Becoming Catholic-understanding RCIA

by Jane Hanson

When I became a Catholic about thirty-five years ago, I went to convert classes with Father Jim, just Father and me together in the rectory parlor. I really liked Father. He was a gentle and very knowledgeable priest. He would talk and I would listen respectfully and with a good deal of fascination to all the things I needed to know about being a good Catholic. I had lots of questions though and there were times when I longed for a good hearty debate on several of the tastier issues . . . limbo and indulgences, Mary and her appearances, birth control and the Pope. You know, the usual list. Unfortunately, my questions were most often greeted with one of two gentle reminders. "This is what the church teaches and its our job to believe it." or "It’s a mystery, my dear, and it is our job to believe it." So I believed and as a good, practicing Episcopalian, the shift from one church to another was not a difficult one. And then when I got involved in liturgy and ministry, I found out about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and I was just a bit miffed. This RCIA thing sounded like what I had hoped my "convert" classes could have been. So what is this RCIA thing that so fascinated me?

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, sometimes called the Catechumenate, is the process by which people become Catholic Christian. It is not a new idea in the church. It is a restoration of the ancient way the early church went about making disciples. The rite was revised and restored in 1972 in accordance with the mandate of the Second Vatican Council and by decree of Pope Paul VI. The English translation was approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) in 1986 and confirmed by the Holy See in 1987. As of September 1, 1988, " . . . the use of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is mandatory in the dioceses of the United States." (Decree of the NCCB) The RCIA is primarily for unbaptized adults and children who have reached the age of reason, about 7. It is also adapted for people baptized in other Christian denominations. A fluid, flexible process, the RCIA respects the individual’s faith development and life experience as it remains faithful to the vision and essential teachings of the church.

The RCIA is a liturgical order made up of rites or liturgies called "steps." It is like the order of Mass that is made of rites or liturgies, . . . the Gathering Rite, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rite. The RCIA is at the same time a formational and catechetical process made up four "periods" of time for formation and growth in the faith. So we could say that the RCIA is a liturgical / catechetical process. This journey of faith leads to the full initiation of the unbaptized through the sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist celebrated at the Easter Vigil. Those who are already baptized are received into the full communion of the Catholic Church through Confirmation and the Eucharist. In future articles in the Prairie Catholic we will explore the periods and steps of the RCIA in greater detail.

The RCIA is concerned with the total formation of a person into believing with the church community, living with the church community, praying with the church community and serving with the church community. This doctrinal, practical, liturgical and apostolic formation is a matter of head and heart and hands - being and doing what a Catholic Christian is to be and to do - a disciple of Jesus Christ in the company of companion disciples on mission in the world. The RCIA is more of an apprenticeship in the life and mission of the church rather than a convert class.

The RCIA is not just another program to implement in the parish. It is all about who we are, what we believe and what we are about as Catholics. It is not only the process for becoming Catholic Christian, it is also the model for being Catholic Christian. And there is an intimate and elegant connection between the RCIA, the liturgical life of the church (especially the Eucharist) and small Christian communities. They are all about faith, conversion, and mission — the life of discipleship. The RCIA inaugurates and launches the Catholic Christian life long journey of faith and conversion and sets the agenda for mission, "Go . . . make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19) Liturgy, especially the Eucharist, nourishes, strengthens, and sustains the Catholic Christian life long journey of faith, conversion, and mission, the life of discipleship. "Christian become what they eat." (St. Augustine) Small Christian Communities help disciples renew and deepen the life long journey of faith conversion, and mission. "Small Christian communities not only foster the faith of individuals, they are living cells which build up the Body of Christ. . . and serve to increase the corporate life and mission of the parish." (US Bishops)