Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Is the Eucharistic Prayer a big deal for RCIA catechesis?
Why is the Eucharistic Prayer important? When I was a child, I thought it was because that’s the moment in the Mass when the bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus. And while that’s true, … Continue reading
How Pope Francis knelt in front of 12 teenage prisoners and taught us to be master RCIA catechists
Am I really willing to help others? Just think of that. Think that this sign is Christ’s caress, because Jesus came just for this, to serve us, to help us. —Pope Francis, Holy Thursday Homily On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis … Continue reading
Why you should stop trying to solve the mystagogy problem
Fiona and George were putting away the coffee pot and folding up the chairs after their mystagogical reflection session on the Easter Vigil. As they switched off the lights, Fiona said, “I wonder where Carmen was. She told me she … Continue reading
Annulment do’s and don’ts in the RCIA
Louise, the RCIA coordinator, was leading a reflection on the third scrutiny with the elect after they had been dismissed. John, one of the elect, began to tear up. Haltingly, he spoke about how Lazarus coming out of the tomb … Continue reading
Four quick real-life tips for celebrating the Triduum with children
I follow Team RCIA on Twitter, and the other day I saw an interesting tweet entitled “10 key ideas for celebrating the Triduum.” It got me thinking about various tips I could share on celebrating the Triduum with children in … Continue reading
Six examples of catechesis that happen after RCIA is over
In the last few posts, we have been exploring running as a metaphor for living the Christian life. We have been looking at the three levels of training that are necessary to “run” as a Christian: The General Directory for … Continue reading
Six skills every children’s RCIA catechist must have
I remember watching Joan talk with a group of middle schoolers who were just beginning the RCIA process. All the kids seemed to be smiling and engaged. Afterwards, I said to her, “You are a master!” She very casually replied, … Continue reading
Do your RCIA catechumens wake up running?
An old African proverb says: Every morning, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, … Continue reading
RCIA training level one: evangelization
The RCIA is a training process. If we look at other training processes, we begin to see how the RCIA is perfectly designed to train seekers in the Christian life (see RCIA 75 and Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, … Continue reading
