The Catholic Church Begins

as the Way in Israel and is established in ancient Rome

RCIA  is an abbreviation for: "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults."  The nine month process of teaching the fullness of truth in the Catholic Church is an open, adaptable, knowledgeable approach to teaching all people who seek to learn about the fullness of the Catholic faith.

 The teaching process will vary from church to church, but each RCIA class will proceed through various stages where the inquirers may opt in or out of attendance with absolutely no pressure or expectation from the teachers or  facilitators on the RCIA team.  The main focus of RCIA teaching is solely to teach the Catholic faith, and let the inquirers or attendees discern for themselves if Catholicism is something they can and want to embrace.

 The months of September and October at Saint Joseph's in Macon are devoted to an overview of the faith in broad general terms. Some of the highlights of these presentations cover the following subjects:

• The Pre-catechumenate or Inquiry  Phase, with personal introductions of the key instructors, priests and deacons, and the team. The key presenters will tell the class, "Why I am a Catholic." Then there is a tour of the church by a priest.
  
• The second month will generally include the unbroken history of the church; the structure of the church and how God speaks to us, the Sacrament principal.
• Catholic Sexuality, Marriage, Divorce, Annulments, Purpose of Life, and what you must do to be Saved.
• Catholic Spirituality and a teaching Mass
• The next six months will be a series of lessons taught from the two books pictured in the red column called, In His Light, and the companion teaching book called, Journeying In His Light.

Part of March and April are the teachings on the scrutiny and formation in the final decisions for the class. Those that have decided to join the church are then guided through the preparation for joing the church at Easter Vigil.

WHO attends RCIA?

• People of all faiths
• Catholics who want to reacquaint themselves with the faith
• Sometimes the spouse, who may be Catholic already, just to support the other in the learning and discerning process
• Sometimes the children of the family who may or may not be Catholic  
• Parents of the inquirers also can be invited to attend
  

The  first rule is that there is no rule! Each Catholic Church will teach RCIA according to their head, the Pastor.

At Saint Joseph's in Macon the class is using the two books pictured. Under each picture there will be a brief outline of the book's content and approach to teaching the truth's of the faith and the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

Note from the Book's Author

Because the Rite of Initiation of Adults places such a great emphasis on the sharing of one's story in relationship to the Word of God, a companion book to In His Light has been published for the sake of this process. The book, entitled Journeying in His Light, is intended as the first book in the process. The opening chapters allow for reflection and sharing during the period of evangelization and pre-catechumenate, purification and enlightenment, and post baptismal catechesis or mystagogy.

 Written by: Rev. William A. Anderson, D. Min. - "We actually form ourselves from within. No one is able to pour formation into us as though she or he were filling an empty glass with water. Formation consists in testing our own experiences and conclusions against those of others. It could also consist in starting for ourselves our feeling and experiences. We often forget to take time to listen to ourselves.

Prologue

"One night, a father decided that his son was now old enough to go out to the barn to feed the horses. The boy, however, told his father that he was afraid of the dark. The father stepped out on to the porch with the boy, lit  lantern, gave it to his son, and asked him how far he could see as he held up the lantern.

"I can see halfway down the path," said the boy. The father directed his son to carry the lantern halfway down the path. When the boy reached that point, the father asked asked the boy how far he could see now. The boy called back to his father that he could see the gate. The father urged the boy to walk to the gate , and when the boy ws at the gate, the father asked how far he could now now see.

"I can see the barn," came the boy's reply. The father encouraged the boy to go to the barn and open the door. When the boy finally shouted back that he was in the barn and could see the horses, the father simply called, "Now feed the horses," and stepped into the house.

The point of this book and the point of the story are the same. The path of this book attempts to light up is the path of understanding to God and the Church. As the boy walked with the lantern, he came to see the path, the gate and the barn. He did not see the whole yard or the fields that surrounded him. Only the daylight would provide that gift. Similarly, this book will shed light on only a portion of the topics it discusses.