While it is true that the “parish is the curriculum” (Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us) for the RCIA, and that the liturgical calendar should give shape and form to the “scope and sequence” of the catechumenate, the fact is, most RCIA coordinators and teams still desire to put a book in the hands of their catechumens and candidates. I have been delighted to learn that many such coordinators and teams have chosen to use […]
Several years ago, a campaign began to invite former Catholics to return to the Church: Catholics Come Home. But did you ever ask, “What are folks coming home to? And why? What am I doing to help welcome them to my parish faith community?” People stop coming to church for a variety of reasons. The question is, are we inviting them back to the very same experience that caused them to leave in the first place? […]
When I started out as a catechist, I began with my parish’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) ministry. A few years later I joined the faith formation team that served our parish’s young people, first as a substitute, then as a regular catechist. I continue to serve in both ministries, and while teaching the faith to candidates in the RCIA is different from teaching it to young people (For example, candidates in the […]
Every DRE has his or her own approach to ministry. In my parish, our faith formation philosophy is to meet people where they are. I know it’s a pretty simple idea, but when we think about the variety of people from so many different backgrounds who come together in the Church, it is important to remember that the same approach won’t work for everyone. This attitude can prove to be especially important when working with […]
A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Patty Cadena, a catechetical leader from the Diocese of Oakland, CA, telling me that she and her husband would be vacationing in the Chicago area. She said she uses my books in her RCIA and asked if there was a chance that we could meet if she visited Loyola Press. Luckily, my schedule had me in Chicago all week so I told her they could […]
We’ve had a good conversation here about sacramental readiness over the last few days thanks to a plea for help from “Monica.” Thank you to all who have so generously shared their wisdom. Our discussion got me thinking about the notion of readiness and the fact that all of our catechesis takes its cue from the process of Initiation which is an apprenticeship into a way of life. Assessment of knowledge of the faith is […]
In this final segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz leads her RCIA group in a concluding prayer and musical meditation. Watch for the following: Marge introduces the concluding prayer and connects it with the theme of human dignity. Marge directs the participants to their parts in the prayer and goes over the flow of the prayer so that everyone knows what is happening, how, and when. Marge introduces the musical meditation, Love Never Fails […]
In this segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz continues facilitating a discussion with her RCIA about Catholic Social Teaching. Watch for the following: Marge summarizes the discussion so far and poses a question for discussion. Participants begin talking about examples and strategies for practicing the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Marge takes a back seat to the discussion and allows it to progress, enabling the participants to take ownership of the discussion and converse […]
In this segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz continues her introduction to Catholic Social Teaching by inviting the participants in her RCIA to apply the 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching to current events in the news. Watch for the following: Marge distributes copies of breaking news stories from local Chicago newspapers. Marge identifies one of the news stories and invites participants to look over the themes of Catholic Social Teaching and apply them […]
In this segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz introduces her RCIA to the concept of Catholic Social TEaching. Watch for the following: Marge welcomes the group back from break…she is always SO hospitable! She introduces the concept of the “best-kept secret” of the Catholic Church and invites one of her team members to identify that as Catholic Social Teaching Marge expounds a bit on CST and then invites participants to find the 7 themes […]
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