Starting RCIA Classes - Your experiences

[yoshiblue]

To cut a long story short, I have been personally struggling with a couple of big areas in my life ATM, coupled with the state of the world, I am feeling a real pull to God at the moment. I feel like I need to understand my place in the world and guidance from him, if that makes sense.

I was raised a Methodist and attended weekly until the church was condemned when I was a teenager, so am already baptised and believe in God.

After talking to a couple of Catholic friends on the street, I am intrigued to find out more about our local church and RCIA classes. I'm feeling a real desire to learn everything about the church and its teachings and have ordered a book in the meantime! My friend has advised me to start to go to weekly Mass then contacting the priest when I feel comfortable to discuss.

I would really appreciate any experiences of going through this process and how you found the classes and group discussions. I believe RCIA runs from September each year and wondered if I should be able to start them this Autumn or if I needed to wait for a longer time to reflect first.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

I did RCIA 18 years ago. I was raised practicing Anglican and went to a Catholic school. So knew most of it already. I didn't really want to do it. I had a few specific issues I wanted to work through, but was told it was compulsory. It was very much a Christianity for beginners, which is why I hadn't wanted to do it. But I was new to the city and it got me into the the cathedral community, becoming a catholic is one of the best things I've ever done. I am very much a pick and mix catholic though. I have absolutely no Marian devotion. (Despite going to Lourdes annually!) And rarely go to confession. But I have learned that it doesn't matter at all.

The one thing I didn't expect, was the complete culture shock. From the C of E. it's really difficult to explain, but it's totally different. And much less parochial, there is more a feeling of being part of the universal church.

The thing I found most helpful was a book called 'Rome sweet Home by Scott Hahn.

Thanks for your response @Toddlerteaplease

I'm reading a similar book at the moment The Converts Guide to Roman Catholicism by Keith Nester

He's an ex Methodist pastor and he talks as much about the difference between the two types of Christianity as well as what RCs believe.

I am happy to do the course and hope it will bring me closer to the church community. I guess I'm generally feeling a bit apprehensive about approaching the priest about it! 😬

Oh that was the worst bit! But he was lovely. Which diocese are you?

Salford

Our priest is quite young and has apparently been brought in to modernise the parish, so I hope that means he'll be approachable!

I teach RCIA, so it's a slightly different perspective.

I would say to approach the priest whenever you feel ready, you don't need to wait for a specific time of year. A lot of parishes run RCIA from September through to June, but by no means all. Some parishes don't run RCIA as a course at all, they have one-to-one meetings with the people who want to convert (usually if it's either a small parish with not enough people each year to justify running a course, or if they have a lot of priests/catechists and prefer to do it individually). If they do run RCIA at a specific time of year, you can still sign up, or at least express an interest, outside of that. They'll usually put it in the parish newsletter and on the website so you don't miss the cut off date for sign ups.

I teach the class that's in front of me every year (and usually have a couple of one-to-ones who can't make the class or for whom its not suitable): so some years it will be a lot of basic introduction to Christianity stuff, and other years it will be deeper, if the people have a decent grounding already. I also make sure I ask during the initial interview if there's anything in particular they want to discuss, and then I include that in the programme. This year, for example, three people said they wanted to know more about the Mass so we did a couple of weeks on all the biblical roots of the Mass, the meaning of the gestures etc. Some years people really want to discuss the Pope, or prayers to Mary, if they're coming from another Christian denomination, but a lot of the people we get are from non-Christian backgrounds so I need to ensure there's a thorough grounding in things like Trinity, prayer, the Incarnation etc. We also have classes on Catholic Social Teaching and other more practical things.

We also encourage the catechumens & candidates to join other things in the parish, specifically our adult formation programme (perhaps after they finish RCIA) and a small group so they start to get to know people in the parish. They usually bond really well as a group, but it's nice to get them involved in the wider parish life as well, so they feel at home with us.

There's really no pressure to become Catholic if you start RCIA. It's fine to come along to it questioning and see how you feel. You usually have to make a decision sometime around December/January, but if you're not ready for that year then you can complete the course and actually be received into the church on a subsequent year. Or you can decide in December that you are ready and do the paperwork, but not go through with it at Easter (receptions and baptisms of adults are nearly always at the Easter Vigil) and it's totally fine. We sometimes have people join the course who are married to Catholics and just want to see what it's all about, without converting, and we nearly always have people who start the course but decide it's not for them along the way. Sometimes people who come from certain very conservative evangelical/Pentecostal backgrounds are shocked because they've grown up not being allowed to ask questions and to jsut accept what the pastor teaches, but Catholics are all about questions and engaging the intellect in the service of faith, we love people who come with doubts and debates.

Hi OP I am a convert to Catholicism from atheism. After my initial encounter knowing God was real I knew I wanted to be Catholic and attended a prayer group that had a strong community so by attending that and going to Mass I learnt a lot about Catholicism. When I felt God ask me to be baptized and come into the Church the priest where I was at the time, after talking to me, said he felt I was already well prepared and could receive the sacraments of initiation (Reconciliation, Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation) a month later. But I met with him or his female assistant every day so I could ask all my remaining questions. I then came into the Church and it was wonderful and I have been Catholic ever since.

Although I didn't go through RCIA myself I have sponsored a few people who were going through RCIA. In RCIA everyone who reaches the decision they would like to come into the Church receives a sponsor. The sponsor walks with them, attends RCIA classes and meets the person they are sponsoring for coffee etc. so they have a friend within the parish and can ask anything they want. It is always a huge privilege to be a sponsor as I receive so much love and grace hearing people's journey, it's always very profound and moving.

