping" (it sounds a bit exessively individualistic, and, well, protestant, even though, in London at least a lot of my Catholic friends have done it), I spose I should be greatly thankful that the parish I live in seems right.

One benefi of RCIA, especially for people new to a region is that in fact you do get to meet alot of people and folks who administer the program are as a rule of thumb very deeply involved with the social and politcal pulse of the parish. But the reason I left is due to the fact that people who go through the program have very diverse concerns and backgrounds- I had to deal with the reality that many issues need to be addressed by people who some formal background, psychological or theological- there should be peer involvement and sponsorship in RCIA, but the common lay person on team is not sufficient to deal with the diversity and situations we were encountering.

The way I feel is simple- why go through a program where they make it take three years when you go three miles away and do it at another parish in 6 months ?

 

[ProScribe]

I'll check more about the adult RCIA program later.

PS . . .

 

[Rhamiel]

not to derail the thread, but I do not think RCIA should take more then 7 or 8 months, I mean I hear of some programs that last a year or more and I think that is kind of ridiculuos

 

[D'Ann]

NewMan99 should answer this question. He taught RCIA. He and I completed our RCIA about 9 or 10 years ago. The program is usually about 9 months long. We were confirmed into the Church on Easter. It's quite beautiful.

I'll ask Bob (NewMan99) if he can share more info.

God's peace,

Debbie

 

[a.d.ivNonasNovembres]

not to derail the thread, but I do not think RCIA should take more then 7 or 8 months, I mean I hear of some programs that last a year or more and I think that is kind of ridiculuos

One of the priests at my church thinks it ought to last 3 years.

 

[coastalwanderer]

3 years? I could kind of understand that (theoretically at least) if the idea was that that way would you get through the entire cycle A-B-C of bible readings at Sunday masses.

I have come across two churches that make the process take two entire years: one is the French cathedral bang in the centre of London (possibly many of their wannabe converts are French students or transient workers who aren't around there constantly, so there might possibly be some justifiable reason for it?) ; the other is the parish in a history-less (founded in the early 1970s), largely God-less and frankly cultureless mainly public housing and commercial nightmare new-town halfway between here and London (it's the place Depeche Mode come from...: although alarmingly it is traditionally regarded by psephologists as being a kind of political bellwether for public opinion in England as a whole). In that case I can kind of understand in as much as the prevailing culture in that town is unusuallly anti-Christian....but still, two years seems like an awfy long time. Too long, I'd have thought. It's not as if one's reception into the church marks the end of one's conversion or journey with God , is it?

 

[NewMan99]

Yes, not only did I go through it, but I taught it for several years.

I agree with many of the comments here - it is only as good as the people teaching it, and there are no real "standards" or cirriculum to follow (which is both a good thing and a bad thing). It is up to the parish priest to approve or disappove of the teachers...and since they already have "approval" from the Church, so to speak, to be the priest of a given parish...it follows they should be capable of approving the right catechists...all of which makes sense until you get to a large parish where the priest may or may not personally know the teachers.

In any case, it IS a discernment process...but part of that discernment is knowing and understanding some of the very basics of Catholic theology, history, devotions, etc... It is not only WHAT we do and what we believe, and HOW to do it, but also WHY we do things and why we believe what we believe. But it is meant to be primarily a time of introspection and reflection. A person should not feel pressured to join the Church at the Easter Vigil, and it is not uncommon for some people to drop out for a variety of reasons.

Another thing is that sometimes the instructors are cradle Catholics and sometimes they are converts, and sometimes they are both (by that I mean I taught the class with a cradle Catholic). Each have different ways of teaching the faith and each have their strengths and weaknesses. My co-teacher struggled with explaining certain things that sounded odd to Protestant ears, whereas I struggled in teaching the catechemens the "body language" of Catholicism. She knew all the prayers, devotions, etc...it just came naturally to her. She knew HOW to be Catholic. As for me, I excelled at explaining WHY to be Catholic (or at least why I was Catholic). So in your own class, be aware of their backgrounds. This is not to say one "kind" is better than another - they are just different. The best of all worlds, imo, is to have a class taught by a cradle and a convert.

And you do not have to join the same parish that you took the classes at. You should know that too. You can take classes at one place and be Confirmed at the Vigil, but then formally join a different parish if you so desire.

That being said, I discourage going to RCIA in one place and then joining another place (in most cases) because RCIA should also be about the welcoming process of the person into the larger community (assuming that is what you want).

Hope that helps.

God's Peace,

NewMan