Thanks @Fink @Ravenclawdropout for sharing your experiences today. I have spoken to the priest and I'm meeting him in the coming days. Our parish doesn't do RCIA but he helps prepare people individually, so I'll find out more soon.

In the meantime, I have read An Introduction to Catholicism book and also Keith Nester's Conversion book (he converted from Methodist to Catholicism). That book was really interesting to me as it talked as much about the differences between Catholicism and Protestant (even down to how formal or not the dress code is!)

Oh I already said about Keith Nester's book above, but it was brill!

I really like Keith and his wife Estelle, they came into the Church together but their (grown) kids have remained in their Protestant churches. I watch his YouTube channel sometimes and especially during COVID I would join the Rosary they lead live everyday. Their story is very interesting especially as Keith felt a call to come into the Church and then basically ran away for at least 10 years 😅.

Here is his testimony on The Journey Home. If you don't know about it already The Journey Home is a long running EWTN show which just simply has people from all walks of life telling the story of how and why they decided to come into the Church. Its been running forever! At least 15 years if not longer. You can easily find episides on YouTube.

This link is from The Coming Home Network which you can join if you are interested. Its a community of people who are exploring the idea of becoming Catholic, its very welcoming and you can ask absolutely any question or discuss anything. The moderators are very experienced and can give lots of concrete, helpful advice. Its also very interesting to hear from others about why they want to be Catholic or what they are struggling with that currently means they have decided to stay outside the Church but still want to talk to Catholics.

chnetwork.org/journey-home/keith-nester-former-methodist-pastor/

Thanks @Ravenclawdropout I've not heard of those sources but will definitely watch.

Re. the dress code, that's more of an American thing. In the UK, it's quite varied by area amongst Catholics. In predominately white British congregations (probably Irish heritage), it's often quite relaxed. But some other cultures still keep to the idea of Sunday best, so congregations with a large proportion of African and Indian Catholics tend to dress up a bit more. Filipinos, other Europeans, and Caribbean people tend to be in the middle. So if you live somewhere where most of the congregation is white then it's probably casual, if you live in a more mixed area, it might be more formal. Our parish is very mixed, so I could get away with casual but I like the excuse to dress up once a week because I live in jeans the other 6 days, so I always wear a nice frock on Sundays. I would look overdressed if I went back to my old parish in the north of England.

I have definitely found it more casual than expected, quite a few people in jeans/trainers but others smarter. Aside from Protestant vs Catholic dress code, I'm also remembering Prostestant from 30 years ago when I was little. Everywhere has got less formal since then.

I can't imagine I will wear jeans anytime soon, maybe in winter with chunky boots. I'm going for a midi dress for smart casual look.

What I appreciated when I was exploring Catholicism is that free will is very important, so although people were excited and supportive and happy to help with resources and answering questions noone put pressure on me to become Catholic. Its very much seen as God's invitation that we respond to in grace. Also people who are serious about their Christian faith as Catholics know that to really respond to Jesus and the gospel will be life changing so RCIA is a year long process to help people come into the Church with their eyes open understanding the commitment they are making. You are already Christian so I imagine you are already familiar with the differences but for Catholics a "born again" moment if you have one is just the beginning of conversion and we see conversion as lifelong in a continual response to God's grace. So it is very much about the heart, mind and will and understanding for example that faith is not reliant on emotional highs or your personal happiness but about transformation. I also appreciate that the deep history of the Church means there is always someone or a Christian community that has been through the same or similar situation. There is always spiritual wisdom and advice.

In fact my Spiritual Director is a Dominican Priest and they recently celebrated 800 years as an Order in the Church! That is so wild to me! Their order is older than Protestantism and most countries!!! 😂

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order

Thanks @Ravenclawdropout there is so much to take in and that its bigger than I think where I'm starting from at the moment!

Following as this is something I'm interested in too. Dh is Catholic and my children have all been brought up Catholic (only one currently practising though). I did try to go to mass more often a few years ago but I really don't like our local priest (sorry!) as he is really sexist and it was putting me off. Hoping to find someone more inspiring.

Yes the Church is full of humans unfortunately.

@yoshiblue as they always say just start where you are and go from there; at your own pace. Ultimately you are walking with God so do what feels right.

@Ravenclawdropout What's your SD's name? Initials are fine. I'm a Lay Dominican and quite involved with the Dominicans professionally so I know most of the friars. I'm just interested because someone asked me for recommendations for a Dominicans Spiritual Director recently and I went through a few names, but if yours is good then I might recommend him too!

@Fink I wish you'd been leading My RCIA. You sound much more knowledgeable than my lot were. My dad, who is Anglican lay reader still hasn't forgotten the catchiest who said that only catholics believe in the Trinity. Ouch!!

@Ravenclawdropout my best friend is a Dominican priest. They are amazing. But way to clever for me!

Though all the Friars I've met are lovely.

@Toddlerteaplease oh dear. Unfortunately, as with anything led primarily by volunteers, quality of RCIA catechesis is variable. There are a lot of good ones out there, but I hear horror stories too. I believe God's grace can work even with bad instruments, but it's certainly easier when the teachers cooperate with sound doctrine (and a friendly manner)! 😆

@Fink, very true. Someone I knew was doing to get me instruction with a Dominican he knew. I regret that that never happened as I moved cities. But since I now know so many priests, sound teaching isn't far away!

Unfortunately, as with anything led primarily by volunteers, quality of RCIA catechesis is variable.
Very true. My son's catechism teacher told him that non-Catholics were at risk of having their organs stolen.😮I was not impressed.